The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem are a collective of established Canadian crime fiction authors and talented new writers of the genre. Visit their website mesdamesofmayhem.com to watch the CBC documentary about them.
Authors Donna Carrick, Madeleine Harris-Callaway, Jane Burfield, Blair Keetch, Rosemary McCracken, Lynne Murphy, Lorna Poplak, and Melisa Yi join host Erik D'Souza and discuss their newest anthology, The 13th Letter. M is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, and it begins so many wicked words: malice, Machiavelli, mayhem, and of course, murder. But it also heads up mischief, melody, madcap and mystery. And what could better suit the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem? After all, thirteen is their lucky number!
Shane Joaquin Jimenez is the author of the feminist neon-noir thriller novel Bondage.
His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Rain Taxi, The Greensboro Review, Denver Quarterly, Hunger Mountain, Bat City Review, and elsewhere. He went to the Jack Kerouac School at Naropa University.
Shane has lived all over, from Las Vegas to Brooklyn to Seoul to Portland, but now calls BC home.
Check out his website at: shanejoaquinjimenez.com
After 31 years in the Fire Service and attaining the rank of Deputy Fire Chief, David Wickenden retired to write thriller novels full time. He has published six thrillers and one YA Fantasy since 2018. He is a member of the International Thriller Association, the International Screenwriter Association, the Writer’s Union of Canada, the Canadian Crime Writers, and the Sudbury Writer’s Guild. He has published numerous short stories in anthologies and online literary magazines, seven novels, and five screenplays.
David W. Barber is an internationally bestselling author and journalist from Toronto. He's known for his humorous and informative books on classical music, opera, ballet, and literary references.
Barber has had a diverse career, having worked as a writer and editor for various publications and even had some unique stints as a roadie for Pope John Paul II and a backup singer for Avril Lavigne. In this podcast, we discussed his novel, MUGSHOT, the second book in the Duggan Heywood Mystery series.
Lorne Tepperman, a long-time resident of Toronto and distinguished figure in academia, ventures into the realm of fiction with his debut work. As a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Tepperman authored, co-authored, edited, and co-edited 88 academic books, delving into topics ranging from social inequality to families to gambling addiction, deviance, and crime.
Deadly Donation, Tepperman’s first novel, draws inspiration from his extensive research on families, crime, and gambling addiction. The Rachel Tile Mystery Series promises to captivate readers with its exploration of these themes within the framework of mystery and suspense.
Lorne has recently been voted in as a CWC director for Ontario Southwest/North/Greater Toronto Region.
Learn more at: Lorne Tepperman Books
A.J. Devlin has a BFA in Screenwriting from Chapman University, a MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute Conservatory, and has worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. COBRA CLUTCH (“Hammerhead” Book 1, published by NeWest Press) was nominated for a 2019 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery and won the 2019 Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best First Novel. The acclaimed sequel ROLLING THUNDER was featured in the Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and on CBC Radio's The Last Chapter with Shelagh Rogers. Book 3 FIVE MOVES OF DOOM won the 2022 Crime Fiction Lover Editor’s Choice Award for Best Indie Novel, was selected as one of the Globe and Mail's Best Books of 2022, and was nominated for Crime Writers of Canada, Killer Nashville Silver Falchion, and Left Coast Crime "Lefty" Awards. Book 4 in the "Hammerhead" Jed pro-wrestler PI mystery-comedy series BRONCO BUSTER was published in October, 2024.
To learn more about A.J. please visit: AJDevlin.com
Winona Kent was born in London, England and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. After moving to Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing and received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School.
Winona’s debut novel Skywatcher was a finalist in the Seal Books First Novel Award and was published by Bantam Books in 1989. Since then, she has written eleven more books, including her five current soft-boiled musical mysteries featuring professional musician / amateur sleuth Jason Davey.
Winona’s also the author of a number of short stories, which she’s gathered together for her anthology Ten Stories That Worried My Mother.
Winona has been a temporary secretary, a travel agent, a screenwriter and the Managing Editor of a literary magazine. She’s currently the national Chair of the Crime Writers of Canada, and is also an active member of Sisters in Crime – Canada West. After many decades working in jobs completely unrelated to writing, Winona is now happily embracing life as a full-time author. She lives in New Westminster, BC with her husband, and a concerning number of disobedient houseplants, many of which were rescued from her apartment building’s compost bin after being abandoned by previous owners.
Visit her website at: Winona Kent
Previous interview with Winona regarding her shot story anthology: 10 Stories that Worried My Mother
Maureen Jennings is the author of the beloved Murdoch mystery books, which have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. The first books in the series were made into films for television. Soon after, Murdoch Mysteries began in 2008 and is still running today. In addition to the Murdoch mysteries, Maureen has also published two Christine Morris books and three Tom Tyler series. Her books have been nominated for the Anthony Historical Mystery Award, the Macavity/Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award, the Barry Award, and the Bruce Alexander Award. She received the Heritage Toronto Certificate of Commendation and the 2024 Grand Master Award from Crime Writers of Canada when she was acknowledged for her long-term contribution to Canadian and International Mystery writing,
Her latest series, The Paradise Café Mysteries, showcases PI Charlotte Frayne. In this podcast, we delve into the fourth book in the series, "March Roars," which was published by Cormorant Books.
You can listen to a past episode in which we celebrated Maureen's 2024 Grandmaster recipient and discussed "March Roars" here.
J. Ivanel Johnson is the pen name for an author living with (dis)Ability who now resides in the Appalachian range of Northwestern New Brunswick on a small farm overlooking inspirational views of nature. Like her grandmother before her (the 'Ivanel' of her pen name) she has written her entire life, first publishing two poems with Annick Press in Toronto when she was only 12. She has been a high school English/Drama teacher, working & living in the highlands of Scotland, the moors of Yorkshire, & the Rockies of Montana & Yukon before settling in the east of Canada. She strives always to include culturally-diverse characters & those from marginalized communities in her works, as she has taught on Indigenous reservations, in inner-cities, & in remote mountain schools. She is the author of the JUST eSTATE mystery series, whodunnits with literary clues & wordplay, set in the late 1960s in various Canadian provinces.
This podcast will discuss the second book in the series, Just A Stale Mate, which was recently the Runner-Up for the 2023 Mystery & Crime Maxy Award.
J. Woollcott is a Canadian author born in Belfast, N. Ireland. She is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto. She has won the RWA Daphne du Maurier Award for Mainstream Mystery and Suspense, has been long-listed in the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in 2019 and 2020 and short-listed in 2021. She was a Silver Falchion Award finalist at Killer Nashville in 2023 and again in 2024 and a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist in 2024.
You can find her at…
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085460524148
https://www.instagram.com/j.woollcott/?hl=en
BLOOD RELATIONS
Retired Chief Inspector Patrick Mullan is found brutally murdered in his bed. Detective Sergeant Ryan McBride is called to his desolate country home to investigate. In his inquiry, he discovers a man whose career was overshadowed by violence and corruption. Is the killer someone from Mullan’s past, or his present? And who hated the man enough to kill him twice?
Set in Belfast and the richly atmospheric countryside around it, Ryan once again faces a complex investigation with wit and intelligence.