I was enjoying a lazy hazy day of fishing with some friends when I found him.

 

 

Well, not exactly him, but rather my first real clue as to how to track down my next Canadian Crime Writer – Garry Ryan.

 

I knew Garry way before I presented him with the Lambda Literary Award in NYC:

 

Not to say I’m responsible for all his success. It’s true, but I won’t say it. Ever.

Since then, I’d lost touch with Garry. Every time I showed up at his house in Calgary to interview him for “10 Silly Things”, he was never home.

I was sure I saw him behind the curtains, but all efforts to get in failed.

 

But I had him now. Instead of the Northern Pike I was hoping for, my final cast of the day netted me Garry’s secret location.

 

The message in the bottle was a personal invitation to attend the opening night of the new Cirk Do Solay show:  Hummingbird Dance in Las Vegas. Signed by John.

Well, I’m no dummy.  I am a crime writer after all. This was my brilliant deductive thinking:

(a) Garry’s latest release is called A Hummingbird Dance.

 

(b) His detective’s name is JOHN Lane

(c) Another of Garry’s books is called The Lucky Elephant Restaurant – and everyone knows where you go when you feel lucky

(d) Plus, I was itching for some slot play.

It was obvious. Garry was working on the musical version of his latest tome. I was off to Vegas, baby!

 

The Hotel featuring the newest Cirk show was a little off the strip…

 

There weren’t many people around when I approached the showroom. And it was awfully dark in there. But I was welcomed by a…hostess let’s call her

 

I forked over the $3.99 (including a post show buffet) and was instructed to take a seat to await the show.

I won’t frighten you with what happened next. Needless to say, the show’s producers seemed to have veered quite far from the excellent storyline of Garry’s book. 

 

I had to warn him! But how? Where was he?

 

Wait! The first book in Garry’s series was the answer to it all!

 

Sure, Queen’s Park may refer to an area in Calgary. But couldn’t it also refer to the greatest queen of all? Queen of the Nile! And where does the Queen of the Nile live? That’s right - Ceasar’s Palace!

 

And that, folks, is where I learned the power of that famous phrase “What happens in Vegas, won’t stay in Vegas, unless you agree to tell me…

 

10 Silly Things You Didn’t Know About Canadian Crime Writer Garry Ryan“

 

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

 

Chili crab from Kukup in Malaysia. It is, quite simply, ambrosia.
 

2.    Who do you think you are?

 

A guy who wishes he could tell jokes that are actually funny.
 

3.    What’s your problem?

 

Besides the fact that I’m a Canadian who doesn’t much like hockey?
 

4.    The Canadian crime writer. Myth or mystery?

 

Canada has writers? 
 

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

 

All of the crazy typos that I didn’t see until the books came out. Now it’s too late to do anything about them.
 

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

 

Caramel coffee and a chocolate croissant.
 

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

 

The genie. The genie never gets to wish.
 

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

 

The gopher in Caddyshack. Or Alvin, the chipmunk. You think I’m joking? Look at my picture.
 
 

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

 

I once helped dig a hole for an outhouse in the middle of the bush. I know it sounds vaguely obscene, and when you think about it, it is.

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

 

Besides the hole in my wallet?

 

You can learn more about Garry and his books, including the upcoming:

 

 

at his website: http://www.garryryan.ca/index.htm

 

By the way, I did pretty well…

 

 

Next up: I’ll be chasing a few recalcitrant Canadian Crime Writers around South America and Mexico in March, but come Monday, April 5, 2010, join me as I pluck worms out of the Big Apple only to discover 10 Silly Things You Didn’t Know About Canadian Crime Writer Jeffrey Round.