It's Official: Not Enough Sex in Fiction To Be Believable

Sex survey results are out and I have to wonder where they find these people. Going into a bar on a Saturday night when there’s a hockey game on and surveying the patrons isn’t exactly the best way to get a balanced sampling of the population.

I mean, the global average is to have sex 103 times per year. 103. I shared this tidbit with evilkev and he said, “Are you having sex 103 times per year? I am.”

Nice.

But even if you’re falling below the global average you can count yourself lucky that you aren’t living in Japan.

A record 39.7 per cent of Japanese citizens ages 16-49 have not had sex for more than a month - up five percentage points from two years ago - according to a survey published this week by the Japan Family Planning Association… Japan came last in a 29-country study of sexual satisfaction published by the University of Chicago last year, with a mere 25.7 per cent of lovers expressing satisfaction in bed. The country was also in last place among 41 countries in a 2005 poll by condom manufacturer Durex, with people having sex just 45 times a year compared to a global average of 103.”

Now, what’s really struck me here is the fact that, in order to be average, you need to have sex once every 3.5 days. This has enabled me to determine that the overwhelming majority of books are completely unrealistic.

I must conclude that, along with our push to have realistic settings, to get our forensic details correct, to use proper police procedures and to have believable dialogue with the one exception of removing male grunting, which is like a dialect of the language, we must now include a lot more sex in our books.

Although I will point out that Stuart MacBride’s new book probably balances out the equivalent of five books from me, so I’m safe for a while. I called it first.

Ken Bruen

It might have been more appropriate if this was March 17th, but today is International Ken Bruen Appreciation Day.

I met Ken last fall, in Madison. He’s such a warm person I imagine I felt as so many others have when they met him – a sense of camaraderie and acceptance and instant ease with the man. Ken is so likeable and genuine, and down to earth.

I emailed him afterwards, to say it was great to meet him. I never made it through my entire list after conventions, but I do get some of those emails off. Most people don’t write back.

Ken Bruen did.

It told me a lot about him, what I guessed at already. Here was a person who was down to earth, someone who wasn’t standoffish.

Someone who hadn’t let their phenomenal accomplishments and success go to their head.

I already had Dublin Noir and Murdaland, so I was familiar with Ken’s work in short fiction, his distinctive style. I was just starting to read his longer works and was blown away.

I’ve said it before here, how he has this amazing humour, these keen insights on life that hit you between the eyes…

His work lingers on your mind long after you’ve finished reading the last page.

I know a lot of people don’t believe I can be shy and intimidated, but Ken was one of those people I was extra nervous with. I guess the thing is, I really wanted to be friends with Ken. I really liked him, and his opinion mattered to me. And when someone’s opinion matters I’m always a bit more nervous with them.

I was fortunate enough to enjoy the chance to correspond with him, and then talk with him at length, and get to the point where I didn’t just consider him a good friend – I consider him family. Kevin and I both consider Ken family.

It still blows me away, because for all the joking I do about worshipping writers I call gods, I have so much admiration for the person Ken Bruen is, for what he has survived and accomplished, for his amazing talent and his dedication to his craft.

I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Ken, and later this month that will be up on Spinetingler. But today is a day to say ‘thanks Ken’.

Thanks for putting yourself out there through your work in a way that has touched my life. I have learned so much through your writing – not just about writing, but about putting your heart and soul into the work and letting those insights on life come through the story. You make it look so effortless.

Thanks for always being there when I need an ear.

Thanks for making me laugh.

And thanks, for believing in me. I have the strength of your convictions.

The good opinion of Ken Bruen is worth that of a thousand of the average man. Tell me not how many awards you’ve been nominated for or how many books you’ve sold – tell me what Ken Bruen thinks of you. That’s the truest measure of merit I know.

And you can listen to Ken Bruen read his short story, PUNK by clicking on the link.



Other blogs to visit today:

Daniel Hatadi
Nikki Dolson
Patti Abbott
Steve Allan
Anthony Rainone
Russel McLean
JD Rhoades
DA Davenport
Christa M Miller
Bill Crider

David Terrenoire

Jim Winter on The Rap Sheet
Sean Chercover

Sara Gran
Victor Gishler
Al Guthrie
Gerald So

Duane Swierczynski
Angie
Patrick Shawn Bagley
Jen Jordan
Mindy Tarquini

and

Crimespace or, more specifically this page on Crimespace

If you see any other tributes to Ken out there today, please post a link in the comments or email me - I'll add it.

And in other blogging news, Dianne Day launches her blog. Welcome Dianne!

Book Bashing

Controversy sells, so I feel fairly confident a new book on women’s sex hang-ups is about to become a bestseller.

And my initial take is, I hope it doesn’t.

a new book on this not-so-new subject is drawing fire in some quarters for its conclusion: That hookups can be damaging to young women, denying their emotional needs, putting them at risk of depression and even sexually transmitted disease, and making them ill-equipped for real relationships later on.
For that, Laura Sessions Stepp, author of "Unhooked," has been criticized as a throwback to an earlier, restrictive moral climate, an anti-feminist and a tut-tutting mother telling girls not to give the milk away when nobody's bought the cow.
The author "imagines the female body as a thing that can be tarnished by too much use," wrote reviewer Kathy Dobie in Stepp's own paper, the Post, and suggested that Stepp was, in one part, trying to "instill sexual shame." For Meghan O'Rourke, literary editor at Slate.com, Stepp is "buying into alarmism about women," and making sex "a bigger, scarier, and more dangerous thing than it already is."

Anyway, you can skip on over to the article to read more if you’re interested. Now, yesterday I spent most of the day with my niece, who is 12 going on 18 in the way that all pre-teen girls are, and this is definitely the time when things get interesting. As we were having lunch she was telling me about movies she wants to see.

One of which made me raise an eyebrow. “Do you know what that movie’s about?” I asked. She grinned, nodded and proceeded to tell me all about it, because her best friend has seen it.

In fact, as the conversation progressed, I realized her best friend has seen a lot of movies and sure knows a lot more about… stuff… than I did when I was 12.

Good or bad? Who’s to say? I’m not a bra-burning feminist. I consider myself a humanist. I believe every person – male, female, otherwise, orange, purple, pink with green polka dots or otherwise – should have the opportunity to do what they’re capable of doing. It always surprises me when people start throwing accusations of sexism or racism around in discussions about awards or organizations. I don’t even pay attention. Award nominations get posted and I don’t realize until someone points it out that it’s all male or all female.

I sorta trust it’s the list of all deserving, end of story.

Anyway, before I get into a full-blown spiel ending with a global group hug and a round of Kumbaya I’ll steer this back on track. About this book.

I think I’d like to suggest that if someone’s going to get this for their daughter that they temper it out with a book that has a different point of view. Best line from Little Miss Sunshine was when Grandpa told his grandson “Fuck a lot of women. Not just one.” You know, this is considered standard male advice. How many women expected to marry a guy who was a virgin, hands up? Yet how many guys expect to marry a woman who’s done more men then they’ve done women?

When I was younger I was pretty rigid about, well, everything. Now that I’m a bit older I see things differently. And I would say that rules aren’t the way to govern someone, not in a real sense. In our house we could drink from the time we were quite young, and being drunk isn’t something I have a lot of experience with. It’s happened once, and it took 35 years. I blame an exceptionally bad influence.

But for me, there’s been no enticement, no appeal to experience that. It was never forbidden fruit, so it held no real temptation.

The most important thing that we can give anyone – male or female – is a sense of self respect, the wisdom and discipline to think through their own decisions, and our love and support.

Not rules. For heaven’s sakes, how many kids DON’T tell their parents because they’re certain their parents will be disappointed in them?

Of course, I have no right to talk about parenting, because I’m not a parent. I’m just one person with an opinion. But on the face of it, yeah, this book does bother me because I’m not sure it is the healthiest approach. I’d like to see a book that takes all variables, stories, possible outcomes and lays it out there for kids to think through, and let them draw their own conclusions, instead of being told certain behaviours are just wrong. To me, books like this fail to have much impact when they get preachy.

Gee, I wish I could track the article that was done with the theory that part of the reason there’s an escalation in group sex is because of kids attending daycare. People have a theory for everything…

For Your Own Safety & Those You Love

This week a deadly blaze in NYC claimed the life of 8 children and 1 adult.

And so I’m joining the ranks of those who are taking the opportunity to remind you when you set your clocks ahead tonight, please change the batteries in your smoke detectors.

I’ve seen first hand the damage that fire can do. I won’t quickly forget the night that Kevin was called out to something that sounded minor, and hours and hours later still hadn’t come home. Only because the fire department was already out did they see the fire in its early stages. It destroyed a business, but not before they’d managed to rescue the business documents from the office. Kevin said he was picking up boxes that were on fire and putting the flames out as he removed them from the building.

Of course, I blogged about that back in the summer.

Want to read another account of a fire and see some amazing photos? Drop by Gabriele’s and read about the recent fire she witnessed.

My grandmother Shaughnessy died in a house fire. Taking a few moments to replace the batteries could make the difference between life and death. Don't think it couldn't happen to you.

And in other news...

It’s about time those who publish stuff under the umbrella of journalism who fabricate their stories started to pay damages. Maybe journalists will think twice before they jump the gun and start jumping to conclusions without checking their facts. Good for Kate.

Keep your shorts on. Alberta’s booming economy blamed for an outbreak of syphilis. Bet that 15 year old had fun explaining this one at home, but really, it’s no laughing matter.

Silence & Support

In the midst of a recent discussion that turned into pop psychology I got thinking about why I’m so outspoken sometimes. I mean, I certainly know the trouble it can get me into. Many people can’t separate the personal from the professional, so if you say, “I’m rejecting your short story” some of them think you don’t like them.

I’ve been a boss. I don’t find it easy, but yes, I’ve had to discipline people I like when they’ve screwed up. And I’ve been friends with bosses and they’ve had to put me in my place.

So, you disagree with someone on an opinion, sometimes they respond like it’s the end of the world. Every time you put your thoughts out there you’re inviting a reaction, and it might not always be that people agree with you.

One thing I’ve always been adamant about, and that’s defending my friends. We all have different levels of friendships with people, so when I say this I’m referring to my inner circles, the people I trust most. You have a go at them, you’re having a go at me. It’s just that simple.

I don’t mean this in the context of they do something wrong and have to own up to it. I mean it more like what recently happened at a convention, when someone made a remark that came off like an insult against another author. If you were there, you know. If you read Rara Avis, you know. If you don’t know the who and what already, you don’t need to, but if you read Rara Avis you know I spoke my mind over it.

And I’d do it again.

The thing is, lots of people will express support in private, but when you come under attack in the public domain it can feel awfully isolating. And most people won’t speak out publicly, because they don’t want to come under attack themselves. I can understand that, but to me, if one of my good friends is getting kicked unfairly, I’m not going to let them bear the brunt alone. I’ll stand with them.

It does get tricky. Every regular here will know of the lengthy defense I posted of one author a few months ago over a misconstrued comment in an interview that became an excuse to bash him on forums and blogs, and radio. Now, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on that. I don’t know if I did him any favours, because maybe I just made him more aware of what was going on, and as a result was responsible for any hurt feelings over it. I don’t know. What I do know is this: If something like that happened again I would want to find a way to show support to someone I consider a friend.

I always feel bad if I don’t know a friend is going through a hard time. I was talking to Cornelia yesterday and I was saying how tricky it is, because if you find out later someone you care about is having a hard time you feel like a real jerk that you didn’t know sooner, that you couldn’t be there for them. I wouldn’t want my friends to shield me from harsh truths because they didn’t want me to worry. I understand that thinking – believe me, I do – but part of real friendship is being there for people in the ups and the downs, good times and bad.

Your real friends are the ones who stick by you, no matter what. Not because they can get something from you. Not because you’re the flavour of the month, so they want to bask in your popularity.

The stick by you because you’re you, and they like you and care. End of story.

One thing that’s abundantly clear to me after going through tough times – I know who my friends are. And aren’t. That’s sometimes a hard thing to learn, but really, never a bad thing.

Now, if you haven’t made it over to Crimespace yet, I hope you check it out soon. A great place to hang out and get to know authors, writers and readers online.

My Vision For Reviews

I’ll admit it: I’m too lazy right now to look up the source on the fact that review space in newspapers is shrinking… again… but this is something that’s come up for discussion on DorothyL.

You know what I would like to see happen with reviews? I’d like to see some system in the future where there are reviews on hand at bookstores.

Okay, okay, I haven’t worked out all the logistics. But maybe in the future we’ll see publishers paying for electronic display devices or producing flip-through books (think the automotive section at Canadian Tire, the books where you look up the correct part number for vehicles) with reviews of the books they’ve published.

I guess the problem I have with reviews is that I don’t read many of them, so I can understand why newspapers are cutting the space. I know a lot of people who don’t read reviews of books, and one of the reasons is they don’t want spoilers. And if people aren’t reading that section of the paper companies won’t advertise, so the newspapers look at trimming something that’s not earning much of a draw financially.

I’m not saying it’s good news. I’m just saying I can understand why this is happening.

But where would reviews matter? Do you know how often I overhear a conversation in a bookstore, with a customer clearly looking for information and willing to shell out cash on the right book, and the staff don’t know anything about the books? I listened to one excruciating discussion from someone who was basically reading the back of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe to the woman and then said, “Well, there’s going to be a movie” and that’s all he knew about it. It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

But what if there were a few computers – Chapters/Indigo have computers for customers already, to look up nation-wide which of their stores is carrying books you’re interested in – where you could look up reviews? Okay… I think this happens with the computers they have, if you have reviews posted on the Chapters/Indigo site online. I’ll double check that next time I’m in the city, but I think the reviews might come up. And everyone worries about their Amazon reviews…

Anyway, back to my fantasy, what if you could type in a book name and see various reviews of the book? For someone standing in a bookstore, trying to decide if they should buy one book over another, this could make the difference.

One of the other big problems with reviews is that there isn’t any money in it. We’ve never broken even financially on an issue of Spinetingler yet, and we don’t expect to any time soon. Despite the fact that we have a high readership we’re primarily an online source. This means we merit being quoted for blurbs on books, but not for advertising dollars.

What will this mean in the long run? Well, it’s going to come down to who sees it as being worthwhile to invest in reviewing from their free time. Believe me, when people start arguing about reviews I start thinking about pulling the plug, because I just don’t have time for that on top of everything else. I mean, I’ve read reviews that have been personal attacks. Our reviews do tend to be balanced and fair. I think the only thing I said once that was perhaps unfair was that I wanted to see Barry Eisler write a political thriller. Unfair, because I projected what I hope Barry will do into a review of a book he did, which should have been reviewed solely on its own merits. Barry’s a great action thriller writer. But I’m still going to have my fingers crossed for a political thriller one day, because I believe he has the brains and skill to write one that’s brilliant, and there aren’t many people I’d say that about.

Anyway, I should have said it here instead of at the end of a review on THE LAST ASSASSIN.

What does the future hold for reviews? More and more online review sites, I believe. Beyond that, I don’t know. But in the mean time, Bill Crider, Gerald So, Graham Powell and Steven Torres have put a new spin on reviewing with Nasty. Brutish. Short., a site for reviewing short stories.

On that note, author and blogger extraordinaire Bill Crider has posted a nice plug for Last Shot, my story that appeared in the first issue of Out of the Gutter.

And, as though there isn’t enough about me online already, I have a Publishers Marketplace page now. If someone can tell me how to set myself up as a blogger and modify the page to post links and stuff, I’ll be all set.

Big Brother Is Watching

CS Lewis once said that the way he learned to forgive others was when he realized there was one person he always forgave: Himself.

Funny how that works. We make mistakes, feel guilt, remorse, face consequences… And sooner or later we let ourselves off the hook for the majority of things we do. We move on.

Is it really forgiveness, or self delusion? Is it that we let go of our mistakes, or that we convince ourselves we aren’t such a bad person, until the next time, when we drag out the mental checklist for all similar failures?

The reason I got thinking about this is that I somehow manage to turn off the part of my mind that should seriously think about who’s reading my blog and what I produce online. No matter how many times I get a bizarre email or have someone I meet at a convention comment about something on my blog, I am legitimately surprised and a bit unnerved every time.

Like, why exactly do you read my blog? That’s my first question…

Now, part of the reason I got thinking about this is because an Ontario newspaper recently ran an article about me. They interviewed me for it, so I knew it was coming, but it never even occurred to me – not for one single second – that people I knew and had lost touch with years ago would look me up and get in touch.

I mean, how dumb can I be?

It’s been really cool to hear from people. I learned I have a distant cousin teaching at the University of Edinburgh, and he’s also an author. I’m hearing who married whom and who has kids and what people are doing.

However, having people show up out of the woodwork isn’t always a good thing. And you don’t know who’s reading your blog all the time, and if the consequences of that might be devastating.

I could cite two specific examples from the past week alone. In one case, a person losing their job. In another, a person losing a customer. Both over blog posts.

I know who a lot of the hits on my blog come from. The odd time I get a biting anonymous comment I usually have a laugh about it, because I can just check the hits, correspond the times, and nine times out of ten I know who the person is.

That said, there are some hits on my blog that I can’t track to a person I know. And because I don’t know who’s reading, I never know how my posts might be interpreted, or misinterpreted.

No matter how clear you think you’re being, there is always the risk of being misunderstood. I can cite no better relevant example right now than this ridiculous post, asserting Rebus is only in the final Rebus novel until page 175. The mistaken assertion comes with a reference to this article in the Daily Mirror which is quite clear on the fact that Rebus gets booted from the police department on page 175… Not the book.

I had a good laugh over it, but it reminds me that no matter how obvious you think the meaning behind your words is, someone can always misunderstand.

Sometimes I think the only reason I can continue the blog etc. is because I’m able to mentally turn off the fear about who’s reading. Last July I had the most embarrassing revelation about one reader, and I wanted to crawl under a rock. Somehow, I got over it, only to learn about someone else reading, who also made me blush.

Now, I’ve had this compounded with a phone call from my sister yesterday, in which I learned she’s been reading my blog.

Which officially means everything I say on here can come back to haunt me. I know, I know… I should have known that already, but as I’ve already repeated, I suppress that.

Well, today I got out the sticky tack and posted a note above my computer: Big Brother is Watching You.

And big sister, and former neighbour, and authors you talk about, and a former employer, and your husband…


I have done an extensive ezine update over at In For Questioning, with news about the latest Demolition, Thuglit and Hardluck Stories issues to hit the internet.

And now, a BSP Alert

Mouth Full of Bullets has published Play To Win by Kevin R. Einarson, What Every Guy Wants by me, and a feature interview with me.

Plus, James Goodman has posted his review of SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES on his blog.

And as though that’s not enough, there’s a review of SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES on Fantasy Bookspot. Here’s a snippit:

Suspicious Circumstances is the third great debut from January that I read. Its a compelling read that makes me wish it wasn’t a debut just so I could go out and buy her other books, but sadly it is a debut and there aren’t more books for me to rush out and buy. I'm tempted to become like an impatient child in the backseat of the car on a long road trip and send "are we there yet" type emails to Ruttan, Sakey & Chercover every day that say "Are you done yet, are you done yet."

This book has two big strengths going for it: its characters and the twists in the plot.

The two main characters Ty and Lara have an easy chemistry between them. At one point a minor character says that the two of them have sexual chemistry. I’m not too sure if that’s the case though. Not yet anyway, if these characters are used again in future novels it could develop into that. They do have an ease and comfort around each other. Their dialogue is filled with banter that rings true and brings out other facets of their personalities. Almost all of the characters are developed through dialogue which is one of the most natural and realistic ways for an author to develop a character. They really are great together and I hope to see at least one more book with the paring. To Ruttan's credit also she lets their relationship unfold naturally and doesn’t rush them into situations where they might kiss, hug, sleep together or have a touch that lingers just a second too long. Their personalities click in many ways before they even slightly suspect or begin to admit to themselves that there is chemistry there.

The simple premise of the plot and Lara and Ty's subsequent investigation is a first cut that strikes deep. It exposes a conspiracy of corruption that extends further then anyone thought was possible. Ruttan proves to be very adept at twisting the plot and yanking the rug out from under her characters with the continuous revealing of information. The reveals in this book are like a popcorn machine. They start off slow then very quickly speed up to maintain a relentless pace that rarely falters and never lets up.

It’s a very thoughtful, balanced review, with some interesting points. And I have to say, “YEAH! Somebody got what I wanted to do with this book, with letting the dialogue develop the character.”

As to the question, well, at this time I can’t say when another book by me will be out. But I have turned a new manuscript over to my agent.

Reality in Measures

We were watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Kevin and I were sitting there, pointing out all the things that would never really happen.

Like, Stabler pulls up at a crime scene he just happens to drive by. He’s not dressed for work, and he doesn’t show identification at the scene but he takes control and the uniforms defer to him? Then he starts touching the body with his bare hands.

Uh, yeah. This’ll be a slam dunk at trial.

There were other things as well in the episode. Conclusions drawn from minimal information, violations of procedure, disclosure of what would have been considered confidential information people could have been sued – and cases could have been dismissed – over.

I don’t mean to pick on this show in particular, because as far as formulaic TV goes I tend to like it when I do watch it. But I was thinking about some of the criticisms I’ve seen leveled at books for mistakes far less critical to plot and storyline than this. It goes to the heart of what I’ve harped on a zillion times from Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves To Death - what is written is assumed to have more serious intent than what is spoken. We consider written sources referenced to carry more weight than words spoken in an interview. What is spoken can be more easily retracted.

Or, in this case, what is on TV can be blamed on the confines of the medium. We expect our shows in 48 minutes with commercials interspersed and we need to have just the right dramatic build-up in the opening of the show. In this case, Stabler lifts a sheet over the victim’s face and his daughter screams, because she got out of the van and approached the crime scene. Now she’s been traumatized. Oooohhhh, drama. Cue the show intro.

That’s where it started, but my brain works like the looping rollercoasters, so it isn’t long before my thoughts have shifted from TV shows that cheat a bit on procedure to the fact that, despite the pressures on crime fiction authors to ‘get it right’, most books aren’t very realistic.

Seriously. Think about it. When it gets into narrative, it’s all so damn relevant. Characters are thinking about the setting. Or they’re thinking about the case and how witnesses/suspects reacted in questioning. Or their impressions of their new co-worker. Or some deeper meaning behind the case.

But the reality is, if you were to track the train of thought for the average human being at any point in time, it would go something like this:

Didn’t like the way she looked when she heard her son was dead. Didn’t seem to bug her. Sure seemed more pissed with the interruption to her breakfast than the fact that her firstborn had kicked the bucket. And by God, the smell in that house. Phew! What is she, like a human gas factory, just lets ‘em rip and keeps the doors and windows shut so the air quality won’t improve. Lowering the resale value of the place. Fuck, if I had to live with a cow like that I think I'd top myself. Some things really are worse than death. Can’t say that to Tiffany though. She’d be all serious and asking if I needed counseling and maybe tell the boss she doesn’t think I can handle it anymore. Like to show her just what I can handle, he he, what I’m capable of. I could make her eyes roll into the back of her head any night of the week. Been a while, and Tiffany sure would beat a hand job. I’d take the hand job over that cow of a mother, though. Jesus, what the fuck’s the problem with the traffic today?

Part of the reason I got thinking about this was I was arguing with evilkev. Our arguments are always brilliant, because I’ve discovered that if I jump up and down like a two-year-old he’ll laugh and when he laughs he can’t stay mad and argue with me seriously. And if you actually listen to how a lot of people talk, the conversation is all over the place, much like people’s thoughts, and arguments are especially bad for it.

It’s a rare thing that you can write an argument where relevant information can actually be put across in the dialogue and it works, because most heated arguments become irrational quickly.

All of this has me thinking about the fact that with some things we expect accuracy and precision, and with others we actually expect a complete lack of realism. If you read enough of the lists you’ll see that some people expect the body to drop in chapter one, others like to get to know the characters first so they have a reason to care about the investigation. Some expect the cop protagonist’s personal life to never intersect with the case, others think anything unrelated to the case shouldn’t be included in the story.

The moral of the story is, you can’t please everybody.

But we all have our own little bugbears. So, what are your pet peeves? The things you can’t stand?

One of my grievances is with things that are over-hyped. Kevin Wignall’s just done a post about that over at Contemporary Nomad.

I’m sure that, once started, I could come up with a long list. But I have a suggestion. If you’d like to chat about how real is too real or how fake is too fake, why not head over to Crimespace pull up a stool, order a pint and chat. Everyone is welcome – reader, writer, even reviewers. And I think that the group dialogue aspect over there could be a lot of fun.

And there's a video over there, of the Bearded Wonder Boy.

Certainly beats the heck out of just talking to me. I mean, unless you just want to talk to me. Then that’s fine. Talk away.

My bookmark is in The Hackman Blues by Ken Bruen. “Sip it… okay… nice and slow.” I’m laughing my ass off reading this book (and if you've read it you might get that quote). Brilliant.

Growth & Expectations

I think two of the biggest threats to a writer’s career are stagnation and growth. I know this sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but I just finished Mark Billingham’s latest Thorne novel, BURIED, and it really got me thinking:

Sucks to be Mark.

The reason I say that is that I have seen, again and again, the differing opinions over some of Mark’s books. I’m specifically thinking of an old fight, about 18 months ago, on Val McDermid’s forum… I’ve seen people get hostile over the books in the series that didn’t work for them as well as other books in the series did. Mark’s series has provoked strong reactions from some readers, and this is something authors should be mindful of.

I’ve thought about it at length. Why is it that the book I love the most, THE BURNING GIRL, always seems to elicit extreme reactions from readers? In general, there’s little middle ground with TBG. People either love it or loathe it.

Now, I’ve thought about this for ages, and I even talked to Mark about it when I interviewed him. But reading BURIED made me think about it all again.
I know that some of the critics lashed out against TBG because it was a book that broke the ‘formula’. They didn’t like it because it wasn’t like the first three in the Thorne series.

To which I say, Thank God. Not because the first three books weren’t great books in their own right. But it goes to one of those two threats writers face: Stagnation.

Tuesday the new issue of Mouth Full of Bullets will go live, and my apologies for the fact that my face will be plastered on the home page of the site for the next three months. BJ Bourg has interviewed me, and he asked me which of the short stories I’ve written is my favourite, and why.

The why is easy. Because I gave myself a challenge, to do something new and (for me) difficult, and felt like I’d achieved my goal. For me, that’s what short fiction is about. You’ll find me writing about butchers who may or may not be cutting people up, serial killers, hitmen and (in the case of the story I name as my favourite, which you’ll have to wait a few months to read) unsafe sex.

And those of you who have read my book will know that the subject matter of those short stories is pretty far from the tone of my debut novel.

The thing is, I never want to feel like I’m writing the same book twice, or that I’m just covering the same old ground again and again. And eventually fans will tire of that as well – I gave up reading one series I’d enjoyed when, a dozen books along, I had the sense I’d been reading the same book over and over again for a while. For me, every time I work on a story or manuscript I’m giving myself new challenges. It might be as simple as saying, “Do better on your descriptions” or as complicated as saying, “Write a book from the perspective of the criminal,” which is something I haven’t done yet. I’ve written plenty of short fiction from the criminal POV, but not a manuscript.

Not yet.

This is where the second threat writers face comes in. Growth. How can growth be a threat? Well, readers begin to develop expectations. They are, after all, fans for a reason. They like what you’re doing. So, if you push yourself to grow, and move in different directions, sometimes you’ll lose some of those readers because they simply don’t like what you’re doing anymore.

See? The two threats - stagnation and growth.

This is one of the reasons I have such a high level of respect for Mark. He pushes himself. He doesn’t stay in his comfort zone and stick with what’s expected. He takes risks, and they always come from his desire to continue to grow as an author.
I got a wonderful message recently, from someone who had great things to say about SC. And then, what has become the inevitable, a comment about hoping to see more of Farraday…

I absolutely love getting the feedback from people who’ve enjoyed the book. It’s fantastic – there really is no greater feeling than knowing that people have read your stuff and enjoyed it. Each person who’s written has given me a buzz, no question.
But as I was thinking about BURIED, and about the fact that Mark is presently working on a standalone novel that won’t be part of the Thorne series, I got thinking about the fact that WHAT BURNS WITHIN has a lot of differences from SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES. It’s a different series. Different location. Different characters.

The tone isn’t the same.

And that’s one of the things that will work for it and against it, same as the other manuscript that’s presently in limbo-land (ECHOES AND DUST). The tone of E&D is very different from SC. Some of the people who read and loved SC will have no problem making the transition to something darker, something truly noir, but there are others who won’t be able to handle it. I had one person abandon E&D after the first murder, all of a few pages in.

But I wouldn’t change the tone of the book just to make it more suited to the people who liked the tone of SC. The book would never work. It’s about people who are fundamentally different from the people in SC, and they don’t see the world the same way. With a different perspective comes a different tone. That is not necessarily good or bad… Just different.

I think it will be easier for people who liked SC to make the journey over to WBW, and I do hope WBW can launch a new series, one I can really sink my teeth into. The second book is already in the early stages.

But after that, I’m going to write a standalone. I’m lucky. I can do a draft fast – on average, 6 weeks. Which means that even if I’m under contract to do one thing I can squeeze in luxury writing on the side. Until now I’ve focused on short stories as a way to push myself, but I want to write a standalone.

And then I’ll write a PI novel, just because.

Just don’t bank on me coming out with a cat mystery any time soon.

Oh, and another reason I love THE BURNING GIRL? Precisely because of how close to the edge Thorne gets, how the lines blur. It was a darker, edgier Thorne, one I could really respect. That might sound like a contradiction to some, but I don’t like guys who are weak, manipulated by women or who let themselves be pushed around at work all the time. When you’re willing to cross lines to get to the truth it shows just how determined you are to get a result, no matter the cost to your soul.
And people are very interesting when they come face to face with the darkness within themselves.

I haven’t said much about BURIED here, because that wasn’t the point of the post. I do recommend it and I think Porter is a keeper. For me, the Thorne series has become one of my mainstays, along with Rebus, and Billingham an author I turn to when I’m in need of a great read because I know he’ll deliver.

Next up, an indulgence. Ken Bruen, another author who has proven that – Brant, Taylor or standalone – there isn’t a damn thing he can’t do. And whatever he does, he does it all soooo incredibly well.

And if you haven't joined Crimespace yet, what are you waiting for? I've got a place for you at the bar.

Of Being Grouped and Ungrouped

Daniel Hatadi has done something very cool. Which is to be expected, since Daniel is the Australian embodiment of cool.

Before I explain, let me say I can’t stress enough the importance of authors having a website, or a webpresence. For crying out loud, it’s free to set up a blog, and you don’t have to run it like a blog. You can run it like a website, with pages for bio, books, other works and then use the “blog” feature for news updates. It’s a pet peeve of mine when authors don’t have some web presence – when I’m doing background for interviews for Spinetingler if I can’t find information about the authors online it makes it nearly impossible. Plus, when you’re moderating a panel at a convention and there’s no author information, how do you introduce them?

Anyway, yesterday I had another experience that reminded me of just how important a web presence is, when someone contacted me and asked if I knew a certain author. The author in question has no web presence whatsoever… And the reason for wanting to make contact was a good one: A conference committee was considering asking this author to teach a workshop. The problem? Nobody in the local writing community knew him and there was no obvious way to contact the guy.

Now, you can get a blog for free. You can also get on MySpace for free. I’ve had a dismissive attitude toward MySpace. Seemed to me like a central hub for pedophiles and teenagers, and I find most of the MySpace pages I’ve ever looked at incredibly frustrating. I know ‘everybody’s doing it’ but I just couldn’t be bothered.

Which is, quite possibly, why I didn’t know about the Ning thing and the central hub system…

But Daniel Hatadi did and he has set up Crimespace, a central hub for authors and fans of crime fiction, a virtual bar. Such a thing hasn’t existed online since the Mystery Circus was shut down.

I always thought something like this was a good idea, and Anne Frasier and I had been discussing doing something like this for a while. Now we don’t need to. Daniel’s gone and done it already.

I hope people will check it out and give it a chance. If I can figure out how to feed my own blog to the mypage blog I have there now, I’ll be all set.

In Other News

This is just a matter of clarification. As I am no longer in Killer Year I am officially stating, for the record, that I will not be participating in their anthology.

And I’m still working on updating and fixing my links. I’m making a list…

Three Separate Things

Just Another Typical Day

A woman’s body is found two weeks after she went missing. While the Pickton trial moves along, Pickton’s brother remains under investigation.

I guess this is what you call therapeutic sex, but it’s no laughing matter.

I’m not dishing out sympathy for Mom on this one. It’s the reason she’s under arrest: charged with murdering her 14-year-old daughter earlier this week. Sticking with domestic murders, the girl, now 13, charged with murdering her parents and younger brother last year should be on trial in June.

Two police officers were wounded in a drug bust shootout near Montreal.

And this, this makes me sick. A pastor sexually abuses a girl for seven years and he only faces one year behind bars.

All just one day skimming the news in Canada.


Now, on an entirely different note, Patrick shared some thoughts on the Out of the Gutter collection which I have a story in. It’s always interesting to hear people’s take on your work, especially someone as sharp as Patrick.

And even further afield…
I sent WHAT BURNS WITHIN off last night. Now I’m dealing with writing the wretched synopsis. I always find that tricky. If I could tell the story in two pages it wouldn’t be 445 pages long in manuscript form… But it is getting there.

Over the next two weeks I hope to catch up on Spinetingler stuff, read work written by other people and catch up on emails.

Well, and finish up that other little project I’m working on. No time to stare at the wall blankly and vegetate.

Government Sanctioned Criminals

If you’re going to be the victim of a crime in Canada make sure you don’t reside in Ontario.

An Ontario agency meant to help victims of crime and their families financially instead treats them "like rats in a maze," a scathing report released yesterday said.

Here are a few shocking examples the report highlights:

“"They were cold and callous. They showed no understanding or empathy," Devine said of the people she dealt with last summer when she asked for emergency cash to bury her 33-year-old daughter, Deborah, who had been strangled and set on fire.”

Eva-Maria Devine, a blind retiree, could afford to bury her murdered daughter or buy groceries. Not both.
She describes her experience with the provincial board that is supposed to help victims of crime with a single word: "Hell."

From the same article, “Jeffrey Downes, a Toronto man, died three years after being brutally attacked and the board still hadn't gotten around to his compensation hearing.”

How convenient. Guess they can toss that file out now.

- Al Almeida, whose daughter Naiomi, 5, was raped and murdered in 2001, leaving him shattered by grief and unable to work, was "treated as though he was a con artist trying to scam the (board), rather than as a survivor of a horrific crime," said the report, titled Adding Insult to Injury. Even when Almeida and his young son were on the verge of eviction, the board refused to confirm his compensation had been granted and was waiting to be processed.
"They asked me why I believe I'm a victim. How can they ask that?" said Almeida, who watched Marin's news conference in Toronto.
"We're talking about a five-year-old that was kidnapped, raped and murdered while I slept in the next room. I feel like I let my daughter down as a father."

Can you imagine living with that guilt?

One thing I’m getting really sick of is that when we know there’s a problem with something we set up some committee to study it and make reports. For example, we know in Canada that EI has a huge surplus of cash but there are numerous examples of people who are unemployed consistently have a difficult time getting funds, having to wait an extended period of time before benefits kick in, get no assistance with retraining and only receive 55% of their normal salaries… AND they still have to pay EI insurance premiums on the paltry sum EI gives them. Meanwhile, Alberta has a labor shortage – more jobs than people – while other people are unable to get work elsewhere.

I mean, you’d think EI would get off their ass and assist people in relocating or send them west to look for a job. And if they succeed, hurrah. It’s the best for everyone.

No, no, can’t do that. Let’s just send them home to watch daytime television and get depressed when they can’t find work.

Look, I’m certainly not NDP. I don’t believe in taxing people to death and racking up huge debts. I think in essence it’s best to give people a hand up than a hand out. I don’t want to create a system where people are dependent on programs to survive forever.

But sometimes you just have to chuck all of that out the window, and when people are the victims of crime they are dealing with grief and shock that is beyond what anyone would ever want to have to face. I mean, a woman’s daughter is killed and set on fire – bad enough she has to face that fact. First, losing a daughter. Losing a family member is hard enough for anyone, but especially parents losing kids. But to lose your daughter to such a vicious murder. And then you have to deal with planning a funeral and making all those choices you never thought you’d have to make, those choices you prayed to God or pleaded with fate to never have to face…

And you’re left destitute and the one agency that’s supposed to be there to help you treats you like a criminal.

One of the things I’ve done more of with What Burns Within is look at the victims. To show how what they’ve had to face is affecting them. There’s no such thing as victimless crime – something we’d all do well to remember – and a lot of crime fiction lacks the development of the victims. I certainly didn’t do as much there in SC as I could have.

If anyone wants a stellar example of a book that really breathes life into the victim I recommend Mark Billingham’s The Burning Girl. Well, all of Mark’s books are pretty damn good at showing both sides of the equation…

You know, only a matter of months ago I was ranting about how Ontario was treating families with autistic children. Since I spent more than 20 years of my life living there I feel justified saying that the Ontario government sucks. I’m not saying other governments in this country don’t suck… It’s just that McGuinty’s Liberals have earned special distinction on my shit list today.

The Cheat of Setting

Ah, New York City. Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, the smell of exhaust and incessant blare of horns honking, more taxis in a row than floors in the Empire State Building.

Can you see it? Does it bring any visual images to your mind?

How about this?

…the gleaming facades of new high rises and business developments gave way to older, established buildings that were gradually getting facelifts. The area was fondly called Old Town by the locals...

or this?

Hilly streets wove past buildings scattered along the roadside. This part of the city was old, the houses and shops plain. The real business of commerce was done in the area where Farraday worked, the other side of the city from this, the original town. This street had a Mom & Pop Convenience Store, a local grocer instead of large chain stores and a no-name hardware store in desperate need of a repairman’s attention. Somehow, this neighborhood had eluded the development overtaking other areas. Branches dangled over the sidewalks; already leaves were starting to collect on the pavement, the red, orange and yellow hues slowly claiming dominance. In the stretches between the buildings bushes pressed against the road. While other cities were defined by steel, cement and man-made structures, this area was distinctly green and ungoverned.

Lara liked driving along these roads. The lush foliage and quiet streets seemed more human than the concrete jungle expanding to the west.

One of the things I’ve looked at, long and hard, is the setting in books and I’ve come to a conclusion. A lot of books skim the setting.

The reason it concerns me is that I’ve started to realize that with a lot of books, whether or not the reader feels there’s a sense of place has more to do with what the reader brings to the table than what the author puts into the book. Face it. Anyone can mention New York, the Statue of Liberty and endless streams of vehicles honking and we start conjuring up mental pictures, gleaned from Law & Order and NYPD Blue repeats. The overwhelming majority of people know a fair bit about NYC and so it isn’t hard for a writer to insert a few token location names and the reader ends up with a strong visual image.

I think it’s when the author writes about a place that’s less known that they’re more likely to get criticized for not giving the book a sense of place.

I’ve been thinking about this for months. The more you write, the more you start reading differently. You analyze the books you read, even if only on a subconscious level, then you find yourself at your desk later, thinking about it.

I think that the authors who do setting exceptionally well are the ones who’ve taken a place they know and love and really made it a character in the books. The automatic one that jumps to mind? Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan books. Well, all of Laura Lippman’s books. I love Baltimore, and a big part of the reason I’ve developed such an interest in that city is because Laura’s love for the city translates through in her work. The city is more than the backdrop, more than a few choice locations and labels inserted to give the books a setting. It lives and breathes and has a life and character of its own.

The other person I consider to be a master of setting is Ian Rankin. (Yeah, yeah, just shush.) Scotland has always had an enormous appeal to me in general, and I fell in love with Edinburgh with the first book. I have never been to Baltimore, but I have been to Edinburgh twice now, and last summer I was freaking people out when I went. Normally I’m pretty obsessive compulsive, and I like to know my itinerary and have my route mapped out. Like I said to Kevin this morning, “I don’t like driving anywhere if I don’t know where I’m going.” (Makes it hard to go new places.) But I stepped off the train at Waverly, had the name of the hotel and knew I’d figure it out when I got there. By the time my travel companion met me at the hotel I had the bus system figured out for getting to and from downtown, with multiple options. I feel at ease in that city, and a big part of the reason is because of how much I’ve gleaned about it in the Rebus books. Kevin and I always say some day, when we can take a month, we’ll go just spend time in Edinburgh.

Sometimes, I wish authors would have the balls to forego the standard advice and instead set their books in lesser known places, but places they love. I just read Alain Mabanckou’s African Psycho, which has its own sense of place, with the story taking place primarily in He-Who-Drinks-Water-Is-An-Idiot. In a story that was dark and disturbing on so many levels the wondrous African town names cracked me up. I’ve always been a huge fan of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. I just got Peter Temple’s The Distant Shore, and I’m looking forward to Toni McGee Causey’s Bobbie Faye’s Very (very very very) Bad Day, which is set in Louisiana. Why? Because it’s someplace different. I’m tired of the same-old, same-old. Tired of books and TV shows set in NYC and LA. I want to recapture that feeling I had, reading my first Rebus book, that I could close my eyes and see this place, that it felt so familiar to me just from reading the book that I knew it. I got that sense when I read Bill Cameron’s Lost Dog and when I read Anne Frasier’s Pale Immortal. It was so refreshing to read about new places.

The setting for Suspicious Circumstances was one thing I struggled with. I was unhappy about the pressure to move the book to a US setting. One thing I realized was that if I tried to represent an actual place I hadn’t been to I would definitely get it wrong, so I followed the Lake Wobegon approach, and fictionalized a town, referenced it off real places but tried to make it vague enough that nobody could put a finger on a map and say it was a substitute for any actual real place.

Despite my google searches, my attempts to get professional contacts in the area and input from a friend familiar with the area (the one who recommended the setting to me for that book) I made a technical mistake. I just heard about it Monday. I’m not surprised, but this strengthened an already strong resolve within me:

I want to set my work in a place that lives and breathes for me.

So… The current book I’ve been working on is titled What Burns Within. And it’s set in the Greater Vancouver Area (GVA), specifically the Tri-Cities: Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. Anybody heard of Port Coquitlam? Maybe something about a pig farmer?

That isn’t why I picked that setting. I picked this setting because I used to live at, essentially, the crossroads, where New Westminster, Burnaby and Coquitlam intersect. From my balcony I could see the Fraser River and into Coquitlam. We spent the majority of our time in Coquitlam and Port Moody. Oh, how we loved to walk at Rocky Point, even at risk of encountering bears, cougars and coyotes. Coquitlam Centre was our favourite mall, hands down. They have a great sandwich shop in the food court. Although I’m not supposed to eat sandwiches I couldn’t resist the place.

(Sunset off our balcony when we lived in New Westminster - this is Twitch's place in Fucked Again. And yeah, it was suitably sleazy for him...)




(Above two photos both taken at Rocky Point park, in Port Moody. The park wraps around the Burrard Inlet.)


My close friends used to live in the same building as us, then moved to Port Moody. Now they’re in Port Coquitlam. This is 100% where I hang out when I visit the lower mainland, and if Kevin had a transfer back there… well, I love Alberta, but I love BC differently. I spent more than six years living in BC, both on Vancouver Island and in the GVA, and I love going back there. It’s a place that has it’s own pulse.

Plus, with my friend Steve being on the New Westminster Fire Department, I hear all kinds of stories. Steve’s wife, Alison, is a nurse, so between the two of them they can keep me suitably disgusted and put me off my dinner any night of the week, although since I started writing crime fiction I’ve been able to hold my own a bit better. When we’d hang out I always felt ganged up on, because Kevin was in the military, he’s a qualified social worker and worked at a mental hospital, and now with the fire department he’s seen his share of wild stuff.

But I digress. I just have so much passion for the GVA. The longer I live here, the more I miss BC.




Someone asked me recently if I would ever set a book here. Maybe. Probably not until I move away, though. I think the distance gives you perspective. In one respect, I’m just like Cornelia Read’s protagonist from her Edgar nominated debut: “There are people who can be happy anywhere. I am not one of them.”

But sometimes, for just a few hours I can be happy in a new place in a book.

A Different View

What do you call it when you're driving a small car, hit a deer on the highway and survive?

A miracle.

Is It About Writing or Being Worshipped?

In my opinion, too many new authors seem to think it’s about a glamorous life and instant celebrity. I remember the good old high school days, the sports stars, the “rock” stars, the actors. The things that got people attention. You didn’t become Mr. Popular because you aced your English exams. You didn’t become the talk of the school for writing an award-winning story.

You were popular because you scored the winning touchdown, or because you knew how to play a guitar and sing.

And look how it translates over to society. Even the blogs are all over every aspect of Anna Nicole Smith’s death and the ongoing saga. Now it’s Britney, shaving her head, getting a tattoo, in and out of rehab.

I couldn’t have said it better than this, so I won’t even try.

Are our own lives so empty, that we'll fill the void by any means?

Answer: yup.

Michael Richards, aka the beloved, immortal Cosmo Kramer, pulls a similar total disregard for other people stunt, and it's all we can talk about at work for weeks. Oh, sure, he could be the grand marshall of the stupid parade, but at what point do we stop with the "what will they do next" train of thought? Probably never.

Take the story of a young lady known as Britney Spears. She started out with a certain Christina Aguilera in the Mickey Mouse Club way back when the rest of us were glued to the boob tube watching the antics of one O.J. Simpson with rabid interest.
Years later, while Christina basks in the warmth of her sanity, poor Britney is apparently at her wit's end. Having just divorced professional baby maker and part-time rapper Kevin Federline, Brit finds herself spiralling out of control, partying with the likes of Paris Hilton and forgetting such basics as her underwear and morals at home (20 minute pause to Google).

Then, this past weekend, in order to garner even more of the publicity that keeps her alive, Brit -- who shouldn't be around sharp instruments at the best of times -- shaves her head right down to the wood.

None of us are genuinely surprised when just days later she checks into rehab. Rehab must be an acronym for Really Examining Her Awkward Behaviour.

But, we are again fascinated, enamoured if you will, with her every move. I ask again ... Why?
It's like we're the ones addicted and in need of rehab. We don't necessarily want to know, we have to know what the latest is. Gossip has become our drug, and there's no kicking the habit.

So, while Anna Nicole's estate remains unsettled, as does who the father of her five-month-old daughter is, we await further developments.

And as Mel Gibson continues to direct Oscarworthy movies, we wait for him to slip up again.

And, as Michael Richards has apparently left the planet, we await his return.

It's enough to make me wonder about poor Britney. With all the rumours abounding regarding her sanity, I have to ask ... Is she the one who's crazy?

Or are we?

Whose cheese has really slipped off the cracker?

Who has one wheel in the sand?

Are we the ones who are "all hat, no cattle?"

If so, then watch out. The inmates are running the asylum.


I once asked why a group was tailoring all their activities around one person.

“They’re the closest we have to a star” was the answer I got.

Tells you something, doesn’t it? And when it’s a group of writers, well, it tells me something scary. Something I don’t want to find myself sucked into. There’s a real fascination in our culture with building up “heroes” only to tear them down. People love to see an idol fall, and it’s my feeling that this is carrying over to the writing community as well now. A matter of months ago it was ‘pounce on Ian Rankin’ time. Those of us on the lists and at LCC are certainly aware that another author came under unfair attack recently.

In fact, put to it, I can think of a number of scandals from the past year alone. It makes me sad.

Right now, I’m putting my head down to write.

And I’m afraid the week didn’t end on a high note. Kevin was in a car accident this morning - may the car rest in peace. They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…

Well, I hope so.

Until next time… And for now, I'm not sure when that will be.

Is Living With Your Mistakes Punishment Enough?

There is little doubt people do some very stupid things. This for example, is definitely one of the dumber things a criminal has done lately.

But what’s on my mind is the death of a toddler, the day before her birthday, from what is truly a tragic accident. The mother had taken Tuesday off work to run some errands and get ready for the birthday party. When she stopped at her office she left her daughter and six-year-old son in her vehicle… And she left the vehicle running.

Somehow, the child freed herself from her car seat and was able to activate the power windows while her older brother slept in the front seat.
A witness heard the girl’s cries and rushed over to the SUV where he found her caught in the window. The man freed the girl from the window and laid her on the front seat while he ran into the office building to call 911.
In the meantime, the mother returned to the car and, assuming her daughter was only sleeping, buckled her into her seat and drove towards her son’s school.
It was about 40 minutes later, after dropping her son of at school, that the woman noticed something was wrong with her daughter, said MacLeod.

Now, charges aren’t being laid. As the police have said: No charges are expected to be laid against the mother.
“This mother now has to deal with the fact that she’s lost her two-year-old daughter,” he said.


I’m having a hard time accepting that charges aren’t being laid. I’m having a hard time understanding why the mother wouldn’t have concerns about how her daughter got out of her car seat.

And here’s one other thing I don’t get at all. The man who freed the girl from the window laid her on the front seat and ran inside to call 911. Since he was calling for help it stands to reason he didn’t lock the vehicle. How did he himself get into the vehicle? Did he take the time to put the window the girl got her head stuck in back up? I wouldn’t think so… I mean, people do some strange stuff in panic situations, but this is an example of a news story where I feel a lot of critical information is missing.

But if my theorizing is correct, the mother returns to a vehicle that isn’t locked and her child is out of her car seat and she never even stops to wonder?

It leaves me hoping the police investigation wasn’t as shoddy on the details.

And it leaves me wondering when it will be illegal for people to leave kids in vehicles. I mean, a vehicle left running… Let your imagination run wild about all the things that could have happened had the boy woken up and decided to play Nascar.


I meant to mention that Amra Pajalic shared her thoughts on SC on her post on Monday:
Book of the week: Sandra Ruttan's Suspicious Circumstances. A really good read with constant accelerating of tension and plots that keep coming. What I loved most about it was the breaking of stereotypes. An ethical reporter, a cop who took duty seriously and wasn’t jaded. I also liked the romantic angle not becoming typical with an emphasis on respect between Ty and Lara as well as timing. That is there a time and a place. I really, really enjoyed it. Congratulations Sandra on writing such a great book.

Thanks for sharing your insights Amra.

And (another update) I guess I should share that I have signed on with an agent. I will be updating that information on my website soon.

And I'll have another story coming out soon...

Oink Oink

Welcome to the Year of the Pig. Expect epidemics, disasters and violence in much of the world.

So, more of the same old, same old. Don’t blame global warming and George Bush, blame the calendar dates. (I am joking.)

This is actually the year of the red pig. Let’s get more details:

Pig is a Lucky and Mild-tempered Animal
President Ronald Reagan was born in year of Pig. He was very happy to know that Pig is a very lucky animal in the Chinese horoscope. The Chinese see that pigs eat food all the time, enjoy sleeping all day long and worry about nothing during their entire lives. Therefore, pig is a lucky animal.
According to Chinese Five Element astrology. the animal sign Pig contains Water and Wood. Pig doesn't fight with Metal, because Metal, Water and Wood have a Circulating Relationship. Pig doesn't fight with Fire, because Water, Wood and Fire together have a Circulating Relationship as well.
But the Water element will fight with the Earth element. Earth animals are Cow, Dragon, Sheep and Dog. Cow contains Earth, Metal and Water. Cow and Pig don't fight directly, because Earth, Metal, Water and Wood are in a circulating sequence. We can find the similar circulating relationships between other Earth animals with the Pig, so it doesn't have a face-to-face conflict with the other animals.
Snake and Pig have a Fighting Relationship. But Snake contains Fire, Earth and Metal. If we put Snake and Pig together, we can still find Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal in a circulating sequence. This means that the fighting relationship between Snake and Pig is not that serious. The conclusion is that most of people born in year of Pig don't have any unyielding argument with other people. Since Pig-type people have more peaceful lifestyle than others, they are therefore luckier.
Red Pig and Lucky Element
The past three years, Monkey 2004, Chicken 2005 and Dog 2006 are Metal cycles. Year of Red Pig 2007 is the beginning year of the Water cycle. Therefore the coming three years are favorable to people whose lucky element is Water.
Basically, Pig contains Water and Wood. Red is related Fire. In short, people will have better luck in 2007, if their Lucky Element is Water, Wood or Fire.

What about those born in the year of the pig?

“According to Chinese astrology, people born in pig years are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal. They are also lucky, which is why many Chinese like to have babies in a pig year.”

I’m a pig.

Well, okay, according to this thing I filled out at the site I’m a brown horse born in the year of the white pig and my lucky element is metal.

I have no real idea what that means, other than that it sounds like I live on a farm.

When the Metal is your lucky element
-1. Monkey and Chicken are your lucky animals.
-1. Years of Monkey and Chicken are your lucky years.
-1. Months of Monkey and Chicken are your lucky Months.
-1. Fall is your lucky season.
-1. 15:00 - 19:00 (3 P.M. to 7 P.M.) are your lucky hours.
-1. Western direction is your lucky place.
-1. It will bring you luck to live in a house that faces west.
-1. You should choose a bedroom on the west side of the house.
-1. It's good for you to keep the west side window(s) open.
-1. When arranging the office desk, you should sit facing the west.
-1. A metal bed is good for you.
-1. Your lucky color is white.
-1. You should wear white often.
-1. Driving a white car brings your luck.
-1. Wearing jewelry will bring you luck.
-1. It's a good idea to wear golden rings.
Take care of your respiratory system - Lungs, Nose and Skin.

I can’t sit facing west in this office. That exposes my back to the door and I don’t like having people be able to sneak up on me. Although I’ve always known I had a thing for the west – I dreamed of moving west as a child. My house has doors on the north and west side – does that count for anything?

A metal bed, though? And driving a car? I don’t consider white a good winter colour, poor visibility.

Well, anyway, it is now the year of the pig, I’m as confused as ever, and I figure I probably have a second contradictory horoscope anyway because I’m a Gemini.

And my twins are polar opposites.

Norby sent me a joke, and it’s been a while since I’ve posted one, so here you are. Happy Sunday. (And for those who’ve emailed about links, I’m working on that too.)

THE COMPANY PLAN
In the beginning there was the plan.
And then came the Assumptions.
And the Assumptions were without form.
And the Plan was without substance.
And darkness fell upon the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of shit."
And the Workers went unto the Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of dung."
And the Supervisors went unto the Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, such that none may abide by it."
And the Managers went unto the Senior Managers, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer."
And the Senior Managers went to the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It promotes growth and it is very powerful."

And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will promote the growth of the company with very powerful effects."
And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.
And the Plan became Policy.
And this is how shit happens.

Time For A Little Sex Vacation?

Tourism Victoria is defending a new advertising slogan that says "the search for your perfect orgasm is over".

So, um, if you don't achieve that do you get your money back?

On Display

Exactly one week ago, I unexpectedly walked into a whole bunch of them. Hopefuls. It was easy to tell who they were, too. Numbers pasted to their shirts, that gleam of hope in their eye as they scoped out the competition, assessed their appearance, weighed their chances... Which weren’t good.

I mean, I have no actual idea how many hopefuls showed up for the Calgary auditions of Canadian Idol, but I saw far more than would be handed a gold ticket or whatever it is they do anymore to invite people to Toronto to compete as part of the 100.

Now, I didn’t plan to go to Southcentre Mall to see them. And as soon as I realized what was going on part of me wanted to get out fast.

But I was just too curious. What drives each of these hopefuls to line up for hours, to scrutinize the competition, to be a spectacle, knowing that the Canadian Idol judges can be completely merciless? I mean, I’ll admit to seeing part of one season on TV, the first year. Ouch.

When we put ourselves out with our writing it’s a bit different. Usually done with some degree of privacy. I’ve known people who’ve subbed, got deals and not even told anyone until closer to the release. Some people keep things really quiet.

Writers can cover a lot of ground without public humiliation. Not these singers. They have to put themselves out there. I can read a review in private in my office 99% of the time, and cope privately if it hurts. If they suck they get told to their face.

And it’s an interesting thing, because I understand the reason American Idol has been so popular this year is that they’re showing the rejects for a portion of every show.

Boy oh boy, some people love to kick a person when they’re down. And some people just love to kick others, period. This is one of the things Kevin and I have talked about at length, how our society seems obsessed with creating ‘heroes’ and then tearing them down. Always looking for the great story, the waitress who gets discovered and becomes a millionaire acting in some movie, or cutting an album. We’re all over any rags to riches tale…

Until a person makes too much, is a little too successful or whatever. Yes, it’s possible to lose your sweetheart status and be, essentially, dumped.

I’ve always had my own philosophy where all this stuff is concerned. It’s about the readers. The coolest thing is hearing that someone has read the book and enjoyed it. And yet…

I have to admit that I have no idea how to handle the compliments. When someone comes up to you or emails and says they loved your book do you just say, “Thank you?” Seems a little hollow. But really, what can you say? I’m pleased? It means a lot to me? Glad you enjoyed it?

To be honest, I’m still getting over the shock that anyone’s read the book. Because it isn’t like singing on a stage and we don’t get those immediate reactions. You never know when an email or letter will come, or someone will walk up to you to talk about the book.

Anyone have any stories to share about that, from either side of the fence?

I can only say one thing: I hope the thrill of hearing that someone enjoyed my work never fades, because I really believe it’s the highest honour.

Ah, research. And edits...

Okay, I'm motoring along on revisions here and then I hit something.

"Like the people campaigning for a change in daylight savings time?"

Just last night Kevin and I were talking about the change in dst. Unreal. But when I drafted this ms, that hadn't happened.

Could the world not change for a few years so I don't have to worry about updating my manuscripts? Is that too much to ask for? See, I didn't think so.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog-hopping.