I think one of the things that holds new writers back is the idea that a first draft is supposed to be perfect. It’s easy to fall into the trap of self-editing or giving up partway through a manuscript, but first drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect or pretty. They’re supposed to be messy.
I really enjoyed the creative aspect of crafting the magical elements. They often came to me unbidden, whether it was the village backstory of the Jin ancestors or the supernatural talent of Whiskers, the magical bunny (with a nod to Chinese mythology) in the Jin family.
Over the years we have noticed trends in what is being published in the mystery genre. Some years we seem to have an abundance of books around the theme of kidnappings, other years it is psychological thrillers or serial killers. Police procedurals and historical mysteries continue to be huge sellers.
I tend to write with the notion of a 'narrative dare' and to see what appears out of the murk once I have changed the bedrock ground rules of society.
It’s a great time to be a female crime writer, but there are challenges for sure. Many readers expect a thriller and noir writer to be male.
Sleuth by Gail Bowen is filled with many valuable pieces of advice, especially about the planning process a writer goes through.
If vampires and the mere mention of blood-play set your heart racing, then BLOOD WILL OUT by Ontario author Jill Downie is the perfect book to take with you for dockside reading.
You can’t go wrong with any of the books in the Flavia de Luce series by Toronto author, Alan Bradley.
Rebus has never been good at sticking to the rules, and Rankin adeptly shows the nuances between saint and sinner in this intelligent and complex novel.
The plot of TIGERS IN RED WEATHER is complex and multi-faceted, filled with twists and turns that slowly reveal character flaws and culminate in an unexpected conclusion.
For all those of you who left the pages of Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series with frostbite on your fingers and a yen for more, let me take you further into the cold, and then further still, deep into the Arctic tundra of M. J. MCGRATH’s Edie Kiglatuk mysteries..
