March 7th and there’s 7  days to go: Owl’s Nest Bookstore. Double sevens for good luck? Let’s hope.

Eight Days until the launch for Ten Days in Summer at Owl’s Nest Bookstore. My recent hiking holiday in Arizona took my mind off things. Now I’m getting nervous.

Yesterday, I attended the Alexandra Writers Centre Society’s Alberta Skies Art and Book Exhibit. The event took place at the new AWCS premises in cSpace, Calgary’s new home for artists of all kinds. It drew a crowd that packed our three rooms, warming them up so much that the building custodian opened the top three windows for the first time.

cSpace is still under renovation, but the AWCS’ classrooms are already a go. Somehow, we scored the penthouse–those are our windows on the top floor (left hand side).  Each classroom gets tons of light and has a view of the Rocky Mountains. What a change from our former basement location, although the setting in a sandstone school nicely continues the AWCS heritage.

Nine days to go until the launch for Ten Days in Summer at Owl’s Nest Bookstore.

I doubt I’ll publish another book with 10 in the title, so this is my chance for a 10-day countdown to my book launch. Here it begins.

Today, from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m, I’ll be at the Alberta Skies Art Exhibit
cSpace King Edward, 1721 29 Ave SW, Calgary
Featuring Alberta Skies course participants at the Alexandra Writers Centre Society
Art Exhibition, Book Sales, Readings, & Music by the Authors/Artists, Refreshments served

Come and check out cSpace, Calgary’s new arts incubator and new location for the Alexandra Writers Centre Society.  The AWCS windows are on the top floor, left hand side of this picture looking up from the dumpster — building renovations are still in progress.

Ten days to the launch of Ten Days in Summer — March 14, 7:00 p.m. at Owl’s Nest Bookstore.

My publisher gave me a regular spot on their website’s author insider blog. I’ll be there the 12th of every month. Check out my first offering about the one blog post I wrote that made a difference.

Check out this month’s Opal Magazine for my article Writing on the Beach.

Ten Days in Summer is now available in Canada in paperback and ebook form. You can also order the book through
Amazon and your favourite independent book store.

One of my favourites, Owl’s Nest Bookstore, will be hosting the Ten Days in Summer Book Launch on Tuesday, March 14, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Britannia Shopping Plaza on Elbow Drive at 49th Avenue. 815A 49th Avenue SW, Calgary

I’m busy sending out invitations to the launch and arranging book signings at other Calgary stores. So far, I’ve lined up:

Chapters Shawnessy, 16061 Macleod Trail SE, Saturday, March 25, 2017, 11:00 am – 5 pm

Chapters Chinook, Chinook Mall, 6455 Macleod Trail, Suite L1, Friday, March 31, 2017 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Chapters Macleod Trail, 9631 Macleod Trail SW, and Indigo Shepard Regional Centre, #170 – 4916 – 130th Ave, SE, Calgary will set dates when they receive their book orders.

Crime Writers of Canada asked me to write a teaser and 50-60 word blurb for their next issue of Cool Canadian Crime. Here’s what I came up with:

Teaser:  While Calgary, Alberta, celebrates its ten-day Stampede festival, insurance adjuster Paula Savard investigates a suspicious building fire that caused the death of a hoarder.

The blurb continues with: The case turns personal when Paula’s daughter becomes involved with a suspect. To ensure her daughter’s safety, Paula must dig through the hoarder’s messy life. She unearths betrayal, family secrets and murder.

Ten Days is on its way!

The Launch is set to go.

Owl’s Nest Bookstore March 14, 2017, 7-8:30 pm. Susan Calder launches her second novel, Ten Days in Summer, a murder mystery set in Calgary, Alberta, during The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth– Calgary’s 10-day Exhibition and Stampede. Everyone welcome.

Ten Days in Summer

Calgary, Alberta, gears up for its ten-day Stampede festival. When a hoarder dies in a suspicious house fire, adjuster Paula Savard sets the revelry aside to handle the property insurance claim. But Paula’s interviews with the hoarder’s bickering heirs raise questions. What are they hiding from each other and the police? Are they trying to help or to sabotage the investigation? Did one of them set the blaze to kill a relative and hasten an inheritance?

The case turns personal when Paula’s daughter becomes involved with a suspect and moves into his home. If Paula learns the truth, she can ensure her daughter’s safety. While the police are occupied with keeping order during the Stampede, Paula digs through the hoarder’s life. She unearths betrayal, murder and a long-ago secret that led to his death. Exposing the truth would put Paula at risk, but free a troubled family.

Ten Days in Summer is the sequel to Deadly Fall. I hope these reviews of Deadly Fall bode well for the series:

“A pointedly nuanced debut novel, …sparkles with tone and energy that set the pace, a concise storyline, and edgy dialogue that moves the story forward…a debut worth reading and a possible series with insurance claims providing a minefield of potential stories.” — Don Graves, Hamilton Spectator

“Paula is an intelligent, determined, often critical (though in a good way) yet still compassionate sleuth, who is front and center in this mystery debut. She’s a solidly developed character, one readers will want to get to know better, with an interesting supporting cast, which should serve her well in subsequent books. With possibly a new profession in hand, and her first case behind her, readers will look forward to seeing how she fares.” — Mysterious Reviews

Here’s the back cover blurb for my new novel Ten Days in Summer:

Calgary, Alberta, gears up for its ten-day Stampede festival. When a hoarder dies in a suspicious house fire, adjuster Paula Savard sets the revelry aside to handle the property insurance claim. But Paula’s interviews with the hoarder’s bickering heirs raise questions. What are they hiding from each other and the police? Are they trying to help or to sabotage the investigation? Did one of them set the blaze to kill a relative and hasten an inheritance?

The case turns personal when Paula’s daughter becomes involved with a suspect and moves into his home. If Paula learns the truth, she can ensure her daughter’s safety. While the police are occupied with keeping order during the Stampede, Paula digs through the hoarder’s life. She unearths betrayal, murder and a long-ago secret that led to his death. Exposing the truth would put Paula at risk, but free a troubled family.

Ten Days in Summer is the sequel to Deadly Fall. I hope these reviews of Deadly Fall bode well for the series:

“A pointedly nuanced debut novel, …sparkles with tone and energy that set the pace, a concise storyline, and edgy dialogue that moves the story forward…a debut worth reading and a possible series with insurance claims providing a minefield of potential stories.” — Don Graves, Hamilton Spectator

“Paula is an intelligent, determined, often critical (though in a good way) yet still compassionate sleuth, who is front and center in this mystery debut. She’s a solidly developed character, one readers will want to get to know better, with an interesting supporting cast, which should serve her well in subsequent books. With possibly a new profession in hand, and her first case behind her, readers will look forward to seeing how she fares.” — Mysterious Reviews

Yesterday, I created a Facebook page for my new novel, scheduled for release this spring.