A New Book for Rapid Reads

I was delighted to be offered a contract for a second Rapid Reads book from Orca Press.  The first one is titled A Winter Kill and is about a new police officer with the O.P.P. in Prince Edward County.

When rookie police constable Nicole Patterson discovers a body on the edge of town, she's drawn into a murder investigation that's well beyond her experience and expertise.

The Rapid Reads books are very special. They're meant for adults with low literacy skills, ESL students, or those with not a lot of time to read who are looking for a quick yet fast-paced, suspenseful book.

I myself love to have these books to take with me on the plane.  You know that horrible time when you have to turn off all your electronic devices and end up searching the well-thumbed in-flight magazine for something anything! to read until you can get back to your book?

The Rapid Reads books are perfect for that. They're very small so they tuck neatly into your carry-on bag and then into the compartment in the seat in front of you.  One book should see you through take off and landing.

My new book will be different than anything I've done before. It's called JUBA GOOD. For the first time I have a male first person POV protagonist.  Ray Robertson is an RCMP officer serving with the UN in South Sudan.

As it just so happens I'm going back to South Sudan soon, so I'll be able to refresh all the details.

Can't wait.

In the meantime, if you're looking for an exciting short read, check out the full list of Rapid Reads books, by some of your favourite crime writers. www.rapidreads.ca

If you're an educator or otherwise interested in expanding your understanding of the books, Orca has provided a reading guide.  Beware - the guides are intended for people who've finished the books, so the full plot is discussed.

Something to look forward to: Blood, Ash, and Bone

This looks like a good one! 

Blood, Ash, and Bone, the third in the Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series. Available this March from Poisoned Pen Press.

"Whittle’s snappy prose and nonstop action revolving around these fascinatingly flawed characters combine to make this series a must." Booklist STARRED Review

“Tina Whittle’s novels are a mix of Pat Conroy writing and Dashiell Hammett storytelling, and with Blood, Ash and Bone, Whittle has established herself as one of the top mystery writers working today.”

— Robert Dugoni, NYT-Bestselling author of The Conviction

For more about the author:  http://www.tinawhittle.com

Available from your favourite independent bookstore as well as: 

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Ash-Bone-Randolph-Series/dp/1464200955/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

What I've been up to

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this blog.  I guess life just got ahead of me.  I've been busy writing the next Smith and Winters book, signing a contract with Rapid Reads for JUBA GOOD, about an RCMP officer with the UN in South Sudan, preparing my creative writing courses and reading my students writing samples.

Plus, of course, there was Christmas. As a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some pictures of how I spent my vacation.

In Tremblant Village

On the slopes (not me!)

With my mom about to go for a wagon ride.

Chalet at Cap Tremblant

What I arrived home to.

Audio book sample

Did you know that all of my Poisoned Pen Press books are available in audio formats?  Read by the wonderful Carrington MacDuffe, they're great for people who travel long distances by car, are sight-impaired, or just like listening to a good book.  Last time I drove across Canada (Picton, Ontario to Victoria B.C. and back) I took two audio books out of the library to keep me entertained on the long boring parts.

They can be expensive, quite a bit more than a paper or e-book, so are ideal for libraries. If you're public library doesn't have copies, why not ask them.

In the meantime, the first chapter of MORE THAN SORROW has been released on YouTube so you can see if you think you'll enjoy it.  Here's it is for your listening pleasure:

Wrap it ! Read it ! Love it !

I’m taking part in this blog hop at the suggestion of Tina Whittle, author of Darker Than Any Shadow and The Dangerous Edge of Things, both from Poisoned Pen Press. (Find Tina at: http://tinawhittle.blogspot.com).

So, if you’ve come to this page because you are looking for gift suggestions, you are definitely in the write (sic) place.

I am perhaps Canada’s most varied crime writer.  I write three completely different type of crime novels, so I should have something for all tastes.

The Klondike Gold Rush Series published by Dundurn Press.  These are meant to be light and funny.  Set in 1898, they’re a mad-cap romp thought the muddy streets of Dawson City during the great Klondike Gold Rush.  There are three books in the series: Gold Digger, Gold Rush, Gold Mountain.

It’s the spring of 1898 in Dawson, Yukon Territory. The Klondike Gold Rush is in full swing and Fiona MacGillivray has crawled over the Chilkoot Pass determined to make her fortune as the owner of the Savoy dance hall. Provided, that is, if her 12-year-old son; the former Glasgow street fighter who's now her business partner; a stern, handsome NWMP constable; a love-struck, ex-boxing champion; a wild assortment of dancers, croupiers, gamblers, madams without hearts of gold, hangers-on, cheechakos and sourdoughs; and Fiona's nimble-fingered past don’t get to her first. And then there’s a dead body on centre stage.

The Constable Molly Smith series published by Poisoned Pen Press.  Police procedural novels set in British Columbia.  There are five books so far, In the Shadow of the Glacier, Valley of the Lost, Winter of Secrets, Negative Image, and In the Shadow of the Glacier.  The series has been optioned for TV by Brightlight Pictures!

Set in the small mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, Vicki’s critically acclaimed series follows young Constable Molly Smith, Detective Sergeant John Winters and their families, friends, co-workers in a traditional police procedural series with a very modern twist.

Standalone novels of suspense. If you like your reading with more of a psychological edge and perhaps a hint of the paranormal, then try one of my standalones from Poisoned Pen Press: Scare the Light Away, Burden of Memory or More than Sorrow, my most recent book.  Here’s More than Sorrow:

Once, Hannah Manning was an internationally-renowned journalist and war correspondent. Today, she's a woman suffering from a traumatic brain injury. Unable to read, unable to concentrate, full of pain, lost and confused, haunted by her memories, Hannah goes to her sister's small-scale vegetable farm in Prince Edward County, Ontario to recover. As summer settles on the farm, she finds comfort in the soft rolling hills and neat fields as well as friendship in the company of Hila Popalzai, an Afghan woman also traumatized by war.

Hannah experiences visions of a woman, emerging from the icy cold mist. Is the woman real, a remnant of the Loyalist refugees who settled this land? Or the product of a severely damaged brain?

Which would be worse?

Then Hila disappears. When Hannah cannot account for her time, not even to herself, old enemies begin to circle. In this modern Gothic novel of heart-wrenching suspense, past and present merge into a terrifying threat to the only thing Hannah still holds dear - her ten-year-old niece, Lily.

The books are all available at most chain and online bookstores as well as your favourite independent (if not in stock, ask them!). Here’s a quick link if you want more details: http://www.amazon.com/Vicki-Delany/e/B001JP2AAI/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Or check out my web page at www.vickidelany.com

Happy reading!

Arizona and California book tour

Donis lunching.  Note the surf boards

Donis Casey says it all.  So if you want to read all the details of our wonderful trip to Arizona and California, hurry over to http://www.doniscasey.com/?p=664

Suffice to say, we had a great time.  Visited lots of wonderful bookstores, met wonderful booksellers and readers and talked talked talked.  We made it into a vacation and tried to get in as many sights as we could along the way.

Here are some pics:

Checking out the choices

The Valley Ho in Scottsdale where I love to stay

My room at the Valley Ho

Nice selection

Lunch at Gardens with Jessica and Nan from PPP\

Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island

Halloween celebrations on Coronado

Surfers

Lunch at a surfer place in Malibu

Thoughts for my garden

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing - A Cold White Sun

 This is fun.  I was invited to take part in a blog circle by Stacy Juba. It’s sort of a ‘tell five friends’ thing. Here’s the link to Stacey’s entry: http://stacyjuba.com/blog/2012/11/07/the-next-big-thing-young-adult-hockey-sequel-offsides/.  See below for the authors to whom I’ve passed the torch.

What is your working title of your book? 

A Cold White Sun: A Constable Molly Smith Novel

Where did the idea come from for the book? 

This is part of the Constable Molly Smith series from Poisoned Press.  It’s the sixth book in the series, so the setting and main characters were already set in my mind before beginning to write the book.  As was the basic trajectory of the protagainst’s lives.  The Molly Smith series is set in the small mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, and the crimes in each book are on a small individual scale. Fatal car accidents, missing people, local politics, betrayals in marriages or friendships. In A Cold White Sun, I’ve continued with this theme, looking at the fall-out to a family (what we call an ordinary family – middle class, Mom, Dad, two kids) when one family member is murdered while walking the dog in the woods on a snowy morning.  To make it difficult for my police characters, they can find no clues, no suspects, no motivation.

What genre does your book fall under? 

Mystery

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’m not going to answer that, because I really don’t know, or care.  However, I will mention that the series has been optioned for Canadian TV.  And if it does come to pass, it’s totally up to the producers to do the casting.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  

When Cathy Lindsay, high school teacher, is shot by a sniper while walking her dog in the snowy woods Sergeant John Winters has more than a few questions: he has no clues, no suspects, no motivation.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 

The book is published by Poisoned Pen Press (www.poisonedpenpress.com) 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

A Cold White Sun is my thirteenth novel, so I rather have the hang of it now.  It took about three months for the first draft.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 

Traditional British-style police procedural novels such as those by Peter Robinson, Susan Hill, Louise Penny or Deborah Crombie.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? 

I love exploring family and personal dynamics.  Put people under unbearable stress and see what happens.  Some will do the right thing… some will not.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 

I hope it’s an exciting crime drama as well as an exploration of the family and personal relationships of my characters.

And here are the wonderful authors I’ve tagged. Have a look at their web pages now, and check back on November 19th when they've answered the questions and tagged five more authors:

Rick Blechta is a novelist and musician who brilliantly merges the two in his standalone crime novels: http://www.rickblechta.com/

Barbara Fradkin writes the multiple-award winning Inspector Green novels: http://www.barbarafradkin.com/

Donis Casey is the author of the historical Alafair Tucker series from Poisoned Pen Press:  http://www.doniscasey.com/

Betty Webb writes both the gritty Lena Jones series and the lighter Gunn Zoo mysteries: http://bloggingwebb.blogspot.ca/ (Betty isn't able to participate, but you can still check out her great books!)

Violette Malan writes fantasy, both high and urban: http://www.violettemalan.com/