In December we had a dinner meeting at the Britannia Yacht Club in Ottawa. Our guest speaker, RCMP Superintendent (retired) Steven Foster, gave us an exciting behind the scenes look into several fraud cases that he worked.

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday! See you in January where our meetings will return to Zoom.

My long and winding road on the way to a life of Crime (writing) by Maureen Jennings – Wednesday November 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EDT)

It has seemed like a long road, and it certainly has taken lots of turns.  Along the way, I’ve learned lots of things I can share. – how to get lucky; how to find workable ideas for stories; how the TV show Murdoch Mysteries came about; how to stay writing fresh, (reasonably).

Maureen Jennings was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a teenager, eventually settling in Toronto. She acquired a B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Assumption University in Windsor. Wandered around in career confusion, taught high school; got an M.A. from U. of T. more teaching at college level then trained as a psychotherapist and practiced for many years until finally settling into a career as a writer in the crime genre. Eighteen novels three plays, fourteen scripts for television later, she feels lucky to have finally landed.  She lives in Toronto with her husband, photographer, Iden Ford, and their dog, a labradoodle named Murdoch.

EUROPEAN INFLUENCES: How Living Abroad Affected My Thriller Writing by William Burton McCormick – Wednesday October 9, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EDT)

William Burton McCormick is an Edgar Award-nominated writer whose short fiction regularly appears in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post and elsewhere. Twenty-four of his best stories are included in his new collection Deeds of Darkness from Level Best Books. 

William is a graduate of Brown University, earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester and was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in Scotland.  He is the author of the acclaimed thrillers House of Tigers, A Stranger from the Storm and KGB Banker. His historical novel of the Baltic Republics, Lenin’s Harem, was the first work of fiction added to the permanent library at the Latvian War Museum in Rīga. A native of Nevada, William lived nearly twenty years in Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Russia for writing purposes.

William will be talking about his experiences living in Eastern European countries and how his time there influenced his use of setting and served as research and inspiration for fiction of all lengths and in many genres.

My Journey of artistic reinvention – from actor to librarian to writer by Robert Bockstael – Wednesday May 8, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EDT).

I’ll be talking about my first several decades as an actor – from theatre to film and television – and the forces that compelled me to change my career a year before my 50th birthday. I’ll touch on how and why I then returned to school to pursue Library Studies which ultimately led to me managing my own branch library in the Near North. Then, several years later, how I answered the siren call, enticing me to embark on a novel while, at the same time, rediscovering my roots in the live theatre after twenty years away. And, if time allows, I may mention how I became an acting instructor and that I am now in the midst of transitioning into another series of artistic endeavours while writing my next two books.

Robert Bockstael has written for theater, television, and film, and his short fiction appears in literary magazines across North America. Willow’s Run is his debut novel. His next book, She Carried the Sea, is set in Nova Scotia, Canada.

An award-winning actor with a forty-year career, Robert Bockstael has played lead roles in a multitude of television series and films, as well as being a prolific cartoon voice actor, narrator, and stage actor. He is a teacher and a sought after private acting coach and has worked as a librarian in a small, rural library. Bockstael lives in Ottawa, Canada. Please visit his website at robertbockstael.com and find his Author Page on Facebook and Instagram. His list of film and television credits can be found on IMDb.

Writing What You Know: From the World of Diplomats to the World of Fiction by Randolf Harrold – Wednesday April 10, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EDT)

Randolf Harrold will be talking about his motivation and experience in writing two international thrillers, “Vice-Consul Panama” on the early growth of the drug trade in Noriega’s Panama, and the second, “Consul Rome” on post war democratic communism in Italy, the Iranian Revolution and the subsequent “Canadian Caper” to rescue American Embassy hostages.

Randolf Harrold has been a diplomat, serving in Latin America and Europe, a counter-intelligence professional, and a development assistance teacher in East Africa. With education in International Economics and Law, he has also been a senior bureaucrat in the Federal and Provincial governments and in later years developed new technology companies in the private sector.

He is now turning stories from his adventurous life into international thrillers.  Consul Rome is the second installment of his Cold War Trilogy, as entertainment reflecting lessons learned. He lives in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, and frequently spends time with family in Vancouver and in London, and often travels to Italy. His two exceptional daughters have blessed him and his spouse Diane with four wonderful grandchildren.

Getting published is just the beginning: the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a first-time novelist by Don Butler – Wednesday March 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EST).

My talk will focus on the path to publication at age 70 of my début novel, A Life of Bliss, and what I’ve done to get people to actually read it. I’ll talk about the genesis of my novel, what was involved in writing it and what I’ve learned since the book came out. I’ll also talk about my sequel to A Life of Bliss, which comes out in May. While not a traditional crime novel, it does revolve around a cold-case murder and the efforts of my main character, retired journalist Norman Pugsley, to figure out who was responsible.

Don Butler worked as a journalist for more than four decades at the Ottawa Citizen. During his time at the newspaper, he covered politics at all levels, wrote editorials and held several positions in newsroom management, including executive editor. In 2004, he wrote a ground-breaking series on restorative justice that was nominated for Justice Canada’s prestigious Justicia Award. His first novel, A Life of Bliss, was released in 2021 by Ottawa Press and Publishing. He lives in Ottawa, is married to fellow journalist Christina Spencer and has two grown children, Sean Butler and Meagan Zucco. Norman’s Conquest, the sequel to A Life of Bliss, will be released in May, 2024.

From the Big Five to Creating an Imprint by Peggy Blair – Wednesday February 14, 2024 at 7 pm (EST)

Peggy will discuss her reverse trajectory from being published by the Big Five and internationally to creating an imprint and self-publishing her fifth book. She’ll also talk about creating a couple of Indie Awards for self-published authors and for jacket cover art because of the gaps in the current system.

Peggy Blair is a retired lawyer, a Realtor, renovator, author and Level 5 boxer. She is probably best known for her #DearestMartha tweets during the Freedom Convoy. She lives in the country with a TV watching dog and a friendly cat.

12 Easy Steps to Writing a Cozy Mystery by Lois Winston—Wednesday January 10, 2024 at 7 pm (EST).

USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.

Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor. Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes twelve novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries, currently at two novels, and one book so far in her Mom Squad Capers series.

To date Lois has published twenty-one novels, five novellas, several short stories, one children’s chapter book, and one nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency. To learn more about Lois and her books, visit her at www.loiswinston.com where you can sign up for her newsletter and follow her at various social media sites.