Crossfields’ ‘The Granby Liar’ has been set free
The book is for everyone to read
Brome Lake Books was bursting at the seams on Saturday afternoon when family, friends, and fans of Maurice Crossfield convened to celebrate the launch of his first published novel, a somewhat salacious murder mystery set in the Townships, “The Granby Liar. “
He was introduced by Danny Mcauley amidst a boisterous and enthusiastic audience as a fearless reporter for The Record for 15 years, a translator, playwright, actor, copy writer, editor for Harrowsmith Almanac, outdoorsman, mechanic, and all-round good guy. Crossfield, who is known to have always loved writing, humbly delivered profuse thanks to all who have supported him while clearly injecting humour that perhaps only a Townshipper would understand. He also expressed deep appreciation for the Mcauleys’ efforts in the community, saying that they are the cornerstone of English community with the bookstore, their part in performing arts and music, and the countless events they organize.
“When I was growing up The Granby Leader, the local newspaper, was still being published and I remember people referring to it as The Granby Liar. The name stuck and hence the title of my book, is about a reporter who finds himself in the middle of a big story that pushes him to the limits of what he can, and can’t live with.
With all his experiences as a reporter, writer, and editor and having grown up in this region, Crossfield felt most comfortable weaving the tale with his familiar surroundings into a fiction that readers say is a fast-paced story of crime and intrigue told with integrity, intelligence, and wit. “The words simply fly off the pages.” He chose to set the plot in the mid-1970s when, as he said jokingly, “my life was so good.” Referring to his own experience having candid discussions with his own deceased father (who passed away when Crossfield was very young after being diagnosed with a genetic heart condition), Crossfield speaks about one of his characters who has dreams that haunt him of a father he barely knew.
Admitting that the book has taken a couple of years to bring to publication, Crossfield says that the book is “out there for the world now.” His cousin, Tina Crossfield, owns Crossfield Publications. She says that Maurice’s novel is the eighth book that she has published and wants everyone to understand that despite their family relationship, she hardly knows Maurice because she moved to western Canada many years ago and lost touch with him. When presented with the draft last August she says that after reading the first three chapters, “I was hungry for more. This book is ready. When I read it in August I found that it was subtle, making it easy to work on. There was little that I had to do with it. It was ready. The Granby Liar is now being set free and has a life of its own.”