For those of you who missed my March 15th, 2010  interview on CBC’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, you can find the podcast at:

http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/2010/03/march-1521-2010.html

I’m about three quarters of the way through the podcast, right before my wonderful fellow Saskatchewan mystery writer, Gail Bowen.

Enjoy.

I travelled to Montreal at the invitation of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. I was very happy to have Barbara Fradkin as my partner in crime for an event sponsored by the Crime Writers of Canada .

Author Barbara Fradkin

If you haven’t read one of her books, well, here’s a bit about them from her website:

Her seven detective novels feature the impetuous, quixotic Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, whose passion for justice and love of the hunt often interfere with family, friends and police protocol. Fifth Son and Honour Among Men won back-to-back Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Novel in 2005 and 2007!

With Barbara’s novels based in Ottawa, and mine in Saskatoon, we decided to host a panel on East vs West – not only on how our stories and characters may differ, but also our experiences as wrters from different parts of Canada.

The whole thing was the brain child of another terrific writer, Nancy (NAT) Grant.

Author Nat Grant

NAT Grant’s spy thriller RACE SERIES involves a multi-layered scheme of espionage to be played out over 4 volumes:

Book I ~ Race Without Rules, 2004
Book II ~ Running the Race, 2004
Book III ~ An Inhuman Race, TBA
…and to follow:
Book IV ~ e-Race

Throw into the mix, the darling of Canadian Crime Writing and winner of every award out there over several continents (all richly deserved too), Louise Penny, as our moderator. 

Nancy, Barbara, me, and Louise

Well, we had a terrific panel, well attended, good questions from the audience, and overall good content.

East vs West Showdown panel

It isn't all serious business..

At the end, the announcement of the Arthur Ellis Crime Writers Award shortlist was made. The announcer, another fine writer, Pat Flewwelling, slyly named four of the finalists for Best Novel of the year, then said there was one more: Aloha, Candy Hearts!

Result: One very happy boy.  Truly unexpected. What a treat.

We then headed to the bookstore for a signing, then it was up to the after party – again organized by Nancy (who somehow kept this all float while being stuck in London because of the ash spewing from the Icelandic volcano) – to meet and chat with lots of terrific folks. A great night in Montreal.

It's a yacht if I say so.

But as salt water filled my mouth and threatened my air supply, I cried out to the cosmos: “Oh why! Why! Why had I begun this mad pursuit of the Canadian Crime Writer!  Oh why! Why! Why don’t I just breathe through my nose?”

And then I was fine. I directed my little boat into Bahia de Manzanillo.

Manzanillo

What literary maven of crime had lured me here, you ask? None other than Catherine Astolfo. Thanks to a few well-placed pesos, I was able to find out that the author and her sizeable entourage spend several months a year in this margarita-soaked paradise.

Catherine Astolfo

Oh sure, her Emily Taylor series is about a sleepy little village in Ontario, Canada.  But in her website, Astolfo herself reveals a darker side to her books and, I wondered to myself as I spit out some brine, perhaps the author herself. She says about her work:  “The revelations about guilt, love, and the masks that people wear are completely shocking and unexpected.”

So I wasn’t surprised to discover the author cavorting in the Mexican Riviera where people routinely wear masks as a matter of livelihood.

A local father and son.

Grumpy guy on the street

Wierd Mexican guy in a yellow suit

Receptionist at my hotel

After checking in, I donned my own mask and headed out.

Black is slimming

The dark side of Manzanillo - where anything can happen...

My expert research revealed a surprising secret about Astolfo. She was addicted. To red wine and cashews. This was the Achilles heel that would lead me right to her. I consulted a local expert.

Senor Escobar

Before long my expert’s cashew-red-wine sniffing skills led me to the right place. If there was anyplace in Manzanillo that would be serving nuts and wine, it would be here.

Koh Samui translated from the old Spanish: Cashews and Red Wine for You!

I stepped into the place and checked it out. Lone guy at the counter. No Catherine Astolfo. Yet.

Unsuspecting customer just out for an evening of cashews and wine.

Now, I’m no light weight. And it’s not as if I can’t hold down my cashews. But as night turned to later-that-same-night, and Astolfo had yet to show, I realized I might need to take a break.

Drinking lots of tap water helps keep that nasty morning after hangover at bay.

I went back to the hotel for a bit of …relaxation… then donned a more friendly mask and headed out once again to find my Canadian Crime Writer. 

It's me if I say it is.

As I walked along the street – wherever there were lots of candles burning (so I looked mysterious and 10 years younger) – I flashed copies of the Astolfo books.

The Bridgeman

Victim

Legacy

And alas, where I least expected to find the scribe, I spotted her: the White Wine and Salted Almonds bar! A trickster to the end. I tossed on the last of my masks, sat down opposite her, and kindly requested an interview.

With surprisingly little resistence, Catherine revealed to me

10 Silly Things You Didn’t Know About Canadian Crime Writer Catherine Astolfo

1.      If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, what

would you serve?

I would invite Brad Pitt, along with Angelina and the kids.  I’d serve spaghetti, put a tranquilizer in Angie and the kids’ food, and serve Brad my special dessert.

2.    Who do you think you are?

My first response is “Mr. Big Stuff”, which just shows my age and the music I remember.  I think I’m reincarnated from a poet who lived in Istanbul in the 1800’s.  I’ve always been a little bit male and felt completely at home in Turkey.  Plus I believe I’m a talented writer (it’s a gift that I appreciate daily).  

3.What’s your problem?

I have no real problems.  I am a very lucky woman.  I love the man I am married to; I have talented, incredible children, stepchildren, and grandchildren.  In fact, I love my whole family and they love me and I have a huge cadre of incredible friends.  I had a great career and now a damn good pension.  So I have to make up a problem for myself.  I haven’t got an agent or a commercial publisher.  YET.  But, really, put that into context and you see, I don’t actually have a problem.

4.    The Canadian crime writer. Myth or mystery?

Definite mystery.  Odd, eclectic, all races, creeds and social strata, any age, humorless or funny as hell, all sexual preferences (there are, apparently lots of them), constantly considering horrific, new ways to kill people, fat, skinny, tall, short, bald, hair-to-the-waist, wearing a shirt or not.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  How could anyone figure out who the mystery writer really is?

5.    If you could change one thing about any of your books, what would it be?

Well, I would probably refer back to #3, where my books would be represented by an agent and a commercial publisher and be translated into a dozen languages and be…well, Linwood Barclay books.

6.    When no one is looking, what is your guilty pleasure?

Reading mystery books while eating cashews and drinking red wine.

7.    If you could have one wish, who would you give it up to?

One of my sisters.

8.    When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble?

Kathy Bates in Misery

9.    What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

My boots.

10.  Do you have anything you’d like to plug?

The Emily Taylor Mysteries. She’s an unusual heroine, an elementary school principal in her late forties (now early fifties). There are (as of now) four books. Visit my website! http://catherine.astolfo.googlepages.com

Next up: Monday, May 3 (is it going to be May so soon!) – find out why HRH is vexed with Canadian Crime Writer Maureen Jennings!

On occassion, I update my website with photos that represent people/places/events that inspire me – either in my writing, daily life or appreciation of the world around me, as well as Special Moments captured on film.

The Inspiration album includes

Sailing into an eeriely beautiful cove.

Finding out how a cashew is born while in Costa Rica

Last night, April 15, 2010, we launched the 7th Russell Quant book, Date With a Sheesha, in my (and Russell’s)  home town of Saskatoon. It was a spectacular Arabian Night – complete with belly dancers, Arabian appetizers, rich fabrics, hookahs, brass pots and and a crowd of wonderful, exuberant guests. What a great kick off for a new book.

The latest poll on my website just closed. It asked the question:

What types of mysteries do you prefer to read?

For the first time since I began running these polls about a year ago, one response garnered over 50% of the responses.

51% of the respondents prefer mysteries that are ‘Traditional with a Twist’.

Now, I suppose to be fair, this was a poll on the website of an author (me) who writes books that I have labelled Traditional with a Twist. And actually, unless someone stands up soon, I think I will take credit for coining that term.  But, such an overwhelming preference does point to a trend in the industry. More and more, readers are maybe looking for a little something outside the box.

I think there is room for it all. Sometimes I like nothing better than to sit down with a good cozy mystery, or a traditional whodunit.

As for what exactly is a ’twist’? It may not be what you think. I used to think that the most unique, and therefore intriguing and interesting thing about my detective is that he is gay. Not always true, I found out.  I’ve attended many writers/fan conferences where the questions I get are more along the lines of:

“Yeah, yeah, so he’s gay, but he lives where? What’s that about?”

He live's where???? Right here - Saskatoon - on the Canadian prairies.

So, to that end, to find out which of my ‘twist’ elements rules supreme, my next poll asks the question: What do you most enjoy about Russell Quant? You can make your selection by going to my website at: www.anthonybidulka.com

As for the rest of the responses to the Type of Mystery Preference poll:

Thrillers received 17% of the vote. Cozy and Noir tied at 12%. Then way down at 3% were Traditional and Hard-boiled. Police procedurals received 2%, and Soft-boiled received no votes.

Jeffrey Round

…was researching a new book in the Big Apple.

I was excited. New York City! The shows! The shopping! The world-class dining!

But then I thought again. This was a master of mystery and murder I was dealing with. This wasn’t going to be about sunny Central Park…

NYC

It was going to be:

Gotham!

 This wasn’t going to be about the happy-go-lucky:

Hairspray the Musical

It was going to be more like:

Wicked the Musical

 I wasn’t hunting the smiley, happy Jeffrey Round…

Don't -Worry-Be-Happy-Jeffrey

It was time for the dark and brooding, Twilight-ish Jeffrey:

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

This wasn’t going to be about the shiny, bright, hopefulness of Lady Liberty:

Statue of Liberty

It was going to be about creatures of the night:

The Dark Knight

So I hopped a jet, and rushed willingly toward the darkness…

Not to be outdone, I arrived channelling my own inner prince of darkness…

Let the COUNTing begin!

The challenges were many.

I was waylaid in Times Square…

The ubiquitous yellow New York City taxi cab

AHHHHHHHHHHH Ooooone ubiquitous yellow New York City taxi cab

And ahhhh TWO  ubiquitous yellow New York City taxi cabs…

And ahhh THREE ubiquitous yellow New York City taxi cabs…

And ahhh FOUR ubiquitous yellow New York City taxi cabs…

And…

Well, you get the picture. I stopped at nine-hundred-and-seventy-three and decided on a better idea.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Ooooone Bradford Fairfax Mystery…

The P-Town Murders

 And TWO Bradford Fairfax Mysteries:

Death In Key West

And THREE  Bradley Fairfax Mysteries (coming soon) called Vanished in Vallarta

Yet somehow I could not find even ONE Jeffrey Round. I called on my uncle, who knows NYC like the bat of his hand.

Uncle of Darkness

I said to him, “Uncle of Darkness, where in New York City would a writer named Round go?”

Of course, he had the perfect answer.

The Algonquin Hotel

I remembered now. The Algonquin Round Table was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of “The Vicious Circle,” as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel from 1919 until roughly 1929. At these luncheons they engaged in wisecracks, wordplay and witticisms that, through the newspaper columns of Round Table members, were disseminated across the country.

And it was here, surrounded by his literati cronies and bon vivants, that I found Jeffrey Round…

Jeffrey took the picture

And after some verbal sparring and trading of witticsms, he shared with me

10 Silly Things You Don’t Know About Canadian Crime Writer Jeffrey Round

1. If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, what
would you serve?

WINE
Red: Bertani Amarone 2001, Sicily, Italy
White: Pouilly-Fuisse, Marie Antoinette Vincent 2006, France

APPETIZER
Grilled Alligator with Citrus Sauce, House of Gumbo, New Orleans, LA
Spicy Grilled Prawns, Chez T. Leonard, Cabbagetown, Toronto, ON

SOUP/SALAD
Sopa de Lima, Casa Maya, Merida, Yucatan
Fennel Salad, Grizzly, Kingston, ON

MAIN COURSE
Squid Ink Risotto, La Vedetta, Isola d’Elba, Italy
Fettucini Alfredo with Baby Bay Scallops, Bayside Betsy’s, Provincetown, MA

DESSERT
Key Lime Pie, La Terrazza Del Mar (La Ti Da’s), Key West, FL
Chocolate-Banana Crepes, House of Crepes, Paris, FR
Mousse au chocolat, Cote d’Azur, Paris, FR

DESSERT WINE
Oak Aged Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Peller Estates, Niagara, ON

You are all invited, so long as you’ll help with the dishes afterwards.

2.    Who do you think you are?

A particle of creation vibrating at warp speed and keeping the universe an interesting
place.

3.    What’s your problem?

Time, time…never enough time!  And rude drivers who don’t signal.

4.    The Canadian crime writer. Myth or mystery?

Magpie.

5.    If you could change one thing about any of your books, what would it be?

The cover of my first book.  In fact, I did change it for the second edition.

6.    When no one is looking, what is your guilty pleasure?

Chocolate.  The guilt comes from not sharing.

7.    If you could have one wish, who would you give it up to?

Lady Gaga.

8.    When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble?

Lady Gaga.

9.    What’s the most Canadian thing about you?

I don’t have a flag in my front yard.

10.  Do you have anything you’d like to plug?

Peace on Earth, Goodwill, and Doctors Without Borders.

Please visit http://jeffreyround.com/ to find out more about Jeffrey Round.

And don’t forget to come back on Monday, April 19th to find out every dirty little secret behind the mask of Canadian Crime Writer Catherine Astolfo!