Excuse me...Canada calling! by Cathy Ace

The crime and mystery fiction we tend to read can be very US and Europe centric. Where else in the world would you like to see a crime fiction novel set and why?

Good question…but, rather than saying where I’d like to see crime fiction set, I’m going to focus on some places that aren’t the USA or Europe where it’s already set – and hope you find my choices appealing.

Let’s start with me noting that I’m the only Canadian blogger here at 7CM who gets to answer this question (our two other Canadian fellow-bloggers, Brenda Chapman and Dietrich Kalteis, blog on next week’s rotation, where they’ll be addressing a different topic). 

So, I get to fly the flag, and blow the trumpet, for Canadian crime writing…and you already know three Canadian crime writers “intimately” via this blog…so you could do worse than start out by reading our books. Canadian alumni of this blog include Robin Harlick, RM Greenaway and Sam Wiebe…so there are three more – just like that! 😊

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I was chair of Crime Writers of Canada [CWC] for two years from 2016-2018 and did the best I could during that period to promote and support crime writers in Canada, as well as promoting Canadian crime writers’ work both within and beyond Canada…so this could turn into a loooooog blog post! LOL!)

My hope is that you take at least this one key thing away from this post: there is a WEALTH of fabulous crime writing available by Canadian authors, much set in Canada, some set elsewhere. 

Now I understand you might think you want to read the “purest” form of Canadian crime writing (ie: a Canadian writing stories set in Canada), but don’t forget that:

a) not every Canadian author sets every book they write in Canada, and...

b) Canada is a land enriched by its immigrants, so please don’t discount the Canadians who (like me, an immigrant) set their books in places other than where they now live.

The next thing I’ll do is tell/remind you that each year there are awards given for the best in Canadian crime writing (which is defined as being written by a Canadian-born author wherever in the world they live, or by an author now living in Canada, wherever in the world they might have been born – there are no caveats about where the book is set). 

These awards are The Arthur Ellis Awards. They are run by the Crime Writers of Canada, but the entries are not restricted to those who are able to/choose to pay to be members of that association…which I think is just as it should be. So, the judges are able to read entries from as wide a range of Canadian writers as possible. 

If you visit the CWC website you can access the shortlists and winners of these prizes since they began 36 years ago: click here to access the CWC Arthur Ellis Awards.

This alone provides a veritable treasure trove of fabulous authors’ names. Some you’ll know (for example: Louise Penny, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Maureen Jennings, Vicki Delany, Gail Bowen…who rank amongst the Canada’s “star” authors…many of whom have also been past-chairs or board members of CWC, supporting fellow Canadian crime writers) but there are so many other authors who are writing good books – quite literally – to suit all tastes, that’s it’s well worth your time noodling around the website to find a few who write the sort of books you enjoy reading.

The CWC website is set up to help you in this search: you can search by region, by type of book, by author etc. It really is a great resource! Please, check it out?

You can find just the sort of book you're looking for at the CWC website!

And, when you’ve found some new Canadian authors whose work tickles your fancy, dive in…and enjoy a fresh take on crime fiction, courtesy of a Canadian 😊

If you'd like to find out more about this Canadian's books you can click here to access my website. 

And the best value for promotional investment is....by Cathy Ace

Do the costs to promote a book sometimes equal the advance you got for it, and does that make you question A) writing it or B) doing all that expensive promotion?

Welshcakes for the launch of a book set in Wales

This is a tough one to answer, because it needs to be answered in a couple of different ways. The question implies that an author promotes one book at a time. For me, that’s not the case. I write two series of books, with eight in one series, and the fourth in the other will be published in September in the UK, and January in the USA/Canada. 

If I take my next-to-be-published book as an example, then the only money I’ll spend, that’s specifically tied to that title, would be purchasing copies (I get five free, but they go to family) and mailing them to people. This costs me about $40 CDN each time, for each book; a hardcover book is expensive, even with an author discount, and then postage either within, or more usually beyond, Canadian borders is also a pretty penny for  a heavy book! Oh, and I usually pop in a little gift, something relevant to the book. On top of that are mileage costs as I drive to events for signings etc. There’ll also be one heck of a lot of what would be called “sweat equity”, if I were, say, improving my home. I’ll be organizing blog tours, trying to generate blog reviews etc. so it doesn’t cost me anything but time and effort. Per book, that’s about it…unless I choose to offer treats when I do a signing, which, being me, I usually do! That can add up, too. 

At Left Coast Crime with fellow members of CWC

So there are costs for each book launched, but the main promotional costs I bear each year are the costs which are spread across all my books. That would be maintaining and updating my website, providing books for competitions and draws, and attending conventions. The cost of my presence at conventions is so alarmingly high it has to be set against the promoting of all my books – past titles, new titles and even future titles. I need a website upgrade soon, too, and that’ll take loads of lolly. UGH! Oh, and new bookmarks – artwork and printing costs, oh my! Yes, it adds up, and there’s no question promotion can become expensive – but I believe if I’m going to write, I need to promote. So, even if the promotional costs eat up quite a lot of the income I get from writing, it has to be done. It more than ate up all the income from my books for years, and required a heavy top-up investment, too. Now it’s manageable.

That being said, I’ll tell you a secret. The best money I spend each year? My CWC membership fee! I joined Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) when I was first published (fair disclosure – I am now Chair) because I wanted a way to, for a relatively small annual fee, use their online presence to allow me to reach a massive number of people who visit their website – a group of people I wouldn’t be able to afford to reach without CWC. More than 5000 people visit their website each month, and I know folks found out about my work through that website, and then they met me because I organised events on behalf of CWC, and participated in them. Being a member of CWC costs me $130 per year. That’s just about the same as mailing three copies of a book. I think my CWC membership fee gives me the best value for money I can, or probably ever will, get. I will admit that the more I volunteer and do – on behalf of other members – the better the money seems to work for me; in other words, I have found that by promoting the CWC brand, and the work of other members, my own work has garnered more attention…as I said, best $130 a year I spend! 

(PS: did you know CWC has a free monthly newsletter that everyone can sign up for…full of news about new releases, events, and always with the most up to date version of Cool Canadian Crime…a catalogue of all books published by CWC authors through the year? No? Well, if you’re interested, you can sign up – did I mention it’s free? – here: https://gem.godaddy.com/signups/190284/join  And check out the whole website here: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (#4, The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor will be released in hardcover in the UK in September 2017 and in the USA & Canada on January 1st 2018).  You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/

Keeping up with the ??? by Cathy Ace

How do you get yourself and your books noticed by the public? We hear that many publishers aren’t doing much PR anymore. How do you stand out from the crowd?

PLEASE BUY MY BOOK! ” …a pleasant mélange with a garnish of death and danger.” Kirkus Reviews

My first Cait Morgan book was published in 2012, by a small Canadian press with just one PR person responsible for overseeing the efforts of about 60 authors. I now have another, much more prolific publishing house for my WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, but even they aren’t blessed with a huge team. I know they all work as hard as they can for me, but it’s unreasonable to expect them to be able to promote my work as effectively as I can – or with as much passion and vigor as I have for the task. To be honest, I’ve not been around for long enough to know anything other than the way the business is today.  One thing I have learned is that publishers can be much more effective at getting reviews in mainstream press than an author can - and I'm grateful they do that for me.

Online: I find I spend a lot of time planning how to promote my work, then writing blogs, guest blogs, interviews, Facebook posts and Tweets about my work. I also spend a certain amount of time every day interacting with those kind enough to follow me on Facebook and composing posts not just about my work, but about subjects that are interesting to me, and which might prove appealing/interesting to the sort of people who choose to read my work. There’s also an ongoing reading of blogs by industry bloggers, and the reading I need to do to keep abreast of developments in the marketplace. I’d say all of that needs about two hours of my time each day, pretty much seven days a week. When I have a book about to be launched I have to spend more time writing series of guest blogs for blog tours, then following comment threads when those blogs appear; this can take an additional couple of hours each day in the run-up to launch and during the period of the blog tour. I write a newsletter that goes out to a mailing list every two months, too, and do my best to make sure my website is up to date and looking fresh. You can like my author page here: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661/

Face to face: Beyond that daily, and launch-dictated online effort, there’s also the aspect of getting out to meet readers and potential readers, so I spend time trying to set up signings and get myself invited to various events or book club meetings either in my local area or in other parts of the world via Skype; the amount of time I spend on this varies tremendously. I also attend fan conventions when I can afford them; I try to go to Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic, CrimeFest and Bouchercon each year. All these events require an investment of time (several days’ attendance each, plus travel time) and money…but are a wonderful way to reach out to readers and meet them – as well as having the chance to meet other authors. Find out where I'll be, when, here: http://cathyace.com/events/

Giving back: While I recognize the importance of promoting my own work, I also try to give back as much as possible, by helping to promote the work of others. I have been on the board of Crime Writers of Canada for the past four years and am Board Chair this year. As such I am heavily involved in representing our more than 300 members’ interests. I find the role takes about 10 hours a week (which basically means there’s a whole book I won’t be writing this year). I’m a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers Association (UK) and Mystery Writers of America; all these bodies allow me a chance to spread the word about my books through the lists of work by their members they publish and promote. I don’t teach writing courses, nor am I a reader or judge for any competitions, because I know those areas are not my forte, but I am often approached via email by new authors and offer what help I can, when I can. You can find out more about Crime Writers of Canada and all our wonderful members' works here: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/

Overall: it’s a real challenge to try to bring my work to the attention of readers without looking as though I am always begging them to buy my books – which is, really, what I am doing. So, help a girl out? Buy one of my books – please? There’s a new one just about to come out in Canada & the USA. Thank you, Cathy

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries (#8 The Corpse with the Ruby Lips was released on November 1st) and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (#3, The Case of the Curious Cook, was released in hardcover in the UK on November 30th and will be released in the USA & Canada on March 1st).  You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/  

Stay-work-ations are best! by Cathy Ace

Summer's almost done! How did you spend your summer vacation? Or did you even take one?

 A bit of the garden in August

I travel a lot. There’s hardly a month in the year when I don’t get handed a series of boarding passes, all of which seem to have me placed in group Z, so I’m in the last little band of stragglers trailing onto the plane without even a glimmer of hope of finding an inch or two in the overhead bins. It’s why I don’t use wheelie-bags, just a tote that I can stuff under the seat in front of me.

Even sat on new deck seats!

The result is that MY summer vacation is to be at home for about six weeks without having to so much as enter an airport. It’s weird, I thought my “former life” – owning and running a business that meant I had to travel the world for nine or ten months of the year – was behind me. But I’ve discovered that this writing life involves a good deal of flitting about the place too…if that’s what you want to, and can, do. I’m lucky I can do it, and have met people at conventions and conferences I know I would keep in touch with even if I never wrote another word, or had another book published. I’m so grateful for that; camaraderie can spring up in all sorts of places. 

Probably the last bouquet from the garden

Thus, as I eye my brand new suitcase (CostCo special offer!) ahead of flying to New Orleans for Bouchercon in less than a couple of weeks, I have about six weeks behind me of “stay-work-cation” that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve had a chance to work in, and enjoy, the garden…as well as working on edits for Cait Morgan Mystery #8 THE CORPSE WITH THE RUBY LIPS, which will be published in October, and on the edits for the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries #3, which will be published in the UK in November, and in the US and Canada in March 2017. 

With fellow CWC authors at Black Bond Books, Maple Ridge

I also took over as Board Chair for Crime Writers of Canada at the end of May this year, so I’ve been hard at work getting up to speed with all that entails, as well as attending various Board and committee meetings. I also organised and participated in a four-event CAROUSEL OF CRIME for CWC members at Black Bond Bookstores around the Lower Mainland in BC. That was great fun. On September 1^st – yes, tomorrow – the CWC Arthur Ellis Awards for excellence in Canadian crime writing open for submissions for the 2017 cycle…for works published in 2016…and that’s been a lot of effort (not just on my part) too. (Photo: L to R - Allan J Emerson, Sam Wiebe, me, Marty Allen, Katherine Prairie, Eileen Cook.)

Gabby & Poppy like having me at home

But it’s good to be at home. For the past couple of years I’ve visited Mum in Wales during August. This year I was in Wales in May and stayed with her before, then again after, the weekend I attended CrimeFest in Bristol. I have to be honest, I’ve missed my summer trip to Wales, but to be here with the dogs and my husband has been super (yes, I thought about the order, there!). 

Cathy Ace writes the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (book #2 THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER will be available in trade paperback on August 31st in the UK, and in November in the US/Canada, and the Cait Morgan Mysteries (book #7 THE CORPSE WITH THE GARNET FACE was published in paperback in April). Find out more about Cathy and her work, and sign up for her newsletter at http://cathyace.com/