Peter Thomas Pontsa is a Canadian author known for his thrilling William Fox Adventure Series, which includes Outfoxed (2023) and Sanctity of Freedom (2025). Before turning to fiction, Pontsa had a distinguished career in the dental industry, authoring numerous techno-clinical articles. After his retirement, he decided to develop his creative writing side by taking a course at the University of Waterloo on Advanced Fiction Writing. He also became active in writers’ groups such as the Wordsmiths and the Crime Writers of Canada.
A passionate British sports car enthusiast and a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, Peter brings realism to his action scenes through personal experience. He lives in Loretto, Ontario, with his wife, author Angela van Breemen, and their orange tabby, Mr. Tee.
As an author of novels (for YA readers and adults), playwright, journalist, and screenwriter, Shane has always been interested in larger-than-life characters, seeking the truth about human beings, and exploring the invisible things that matter to us all. Earlier this year (season 3, ep. 2), I interviewed Shane, and we discussed the first novel in his new Northern Gothic series, “As We Forgive Others”. The novel has received significant recognition, including the 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, which affirms its literary merit and resonant themes.
In this podcast, we will discuss its sequel, “A Place of Secrets,” published by Cormorant Books.
Joanne Kormylo’s debut novel, THE RESISTANCE DAUGHTER, is a work of historical fiction inspired by true stories. She is the daughter of a WWII bomber pilot and prisoner of war. As part of her research for this novel, she studied her late father’s Wartime Log, interviewed veterans, served on the board of an Air Force Museum, and traveled to the UK, Poland, and Germany. Joanne holds both an MA and a JD, leading to a career as a lawyer and business owner. She has one daughter, Andrea, and resides in Western Canada.
Two years ago, I interviewed Joanne because her story TWO KNOTS was nominated by Crime Writers of Canada for the Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by ECW Press in 2023.
Since then, the title changed to THE RESISTANCE DAUGHTER and it’s been published by Hodder & Stoughton publishers in the UK.
Born and raised in Montreal, Rosemary McCracken has worked on newspapers across Canada as a reporter, editor, editorial writer, arts reviewer, and restaurant critic.
Safe Harbor, the first novel in her five-book Pat Tierney series, was a finalist for Britain’s Debut Dagger Award in 2010. It was first published by Imajin Books in 2012, followed by Black Water in 2013 and Raven Lake in 2016. All three were republished by Carrick Publishing in 2018, followed by Uncharted Waters in 2020 and Riversong in 2025.
Rosemary’s short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. “The Sweetheart Scamster,” a Pat Tierney story in the Mesdames of Mayhem’s anthology Thirteen, was nominated for a Derringer Award in 2014.
Rosemary now lives and writes in Toronto.
Visit Rosemary’s website: here.
Timothy S. Johnston is the author of the Science Fiction/Thriller The Rise of Oceania series, which includes The War Beneath, The Savage Deeps, Fatal Depth, The Shadow of War, and most recently, A Blanket of Steel. He has won the GLOBAL THRILLER Award Grand Prize, the EPIC Award, the CYGNUS Science Fiction Award Grand Prize, as well as the CLUE Award. He has been an educator for twenty-five years and a writer for thirty. He lives on planet Earth, but he dreams of the stars. Visit www.timothysjohnston.com to register for news alerts, read his blog and reviews, and learn more about his current and upcoming thrillers.
In this podcast, we’ll discuss the series, focusing on A Blanket of Steel, which recently won the 2024 Grand Prize in the Global Thriller Awards and the 2024 First in Category award in the Cygnus Awards.
Iona Whishaw has been a youth worker, social worker, teacher, and an award-winning High School Principal, who continued with her writing throughout her working life. Receiving her Masters in Creative writing from UBC, Iona has published short fiction, poetry, poetry translation and one children’s book, Henry and the Cow Problem. The Lane Winslow mystery series is her first foray into adult fiction.
Iona was born in Kimberley, BC, but grew up in several different places, including a small community on Kootenay Lake, as well as Mexico and Central America, and the US, due to her father’s geological work. The Cost of a Hostage is the twelfth book in the Lane Winslow mystery series.
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates) for Crooked Lane.
Vicki is a past president of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.
Karen Grose is from Toronto, Canada. Her debut novel, The Dime Box, was selected by Amnesty International for its 2021 Book Club. Her second is Flat Out Lies, and All June Left Behind is her third. She has flash, poems, and short stories published by Roi Faineau Press, Paddler Press, Punk Noir Magazine, Epistemic Literary Magazine, Hooghly Review, Bunker Squirrel Magazine, and Superior Shores Press. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters-in-Crime-Toronto and National, and the #thrillsandchills writing group. Track her down on X: @kgrose2, IG: karengrosewrites, FB, or at www.karengrose.ca
Dean Jobb’s book, A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, (published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.) is nominated for The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize
Dean Jobb writes historical true crime. His latest book, A Gentleman and a Thief, the story of a daring jewel thief who targeted New York’s Jazz Age elite, is a national bestseller and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. He is the author of The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream, which recreates the hunt for a Victorian era Canadian doctor-turned-serial killer, and Empire of Deception, the tale of a fugitive American swindler in 1920s Nova Scotia. All three books are published by HarperCollins Canada. He has won the CrimeCon and Crime Writers of Canada awards for best true crime book and has been a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize and the American Library Association’s Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. His monthly true crime column, “Stranger Than Fiction,” appears in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and he has written for Air Mail, CrimeReads, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, The Irish Times and other major publications. He is a professor at the University of King’s College in Halifax, where he teaches in the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction program. Find him at www.deanjobb.com.
William Watt’s novel, Predators in the Shadows, is nominated for the Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize.
William is a retired educator living in North York, Ontario. He graduated from York University with combined honours in English and sociology and later earned a Master of Education degree at the University of Toronto.
To keep busy after retirement, he took on a succession of activities. He owned a chocolate shop, trained security guards to write reports, worked for Statistics Canada, sold cars, and interviewed homeless people as part of a health study for McMaster University.
At age seventy, William enrolled in two short-story writing courses at George Brown College. As he had always enjoyed reading murder mysteries, one of his stories introduced Toronto Police detective, Joe Latimer. It was so well received by both his writing class and his reading group, that his sister, Marlene, suggested he develop the character into a novel.
This led to another course at George Brown where he received advice from Rob Brunet regarding plot development and timing. He later met Robert Rotenberg at Noir at the Bar who offered valuable guidance on character development and chapter structure. Although neither gentleman has read Predators in the Shadows, both read excerpts of a previous endeavour and provided constructive criticism. Through Rob and Robert, he learned that writing is truly a craft that is developed through hard work and feedback from more experienced writers.
William and his wife, Vanessa, enjoy bird watching and have travelled to many parts of Canada to photograph their feathered, and occasionally, furry friends.