2015 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist

ACK! I did not make the shortlist but my fellow authors in Ottawa did! Congratulations Brenda Chapman and Barbara Fradkin! If these crime writers are new to you, check out their titles. Gripping, insightful, these writers are masters of the craft. I'm thrilled! I'm jealous! But mostly, I'm thrilled to see their names on the list!

HERE IS THE LIST OF NOMINEES:

Crime Writers of Canada present the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlists for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

Best Novel 
Brenda Chapman, Cold Mourning, Dundurn Press
Barbara Fradkin, None so Blind, Dundurn Press
C.C. Humphreys, Plague, Doubleday Canada
Maureen Jennings, No Known Grave, McClelland & Stewart
Alen Mattich, Killing Pilgrim, House of Anansi

Best First Novel 
Janet Brons, A Quiet Kill, Touchwood Editions
Steve Burrows, Siege of Bitterns, Dundurn Press
M.H. Callway, Windigo Fire, Seraphim Editions
Eve McBride, No Worst, There Is None, Dundurn Press
Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents, Dundurn Press

Best Novella
Rick Blechta, The Boom Room, Orca Book Publishers
Vicki Delany, Juba Good, Orca Book Publishers
Ian Hamilton, The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, House of Anansi
Jas. R. Petrin, A Knock on the Door, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story 
Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress, McClelland & Stewart
Melodie Campbell, Hook, Line and Sinker, Northword Literary Journal
Peter Clement, Therapy, Belgrave House
Madona Skaff, First Impressions, The Whole She-Bang 2, Sisters in Crime
Kevin P. Thornton, Writers Block, World Enough and Crime, Carrick Publishing  

Best Book in French 
Hervé Gagnon, Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, Expression noir / Groupe librex
Andrée Michaud, Bondrée, Editions Québec Amérique
Maryse Rouy, Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, Édition Druide
Richard Ste Marie, Repentirs, Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Book 
Michael Betcherman, Face-Off, Penguin Canada
Sigmund Brouwer, Dead Man's Switch, Harvest House
S.J. Laidlaw, The Voice Inside My Head, Tundra Books
Norah McClintock, About That Night, Orca Book Publishers
Jeyn Roberts, The Bodies We Wear, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Best Nonfiction Book 
Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner), Being Uncle Charlie, Penguin Random House
Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder, HarperCollins
Joan McEwen, Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry, Heritage House
Bill Reynolds, Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling, ECW Press
Paula Todd, Extreme Mean, McClelland & Stewart

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel 
Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred
Full Curl by Dave Butler
Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden
Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice
Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

The winners will be announced May 28 at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto! Congratulations to all of the nominees!

You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Book is About You

Dear Disgruntled Former Friends of Novelists Until You Were Betrayed,

Our book is not about you. You are not featured as a character. We didn't write about you now and we are not likely to write about you in the future. This isn't because you aren't interesting. You are!  It's the nature of writing itself that prevents a novelist from taking hold of a character (even a real life character such as yourself) and forcing that person to live inside a fiction. The fiction always wins in the end. Characters take on traits common to all human beings. Even the writer takes second place to the demands of the story which is universal or there is no point in writing it.

So take a deep breath and trust me on this. Just because you know (or did know) a novelist, it doesn't mean a thing. You are you, and a fictional character is fictional. Not real. Or as I like to think, people in novels are a reality we haven't experienced yet but are chasing after. We don't know why they attract or repel us but they do and such is the power of fiction. 

We didn't write about you. Or anyone else in Creation. We wrote about all of us. 

Sincerely,

Novelists Everywhere 

Colin Mochrie

I am shamelessly tagging COLIN MOCHRIE's name. Although I haven't seen him in years (except on television) I've learned he's written a book and sold it to Penguin. Yippee!

Colin's Book News

Colin and I went to theatre school together. He was at my wedding and I have pictures of him holding my son soon after he was born. A book is just one more achievement in a long list of achievements for this generous and talented guy. (We worked together once presenting tomatoes on Granville Island Market. We were in historical costume. I can't remember why.)

I'm very happy for him. He knows that deep down, I am. When I'm not grinding my teeth. I didn't mind my theatre cronies finding success in film, television and on stage (which they did) while I toiled away writing fiction. Because I was writing books and writing a book is a big deal. And it was MY thing.

Now Colin has done it too. Swell. Even though I have two books coming out myself, I'm experiencing feelings of possessiveness and misery. Like a seven year old who doesn't want her friends to play with her toys. Writing is my toy. There is no point pretending I'm not pouting about sharing.

I had a conversation just now with a man who said the only person he was ever jealous of was the guy who managed the trails for the Gatineau Park. This man has a passion for trail-making and forestry. He said "I'm not jealous of mayors or millionaires, but a guy who makes trails for a living."

I could relate. I'm not jealous of the acting accolades of my friends, or their awards, or their wealth. But tread into my writing waters and a snarl comes to my lip. Our passions drive us to distraction, to jealousy, piques, to moments of being less than gracious when we hear good news.

Colin, forgive me. I know you will because you're a decent guy. Forgive me for hoping you suffered a little writing your book. (Say you did. I'll feel better.)

Love Nadine