Fantastic Special Guest, Andy Peloquin: All About Fantasy

-->

I'm really happy to host author Andy Peloquin, particularly because, as a mystery/crime writer, I usually host authors in my genre. But it's great to break out of your norm and go for something completely different now and then! Andy's fantasy series is great, so I hope this will serve as a learning blog as well as an introduction to his work (or to the next book in the series for current fans).  

Lament of the Fallen debuted two days ago, so you can pick it up NOW. Right here!

The Ins and Outs of Fantasy by Andy Peloquin

A lot of people don't understand the "fantasy" genre. To many, the idea of fantasy brings to mind elves, dwarves, magic, sorcerers, dragons, and all those other typical fantasy tropes found in books like Lord of the Rings and The Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones TV show).

But the genre of fantasy is actually much broader than that! Most fantasy books don't involve those elements. Instead, they (as Wikipedia describes them) "use magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting."

There is really only one rule for a book to be classified as fantasy: There has to be something fantastical, be it magic, magical/supernatural creatures, or an alternate world.

Let's take a look at some of the different types of fantasy:

-        Urban fantasy takes place in the modern world (usually a city), but with fantastical elements mixed in. Harry Potter is urban fantasy.

-        Epic fantasy or high fantasy takes place on other worlds, ones with little or no connection to Earth. Lord of the Rings is epic fantasy.

-        Portal fantasy involves people traveling from our Earth to an alternate fantastical world. The Chronicles of Narnia could be considered portal fantasy.

-        Dark fantasy involves elements of horror (monsters, demons, serial killers, etc.) in a fantasy world. Elric of Melnibone  is a dark fantasy series.

-        Historical fantasy is historical fiction with fantastical elements mixed in. The Outlander series is historical fantasy.

These are the most common fantasy genres, though there are many more (grimdark, sword and sorcery, heroic, juvenile, paranormal romance, etc.).

The Last Bucelarii series is firmly set in the dark fantasy genre, with elements of the grimdark sub-genre. The series involves demonic creatures and other elements of horror, but it qualifies as grimdark due to the amoral, violent, and gritty nature of the world in which the Hunter and the other characters live.

For those who are used to more "classic" fantasy genres (epic, heroic, sword and sorcery, etc.), delving into the dark world of grimdark/dark fantasy may be a bit difficult. To go from shining heroes and noble intentions to death, violence, treachery, murder, mayhem, and monsters can take adjusting. But as you get into it, you'll find the gritty nature of the books have a lot more in common with real life than you might think. If you're anything like me, you'll be hooked in no time!

 Thanks, Andy! I have a feeling I'll develop yet another obsession. Here's all about and how to get Andy's books (including book one if you haven't read it yet):

 

The Last Bucelarii (Book 2): Lament of the Fallen

-->

A faceless, nameless assassin. A forgotten past.  The Hunter of Voramis--a killer devoid of morals, or something else altogether? (The Last Bucelarii--dark fantasy with a look at the underside of human nature)

The Hunter of Voramis is no more.

Alone with the bloodthirsty voices in his head, fleeing the pain of loss, he has one objective: travel north to find Her, the mystery woman who plagues his dreams and haunts his memories.

When he stumbles upon a bandit attack, something within urges him to help. His actions set him at odds with the warrior priests commanded to hunt down the Bucelarii.

Left for dead, the Hunter must travel to Malandria to recover his stolen birthright. There, he is inexorably drawn into direct conflict with the Order of Midas, the faceless, nameless group of magicians that holds the city in a grip of terror. All while struggling to silence the ever-louder voice in his mind that drives him to kill.

From feared assassin to wretched outcast, the Hunter's journey leads him to truths about his forgotten past and the Abiarazi he has pledged to hunt. His discoveries will shed light on who he really is…what he really is.

Fans of Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, and Brent Weeks will love the Hunter…

Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen-ebook/dp/B01JJ5CKOU

Amazon Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen/dp/1535388668/

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Bucelarii-Book-Lament-Fallen/dp/1535388668/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30973111-lament-of-the-fallen

 

Bio:

Andy Peloquin: Lover of All Things Dark and Mysterious

Contact: http://andypeloquin.com/books/

Special Guest Judy Penz Sheluk, has Skeletons in the Attic!

I'm very pleased to host Judy Penz Sheluk, author and Sister and Crime Writers of Canada colleague.  For everyone, this blog will be a fabulous insight into how an idea grows into a book. For those of you who haven't read Judy's books/short stories, this will also serve as a great introduction.

- Cathy

Judy Penz Sheluk: Skeletons in the Attic 

Leith Hampton placed the will in front of him, smoothing an invisible crease with a well-manicured hand, the nails showing evidence of a vigorous buffing. I wondered what kind of man went in for a mani-pedi—I was surmising on the pedi—and decided it was the kind of man who billed his services out for five hundred dollars an hour.

He cleared his throat and stared at me with those intense blue eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready, Calamity? I know how close you were to your father.”

I flinched at the Calamity. Folks called me Callie or they didn’t call me at all. Only my dad had been allowed to call me Calamity, and even then only when he was seriously annoyed with me, and never in public. It was a deal we’d made back in elementary school. Kids can be cruel enough without the added incentive of a name like Calamity.

As for being ready, I’d been ready for the past ninety-plus minutes. I’d been ready since I first got the call telling me my father had been involved in an unfortunate occupational accident. That’s how the detached voice on the other end of the phone had put it. An unfortunate occupational accident.

I knew at some point I’d have to face the fact that my dad wasn’t coming back, that we’d never again argue over politics or share a laugh while watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Knew that one day I’d sit down and have a good long cry, but right now wasn’t the time, and this certainly wasn’t the place. I’d long ago learned to store my feelings into carefully constructed compartments. I leveled Leith with a dry-eyed stare and nodded.

“I’m ready.”

What would eventually become Skeletons in the Attic started life at the food court in the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. I was sitting with my friends, Larry and Charlotte, having lunch and catching up on life in general. Inevitably, the conversation turned to writing.

Charlotte and I had met at a creative writing workshop a decade ago, and Larry is a retired criminal prosecutor working on his first novel, a legal thriller set in the 1950s. The conversation went something like this:

“I’ve been thinking about starting a new series.”

“Why not write the sequel to The Hanged Man’s Noose?” Larry asked. Larry’s always the practical one.

Because I hadn’t found a publisher yet. Because I couldn’t bear to write a second book when the first one in the series hadn’t sold. Because if I didn’t start writing another book, maybe I never would, and that scared me more than I was willing to admit.

“I thought I’d try something different. Write this book in first person, from the protagonist’s point of view.” [For those of you who haven’t read it, The Hanged Man’s Noose is written in third person with multiple (though primarily two) POVs.]

“Do you have a title yet?” Charlotte, this time.

“No, but I’m thinking of calling my protagonist Calamity Barnstable. Callie for short.”

Charlotte frowned. “I like Calamity and Callie. I don’t think I like Barnstable. Makes me think of a barn and a stable. Maybe Barnes would be better.”

“Maybe,” I said, although I knew it was already too late.

Calamity (Callie) Barnstable had just started living inside my head. She’d be thirty-six, the only child of two only children. Her father had raised her, because her mom had walked out on them thirty years before. She had black-rimmed hazel eyes and a virtually uncontrollable mass of curly brown hair. And she was single, having inherited the Barnstable loser radar when it came to relationships.

I had dated a guy one summer, a triathlete with a fantastic body but not much else to offer. We’d spent more than a few days at that beach while he practiced open water swimming and I admired his form. Unfortunately, I discovered the only thing he was faithful to was training.

“What’s the premise?” Larry asked, interrupting the work-in-progress going on inside my head.

“Her father dies in an at-work accident and leaves Callie everything.” I explain the backstory about her mom leaving.

“Is the father’s death suspicious?” Larry again.

“Hmmm. That’s a good question. I’m not sure yet. The premise is that Callie inherits a house she didn’t know existed, under a very interesting condition.”

“Which is?” Both of them, now. I lean back and smile. I’ve piqued their interest.

“She has to move into the house and find out who murdered her mother.”

“I thought you said her mother left Callie and her father,” Larry said. Did I mention he was a retired prosecuting attorney? Nothing slips by Larry.

“That’s just what Callie’s been told. I still have to flesh out the details.”

“It sounds interesting,” Charlotte said, always the peacemaker. “Where does the story take place?”

“In Marketville. It’s a fictional commuter town about an hour north of Toronto.”

“Marketville, eh?” Larry grinned. “Sounds a lot like Newmarket.”

“Doesn’t it just?”

Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery, The Hanged Man’s Noose was published in July 2015 by Barking Rain Press.

Skeletons in the Attic, the first book in her Marketville Mystery Series, was published by Imajin Books in August 2016. 

Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime, The Whole She-Bang 2, Flash and Bang and Live Free or Tri.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She lives in Alliston, Ontario, with her husband, Mike, and their Golden Retriever, Gibbs. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews other authors and blogs about the writing life.

Skeletons in the Attic will be released on August 21st in trade paperback and Kindle formats. It is now available for pre-order on Kindle for the special introductory price of .99 (regular $4.99) Find it here: http://getbook.at/SkeletonsintheAttic



Connect with Judy here:
http://www.judypenzsheluk.com/
and here:
https://www.facebook.com/JudyPenzSheluk

7 authors, 7 colleagues, 7 freebies, 7 things we love

The 7 authors, in alphabetical order by first name, are: Alison Bruce, Catherine Astolfo, Chris Redding, Kat Flannery, Luke Murphy, Melodie Campbell,  and Susan J. McLeod.

Ali, Cathy, Chris, Kat, Luke, Mel and Sue are all authors at Imajin Books. We are colleagues. At some point or another (e.g. yesterday for Chris), you've met them here on my blog. 7 of us: 6 female and 1 male. Since he has a wife and three daughters, Luke is used to being surrounded by women.

We all happen to have our books on sale right now: the ultimate sale - FREE.  7 freebies.

Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought you might like to read the 7 things we love about being authors.

1. We love our publisher, Imajin Books. Not only is it difficult to acquire a traditional publisher (i.e. one who pays you for your book), but it's also rare for a publisher to take chances on smart, different, rule-changing novels. CEO Cheryl Kaye Tardif is also an author, so she understands the nuances of clever writing, plots that challenge, characters that are unique.

2. We love our readers. They are discerning. They like to be entertained, but they're also looking for great characters whom they can like or dislike, plots that keep them guessing til the end, and settings that transport them.

3. We love our Imajineers. As a group, we are friendly, open, honest, and helpful. We don't compete, we complement. We network for and with one another. We share ideas and skills. We support each other, in good times and in bad.

4. We love marketing together. Selling your product is, for a creative soul, not easy. Banding together to share the work is so much better than going it alone.

5. We love the writing process. Those moments when the characters take over and veer the plot into exciting territory that we didn't know we'd envisioned. Those times when the words absolutely spill onto the page without effort. We soar! It's enough of a thrill to keep us going through the times when we are slogging through every single word.

6. We love our librarians and bookstore owners. They invite us to speak, organize readings, buy our books, and generally introduce us to new readers in the best way of all: face to face.

7. We love our families and friends. They are the foundation that keeps us on our feet. It's not easy loving a writer. Often we disappear for hours at a time. We're in other worlds a lot. We have other people in our thoughts (and they're pretty real to us). Without our families and friends, however, we'd never survive this business of writing, our obsession, our gift, and sometimes, our curse.

The easiest way to find our freebies is to go here and press SHOP NOW:
https://www.facebook.com/7freebooksimajinthat

Yesterday: Chris Redding
Tomorrow: Cathy, Ali and Mel
Monday: Kat and Luke
Tuesday: Sue

How it Feels to Complete a Trilogy by Jesse Giles Christiansen

Jesse is one of those people who has become a friend even though we have never met face to face. But we have shared, discussed, debated, and supported one another through our writing journeys. You'll also see why I love his lyrical, poetic style. If you haven't started Jesse's trilogy, check out Imajin Book's big Christmas sale and get them all (one way or the other: on sale or perhaps as a prize!). www.imajinbooks.com

I am born, I live, and I die.

I am born as a Sea Eagle, beautiful and bold yet shy to face a new, white, blinding world. I live in a universe that my readers and I have created, a place where memories become as real as our own, a destination we can always visit upon a wink like a dear hometown. I die as the loops loop themselves, as the t’s cross and remember, and as the dots above the i’s lighthouse a literary frontier.

I may never write another trilogy again, because my writer’s life became a beautiful prisoner to a manufactured world that has not moved the real world enough. Please don’t misconstrue me, I have the most complete faith in my work, but if I’ve learned anything as an author, it is that the retail reality of books is composed of lines of readers waiting along a blinking thoroughfare of restaurants. And all too often the dining rooms of the most innovative chefs are forlornly deserted simply because the other restaurants had lines and theirs did not.

As authors, perhaps we start at the wrong end. Trilogies, if ever written, should come of great stories chained together, and only when the starry-eyed, dog-eared writer has won a long line of bookish followers, should they come to fruition.

I am a literary chef, standing in front of his restaurant with the few tattered tables populated by wide-eyed diners smiling eagerly at passersby, beckoning to them to leave the lines of the conformists. I am holding a platter up high that hurls the most fantastic, unique fumes at you, cuisine to which I’ve dedicated my entire life to creating. And the sign above my little restaurant reads, TIRED OF THE SAME OLD NOVELS?

Yours in literature,

J.G.C.

Beware of what the tide may bring…

Ethan Hodges is deeply unsettled when thousands of decomposed starfish inexplicably wash up along the shore of Pelican Bay. As the ominous sea epidemic spreads to other marine life, he continues to see a suspicious-looking man loitering on the beach.

To solve the mystery, Ethan seeks help from longtime friend, Sheriff Dansby, and Reagan Langsley, a beautiful marine biologist from Lighthouse Point. Spurred by curiosity and jealousy, Ethan’s estranged wife, Morgan, joins them in the investigation.

When the elusive outsider is finally arrested, an enigmatic relationship develops between Ethan and the man. With cautious prodding, Ethan learns that the fate of the world appears to rest in the hands of the tall stranger named…Mr. DM.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Captain-Shelby-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B017Y41K4Y/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/m88VaeFPmo0

All About Jesse

 

#1 bestselling author in sea adventures, Jesse Giles Christiansen is an American author whose page-turning fiction weaves the real with the surreal, while also speaking to the human condition. He was hailed by New York Times bestselling author, William R. Forstchen, as "leaving readers so tantalized by the story lines, they think the events actually happened—a demonstration of skill surely to launch this author into the big leagues."

Jesse was born in Miami, FL, playing on beaches as a boy, the sky bronzing him forever and the sea turning his heart lyrical. After spending a summer in Alaska before graduating from Florida State University with a degree in literature and philosophy, he wrote his first novel, Journey into the Mystic.

He feels he is haunted by Hemingway's ghost, not just by the poster in his writing studio that stares at him, saying, "What else you got?" but also by having a café called Hemingway's in the small European city where he writes. Finally, Hemingway became his neighbor on Amazon when his novel, Pelican Bay, outsold Old Man and the Sea.

He currently lives in Lüneburg, Germany, with his wife and their precocious White Siamese cat.

To learn more about Jesse, visit him at www.jessegileschristiansen.com.

Blog: www.jgchristiansen.wordpress.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JesseGilesChris

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jesse.gileschristiansen.7

Alison Bruce is Back!

 This is my friend Ali and me. This looks like us too.

Alison Bruce and I met through Crime Writers of Canada a few years ago and immediately became friends. That's the way I remember it, anyway.

Her "Deadly Legacy" character, Kate Garrett, is one of my favourite heroines, kick-ass but down-to-earth realistic female who lives slightly in the future.

Now she's back in Deadly Legacy

The Interview

Me: Tell us what this book is about.
Ali: It’s about 111 pages long… Sorry I couldn’t resist.
(You're so funny, Ali. - Me)
In Deadly Legacy Kate lost her father. Now she’s dealing with the fallout. She’s accepted her first case as a private investigator and is looking for a cat killer. At the office, she has to walk on eggs around her new business partner. In her off-time, she is packing up her father’s apartment where she comes across his last case as a police detective. Life is an emotional mine field and yet, Kate manages to solve her current case and a decade old one in the same neighbourhood.

Me: If you could only use one word to describe this book, what would it be?
Ali: Whodunit.

Me: What do you do for fun?
Ali: Reading and writing are both fun and professional activities. Just for fun? I draw cartoon versions of people… like the one of me and you.
(And I LOVE it! - Me)

Me: How would you describe your writing style?
Ali: Funny but not comedy. Adventurous but not super heroic.  Romantic but not sappy. I aspire to write like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance. They make it look easy, but it’s not.

Me: When you begin to write your books, do you know how it ends or is it decided by the actual process of writing?
Ali: I always know how my books are going to start and end. I almost always end up starting at a different point than I intended and end up somewhere slightly different than I planned.

Me: What is your favorite thing about writing?
Ali: Everything when it flows. Nothing when it doesn’t.

Me: If we were to meet for lunch and talk books, where would we go (money is no object)?
Ali: Let’s do Paris. There is (or was) a lovely trattoria on Boulevard Saint Germain in the Latin Quarter. There’s an English book store in the same block. That way, we have a place to shop afterwards. If the weather is nice, we can sit outside and watch the students and tourists go by.

Me: How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
Ali: My parents read…a lot. My mother had a huge collection of mystery novels. I grew up with Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers and that’s just scratching the surface.
My father, on the other hand, loved westerns and thrillers. So I also read Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, Jack Higgins and Alistair MacLean. He also introduced me to Stephen Leacock Award winners Donald Jack and Farley Mowatt (also to Stephen Leacock for that matter).
I don’t think I appreciated how much these authors influenced me until recently.  But maybe the biggest influence was all the travelling we did when I was young. I devoured books in hotel rooms and nights in our ugly family camper, but I couldn’t read in a moving vehicle. Instead, I made up stories in my head. Sometimes my sister and I would play act them, but mostly I had a head stuffed with plots and characters.

Me: How important do you think villains are to a crime story?
Ali: “Your enemy is never a villain in his own eyes. Keep this in mind; it may offer a way to make him your friend. If not, you can kill him without hate — and quickly.”
Robert Heinlein said that in The Notebooks of Lazarus Long. I try to keep that in mind at all times… not just when I’m writing. I do my best not to write villains, only enemies. That being said, “A hero is only as good as his villain.”

Me: If you could be anyone else in the world (living), who would you be?
Ali: That’s tough. If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t have my kids, my family and friends. That wouldn’t do at all. In another universe, there is an Alison Bruce that didn’t chicken out of submitting her work when she was in her twenties. If other parts of her life worked out close enough for me still to have Kit and Sam as my kids, I’d be her.

DEADLY SEASON
An Imajin Qwickies™ Mystery/Crime Novella  
A Carmedy & Garrett Mini-Mystery #1
By Alison Bruce
Imajin Books
November 2015

Last month Kate Garrett was a Police Detective. Now she’s a Pet P.I.?

Kate recently inherited half her father’s private investigation company and a partner who is as irritating as he is attractive. Kate has been avoiding Jake Carmedy for years, but now her life might depend on him.

Kate and Jake are on the hunt for a serial cat killer who has mysterious connections to her father’s last police case. Kate’s father had been forced to retire when he was shot investigating a domestic disturbance. Is the shooter back for revenge? And is Kate or Jake next?


Available at:
www.amazon.com/Deadly-Season-Carmedy-Garrett-Mini-Mystery-book/dp/B017AFRN02
store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/deadly-season
play.google.com/store/books/details/Alison_Bruce_Deadly_Season?id=SzvSCgAAQBAJ
www.smashwords.com/books/view/588711

Alison Bruce has had many careers and writing has always been one of them. Copywriter, editor and graphic designer since 1992, Alison has also been a comic store manager, small press publisher, webmaster and arithmetically challenged bookkeeper. She is the author of mystery, romantic suspense and historical western romance novels. Three of her novels have been finalists for genre awards.



http://www.alisonbruce.ca 
(author and business website)
https://www.facebook.com/alisonbruce.books 
(author page)
http://alisonebruce.blogspot.ca 
(author blog)
https://twitter.com/alisonebruce 

On Fire! Kristina Stanley on Researching Arson

Thank you, Catherine, for hosting me.

Are you kidding? Thank you for being here! I am always happy to host a hot writer.

Pardon?

I mean, a writer who's hot. You know, popular.

Oh. Okay.

Also, it was a little play on words...you know, your research on fire...hot...right?

Oh, I see. You're funny.

Is that funny ha ha or funny strange...?

Kristina actually only said that first sentence. The rest I made up. Surprise! Seriously, I am THRILLED to have Kristina Stanley do a return post on research for her second novel. The scenarios are so different, from snow and cold to fire and heat. Her first novel was terrific! I'm looking forward to reading the second.

She also gives a little teaser for her third novel and by the sounds of it, we'll all want to hear about THAT research too!

 Now, here's the real Kristina Stanley.

 

Every novel has a unique subject, giving an author an opportunity to research and learn about something new. I write the Stone Mountain Mystery series that takes place in the remote mountains of British Columbia.

For DESCENT (1^st in the series), the majority of my research focused on ski racing and ski tuning. For BLAZE (2^nd in the series), arson is the crime, so fire fighting was the research topic.

The idea for BLAZE came to me while I was the director of security at a ski resort. Late one night, my phone rang. A set of condos was on fire. My role for the night was to manage the scene surrounding the fire. This included calling for ambulance and RCMP backup, finding rooms for guests who had been displaced, arranging crowd control, and ensuring the firefighters had food and water during the night. The firefighters did all the hard work and saved many condos from burning to the ground.

By morning, I had an idea for a story and had just been given first hand research.

By being on the site of a major fire, my senses and thoughts were filled with:

-       Smell and sounds. Alarms, floors crashing, commands being shouted, burning debris…

-       Water, water everywhere. This is where I learned how much water damage occurs while trying to put out a fire.

-       Fear of people being hurt. I knew many of the firefighters personally, and watching them inside a burning building is stressful.

-       Worry about pets. Luckily no pets were hurt.

-       Desperation of a person whose home is burning.  Standing beside some who is losing their home fills one with a variety of emotions.

These senses and emotions were incorporated into BLAZE. The trick was to turn the experience into a story. With my imagination triggered, I decided arson was the crime, Kalin Thompson was the suspected victim, and I needed to add a forest fire to heighten the danger.

The next step in the research process was to interview firefighters.

-       This was more valuable than reading about events. A firefighter can tell you what they would wear for different fires. I learned about gear for a forest fire versus a structural fire, what a man-down alarm sounds like, and what a firefighter would think and feel while working in a burning building.

After the interviews, I expanded my knowledge with online research.

-       I read news about fires.

-       I watched videos – there is always a video. A little aside about researching for my novel AVALANCHE, if you want to scare yourself google “what does it feel like to be caught in an avalanche," watch one of the go pro videos of a person being buried. I did this and had to go for a walk just to calm down. Now that’s exciting research.

The final step in my research process was to have a firefighter read the fire scenes for accuracy and believability. My thought was if a firefighter believed the scene, then others would too.

Research can be an exciting part of the novel-writing adventure. Just be sure you don’t get so involved in the research that you forget to write.

My Facebook launch party for BLAZE (https://www.facebook.com/events/1630121803934943/) is this coming Sunday, October 25th from 4 to 6 PM EST. I would love to see you there.

For added Facebook excitement, Catherine will be giving away a copy of LEGACY at the BLAZE Facebook launch party. If you’re not familiar with a launch party, drop on by and chat with authors, maybe win a book, and socialize online. I’ve met some fun online friends this way.

Kristina’s Bio

Kristina Stanley is the author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her books have garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated DESCENT for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers’ Association nominated BLAZE for the Debut Dagger. She is published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

Before writing her series, Kristina was the director of security, human resources and guest services at a resort in the depths of the British Columbian mountains. The job and lifestyle captured her heart, and she decided to write mysteries about life in an isolated resort. While writing the first four novels, she spent five years living aboard a sailboat in the US and the Bahamas.

Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

When the fire is declared as arson, finding the firebug responsible becomes Kalin’s personal mission. In the course of her investigation as Director of Security, she discovers that some people will go to extreme measures to keep her from exposing their secrets.

I love to connect with people online. I can be found at: www.KristinaStanley.com

Follow me on twitter, let me know you read this blog and I’ll follow you back. @StanleyKMS

Or comment on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KristinaStanley.Author

If you're looking for something to read and you haven’t read DESCENT yet, now is your chance before BLAZE comes out. Find it at:  http://mybook.to/Descent

And if you have read DESCENT, I’d be very excited if you pre-ordered BLAZE http://myBook.to/BLAZEbyKristinaStanley

Guest Post from Debra Purdy Kong: RESEARCH, WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH

I met Debra Purdy Kong through Crime Writers of Canada.
Staying in touch through Facebook and other crime-related
events (no jail time involved) has allowed me to get to know her 
and appreciate not only her talent but her determination. She's
one of those people who supports her colleagues and gives
thoughtful, intelligent feedback and inspiration. Here's her
insightful look at research.

For crime fiction writers, finding ideas is easy. All we have to do is turn to news sources. Research, however, is another matter, but these five strategies really help:

leg work
firsthand experience
networking
expert interviews and consultants
internet research

For me, leg work is important. When I incorporate foreign settings, I choose places I’ve been to and find something specific about them to weave into a story. In my first Casey Holland mystery, The Opposite of Dark, one of the chapters is set in Amsterdam. I mention the pricey McDonald's hamburgers and the ubiquitous dirt particles that swirled over Casey’s hair and face whenever the wind blew. These memories have stayed with me over the years.

Firsthand experience is the most time-consuming type of research, yet it's become invaluable. Employment in security added authenticity for the Holland series and my recently released Evan Dunstan novella, Dead Man Floating. I didn't set out to incorporate day jobs into short stories and novels. It just worked out that way. The security field had interested me, so I answered an ad in the paper and wound up training as a campus guard, dispatcher, and later a supervisor.

Networking in person and online is another great resource. Discussions about my work have put me in touch with IT and forensics experts, for instance. Twitter helped me connect with a bus driver who is now my consultant on a current Casey Holland mystery.

Many times, you don’t even need a referral to find an expert. Universities, organizations, and libraries have links to databases listing all sorts of people willing to answer questions. One question often leads to another and soon you're gathering knowledge to about things you hadn't known to ask. Once you’ve identified an expert, a short, polite email query often gets the ball rolling.

It might seem strange, but Google research is the resource I've used least so far. It’s probably because I've had the benefit of working in the same field as my protagonists and set most of my stories locally. But I hope to expand my horizons. I’m mulling over new work in a different genre and research needs will definitely expand. I can't wait to see where the search will take me.

Link to Dead Man Floating: http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Floating-Evan-Dunstan-Mystery-ebook/dp/B014K0UY1A

EXCERPT FROM DEAD MAN FLOATING:

Propping the kickstand, Evan removed the small flashlight attached to his belt then stepped nearer the water. Oh shit! It was a hand! A freakin’ hand! And legs! He moved the flashlight up the body until he spotted the grey fringe circling a bald head that glowed like a moon. Evan shivered. Was the guy alive? He wouldn’t have to perform CPR, would he? That first-aid course last year didn’t go so well after he broke that manikin.





 DEBRA’S BIO:

Author of six full-length mysteries and over fifty short stories, Debra has won numerous awards for her work. She conducts workshops, is an administrative assistant at Simon Fraser University, and also works as a substitute facilitator for the creative writing program with Port Moody Parks & Recreation.

More information about Debra’s books and her blog can be found at www.debrapurdykong.com
Also visit her FB Author Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mystery-Author-Debra-Purdy-Kong/139005706175139
Or find her on Twitter @DebraPurdyKong

Guest Post: Andy Peloquin - Why Research Matters for Fiction

My guest today is Andy Peloquin's novel, The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer, debuted on August 21. Before you read his article on research, he suggests you should know 10 things about him.

10 Things You Need to Know About Andy Peloquin:

1. Hot wings, ALWAYS!
2. I never forget a face, but rarely remember a name.
3. I'm a head taller than the average person (I'm 6' 6")
4. Marvel > DC
5. I was born in Japan, and lived there until the age of 14.
6. Selena Gomez and Five Finger Death Punch are both in my playlist.
7. Aliens are real, but it's self-centered of us to believe that they would come to visit Earth.
8. Watching sports: suck. Playing sports: EPIC!
9. I earned a purple belt in Karate/Hapkido/Taekwondo.
10. I dislike most Christmas music, aside from Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Why Research Matters for Fiction by Andy Peloquin

When you read a blog post, a news article, or a piece of content on a website, you expect that it has been thoroughly researched, its facts checked, and the sources verified. For fiction, however, that is not always the case.

How many works of fiction have you read? Did you know that 36.7% of them have not been thoroughly researched? Did you know that I made that last statistic up? No you didn’t, because you didn't check your facts!

A lot of fiction writers believe that doing research isn't important for their work. This is not usually the case with works of fiction set in historical times (history buffs can be pretty harsh critics!). I have noticed that a lot of mystery and thriller writers will do one of two things:

• Get VERY specific with certain details (street names, landmarks, etc.)
• Leave details specifically vague

Both of these things are an overcompensation for their lack of research into the cities or towns where their novels are set.

The main weakness, however, is often in fantasy and science fiction novels!

For science fiction, it's a bit beyond reason to expect that every writer has a degree in physics or chemistry. Sometimes, a simple explanation of "futuristic" technology (such as light sabers) is the simplest way to go. However, with the increasing tech-savviness of the modern reader, the "oversimplified" science may no longer fly.

I have found that fantasy writers tend to have the hardest time keeping their works accurate or realistic. For example, I just read a novel where a prolonged battle (for a month or two) took no serious toll on the castle defending itself. The attacking force didn't use any sort of siege equipment, either. At a number of times, there were "heroes" and "villains" having their fights in the middle of the battles, when everyone around them simply stopped and watched? And what's worse, the heroes became experts with their swords and got "perfect" bodies in just a few months. Doesn't seem realistic, right?

This shows a lack of understanding of proper battle tactics, how high the casualties can be, and how battle actually happens. Don't get me started on a familiarization with the fatigue of constant battle, the amount of time it takes to master a weapon or reach peak physical fitness.

How many stories have you read where a city has no proper sewage disposal/drainage system? How many had a realistic structure of governance? You'll find that fantasy writers are sometimes (not always, but a lot more often than you might think) the laziest when it comes to research.

Yes, it's hard to research a world that you have created. After all, there are no history books for your fictitious world, so there's nowhere to check how your civilization has evolved over time. That's no excuse for not doing at least some research into how life really was in the Roman Era/Dark Ages/Middle Ages/Renaissance/whatever period your novel is set. That research helps to make the novel as realistic as possible.

There will be a lot of readers who enjoy the book for its own sake, but you will always encounter readers who put down your book because it just isn't realistic. Why would you be okay with losing a reader? All it takes is a few minutes/hours of research, and you could keep those readers hooked on your book!

For all authors, research is HIGHLY important, but more so for fantasy authors. You're already giving readers an "unrealistic" enough world in which to spend their time--you have to make it as realistic and accurate as possible!

The Last Bucelarii (Book 1): Blade of the Destroyer

The Hunter of Voramis is the perfect assassin: ruthless, unrelenting, immortal. Yet he is haunted by lost memories, bonded to a cursed dagger that feeds him power yet denies him peace of mind. Within him rages an unquenchable need for blood and death.

When he accepts a contract to avenge the stolen innocence of a girl, the Hunter becomes the prey. The death of a seemingly random target sends him hurtling toward destruction, yet could his path also lead to the truth of his buried past?

Go here to get Andy's book:

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Destroyer-Last-Bucelarii-Book-ebook/dp/B012EI9M4A/

Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Destroyer-Last-Bucelarii-Book/dp/1515038955/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25269614-blade-of-the-destroyer

Where to Find Andy Peloquin: Lover of All Things Dark and Mysterious

Andy Peloquin--a third culture kid to the core--has loved to read since before he could remember. Sherlock Holmes, the Phantom of the Opera, and Father Brown are just a few of the books that ensnared his imagination as a child.

When he discovered science fiction and fantasy through the pages of writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs, J.R.R Tolkien, and Orson Scott Card, he was immediately hooked and hasn't looked back since.  

Andy's first attempt at writing produced In the Days: A Tale of the Forgotten Continent. He has learned from the mistakes he made and used the experience to produce  Blade of the Destroyer, a book of which he is very proud. 

Reading—and now writing—is his favorite escape, and it provides him an outlet for his innate creativity. He is an artist; words are his palette.

His website (http://www.andypeloquin.com) is a second home for him, a place where he can post his thoughts and feelings--along with reviews of books he finds laying around the internet.  

He can also be found on his social media pages, such as: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndyPeloquin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andyqpeloquin

www.linkedin.com/in/andypeloquin/

https://plus.google.com/100885994638914122147/about 

https://www.amazon.com/author/andypeloquin  

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.peloquin.1

Research: Guest Author Jill Downie on The Joys of Research

I am absolutely delighted to host author Jill Downie as she talks about the joys of research. Her Moretti and Falla detective series are enormously popular and have received a great deal of critical acclaim. You should check her out at http://www.jilldownie.com (I know you'll do that anyway once you read this post). On top of everything, Jill is a wonderful person.

The Joys of Research

Is there a writer anywhere who doesn’t like research?  Maybe, but I have yet to meet one.  Writers are like the elephant’s child in Kipling’s Just-So stories, curious by nature, and that can get them into some interesting, scary, unforgettable places in the real world and in that other real world: their imagination.

                  I have written both fiction and non-fiction in my life as a published writer, and there are more similarities than differences between researching the two.  Both are about when, what, where, why and how – and, being there.   

Except, if you are writing historical fiction, as I once did, being there only happens in the imagination.  But you still have to get it right, or you’ll get a letter or an email to point out the error of your ways.

                  Apart from my mysteries, the only contemporary fiction I have written is the short story, the first form of writing I ever had published.  The setting was the first community I lived in when I came to Canada, and I discovered afterwards there had been a mad rush to identify actual people in my characters.  Hey, everyone, it wasn’t a short-story-à-clef, I protested.  But no one believed me.

So, when I choose a name for the murderer, I tread carefully.  Which brings me back to research.

Get this book in one click.

I made a really smart move when I chose the Channel Island of Guernsey, where I once lived, as the setting for my Moretti and Falla mysteries, because it took me back to a beautiful and unique part of the world.  The first visit was after a number of years, much had changed, and I spent the time reacquainting myself with the place.  In spite of those changes, which incIuded the island’s transformation into a wealthy offshore tax haven, the scenery was still dazzling, the old island families with their unique names – Falla, Bisson, Le Cocq, de Sausmarez and so on – were still very much part of the landscape.  So, no wicked islanders – well, not identifiable ones, anyway. 

Order here!

 John Nettles, former star of Midsomer Murders, who lived on Jersey while making the detective series, Bergerac, has found himself persona non grata after writing a well—researched account of the wartime occupation of the Channel IsIands.  Some secrets are best left secret, some bodies best left buried.  Or, at least, unrecognizable.

I always go on research trips with a game plan, so it doesn’t just turn into a vacation, but I remind myself to keep an open mind, and to be prepared for the unexpected to turn up.  It so often does.  Plots and plot twists, characters walking around corners into your life, unplanned encounters that take you into a whole new perspective are among the joys of research.  I got the basic idea for the fourth Moretti and Falla while researching Blood Will Out, the third in the series.

Order right here.

I used to love spending time in libraries and archives when on the hunt for a book.  With the internet, my research life has been simplified, and maybe I regret that.  But only a little. 

I have been to the Yukon in search of a nineteenth-century journalist, served coffee and port by a white-gloved valet while interviewing a duke, and these were unexpected bonuses in my writing life.  Best to be open to the unexpected, I have found. 

So when my daughter asked, “Mom, have you ever thought of a story set in Las Vegas?  I’m going on a business trip, why don’t you come?” 

“Yes,” I said.

Being there.  Nothing like it.     

Everything Jill Downie can be found right here: https://www.dundurn.com/authors/jill-downie