Be comfortable with your writing: Author
Murder-mystery writer Steve Burrows speaking Oct. 20
Authors should be comfortable with what they are writing because readers need to know they are in control, says an awardwinning Canadian mystery writer and journalist coming to Peterborough later this month.
That “contract” between writer and reader will be highlighted by Steve Burrows when he and Vicki Delany speak at the Mystery Writers’ Craft hosted by the Canadian Authors Peterborough Branch in East City on Oct. 20.
The Oshawa resident speaks from experience. Since 2014, he has published four standalone murder mysteries with a birding element in each — A Siege of Bitterns, A Pitying of Doves, A Cast of Falcons and A Shimmer of Hummingbirds.
Burrows’ late-blooming writing career started in earnest after he moved to Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society Magazine and was a contributing field editor for Asian Geographic.
His work soon morphed into fiction. His debut was named one of the top 100 books of 2014 by The Globe and Mail before winning the 2015 Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel and being shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.
But Burrows stresses his England-based novels, with Canadian protagonists, are not just for those who enjoy birds — they are, foremost, murder-mysteries. “We never lost sight of the fact that we are dealing with entertainment here.”
The former teacher’s background should resonate with members of the local club, which includes writers and aspiring writers who took up the craft after other careers.
Burrows wrote that first book on spec and was fortunate to get a call from Dundurn Press just a few months after his submission. “I’m aware (that situation) is not typical … but I want to share that it does happen.”
He enjoys how murder-mysteries provide opportunity to set up a contest with the reader, by giving them clues that ultimately lead somewhere. The writer must be fair — including a big twist that doesn’t stay true to those clues is a betrayal, Burrows said.
Delany, a national bestseller in the United States, has written more than 30 books, from Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy.
The branch is very grateful to Burrows and Delany for giving their time at a busy time of year, branch co-president Richard Patterson stated.
“It is our first event for our 2018/2109 year and we look forward to other writers-helpingwriters activities in the next few months,” he stated.
Co-president David Austin pointed out that the group is in the infant stages of another collaborative project set in the Kawarthas, just like The Kawartha Imagination Project released earlier this year.
Group members are looking forward to getting input from the visiting authors that is expected to have an impact on the effort.
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Friendship Hall of Mark Street United Church at 90 Hunter St. E. in Peterborough. All are welcome. Admission for the daylong session is $30, while students will pay $15 or what they can.
The branch meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Friday of every month at the Empress Gardens retirement residence. For more information or to be added to the branch mailing list, email unassumminggrace@fishdog.ca.
NOTES: Vicki Delaney has a website at www.vickidelany.com. … Steve Burrows’ website is at www.abirdermurder.com.