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Crime Beat Confidential TV Show back

03 Jul

 

PI Dana Bowman on Crime Beat Confidential

My Crime Beat Confidential TV show on thatchannel.com got a late start this year. We usually get things rolling by April. However, this year because of dealing with all the ramifications, difficulties, including lockdowns from COVIE-19, the show was postponed.

However, PI Dana Bowman, the main character in my Beyond mystery series along with me are back, with our first guest, author David Albertyn, whose first mystery-thriller Undercard is getting a lot of fanfare since its publication late in 2019. And that is with all the COVID-19 thou shall nots. His book, published by The House of Anansi in Canada is now available in the US (as well as France, etc. via the usual online sources such as Amazon. And available in print and e-copy. More info on David’s website.

David also has something else going, which is of interest to other published authors and readers. A way for the two to connect. He and another author Ann Y.K. Choi, started The Authors Book Club online earlier this year. This is a way for Canadian readers and authors to connect. Of course, now, mainly online. Check it out here.

Taping this episode was not the usual with  Dana and I going into the thatchannel studio in downtown Toronto, thanks to COVID-19. The show was taped remotely from my home and from David’s home. Dana was fascinated by it all, especially as she got to sit at my laptop in my office. She couldn’t do her usual rant and then guest intro at the beginning because not being in the studio, I wasn’t in the office with the show’s producer. So she could say her piece and not have me hear it, she locked me in the bathroom. In my own home. Sheesh!. But I got out. And I went after her.

Once that little episode was over, I got down to the business of interviewing David. And he had some interesting things to say. See the show here.

Cheers.

Sharon A, Crawford

Author of the Beyond mystery series.

The two Beyond novels so far

More info on my Amazon profile at the link below.

https://tinyurl.com/yc7xvcjf

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Posted by on July 3, 2020 in Author Interviews, Author Reader Book Clubs, Beyond mystery series, Crime Beat Confidential, David Albertyn, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Behind the scenes at Crime Beat Confidential

24 Oct

Usually taping my TV show Crime Beat Confidential goes fairly straightforward. The latest taping had an unwanted and unexpected guest – Mr. Murphy – he of Murphy’s Law.

I should have expected something like this when even getting my guest interviewee didn’t go smoothly. My guest-to-be is a very busy writer, but very interesting. I had met her before so I’m not talking through the proverbial hat. She was out of town most of the summer and when she finally was back she had one day she could tape the show. So I booked the time for taping at That Channel, sent my guest an outline of the show. (This is not investigative journalism, but informative and entertaining and always focusing on something in the crime area.)

The day of taping was a sunny fall day – not really cold, and not rainy so no worries about water getting into my basement. So what could go wrong?

Almost everything. When I arrived early at the studio I found they had no Internet access (this is an Internet TV station) and they couldn’t tape the show on time. But someone was working to fix the technical problem. Everyone was friendly and there were lots of people in and out, so that when my guest arrived, she was having a lot of fun meeting everybody and seeing what all was going on at the station. Story idea popped into her head for the newspaper where she once worked as a staff writer. I’m used to all this going on (except the technical problem) so I take it all in stride. Meantime, I got ready for my main Beyond book character, PI Dana  Bowman to do her introduction. We were then  given an update when we would be able to start taping and finally got in the studio close to 5 p.m.

We took our places – my guest, Cathy Dunphy, former staff writer for the Toronto Star newspaper and now the president of a group of mystery writing women and two men called Mesdames of Mayhem, in the sidelines as Dana took her seat in the interview setting. Chris, the technician gave her the cue to start and so Dana went full throttle into her combination rant and intro about the guest. She finished and Chris said, “That was great, but it didn’t tape so we have to do it over.” So, we did, without mishap.

Here featuring PI Dana Bowman doing the intro

Cathy had to be somewhere else in another part of Toronto by 6.30 p.m. so I was filled with rushing to get back on the set and get going. Translation. I changed from Dana to me without doing something I usually do – look in the mirror to see if my hair was okay. And so, Cathy and I sat down in the set area; Chris tested the mics and then went behind the curtain to do his technical  magic. He gave us the signal to start and we were off to the races.

Sharon hosting an earlier episode of Crime Beat Confidential

The actual taping went well – no technical difficulties and we were able to leave in time for Cathy to make her 6.30 event only two minutes late and that is after she stopped at Valu-mart to pick up a sandwich for her “supper”. And then pick up her car to drive the rest of the way. I bought a few groceries and returned home by public transit.

A few days later Chris sent  me the video to peruse and come up with a title and blurb. So I started to watch. Dana was fine and so was Cathy. But my hair looked as if I had collided with a windmill – bangs all askew. And for some reason only on TV the colour doesn’t come through as it really is. I know that latter because not only does my mirror tell me so, photos taken of me also show it as so. Outside of a bad hair day, the show went very well, especially with two mystery reading addicts talking to each other. See for yourself in this photo not with Crime Beat Confidential

And see the Crime Beat Confidential Show with guest Cathy Dunphy here.

What do you think of the show?

Sharon A. Crawford and PI Dana Bowman signing off.

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2019 in Beyond mystery series, Channelling Fiction Characters, Crime Beat Confidential, Mesdames of Mayhem, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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New Beyond appearances for Sharon A. Crawford

11 Oct

I haven’t disappeared – being kept busy with current and upcoming appearances and writing. More on both in future posts which starting this week will be at least every two weeks.

For now, I have a couple of links for you to see the mystery mayhem I am currently creating and those in the works.

There is a Gigs and Blog Tours Page connected to this blog and I keep it update with what I’m up to in all things mystery and mystery writing. That includes PI Dana Bowman. The link to this page is here. Pay attention to the December 3 event with four other Crime Writers of Canada authors. We deal with Toronto the Good? or maybe that should be Toronto the Foul?

And Episode 6 of my TV show, Crime Beat Confidential was taped this week on thatchannel.com. It is currently being edited. This current show has both Pi Dana and I hosting, but I do the actual guest interview – if you can call it that when two mystery reading addicts who are also former journalists get together and talk about crime and crime books.  The Youtube link to the five previous episode is here.

Below, PI Dana Bowman does her Introduction at the show’s beginning.

 

Cheers.

Sharon

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2019 in Beyond mystery series, Book Promotion, Crime Beat Confidential, Crime Writers of Canada, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Crime Beat Confidential Returns on thatchannel.com

12 Aug

PI Dana Bowman doing her thing on Crime Beat Confidential.

Crime Beat Confidential, the TV interview show I host on thatchannel.com has returned after a few months. Well, actually it is co-hosted by my main Beyond mystery series book character, the mouthy private investigator, Dana Bowman. The current show features our guest Marian Misters, who co-owns the Sleuth of Baker Street Bookstore.

Marian Misters in her bookstore

Despite the store’s name it is not located in London, England (or London, Ontario either) but in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. And it is full of mystery books, a mystery reader’s haven. There are even shelves of books in the basement although it is the main floor’s selection that are for sale. The space is small, but Marian has managed to fit in a lot of books including newly published books..

Bookstores are important for authors, even with e-books. And especially a genre-specific store because…

If you think that all bookstores do is sell books, think again. Books are written by authors and readers want to meet their authors and vice-versa. And for some reason we (hey, I am also a big book reader, particularly mystery and memoir) like going to book launches – and not just our own. And it is not the wine and food, although that helps.

What better place for book launches or readings and the like than a bookstore? Not noisy and dark like a pub. I’ve had book launches in a pub when I could use a flashlight to see people and once on stage to present, the light are so bright when I peer into the audience I don’t see much – because it is dark there. The most embarrassing moment was when I re-connected with an old friend and I couldn’t make out his face so he had to introduce himself. I knew he was coming to the launch and I knew what he looked like now. Bad lighting.

And bookstore owners are very knowledgeable about their books and their authors. Readers can go in and browse to find something they want to read or have a specific book (or books) they want to get. Or ask the owner questions. Should a bookstore not have the book in they usually can order it in.

You can also order books online from Sleuth of Baker Street.  And if you want to know what’s going on with them and their authors you can get their free monthly e-newsletter called The Merchant of Menace.

Not sure if Sherlock Holmes visits Sleuth of Baker Street, but I bet his spirit hovers in the bookstore.

For info on Sleuth of Baker Street and the Merchant of Menace go to their website.

Or for the visual, watch that episode of Crime Beat Confidential here.

And let me know what you think.

Note: This post is a few days late as I was in meetings and working on editing client manuscripts late last week. But, after this post I will get back to  my every-other-week postings on Thursdays/Fridays.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

Sharon hosting Crime Beat Confidential

Two of Sharon’s Beyond mystery books

 

 

 
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Posted by on August 12, 2019 in Book launches, Crime Beat Confidential, Fictional Characters Interviewing Authors, Mystery Novels, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford, Uncategorized

 

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Taming your main fiction character.

14 Jun

PI Dana Bowman, main character Beyond books.

She’s done it again. Private Investigator Dana Bowman has jumped out of Beyond Blood and Beyond Faith to run amok in the real world. Is she going too far? Has she taken over?

When your main fiction character takes over your story, what should you do? Scream? Kick her or him back into the manuscript? Go with the flow (or flood)? Or listen to what he or she is saying?

Often you get so deep into writing your short story, novella or novel  that it seems like the story is getting away from you.  You are sitting there writing away in a creative fog or focus (take  your pick) and suddenly  it dawns on you. Hey, just who is writing the story?

First, take a deep breath. A character getting involved in their story  is not always a bad thing. It is a sure sign that your character is alive and you are deeply connected to his life. You know better how he operates because he is telling you this – or so it seems. That can be a good thing. Maybe your story was getting dull with something missing. Then it was as if your character jumped in to save the story? Your character is also telling you who he is and how he acts and speaks..

But what if the character is way off base? Not necessarily adding on to what you envisioned as the latter can be a big help. But what if the character has turned so unrecognizable that he just doesn’t seem to be himself?

Sometimes this character reveal develops your character in ways that makes the plot work better. It is as if you are getting insides from deep down. But….

If your character really seems to have gone off the rails and it is not because he  is drunk, on drugs or hasa psychological condition…then you need to stop and take stock.

Sop writing and sit back. Go over your character descriptions and what you have written in your story so far and remind yourself where you as a writer want to go with this character, with this story and with the two connected.

Ask yourself:

Are your character’s actions and diaogue things he would do and say in character – even when he is angry; even when he is sad? For example, if your character has a habit of swearing when upset, and suddenly is throwing plates,. you .need to step back and think. Was the situation something that would push your character over the edge? And how would he react when pushed over the edge? This latter would tie in with his traits. For example. if big on justice and the law, and somebody in his life has crossed the line – maybe beat up his spouse – would you main character beat up the wife-beater? Is that how hat character would exact justice? Maybe, if you have made this character the type of person who when pushed too far takes the law into his own hands. Or maybe not.

Sometimes you might just need to sit down and have a conversation with your character and ask “Just what were you thinking when you…?

And yes, I do carry on conversations with Dana bowman. But she still leaps out of the Beyond books and does her thing – which consists of mostly dissing me, her author. And she even says she wrote Beyond Faith.

Now tthat’s when you start worrying about your character taking over.

If you want to see Dana Bowman in action, she opens all my Crime Beat Confidential TV shows on thatchannel.com and here is a link. This is the third episode where Dana actually returns later in the show to do some of the interviewing of our guest, a real life private investigator. At least it gets Dana off my back…momentarily.

Now if Dana would just use some of that energy to take care of the crap in my life – you know cleaning the house, doing the dishes.

But she won’t. I didn’t create her that way. She doesn’t  even cook. It’s her fraternal twin PI Bast Overture who cooks.

Maybe i should rethink Dana and have her take cooking lessons in the next Beyond book. Yeah right. the books are murder mysteries so Dana is liable to poison someone with her cooking..

Cheers.

Sharon

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2019 in Beyond mystery series, Channelling Fiction Characters, Characters and plot in fiction, Credible Fiction Characters, Crime Beat Confidential, Fiction Characters, Plot and Characters, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Using videos to promote your books

09 May

Beyond book No. 3

An online presence is crucial for authors to promote their book or books. Posting videos is one way some of us do this, even me who has no clue  how to take videos. Yes, my camera does videos but even with instructions I am video-making challenged – with the techniques. (Note: I focus on improving my still shots with my digital camera and they get posted – not just book promo, but family and friends and my garden).

So, I have had to get creative to get the videos out there. My secret is I let others do the videos in a variety of ways. Here is how videos of me and my books bave gotten out there on the Internet. Hopefully they will give you some ideas.

Doing an Internet TV show

This  one I’ve probably mentioned before. I host Crime Beat Confidential on thatchannel.com which is an Internet TV station based in Toronto. My main Beyond books’ character, PI Dana Bowman opens each show and she even did part of the interview when the guest was a real-life private eye. Here’s the latest episode with guest Lorna Poplak. Dana and I have also guested on Liquid Lunch, hosted by Hugh Reilly on thatchannel.

Guesting on a cable TV show.

A few years ago I guested on a Rogers Cable TV show called Writers and Readers hosted by author Tom Taylor. I actually did two – 10 minute interviews – one about my Beyond books and one about my writing and editing business. Although the show (and actual studio) no longer exist, I do have the two segments, posted on Goodreads (scroll down through the videos; most, if not all of my book promo videos are here)

Letting somebody else video-tape an event or part of an event

Last month I was part of a Crime Writers of Canada panel on Hogtown Homicides: setting our books in Toronto. The five of us did this presentation at a Sisters in Crime meeting. One of the panelists had someone else tape part of it. I gather it was edited and it came out short and sweet. She sent us panelists (and probably others) the link to it. So I posted it on my Facebook page  and on my author gigs and  blog tours page connected to this blog.

Someone else posts a show clip on their website

My most recent Crime Beat Confidential guest, author and researcher Lorna Poplak, who wrote Drop Dead: the horrible history of hanging in Canada, is posting a short clip from her appearance on this show to her website – she even asked my permission to do so and of course, I said “yes”.

Facebook is a good place for me to post links to these and share them with my friends. Also my blog posts are automatically linked to my Facebook author page (which is part of my main Facebook account) and to Linked In. And my website home page, at the bottom of the page, has automatic feeds to the last two author blog posts, which my son, who helped with the website built in.

So, there are ways to get you and your books moving (literally) on the Internet. Maybe you have other ideas for this.

How do  you promote your books using video?

And while we are on the topic, click on the cover of Beyond Faith at the top and it will get you to my Amazon page for my Beyond books . And oh yeah, the latest two author blog posts get there on my author profile. Ditto for Goodreads.

Cheers.

Sharon

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2019 in Beyond mystery series, Book Promotion, Sharon A. Crawford, thathannel.com, Video Book Promotion

 

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Crime Beat Confidential features Nate Hendley

05 Oct

Nate Hendley true crime writer

Recently taped Episode 2 of Crime Beat Confidential my TV show on thatchannel.com. My guest was Nate Hendley, a true crime writer whose latest book The Boy on the Bicycle is creating a lot of buzz. The book is about a little known (until now) miscarriage of justice in the mid-1950s in Toronto the (supposedly) Good. A then 14-year old teen, Ron Moffat was wrongly accused of murdering a seven-year-old boy, arrested, tried in court, found guilty and spent some time in jail before the real killer (a serial killer) was found. Now Ron joins Nate for their public presentations, including the book launch.

I met Ron at the book launch. Ron is a gentle soul who has been through a lot but he has come through on the other side of a dark tunnel. You need to read his story as told by Nate. Here is a link to Nate’s current blog post on it.

And below is a direct link to the Crime Beat Confidential TV segment on it. Private Investigator Dana Bowman, the main character in my Beyond mystery series , as usual introduces the segment, but she gets serious for a change. She is a mother, so…

I do the actual interview. You will learn a lot from Nate in this TV segment.

Dana Bowman does the Crime Beat Confidential into

 

Sharon hosting Crime Beat Confidential

 

 
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Posted by on October 5, 2018 in Beyond Blood, Nate Hendley, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford, thathannel.com, The Boy on the Bicycle, True Crime

 

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Sharon A. Crawford hosts Crime Beat Confidential TV show

06 Jul

Now that I have finally taped the first segment of my TV show Crime Beat Confidential on the Internet channel thatchannel.com I have a few thoughts on doing a TV show.

First some basic info about the show.

Crime Beat Confidential is the new bi-monthly crime interview show hosted by former journalist and now mystery author Sharon A. Crawford https://samcraw.com/. The first segment opens with a short introduction by Private Investigator Dana Bowman, the main character in Sharon’s Beyond mystery series and then segues to Sharon and her guest, James G. Wigmore, a respected forensic toxicologist. Sharon and James chat about alcohol, DUIs and cannabis. James covers not only the legal aspects, but some of the caveats with the current cannabis because as James says, “Not your grandad’s weed.”

Guest James Wigmore, forensic toxicologist and author of Wigmore on Cannabis

View the show here.

The next segment will be in mid-August. Guests will be in various areas of crime – although not murderers, but not all authors either – police officers and private investigators, crime writing and reading organizations. And authors will have something interesting and unique in their books to talk about.

So, how did all this happen?

I have been interviewed by Hugh Reilly on three segments of his Liquid Lunch show (and no, he does not serve us booze) – one segment for each of my Beyond books. Shane at my publisher’s (Blue Denim Press) got me in for the first book Beyond the Tripping Point the end of October 2012 the day after hurricane remnents hit Toronto. Still raining a bit the day of taping and I missed the bullet for overnight power outages which hit houses on my street from next door.

I’m a former journalist for 35 years or so and also as it turns out I have a new interest and apparently some talent for it – acting – comedy mainly. Those of you who follow this blog know that I sometimes dress up as my main character PI Dana Bowman for author presentations. Well with Dana introducing the show segment and then me taking over doing the interview, we had to tape the first part separately to give me time to change back into me

But to back-up – the producer at thatchannel.com asked me to do a show and Crime Beat Confidential was what I came up with including a sample schedule of shows and she loved it. I had to become a member of thatchannel.com to do the show, but that’s okay as it gives me other benefits including being listed as one of their show presenters. See here and also have a member profile.

We were supposed to tape the first segment in June but one of the two guests cancelled at the last minute as she couldn’t get tine off work. They are tentatively scheduled for the August taping and I have a guest booked for the fall taping.

I don’t think I took it too seriously at first.- especially after announcing it at a Sisters In Crime meeting and then had to postpone the taping. Guess I was going on the modus operatndi of “when I see it I will believe it.” or “when it gets taped…

There were a few ups and downs like the links for my first guest and me not being included in the show. But I think that’s been fixed for future shows.

And getting from the idea stage to actually taping took longer than I expected, but “life” gets in the way.

I found the experience of taping that first show very interesting and thought it went well. My guest has experience appearing on TV before, in court, and lecturing. As mentioned, I am a former journalist (print and online) but have also had some experience with TV – cable TV – doing a few interviews and getting interviewed, but mostly working behind the camera, including operating one of the cameras. My cohort in this was in front of the camera – she has a British accent and that goes over well in an interviewer. We were both freelance writers and we collaborated in choosing guests and met with the guests before to get to know them.

So, I am really enjoying doing this TV show – and. yes it is a way to promote my Beyond mystery books, but I get to. interview all these interesting people and learn something. And PI Dana Bowman gets out from between the book covers and well, rant a little as she does the brief introduction.

Again view the show here.

What do you think?

Anyone else using TV to promote their book? How did it go?

Dana Bowman does the into

 

Cheers.

Sharon

 
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Posted by on July 6, 2018 in Beyond Faith, Crime Beat Confidential, James G. Wigmore, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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