A Podcast Interview with Vicki Delany

Here's the link to an interview I did with Jacqui of What they Said.  I talk about A COLD WHITE SUN, the next Molly Smith book,  UNDER COLD STONE, why I read (and write) crime novels, what I'm reading now, and lots more.

http://whattheysaid.podbean.com/2013/08/26/a-cold-white-sun-the-new-molly-smith-novel-from-vicki-delany/#.UhuFnoUruM4.twitter

Hope you enjoy it.

Vicki

A Review of A COLD WHITE SUN

I am so delighted by the review of A COLD WHITE SUN in the London Free Press, that I want to reproduce it here.

In the latest book by Vicki Delany, a middle-aged and married mother of two heads out on a trail for a healthy, head-clearing hike on the first day of spring — and is then picked off by a sniper.

By Joan Barfoot, Special to QMI Agency

Wednesday, August 14, 2013 10:41:43 EDT PM

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A COLD WHITE SUN

By Vicki Delany

Poisoned Pen Press, $24.95 and $14.95

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Vicki Delany should be better known than she is, as a sterling Canadian crime novelist who has created a world in a British Columbia town and populated it with characters who manage to be not only lively and intriguing, but reassuringly reliable company, as well.

A Cold White Sun is Delany’s sixth novel starring Constable Molly Smith (along with her superior officer Sergeant John Winters) of the police force in the mountain town of Trafalgar B.C.

The place is a sports resort for tourists, but also a town where people actually live, go to school, run businesses, hang out. Molly herself is virtually a lifelong resident, and her mother is a well-known local activist. John Winters’ wife Eliza, an ex-supermodel, meanwhile runs an art shop.

And then there’s Cathy Lindsay, a middle-aged, married mother of two, a high school English teacher and occasional creative writing instructor. This apparently ordinary, inoffensive woman rises early on the first day of school spring break intending a healthy, head-clearing hike with her dog — until on a trail high above town, she is picked off by a sniper.

The question immediately becomes not only who has shot her, but whether she was targeted, or a mistake, or a random victim.

In any unwitnessed murder, those closest to the victim inevitably get looked at first. Cathy’s husband, an Internet developer who evidently was getting breakfast for his kids at the time of her death, is first to be queried by Winters and Smith. Hovering unhappily in the background, too, is their teenaged son, well known to police as a sullen, troubled kid given to petty crimes.

But the case for randomness is also strong — the chances of an armed nutcase, possibly a well-trained, unhinged military veteran roaming the region, aren’t awfully remote, and they’re much scarier than the notion of someone who was only aiming at Cathy. Random targeting would mean anyone at all could be in danger, as would the notion that the gunman mistook her for someone else.

There are, after all, lots of strangers around, as well as dodgy residents. One might be a man determined on a solitary, isolated life; or the fellow who becomes a sad obsession for an employee at Eliza Winters’ art shop.

A reader might even have suspicions of a skier with whom Molly takes up, at least on the slopes, in the absence of her cop boyfriend Adam.

There are, in fact, plenty of options for suspicion and investigation, including some that arise from around-the-town information picked up by Molly’s mother, as well as Eliza Winters.

The course of the plot to its resolution makes a good deal more sense than occurs in a lot of crime fiction, but just as important, getting to it, through various investigative false trails and personal twists, is suspenseful and solid.

The only remaining mystery at the end is why Vicki Delany isn’t yet as famous a crime writer, both nationally and internationally, as such fellow Canadians as Louise Penny or Linwood Barclay. Maybe this is the novel to fix that — and send readers in search of her backlist, as well.

Joan Barfoot is a novelist living in London

It's here! A COLD WHTE SUN

Even after thirteen published books, more than that if you include the different editions, there is little more exciting than receiving the author's copies of a new book.

A COLD WHITE SUN is here.  I think Poisoned Pen Press really outdid themselves with the cover of this one.  In the picture, of course all you can see is the image, but the feel and texture of it is also very appealing.

I also love the quote that Julia Spencer-Fleming was nice enough to provide. "Marvelous storytelling... I love this series!"

A Cold White Sun is the sixth Smith and Winters book.  In order, they are:
IN THE SHADOW OF THE GLACIER
VALLEY OF THE LOST
WINTER OF SECRETS
NEGATIVE IMAGE
AMONG THE DEPARTED
A COLD WHITE SUN

Release date is August 6th.  A Cold White Sun is now available for pre-order from your favourite bookstore as well as the usual online sources. E-books can not be pre-ordered ( I don't know why) but they will be ready on August 6.

Want to read the first chapter?  Click here.

The Ultimate in Fast Reading

Yesterday, I was the guest blogger at Jungle Red Writers (http://www.jungleredwriters.com/2013/07/introducing-crime-writers-of-canada.html)

I talked about the Crime Writers of Canada and invited people to sign up for our Cool Canadian Crime catalog of new books.  You can pop over and read the blog, or if you are really short of time, here it is in visual format.

North of Whitehorse

After our events in Whitehorse, Haines Junction, and Skagway, Alaska, Barbara and I drove north, to Pelly Crossing and then on to Dawson City, which is almost at the Arctic Circle.

Dawson City is, of course, best known for being the site of the great Klondike Gold Rush, and thus the location of most of the action in my Klondike books.  it's a great tourist town, with a true frontier flair.  The sidewalks are all wood because the town is built on permafrost, and permafrost has done some interesting things to the old buildings.

We had an appearance at the Dawson City Museum, where I did some of the original research for Gold Digger, and it was just great to be back.

Permafrost affected buildings

View from Midnight Dome

Dance Hall!

Barbara at Bonanza Creek

Enjoying a late night glass of wine. Yes, late night

Whitehorse and the Yukon

We finished our fabulous visit to Yellowknife and then flew to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory.

Whitehorse is still a wilderness city, but much more tourist oriented than Yellowknife.  Almost the first thing you notice, after the mountains, is the plethoria of coffee shops.  Barbara and I instantly fell into the habit of beginning our morning with coffee and scones at Baked.

So far, we've spoken to the Toastmasters, presented at the Whitehorse Library, given a workshop at the library in Haines Junction, driven to Skagway, Alaska for a presentaiton at the Klondike Gold Rush National Park and signed at Skagway News Depot, and also had a signing at the famous bookstore Mac's Fireweed in Whitehorse.  It makes for a lot of driving and action packed days.

Including the flat tire after our event in Haines Junction!
But the excitement never ends and we still have a mystery lovers panel in Whitehorse, an appearance at the MacBride Museum, and another book signing. Plus a trip to Pelly Crossing to speak at the library and then to the Dawson City Museum.

Gosh, I'm tired just typing all that.

But it's been all fun too, and tonight the university students who are staying in our B&B prior to heading out to a dig, had a BBQ in the back yard.  Barbara and I were invited and had a great time.

Enough chat. Here are some pictures.

Yellowknife

I'm in Yellowknife, NWT, with Barbara Fradkin attending the NorthWords Literary Festival. What a wonderful city, and fantastic festival.

As a picture is definitely worth more than a thousand words, here are some pictures.

Houseboats in Yellowknife Bay. Ice still on Great Slave Lake
 



Mystery Panel at NorthWords. With Barbara Fradkin and Giles Blunt

Refreshment break

The bay

Bullock's Bistro Restaurant. Best fish I've ever had.

Houseboats on the bay

Midnight from hotel window