Tag Archives: #mysterywriting

Christmas Celebrations – Mexican Style!

December 19, 2024News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #AndalesPuertoVallarta, #Mexico, #mysterywriting, #OurLadyofGuadalupe, #PuertoVallartaadmin

My husband Will and I have developed the habit of spending part of November and/or December in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. During our visits these past four years, we’ve noticed that as soon as the Day of Dead (Nov 1-2) celebrations are over Christmas decorations appear on buildings and streets. We northerners find it a bit jarring to see Santa Clauses in snowsuits and boots, reindeer, and our traditional Christmas trees juxtaposed with palm trees and swimsuits.

No doubt Mexicans display these decorations partly for snowbird tourists, but they seem to enjoy the festivity. Our hotel desk clerk was pleased when I admired the suggestion box she’d creatively decorated. I wonder if part of the appeal is that red, green, and white Christmas colours happen to be the colours of the Mexican flag.

Most Christmas decorations we saw for sale were similar to ones available at Canada Walmart, although occasional stores sold Mexican piñatas. Unfortunately, they were too bulky and fragile for us to bring home in our suitcases to add a Mexican flair to our own Christmas decor.

Mexico is a predominately Roman Catholic country and Christmas is ultimately a religious celebration. From December 1-12 some 400 processions wind through the streets of Puerto Vallarta and culminate at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. These parades commemorate the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the peasant Juan Diego on December 12, 1531. Our hotel organized a procession for staff members and invited hotel guests to attend. They asked to wear white although the dancers appeared in colourful costumes.

The candlelight processions include both Aztec and Christian costumes and motifs, mariachi bands, and singing by all participants (the organizers gave us song sheets). Food stalls filled the park in front of the destination, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

We found it a beautiful way to welcome the Christmas season. With luck we’ll continue our Mexico habit next year.

Happy Holidays to you!

Old Time Medicine

September 26, 2024News#amwriting, #mysterywritingadmin

When I was a child, I read numerous novels written over a century ago, such as Anne of Gables, Emily of New Moon, and The Story Girl by L. M. Montgomery. Characters who got sick in these stories routinely mentioned taking laudanum. I hadn’t heard of this medicine but assumed it was similar to our everyday modern drugs. So I was surprised to later learn that laudanum is essentially opium.

Anne of Green Gables took opium?

She almost certainly did. From the 18th to the early 20th century, laudanum was a common drug found in most household medicine cabinets. People took it for headaches, coughs, diarrhea, and “female complaints.” They fed drops to babies to ease teething pain and colic.

Drawings reveal that the juice and seeds of the opium poppy were used as medicines in ancient Assyria and Egypt. Opium treatment emerged in Europe in the 1660s, when doctors dissolved opium in liquor and added cinnamon, cloves, other spices and sometimes honey to mask the plant’s bitter taste to create a drug they called laudanum. The medicine worked quickly and more effectively than other drugs available at the time and came to feature in about 25 % of all prescribed medications. Opium was also the secret ingredient in 19th century drugs advertised and sold under innocuous brand names like Dover’s Powder and Winslow’s Soothing Syrup.

While doctors appreciated the value of opium, they were aware of the dangers. Overdose, called “acute poisoning,” could be accidental or intentional. Opium was the most common method of suicide in the 1800s and too many drops of laudanum tragically resulted in infant deaths.

Addiction, or “chronic poisoning,” was another problem. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s medical treatments led to a life-long laudanum addiction. His famous poem, “Kubla Khan,” was inspired by an opium dream.

In the early 1880s, researchers isolated the active ingredient in opium and named it for Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep and dreams. Morphine is ten times as strong as the same amount of opium but can be more precisely measured, preventing overdose. Hypodermic needles were invented to inject morphine powder and soon people could buy hypodermic syringes in the Sears catalogue for $2.00.

Next Bayer pharmaceuticals developed the even stronger heroin and marketed it with its other new drug, aspirin. Some people thought aspirin carried higher risks because it caused bleeding.

But many doctors and members of the public pushed for restrictions on dangerous drugs. In the early 20th century, governments passed laws making opium and its derivatives only available by prescription and requiring companies to list ingredients on drug labels. Researchers gradually developed effective medicines with fewer serious side effects. Laudanum is still available today but is mainly prescribed to control diarrhea when other medications have failed.

Why am I interested in old time medicine? It’s because my new historical mystery novel, A Killer Whisky, deals with common drugs of the early 1900s. These also included cocaine – great for nasal inflammation – and whisky. During Prohibition doctors were allowed to prescribe liquor to relieve stress, pain, and other physical and mental ailments. Many people took advantage of that legal loophole and enjoyed the medicine’s intoxicating side-benefits.

References:

Halpern, John H., MD and Blistein, David. Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned Our World. New York: Hachette, 2019.

Inglis, Lucy. Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium. London: Macmillan, 2019.

Malleck, Dan. When Good Drugs Go Bad. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2015.

Medical Research

September 12, 2024News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #mysterywritingadmin

On today’s BWL author blog, I write about some of interesting research I did for my historical novel-in-progress, A Killer Whisky. https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/

Mastering the Macabre

August 16, 2024News#amwriting, #mysterywriting, #whenwordscollideadmin

At Calgary’s When Words Collide Festival for Writers and Readers this weekend, I’ll be moderating a panel titled “Mastering the Macabre: Techniques in Crime, Mystery, and Thriller Writing. The session will explore the techniques used to create heart-pounding narratives that keep readers hooked until the very end. Hear from panelists as they discuss how to craft compelling mysteries, develop intricate crime plots, and evoke suspense. Ideal for writers seeking to sharpen their skills and fans of the genre. Join us Saturday at 9:00 am for a discussion that I expect to be both enlightening and entertaining.

Panelist Juanita Rose Violini created this chilling poster:

Bouchercon San Diego & more

November 25, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Bouchercon, #California, #Canadianmysterynovels, #Julianpiecompany, #mysterynovel, #mysterywriting, #oceanside, #SanDiegoadmin

Calgary’s first snowfall of the season has got me dreaming about my holiday in California this September. The main purpose for the trip was to attend Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in San Diego. My husband Will (an avid mystery reader) and I spent four interesting days attending panels and events like Speed Dating for Writers and Readers and the New Author Breakfast. Both were more fun than I’d expected and popular enough to fill the large rooms by 7:00 am. When we weren’t occupied with the convention, we enjoyed the views from our hotel in the San Diego Marina.

After the convention, we stayed an extra day in San Diego to see a little more of the city. We walked along the boardwalk and took the short ferry ride to Coronado Island, an upscale vacation beach community. The highlight was a concert in the park featuring a great cover band. Hundreds of people gathered. Since we didn’t have chairs, we stood at the front and danced to songs like “Witchy Woman” and “One of These Nights” made famous by the Eagles.

From San Diego, we drove to Julian, a “hippie” town located in the apple-growing hills east of the city. In addition to exploring the quirky, historic former gold mining town, we gorged on apple pie – arguably the best I’ve ever had. A half dozen bakeries produce pies for tourists, many of them day-trippers from San Diego.

Sunshine, warmth, ocean, books, wine, apple pie — pretty much a perfect trip!

California Dreamin’

November 12, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Bouchercon, #Canadianmysterynovels, #Julianpiecompany, #mysterynovel, #mysterywriting, #oceanside, #SanDiegoadmin

On today’s BWL author blog, I reminisce about holiday in southern California in late August-September. It’s even relevant to my writing. https://bwlauthors.blogspot.com/

Calgary Herald Bestsellers List

October 1, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Bestsellers, #CalgaryHerald, #Canadianmysterynovels, #mysterynovel, #mysterywritingadmin

Since I no longer subscribe to physical newspapers, a friend emailed me this clipping from yesterday’s Calgary Herald. Nice to see Spring Into Danger listed in actual print.

In the old days, I used to laminate newspaper clippings of my articles and previous appearances on Calgary’s Bestsellers List. Now I save them to my digital files.

# 1

September 30, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Canadianmysterynovels, #mysterynovel, #mysterywritingadmin

Thanks to a great turnout at my book launch, my novel, Spring Into Danger, hit #1 on today’s Calgary Herald Bestsellers List. Here I am on the list in pretty good company.

CALGARY BESTSELLERS

Calgary Herald

Compiled from information from Owl’s Nest Books and Shelf Life Books.

30 Sep 2023

FICTION 1. Spring into Danger

Susan Calder. After thieves break into a store and steal two bicycles, a psychic phones Det. Mike Vincelli.

2. Brave Like the Buffalo

Melissa Allan and Jadyn Fischer-mcnab. A children’s book with a message that will inspire all readers.

3. The Last Devil to Die

Richard Osman. It’s rarely a quiet day for the Thursday Murder Club when shocking news reaches them — an old friend has been killed.

4. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women

Lisa See. The latest historical novel from See, inspired by the true story of a female doctor from 15th-century China.

5. Fourth Wing

Rebecca Yarros. Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda.

6. The Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese. A shimmering evocation of a bygone India.

7. Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (editors). Many Indigenous people believe whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear.

8. Yellowface

R F Kuang. White lies. Dark humour. Deadly consequences.

9. Tom Lake

Ann Patchett. Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

10. Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus. Elizabeth Zott is a scientist who becomes the star of a beloved TV cooking show.

NON FICTION 1. The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartenders Guide From the Celebrated Speakeasy

Jim Meehan and Chris Gall. Jim Meehan, PDT’S innovative operator and mixmaster, is revolutionizing bar books.

2. Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory

Sarah Polley. Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and actor explores memory and the dialogue between her past and present. Canadian author.

3. The Home Cafe: Creative Recipes for Espresso, Matcha, Tea and Coffee Drinks

Asia Lui Chapa. With this classy curation of recipes, you’ll find endless ideas.

4. The Met Office: Pocket Cloud Book

Richard Hamblyn and the Met Office. This book provides you with all the information you need to identify different kinds of clouds and the weather that may be on its way.

5. Alberta Wildlife: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar Animals

James Kavanagh. Covers 140 of the most common and familiar animals you are likely to encounter.

6. Bugs & Slugs, 2nd Edition: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Invertebrates

James Kavanagh. This guide highlights over 140 familiar species of insects, spiders and invertebrates.

7. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

David Grann. A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

8. The 48 Laws of Power

Robert Greene. Every law here has an interest in total domination.

9. How the World Really Works: The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We’re Going

Vaclav Smil. An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our 21st-century lives possible.

10. Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast

John Vaillant. A riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America’s oil industry and the birth of climate science. Canadian author

Tonight’s the night!

September 21, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Canadianmysterynovels, #cSpaceMardaLoop, #mysterynovel, #mysterywritingadmin

My book launch for Spring Into Danger is tonight at cSpace King Edward Marda Loop. I think I have everything prepared and will have lots of stuff to bring up to the 4th floor Treehouse — food, drinks, disposable dishes, my computer for the PowerPoint presentation, door prizes, and more. Books will be the heaviest item, since I’ll be supplying Owl’s Nest, the bookseller for the event.

It looks like we’ll be fortunate with the weather. After two overcast days, the sun is out. It won’t be summertime warm, but people will be able to step outside on the deck as well as catch views of the city and mountains through the Treehouse’s glass windows.

My husband Will and I are going early to get a parking spot in the lot since cSpace has another event going on that night. For those who come later, there will be plenty of free parking on the nearby streets.

I look forward to seeing friendly faces in the audience cheering on my new book.

One day to go!

September 20, 2023News#amwriting, #amwritingfiction, #Canadianmysterynovels, #mysterynovel, #mysterywritingadmin

Yesterday’s cool, cloudy weather made it a good day to stay home and work on my book launch presentation. I enjoy creating PowerPoint presentations. As I’ve done at past launches, I’ll show slides of locations that inspired my novel and read scenes related to each setting.

My first reading will be the novel’s opening scene, narrated by my protagonist, Paula Savard. The novel begins with Paula alone in her office building in Calgary’s historic Inglewood neighbourhood, pictured at the top of this post.

After my readings and talk, I’ll invite audience questions and answer them as best I can. Then comes a trivia quiz, which I spent this afternoon preparing. I did my best to find interesting questions that strike a balance between easy and hard. With luck I succeeded and people will find the game fun and informative.

I look forward to tomorrow evening with readers and friends at cSpace Marda Loop.

Thursday, September 21, 2023, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

The Treehouse, 4th Floor cSPACE Marda Loop, 1721 29th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta

RSVP Owl’s Nest Bookstore email: contact@owlsnestbooks.com or phone 403-287-9557