A Sisters in Crime(Toronto Chapter) Publication

A Well-Rounded NightBy Janet CostelloThe 2012 potluck was wonderful in lots of ways. Wewere delighted to have Ann Mummenhoff, who hasalways graciously arranged the use of her condo partyroom, join us for the evening. Her smile and easy mannerset the tone for the evening.

The weather, usually one to play tricks on us, was well-behaved, and everyone had a turn about the deck enjoyingthe breeze and the scenery: a swath of willows, against asoundtrack of falling water. Jude spent a lot of timeenjoying this. He and Sophia even got close enough to thepond to confirm that there were fish in it.

Many arrived early to help set up. This also meant foodwas available for those of us ready to nibble. A vegetabletray was quickly visited. Table cloths sprinkled withglittering butterflies added a dash of glamour.

Wine, Perrier, and juice gently flowed throughout theevening.

We were a smallish group, completed with the arrival ofRenate, which made…Thirteen at Dinner. Nancy pointed out that Agatha Christie would have approved.

The tables were placed close together, and we dinedensemble in close comfort.

The buffet had lots to offer: Santa Fe Chicken (almost atradition from Helen Nelson), a tuna casserole fromPenny, two salads, cheese, sliced meat, a shrimp ring

from Sean, chips, and bread. Desserts included cookies,brownies, and Helen’s traditional (no question about that) Killer Chocolate cake, with Purdy’s mint wafers on top.

Conversation included the usual catching up, good books,and the recipes for what we were eating. Somereminiscing about the visit to the police dogs. Then moreserious subjects such as the recent burst of publicshootings. Christine shared her upcoming movie

Sisters in CrimeUpcoming Programs

Thurs., Aug. 16th, 7:00 Rebel’s Rock Pub, 537 King St. E., Hamilton 905-777-1771 Katie Chapman, formerToronto police officer

Wed., Sept. 12th, a visit to the TorontoPolice Dog Training FacilityDetails TBA (NOTE: Change of day)

Thurs., Oct 18, 7:00 p.m., TorontoLibrary, Northern District Branch, 40Orchard View Blvd., TorontoCelebrate our chapter’s 20th anniversarywit the launch of our anthology TheWhole She-Bang

August 2012

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marketing opportunities. But we all took part in some funwhen Rayna brought up Tom Cruise (see photo) beingcast as Reacher from the Lee Child novels. The movieJack Reacher will be out in December. Aside from theoh-so-obvious wrong height and hair colour that Cruisebrings to the film, he’s driving a muscle car! Rayna thenasked everyone who, alive or dead, we would cast in therole. I went for William Holden (Sabrina, Bridge on theRiver Kwai), Jo-Ann thought John Travolta was a betterfit, Clive Owen’s name came up.

This was such a fun question that I was still mulling itover on my way home. And I came up with the perfectguy. Mark Valley (Human Target, Boston Legal) andheck he’s been in the military. (See photo.)Okay, now back to the potluck….

With bellies protruding just a little, we began packing up.Sophia and I each pocketed a collection of the butterflies.Our evening ended before nine, with lots of hugs andsome plans to see each other again, even before our nextmeeting. It was certainly a well-rounded evening.

A Bloody BusinessBy D. J. McIntoshIn the years before The Witch of Babylon took its place onbookshelves I attended lots of workshops and seminars ongetting published and had many conversations withveteran writers about the subject. Suffice it to say, myattention and that of many of my pre-published colleagueswas focused on an end goal, seeing one’s book in print (digitally or otherwise). Testimony to the singlemindedness of this pursuit can be found in the reams ofblogs and advice pieces written on the subject. But whathappens after you succeed in getting a contract?

Having the great good fortune to find publishers–Penguin in Canada and Forge in the U.S. - along with anumber of terrific international houses, I found I knewvery little about what transpires once a publishing housebuys your book. It’s been a year since The Witch came out

in Canada and I’ve learned a bit on the way. So here are some of the highlights about getting a book to marketbased on one fledgling novelist’s experience.

First of all it takes time. Almost two years elapsedbetween the acceptance of my manuscript and its firstpublication. Your editor is the book’s best friend and s/he will not only spend time whipping your words into shapebut remain chief advocate for your novel along itsjourney. A book goes through a first edit–identifying themajor issues that need to be revised and then a line edit–getting the actual writing style polished to perfection.

On then, to the copy editor. Far from adding the oddcomma and fixing all those typos, the copy editor has amuch larger job than I imagined. They’d check, for

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example, that The Watchtower was actually played by themusicians I claimed it was, so they verify all the facts inyour work too. In a book with a lot of historical data, thisis a tall order. And a book will often go through two copyedits just to make sure all the i’s are dotted. This is one of the reasons “traditional” publishers are correct when they say the bulk of a book’s production cost is in all the work that takes place beforehand, not the process of printing it.

Many kudos, too, for another absolutely vital part of thepublishing team, one I’d barely been aware of when I started out–the sales staff. The enthusiasm and talent ofthe sales staff are vital to a good outcome. These are thepeople who convince libraries and bookstores to take theplunge and order your book. Ramping up this effort,fanning out across the country to deliver a positivemessage, is a big and time consuming job. And again,your little tome is just one of many on their plate.

We all know a great cover design is pretty crucial toattracting readers but also, think about the design ofwhat’s inside. Is the font appealing? How close should the type be to the inside margin so the text looks easy to read?

What kind of graphic will be used to lead off a keyopening paragraph? Is the paper itself attractive. Tradepaperback or hardcover for the first edition? And how doall these issues complement the theme of the book? Lotsof care taken here by the production staff to create a greatproduct.

Marketing and publicity are also planned well in advance.Pointing the book to the right audience, making sure theyknow about it, is a huge challenge given the “white noise” of media coverage today. And the marketing/publicityresources a publisher allocates to a book sends animmediate message to retailers and the media as to whatkind of profile they might give the book. Of course a lotof thought will go into the most judicious time to releaseit, especially for a new and untested author.

These are just some of the many complex elements that anovitiate author learns about on the road to publication. Ithas left me with a great regard for the dedication and hardwork on the part of a whole team of people who take araw manuscript and turn it into a living, breathing novelyou can hold in your hands.

Congratulations Madeleine!For First Prize in the 2012 Bony Pete short mystery award, for “The Lizard”.

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Round the ‘HoodCheck out what some of our other Sisters have been doin’ for themselves

The Australia chapter is a veritable hive of activities: 2 awards, the Davitt Award and the Scarlet Stiletto Award,plus book launches and events in various libraries. http://www.sistersincrime.org.au/

And at the other end of the world, Arctic Cliffhangers, the northern chapter of SinC, has an interestingrecommended reading list by Diana Stabenow. http://www.arcticcliffhangers.com/readinglists.html

The mid-Tennessee chapter of SinC will sponsor a booth and panel at the Southern Festival of Books in October. Ifyou like Southern mysteries, you might want to check out their authors listings at http://www.sinc-midtn.org/Authors.htm

"50 Shades of ... You" is a blog on how to use social media as a very useful promotional tool. http://sisters-in-crime-sinc.blogspot.ca/2012/08/50-shades-of-you.html

On Sept. 23rd, the New York/Tri-State chapter of Sisters in Crime will make their second appearance at the BrooklynBook Festival.See http://www.brooklynbookfestival.org/BBF/Home for more info.

Heard about Stop the GR Bullies? Here’s a mature response provided in the TheLatest Links by the Mothership.http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/17/bad-reviews-i-can-handle-them-and-so-should-you/

CRIMINAL INTENT(Member Author Interviews)

Featuring: Janice MacDonaldInterviewed by: Janet CostelloJanice MacDonald is the author of four novels in The Randy Craig Mystery Series, including Hang Down Your Head,released in November 2011. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta. She returned as amember of Sisters in Crime at Bloody Words this year.

Q: Your Master’s thesis was on detective fiction. Canyou provide the specifics?

A: Yes. It was parody and detective fiction, anexamination of how the genre invented itself. At the time,I had to go before a panel to defend my subject. Detectivefiction was a “sub literary genre”, in academia. This wasprior to the burgeoning of post-modern examination ofdetective fiction and other popular genres. My thesislooked at the way in which the genre unfolded. We candate the inception from Edgar Allen Poe, 150 years ago.The genre can parodically pay homage to itself by havingSherlock Holmes talking about Auguste Dupin (TheMurders of the Rue Morgue), as if he was real and rather

a lesser being, all the while using him as a prototype. Orlike Amanda Cross, for example, whose Kate Fansler says“I wonder what Lord Peter Wimsey would do?” You’d be hard pressed to find detective fiction that doesn’t mention detective fiction, be it generally, such as “if this was a novel”, or actively, say with the detective picking up an Ed McBain novel. The genre is formulaic, the plot can bebasic, each story at the bare bones level is one you’ve already read. You would think that reminding readers thatthe genre exists would pull them out of the imaginedworld they are escaping into. But, it’s as if a double-negative makes a positive is at work: talking about othernovels within the novel makes that novel seem more real.My thesis included Poe, Doyle, pre-cursors in Australia,

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women of detective fiction and Canadian detectivefiction. It also covered post-modernists like Umberto Eco(The Name of the Rose) and Thomas Berger (Who isTeddy Villanova?) who tried to conflate the genre.Halfway through my thesis, someone said, “I suppose you’re going to write a mystery novel now.” And I said, “Yes, I suppose I am!”

Q: You’ve published four books in the series over 17years. What do you do to maintain consistency?

A: They tend to take that long while I find time to writearound work and the kids. However, the new publisher atthe helm of Turnstone goaded me into getting in gear bysigning me to a two-book deal this go-round. I was askedif I wanted to start a new series, but I had many readersasking for another Randy book. For the consistency,Randy started back to University in her thirties. I’ve been loosey goosey about her age. It works because anyone atUniversity in their early twenties just sees her as old. As areturning student, it’s easier to play with her age.

Q: How difficult do you find it to plant the seeds of thetrouble that’s ahead?

A: For the very first book, The Next Margaret, I knewhow it was going to end. That’s not as fun to write as when I plot it as I go along. For Sticks & Stones and TheMonitor I started with an idea. My first draft is just to findout what happens. I keep a running outline, keeping about30 pages ahead of what I’m writing. But I can hit a point when I know I need to make changes, for example, Iknow I need a character to appear earlier. I put in bold inthe outline what has to change on the second draft. At thetime that I wrote The Monitor I had just married a man Imet online. The Internet was not in wide use then. Forthat book, I had to spend a third of the time explaining theInternet. So I had to keep the plot simpler. There’s more plot complexity in Hang Down Your Head because mostpeople understand the general idea of a folk festival.

Q: In what way is Simon Brett an influence?

A: I think it was delightful to read Simon Brett and knowthat you’re allowed to be funny. Lord Peter Wimsey is funny in his high brow toss-off-a-bon-mot sort of fashion.But when I read Charles Paris mysteries, they made megiggle all the way through. He gets the killer by processof elimination not by deduction, so he’s not that great a detective, but that never diminished my love for him.

Q: How did you get to review mysteries for TheEdmonton Journal and be an “on-air” expert for Booked?

A: I did an Honours English degree before I went backfor my Master’s. Then I worked for radio and television. I ran into a friend from The Edmonton Journal at a cocktailparty. He gave me a couple of books to review. I think the

first was a biography of Carol Baker! Back then TheJournal didn’t do paperback reviews. But publishers kept sending them. He took me to this room that held alandslide of paperbacks. “Come every couple of weekswith some shopping bags and take books,” he said. I got a column, covering 7 or 8 books at a time. Once I was backin University doing my thesis, he offered me a mysterycolumn. I called it If Words Could Kill. All of a sudden,books were couriered to my home. I could open boxes,roll around in the piles of books, and pick out which onesI wanted to review!

Q: You’ve written “Edmonton is definitely more than a state of mind”. Explain Edmonton as a character.

A: In terms of the books, I made a deliberate choice tofocus on the “where” of Randy’s world. There is a sense of can-do attitude that comes from being relativelyisolated from the rest of the continent. Check out ourcensus statistics. Most Canadians hug the US border. Butnot Edmonton. Being the city with the furthest northmajor university in North America, Edmontonians can’t rely on neighbouring cities for their Philharmonic or othercultural delights. So we have everything here: ballet,opera, more theatre than you can shake a playbill at.We’re an actual metropolis, but at the same time, setting the books in Edmonton is setting them in the biggestsmall town you’ll ever know. You can’t go anywhere without seeing someone you know. It makes it difficult ifyou are killing a bunchof people. It’s not likely the police don’t know who is doing it. Of course, this is how Howard Engel handled Benny Cooperman, showing howhe couldn’t shadow someone…people would always be saying, “Hi, Benny!” Your character has to be a part of your Canadian city.

Q: Talk about branching out withThe Ghouls’ Night Outinto the children’s market.

A: Well,The Ghouls’ Night Out came about when myeldest was in Grade One. The teacher said, “You’re a writer, write us a story for the Hallowe’en party.” I was scared if I didn’t that she’d somehow hate my kid, so I ended up dropping everything for three weeks to write it.The kids loved it. Afterwards, I thought why not get paidfor this? So I tried to shop it around. This was pre-HarryPotter. Scholastic wouldn’t touch a story with a witch init. Then, at a writers’ conference, I met Ron HatchfromRonsdale Press, who announced at a writers’ conference that they were proudly not politically correct. I showedhim the story and he really liked it. They published it andI dedicated it to the kids of Westbrook School.

Q: You’re doing an all-day Mystery Workshop Sept22nd. What topics will it cover?

A: Basically, we are looking at the recipe for mysteriesand exploring ideas on how to create a detective that willwork for you. After the lunch, I do one on one with the

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attendees, using 4 or 5 pages of work they’ve brought; allthe while everyone else is creating a detective. Then wereconvene for readings about the detectives that have beencreated. People asking questions of your character helpsyou solidify him or her in your mind. The workshop willbe in Wetaskiwin, where people in Edmonton go to buycars.

Q: You’ve included Stephen King’s On Writing in TheMonitor.What is something you’ve treasured from that book?

A: I think one of the things was a sequence where he wastelling about writing Carrie. The tenacity! Most peopleenvy him his success and his advances. I envy him hisTabitha. To have another writer that believes in you andpushes you… I have that now, but I didn’t always. My husband is a professional editor. He’s my first reader, and always reads my second draft. He keeps my website up to

date and makes sure important things like interviews areput on the calendar. He’s a wonderful promoter. Without someone in your corner, it’s so much more difficult!

Q: How has being a Sister in Crime affected you?

A: I was a member of Sisters in Crime International along time ago, when J. L Reynolds was President ofCrime Writers of Canada. I let it slip. I joined up again atBloody Words. It’s very nice to get the emails. It’s such a lonely business when you’re writing. No one will read it for another 8 months and you won’t be there when they do. The emails are a reminder there are others just likeyou, going through the same things. It’s a very collegial feeling.

For more info on Janice and her workshop, visithttp://www.janicemacdonald.net/appearances.html

Write On, SisterBy Charlotte Morganti

As a writer you’ve spent hours upon hours on your skills,drafting, revising and polishing your work. Perhaps youhave a finished manuscript, perhaps a published novel orshort stories. You are doing a fine job of honing yourwriting skills.

What are you doing about honing your speaking skills?

Let me tell you about Newt, a shy young man in LarryMcMurtry’s Lonesome Dove. Newt adores Lorena, one ofthe saloon women. The narrator says that Newt “was painfully aware that if the chance for personal speech everdid arise he would have no idea what to say. On the rareoccasions when he had an errand that took him by thesaloon he lived in terror, afraid some accident might occurwhich would actually force him to speak to her.”

Many of us are like Newt–living in terror that someonewill ask, “What’s your book about?” Or that we’ll be offered a chance to speak in public.

One way of conquering that terror is to join a speakers’ group, such as Toastmasters. Or, perhaps your writinggroup can devote one meeting a month to speaking skills.I belong to Off the Page Toastmasters in Vancouver. Ourmembers are writers working on speaking skills andspeakers working on writing skills.

We devote half of our meetings to speeches. In the secondhalf we focus on activities that allow members to developthe speaking skills particularly necessary for writers. Forexample:

Crime Scene, the newsletter of the Toronto Chapterof Sisters in Crime, is published every two months.We encourage reprints, but only with credit to thearticles’ writer and the Toronto chapter, and after notifying the Crime Scene editor, Janet Costello(jelcsyzygy@hotmail.com )

© 2012 Sisters in Crime, Toronto chapter. All rightsreserved

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Workshops on aspects of craft, blogging, publishing,public readings, pitching: the workshop leader gainsexperience in developing material for a workshop, and inleading a workshop; the members gain a skill, and ininteractive workshops (such as reading one’s work, or pitching) practice the skill.

Interviews: the interviewer gains experience not only inasking questions, but also in listening to the answers and,where appropriate, expanding the interview; theinterviewee learns to answer both scripted and impromptuquestions.

Panels: the moderator learns to structure a panel, set thetopic, lead the questions, and manage panel members; thepanel members learn to participate as one of a group.

Improv: an improv leader lobs topics to individualmembers, who speak for one or two minutes on the topic.This is an absolutely terrifying exercise, but if you haveexperienced Toastmasters in your group they will teachyou the secrets about talking on any topic at any time.

Writing can be lonely work. Writing groups help usmanage that. Speaking about your writing projects,whether to a small group or a large conference, can beterrifying. A speakers’ group will help you develop skills that will reduce the terror.

For the most part, Off the Page has helped me immenselyin fighting the bubbles of fear that careen around mystomach when I approach a podium. However–when itcomes to improv: knowing the secrets of improv is smallconsolation–I am still Newt. I fear I always will be.

Ian Hamilton and the Ava Lee SeriesBy Dorothy BirtalanIn 2009, Ian had the following conversation with his wife:

Wife: “What are you doing?”

Ian: “Writing a book.”

Wife: “Ah.” …and then later: “What’s it about?”

Ian: “A Chinese lesbian accountant.”

Wife: “I heard you should write about something you know.”

And so began what is now a series of five Ava Leenovels. That first book, The Water Rat of Wanchai, wonthe 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel.But Ian insists his books are not mysteries or thrillers.“There are no bodies in the first chapter.” In each of his books, however, there is a crime. Money has, usuallythrough illegal means, been taken from high-wealth

individuals in untraceable ways. It’s Ava’s job to find and recover this money, for a percentage.

He sees Ava as an “anti-hero”: petite, tough-as-nails,good at persuading. She is also very polite even while sheis “doing awful things to people – she’s Canadian!” And yes, the martial arts described in the book are real.

At our June 21st meeting, Ian told the audience severalamusing stories related to his three-year journey tobecoming the successful author he is now. When Ian firstread at the International Festival of Authors, it was hisfirst reading, ever. He was having a meal with two otherauthors (one of whom was nominated for a GovernorGeneral’s Award) and the editor of the Walrus. Thenominated author asked the editor if he’d read his book. The editor replied, no, he’d given it to someone else to read and he was currently reading Ian’s book. Later, when Ian went up to the podium to read his excerpts, all hiscarefully placed bookmarks and notes had been removedfrom his reading copy. The suspect: the offended author.The SinC audience speculated out loud whether he’d been subsequently murdered!

Ian read from each of his three published novels, hisfourth novel (due out in September), and from theprologue to the fifth, which will be out next year. Herecounted amusing stories from previous readings, andshared thoughts on the usefulness of editors, the varyingcontrol one has over translated content, book titles, andhow books get adapted for the screen.

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Ian began writing his first Ava Lee novel in 2009 and bythe time he sat down to sign a contract with House ofAnansi, he had finished the draft of his fourth. But this isnot his first novel. At 24, he published a book that was aCanadian Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Then, justfor the exercise, he finished “two bad novels” (neither were mysteries). He then went off to have careers in otherfields.

When the Water Rat manuscript came back from Anansi,Ian’s editor had six pages of notes, single spaced. Withthat first edit, allies became foes, characters were ditched,and the last 150 pages were chucked out and rewrittencompletely. For the 2nd book there was one month ofrewrites; for the 3rd book, a half-page of notes; and for the4th book, no notes. The lesson, Ian said, is that it does getbetter with practice.

With decades of experience as a journalist, bureaucrat,diplomat, and businessman, Ian had a lot to draw on whenhe first created Ava Lee. In answer to his most frequentlyasked question (“How did you come up with the idea for

Ava Lee?”), Ian read a “semi-fictitious” short story he recently wrote for a German magazine.

Post-surgery at St. Mike’s hospital, he was in a wing where it is said that the ghosts of nuns walkthe halls. If they speak to you, you will soon bedead. Though he stayed up all night, hearingstrange sounds, no apparitions were visible orheard. Shortly after being released, he wascasually flirting with a Chinese woman at a barand getting nowhere. Suddenly, the name andidea of Ava Lee popped into his head, fullyformed.

Ian works with the editors for the translations of hisbooks. He spoke about some interesting culturalperspectives that translators have flagged. Interestingly,because Anansi would not budge on changing the title ofhis first book, the US decided to publish the second book“The Disciple of Las Vegas” first so there wasn’t a “foreign” title to start the series and so “Ava Lee” could be established as The Brand.

This story brought up the discussion around selling to theU.S.: should you keep your locations and characternationality ambiguous? Ian agreed that they did have aterrible time selling to the U.S. because Ava is “too Canadian” as well as being Chinese. The many globalsettings (all places Ian has visited over the years) were amajor selling point.

The first four books have been optioned for films througha production consortium that includes Canal+ (France)and Freemantle (Australia). These partners are significantbecause it will give the film access to a more internationalmarket, mirroring the book sales. TV and film writerKaren Walton (Ginger Snaps, Queer as Folk, Flashpoint)has been signed to do the adaptation.

Ian loves doing book clubs. At the end of his talk, heencouraged the audience to read his books and email him(see http://ianhamiltonbooks.com/#contactian) theircomments and thoughts.

SinC Steering CommitteePresident: Helen Nelson

416-761-9208helenlnelson@rogers.com

Vice-President - Programming: Rayna Jolley416-787-8819 raynzi@hotmail.com

Vice-President–Treasurer: Deanna Dunn416-690-6846 deanna.dunn@rogers.com

Web Mistress: Colleen Farrellcolfarrell2@gmail.com

Members-at-Large: Jo-Ann Stepien416-440-4128 jcstepien@rogers.comNancy Kay416-694-9113 vulcan000@live.caJeannette Harrison416-910-2661

jeannette_harrison@hotmail.comSecretary: Hyacinthe Miller 416-949-6221

miller_the_writer@rogers.comProgramming: Karen Dryden

905-427-4258karenblakehall@sympatico.ca

Membership Secretary: Lesley Mang416-469-0470 lesmang@rogers.com

Newsletter Editor: Janet Costello905-603-1312 jelcsyzygy@hotmail.com

Assistant Editor: Renate SimonAres1942@live.ca

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From Far and WideBy Robin Spano

In today's world of book publicity, anything goes. No oneknows what sells books, so to borrow the philosophy ofHilary Davidson, you might as well have fun trying. Shecalls it publicity hedonism(http://7criminalminds.blogspot.ca/2011/01/hedonists-guide-to-book-publicity.html), and that's what four of usset out to achieve this June.

Who we are:Hilary Davidson(http://www.hilarydavidson.com/Home.html)Ian Hamilton (http://ianhamiltonbooks.com/)Deryn Collier (http://deryncollier.com/and me, Robin Spano (http://robinspano.com/) — fourfriends who enjoy each other's company and write crimefiction.

What we did: toured around the Lower Mainland visitinglibraries and bookstores in Squamish, Vancouver,Richmond, New Westminster and Burnaby, reading fromour latest novels and chatting books with a great mix ofreaders and writers.

Why it worked: We all worked hard on the pre-tourpublicity, we each brought a different voice, and wetreated the tour like a party. Our attitude was: we're hereto have fun and some great conversations, and we'd like toinclude as many people as possible.

We spoke to crowds as small as 6 and as large as standingroom only. Without exception, each event had non-stopquestions from the audience that could have continuedwell past our scheduled stopping time. Questions werevaried, original, and made us think on our feet. The mostfrequent one: “When you're writing, do you feel like you are your main character, or like you're watching him orher from above?” (Short answer, I think for all of us: both.)

We all stayed in my house. You would think fourintroverts (plus my extrovert husband) would get scratchyover a week of close quarters. But the opposite happened.Turns out, we're all workaholics who understand eachother's need for recharging bouts of solitude. When wehad downtime, we retreated to our computers and emailed(or tweeted) to arrange to meet for meals, drinks, walks,whatever. When we were together— in the car, at meals,in the hot tub at the end of the night— the conversation(and the drinks) never stopped flowing.

We learned from each other. Ian is full of savvy tips likedon't be your own bookseller because it cheapens yourprofessional image and no sense being sensible if youwant publicity when the rest of us balked at his suggestedtour name (Three Hip Chicks & One Old Fart). Deryn andI watched Hilary mark up her books to create customreading passages, and we copied her (for a successfulresult) in our final reading of the tour. Ian gave me abreathing trick to calm my tricky nerves. Deryn andHilary helped me make an important internal shift to bemore confident in my own work. And more—we just kindof grooved together, each one wanting the others to besuccessful and helping make that happen where we could.

Very cool highlight: CBC Radio's Kevin Sylvester(http://www.kevinarts.blogspot.ca/) hosted us on TheSunday Edition (http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/07/the-sunday-edition-goes-to-the-beach-mystery-books.html)—bringing our tour nationwide.

Verdict: Hilary is right. The best approach to publicity ispleasing yourself first. We will do this again sometime.

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A Murder is Announced...Check out our website at:http://www.torontosistersincrime.ca/Thanks to Colleen Farrell our web mistress.

Toronto Sisters in Crime has a facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=307635678670 Come join us there! Post your news!

From Sean Chercover: Sean’s latest book, The TrinityGame was released on July 31 and launched at a party atthe Dora Keogh on August 1.

From the Mothership: SinC Into Great Writing IV!Featuring Nancy Pickard At Bouchercon 2012 inCleveland October 3, 2012♦ Wednesday 1:00 - 5:30pm♦ Renaissance Cleveland Hotel24 Public Square♦ Cleveland, OH

Cost: $50 for SinC members and $250 for nonmembers.Coffee/Tea/Soda, Fruit and other munchies will beincluded in your registration. We hope the group maywant to go out for dinner and continue discussions fromNancy's workshop. Spots fill up fast and we can only seat100. Register now! Bouchercon registration is notnecessary to attend this one day workshop.

Registration begins at 12 noon, and the workshop beginsat 1:00pm.

Sensory Self-Editing Workshop with Nancy PickardThe essence of good writing is rewriting. But how can awriter use the editing process to do more than just movewords around on a page? Bring a chapter or story you areworking on, a stack of 3x5 note cards, and some coloredpencils or pens. Nancy Pickard will show you the systemshe uses to dissect her work scene by scene, drawing onher research and experience in storycrafting and editing

Newsletter articles are always welcome. We are lookingfor new contributions and contributors! For the nextnewsletter, just get your submission to Janet atjelcsyzygy@hotmail.com by about September 30.

From the Mothership: Get your copy of ShamelessPromotion for Brazen Hussies ($11.99 paperback, $1.99electronic) and Breaking and Entering: the Road toSuccess athttp://www.sistersincrime.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=31

Remember you have to be a member of Sisters in Crimeinternational organization to purchase these SinCpublications.

And you? If you have an announcement for this column,contact Helen at helenLnelson@rogers.com or Janet atjelcsyzygy@hotmail.com and we’ll be sure your newsmakes this column.

Criminal Activities…Compiled by Helen Nelson

Get out your calendars, smart phones or sticky notes, here’s the scoop on mysterious activitiesover the next couple of months….

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Rebel’s Rock Pub, 537 King St. E., Hamilton Monthly meeting, Toronto Sisters inCrime. Katie Chapman, former Toronto police officer, Free to Sisters in Crime Toronto Chapter members, $5.00 others

Saturday, August 18, 2012, 1:00 p.m. McNally Robinson, Saskatoon, SK, Yvonne Yourkowski author of Murder fromBeyond the Grave.

Monday, August 27, 2012, 5:30 p.m. IFOA at the EX. Direct Energy Centre featuring Ian Hamilton, author of The RedPole of Macau, John Lawrence Reynolds author of Beach Strip and Brad Smith author of Crow's Landing. Admission $5.00.For more information: http://www.readings.org/?q=node/4899

Monday, August 27, 2012,7:00 p.m. Indigo Manulife Centre, Toronto, ON Kathy Reichs author of Bones are Forever

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Saturday, September 1, 2012, 2:00 p.m., Coles, Limeridge Mall, Hamilton, ON, Kelley Armstrong author of 13.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Fox and Fiddle, 190 Laird Drive, Toronto, ON, Mystery Book Club Discussionbook: The Burning Soul by John Connolly. For more information contact helenlnelson@rogers.com

Tuesday, September 18, 2012, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., Toronto Public Library, Leaside Branch, 165 McRae Drive, Toronto,ON, Jose Latour author of Crime of Fashion

Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 7:00 p.m. a visit to the Toronto Police Dog Training Facility Details TBA. Free toSisters in Crime Toronto Chapter members, $5.00 others (note change of day)

Thursday, September 20, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Wychwood Branch, 1431 Bathurst Street,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder

Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Mount Pleasant Branch, 599 Mount Pleasant Road,Toronto, ON, David Rotenberg author of The Placebo Effect.

Thursday, September 27, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Pape/Danforth Branch, 701 Pape Avenue,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder.

Monday, October 1, 2012, 7:00–8:30 p.m. Toronto Reference Library, Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, 789 YongeStreet, Toronto, ON, Val McDermid author of Vanishing Point will be interviewed by Globe and Mail mystery reviewerMargaret Cannon

Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 7:00–8:30 p.m. Toronto Reference Library, Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, 789 YongeStreet, Toronto, ON, Kelley Armstrong, author of 13.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Fox and Fiddle, 190 Laird Drive, Toronto, ON, Mystery Book Club Discussionbook: Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah. For more information contact helenlnelson@rogers.com

October 4–7, 2012, Bouchercon 2012, Cleveland Marriott Renaissance Hotel, Cleveland, OH. For more information:http://bouchercon2012.com/

October 11, 2012, 7:00 p.m.–8:15 p.m., Toronto Public Library, Taylor Memorial Branch, 1440 Kingston Road,Toronto, ON., Robert Rotenberg

October 11, 2012, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON., Dangerous Work,The Young Arthur Conan Dolye’s Diary of Arctic Adventure, a talk by John Lellenberg co-editor.

Thursday, October 18, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Northern District Branch of the Toronto Public Library, 40 Orchard ViewBlvd, Toronto, ON. Monthly meeting Toronto Chapter Sisters in Crime. Celebrate 20 years of the Toronto chapter of Sistersin Crime with the launch of our anthology–The Whole She-Bang. This celebration will be free to all!

Thursday, October 18, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Wychwood Branch, 1431 Bathurst Street,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 p.m. Toronto Public Library, North York Central Branch, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto,ON., Peter Armstrong author of Watching the Dark

Thursday, October 25. 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Pape/Danforth Branch, 701 Pape Avenue,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder.

Friday, October 26, 2012 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Northern District Branch, 40 Orchard View Boulevard,Toronto, ON., Peter Armstrong author of Watching the Dark

October 26–28, 2012, Magna Cum Murder, Horizon Convention Center, Muncie, IN., For more information:http://www.magnacummurder.com/

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Sunday, November 4, 2012, 10:00 a.m. Globe & Mail/Ben McNally Books Authors Brunch, King Edward Hotel, 37King Street East, Tornto, Ontario. Featuring Dennis Lehane, author of Live by Night. $50.00. Reserve your ticket bycalling Ben McNally Books at 416-361-0032

Tuesday, November 6, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Fox and Fiddle, 190 Laird Drive, Toronto, ON, Mystery Book Club Discussionbook: Savages by Don Winslow. Some of us plan to both read the book and see the movie! For more information contacthelenlnelson@rogers.com

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Northern District Branch, 40 Orchard View Boulevard,Toronto, ON., Giles Blunt, author of Until the Night

Thursday, November 15, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Northern District Branch of the Toronto Public Library, 40 Orchard ViewBlvd, Toronto, ON. Monthly meeting Toronto Chapter Sisters in Crime. Program TBA. Free to Sisters in Crime TorontoChapter members, $5.00 others

Thursday, November 15, 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Wychwood Branch, 1431 Bathurst Street,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder

Thursday, November 22. 2012, 2:00–3:00 p.m. Toronto Public Library, Pape/Danforth Branch, 701 Pape Avenue,Toronto, ON. Tea and Murder.

March 21–24, 2013, Left Coast Crime, Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Springs, CO For more information:http://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2013/

May 3–5, 2013, Malice Domestic, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, MD. For more information:http://www.malicedomestic.org/