Category Archives: Uncategorized

September meeting

Meetings, Uncategorized

My Mysterious World: Sherlock Holmes and a Plotter’s Approach to
Writing Mystery Fiction by Dan Andriacco – Wednesday September 11, 2024 at 7:00 pm (EDT)

Mystery writers can be divided into plotters (who plan) and pantsers (who write by the seat of their pants). Dan will discuss his approach to writing as a plotter, and how it was inspired by his fascination with Sherlock Holmes.

Dan Andriacco is the author of 21 published mystery novels. His primary series, featuring amateur sleuth Sebastian McCabe and brother-in-law Jeff Cody, is set in a small college town in southern Ohio. The latest in that series is The Woman in Red (The Magician’s Trunk will be published in the Autumn). An earlier one, Queen City Corpse, involves murder at a mystery conference in Cincinnati. Dan has also been a mystery reviewer and taught non-credit classes in mystery fiction. Well known among Sherlock Holmes devotees, he is a member Baker Street Irregulars and editor of The Baker Street Journal. Dan lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Ann.

Short Story Contest

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Do you keep getting in trouble because of your insatiable need to make
up stories? Use your talents for good instead of evil and write those
stories down. Then enter them in our short story contest. Open to all
members of CCW and everyone living in Ottawa and the National Capital
Region. Deadline is April 2, 2024. Click here for more details.

Sad news – Jim Napier

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It is with great sadness that we share the news that long time member of Capital Crime Writers, Jim Napier, passed away on December 23. He was the author of the Colin McDermott series, and a crime fiction reviewer. A talented writer and a dedicated friend to many.

If you would like to leave a message for the family or share some of your memories of Jim, please visit the Elkas Funeral Home site.

Finalists for the 2021 Audrey Jessup Short Story Contest

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Congratulations to the top 5 finalists in the 2020/2021 Audrey Jessup story contest.

Listed in random order are;

  • “Property Values” by Megan Taylor
  • “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Morgue” by Nancy Pawelek
  • “The Price of a Desk” by Jennifer Jorgensen
  • “Passing Judgment” by Jason Boudreau
  • “Final Jeopardy” by Wynn Quon

Join us on Zoom on June 9th, as we announce the winners. This is the last meeting before we break for the summer and what better way to end the year than with readings from our finalists and the chance to socialize with each other. Don’t forget to bring a glass of wine, or cup of tea to toast our authors. The Zoom link will be sent to the contest entrants and to all members of CCW.  Anyone who would like to join us and cheer on the finalists; please contact: treasurer@capitalcrimewriters.com for the Zoom link.

May Meeting

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Juggling Writing Three Books A Year: Edith Maxwell – May 12 at 7:00 pm

Edith Maxwell is under contract for three books a year in three different series. She’ll talk about how she juggles her writing obligations, which also include one or two short stories a year, with all the other business of being an author –  oh, and with having a personal life, too. And she has a particular fondness for Ottawa, as her sister is a long-time resident of city.

Agatha Award-winning author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she pens the Country Store Mysteries and Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. A past president of SinC New England, she’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Maxwell lives with her beau and energetic kitten north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. Find her (and Maddie) at EdithMaxwell.com, wickedauthors.com, Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and on social media.

January Meeting

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Great Beginnings: Hank Phillippi Ryan – January 13 at 7:00 pm.

You know the great opening lines: Ishmael, Manderley, the last camel. Why do those work? And how can you create one for your own novel?  And then–what about that crucial first paragraph? And a first page that will entice editors and enchant readers? How can you set the proper expectations for the story to come—and make every word work?  

This workshop, led by award-winning thriller writer Hank Phillippi Ryan, will dissect and analyze acclaimed first lines and opening paragraphs, and reveal the writing secrets these brilliant examples offer. If you are brave enough–please bring your own first line! 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is the USA Today bestselling author of 12 thrillers, winning five Agathas and the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and 37 EMMYs for TV investigative reporting. THE MURDER LIST (2019) won the Anthony Award for Best Novel, and is an Agatha, Macavity and Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee. Her newest psychological standalone is THE FIRST TO LIE. The Publishers Weekly starred review says “Stellar. Ryan could win her sixth Agatha with this one.”

More information can be found at her website.

December Meeting

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My road to publication: Katie Tallo – December 9 at 7:00 pm

Ottawa author Katie Tallo’s debut novel, Dark August, was published in June 2020 by Harper Collins.  Glowing reviews of the book have appeared in the New York Times, the Toronto Star, and on CBC Radio among others. CrimeReads, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly have recommended it highly.  Amazon labels it an “international bestseller.”

Tallo already had an established career as a screenwriter, but getting published as a novelist was a different challenge. She’ll be describing the hurdles she faced along the road, and how she overcame them.

There will be a draw for a free autographed copy of her book which will be open to all members attending the meeting.

You can find out more information about Katie at her website: https://katietallo.com

Renaming of the Arthur Ellis Award

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Crime Writers of Canada’s prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Writing has been renamed the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence.

The annual award for the crime writing genre includes, crime, detective, espionage, mystery, suspense and thriller as well as true-crime literary works. The award was originally named for the nom de travail of Canada’s hangman, Arthur Ellis; the award was a wooden statuette of a hanged man. But, it was time to update the award, especially in light of the changes in the world, and the award has been renamed – Crime Writers of Canada’s Award of Excellence.

For more information, visit https://crimewriterscanada.com/

October Meeting

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Our next meeting, “Poisons as Murder Weapons” will be on October 14, 2020 at 7:00 pm.

Dwayne Clayden combines his knowledge and experience as a police officer and paramedic to write crime thrillers. He is the best-selling author of the Brad Coulter Series. The 5th book in the series will be released in 2021. His new series, Speargrass-Opiod is available for pre-order from Kindle.

He is a popular speaker at conferences and to writing groups presenting on realistic police, medical and paramedic procedures. And we’re honoured to have him. Check out his website.

Dwayne’s books are available from: Kobo and Amazon. 

As a reminder, due to COVID-19 and the need to maintain physical distancing, CCW will not be having in-person meetings until further notice. Instead we will be going on-line. Members will be emailed the Zoom link to join the meeting each month. If you’d like to check us out before joining, you can attend one meeting for free. Please email treasurer@capitalcrimewriters.com for the link.

CCW’s New Executive

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The September 9th meeting began with the election of our executive.

President – Elizabeth Hosang
Programming – Lis Angus (assistant)
Communications – Linda Standing
Webmaster – David Koren and Elizabeth Hosang
Treasurer – Madona Skaff
Short Story Contest – Madona Skaff and Jim Napier