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Variations on Promoting a Book

04 Aug

With the pandemic dragging on way too long with so many variants, a book author has to find variations to in-person presentations and book signings to promote his or her book. Being a library lover and patron for many, many years, I am focusing on a few ways for library patrons and other book lovers to find my book, learn about it and borrow it from the library. And yes, I do get royalties for that from the Public Lending Right Program in Canada, as long as the library branches carry copies of my book. So, out there in library land are my three Beyond mystery books and my newest book The Enemies Within Us – a Memoir. It is the memoir I am going to spill the beans on what I am doing beyond getting the book into the libraries.

It helps that my East End Writers’ Group was meeting at the S. Walter Stewart library branch (as one of its programs), that is until the pandemic closed the libraries during lock downs, but even when lock downs were lifted and the libraries opened, in-person programs didn’t return. According to the librarian who I liaison with for EEWG, that won’t happen for some time. EEWG now meets twice a month on Zoom. But more importantly for this post, EEWG celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. I know, pandemic cancelled any in-library celebrations, but besides taping two appearances with a couple of EEWG members on the online TV show The Liquid Lunch, EEWG went virtual for a big 20th anniversary celebration in 2021. Hey, you got to do things differently.

My favourite meeting place

Three of us organized this celebration – two other members, Kit a speculative fiction writer, and Shane, who is also my publisher at Blue Denim Press, and also a published fiction author and me. I lined up members – new and longtime – to showcase their creative talents, Kit hosted it, and Shane put together the publishing panel as well as being on it, and designing the invitation and setting up the Facebook login for people to attend. Shane and I also sent out virtual invitations and some of mine went to librarians and a retired librarian from the Toronto Public Library system.

And I made my presentation relevant to both one of my Beyond books – the latest Beyond Faith – and my memoir The Enemies Within Us. I used a connection between them – that nun from my past who bullied me in grade school. The nun in Beyond Faith is based on her. So I did a combination of reading and a skit for my presentation. Shane edited the Facebook video, divided it into two videos and both are now online and have been for the few months since the big celebration of May 26.

But I also recently did something else. I emailed my liaison librarian to see if she could get the links to the two EEWG anniversary celebrations on the Toronto Public Library website – as we had been meeting in one of the TPL branches. That didn’t happen exactly, but she was able to get another TPL branch, the Danforth/Coxwell branch to post it to their Facebook page the end of July. So thanks to Luke at the Danforth/Coxwell branch and Jennifer at S. Walter Branch for making this all happen. To see the Facebook posting Log in to Facebook, go here and scroll down. Or log into Facebook and do a search for Danforth/Coxwell library branch.

The library branch posting video links to East End Writers’ celebrations

That’s not all I’m doing with the library – or trying to do. Toronto Public Library welcomes program proposals from authors – at this point for virtual and/for in-person whenever COVID will permit the latter. The big proposal form you fill out online lets you decide which you want – virtual or in-person or both. I chose both. My presentation, without completely giving it away, uses my little girl self and my senior self to present parts of my memoir, especially what it was like growing up with an elderly father who has cancer and being bullied. No bites yet, but I’m still working on the actual presentation.

The take-away here?

Find a writing-related event (yours or something else) you can anchor on to connect with the library and come up with an unusual presentation for your book that can be virtual. And remember libraries have branches for when they finally can open to in-person presentations, and there are libraries right across your country, which can be good for you and the libraries during a pandemic.

We book authors have to be creative to promote our books in pandemic times.

But don’t forget to get your book into the library. Find out how from your library and do it. Mine is in three Toronto public library branches and holds are on for it with some copies in transit from … you guessed it…the copy at S. Walter Stewart branch. The link to The Enemies Within Us in the libraries is here.

Good luck with promoting your book through the libraries.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

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Posted by on August 4, 2021 in Author Reading, Beyond mystery series, Blue Denim Press, Book Promotion, East End Writers' Group, Memoir, Public Libraries, Sharon A. Crawford   Author, Social Media Book Promo, The Enemies Within - a Memoir, Toronto Public Library

 

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East End Writers 20th on May 26, 2021

04 May
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is east-end-writers-invitation.jpg

Two years after I moved back to Toronto, I decided to start a writing critique group because I couldn’t find one near me that met on a weekday evening. When I was living in Aurora, a bit north of Toronto, I belonged to this wonderful writing critique group called Richvale Writers. It was run by poet Bernice Lever (and she continued to run it until she moved to BC) and was actually in Richmond Hill, which is a little closer to Toronto. But non-driver me and another non-driver writer were lucky to get a lift with another writer to and from the town centre for our meetings. I liked the way this group operated and it became a model for me to develop my East End Writers’ Group.

East End Writer began meeting in the tiny living room of my tiny east end bungalow. For that first meeting I worried there would not be enough room but worrying wasn’t necessary. Three people – my writer/editor friend from down the street, another writer from Canadian Authors Association, and myself were present for this meeting. Over the next few years the membership and attendance grew, especially when we had guest speakers. One evening we had 17 people crowded into my living room. We were spilling over into my office.

We also developed a modus operandi for our meetings. No feedback given in nasty and/or dictatorship type modes. But it couldn’t be all positive. The trick was to blend the positive and the negative about the story or poem being critiqued to help the writer improve, get ideas for writing problems he or she was having with the piece so the writer could make his or her story better and get it published. It was about the writing, not the writer. It was sharing. And many of us did get the rewrites of our critiqued writing published.

And yes, there were a few questionable feedbacks and complaints about them to me. I can take a lot of writing criticism, usually, but if I had several complaints about someone, unfortunately I had to ask them to leave or as I became more familiar with running a group talk to them and try to work it out. More on this below.

But the “house party” couldn’t last. In September 2013 I had a boarder and her cat. There was no room in this inn for a writers group. So, we became nomads. First stop was a cafe around the corner. I had done readings there from my first Beyond book – the short story collection Beyond the Tripping Point (Blue Denim Press, 2012) with some other Crime writers of Canada members. A few months later the cafe went out of business and closed.

Next stop was a combination second hand bookstore/quilting workshop centre. We were in the workshop room at the back. This one was for a few months only, but the owners told us this upfront. When our time was up the owners closed the bricks and mortars store and took the books to their online shop.

We were back on the street again. But not for long. Just a couple months of a summer break. Then, thanks to a librarian then at S. Walter Stewart library branch, East End Writers’ Group went into partnership with the library branch as a library program. This meant more publicity for the group with flyers from the library. Membership grew. We had a few public presentations strutting our creative talents (reading our writing, acting, singing, photography).

My favourite meeting place for East End Writers

We also so had to deal with members’ problems. The one that comes to mind is the woman from a community college whom I call “the poacher”. She showed up for one meeting at the library and just about took over the meeting. Unfortunately, I was overtired that night and so were my wits. This particular woman was trying to form her own writing group to meet in the living room of the tiny bungalow she lived in. She persuaded some of the EEWG members to email her their short stories, novel excerpts, etc. for her to critique. I heard from some of the members that they never heard back from her in any way.

But Karma always kicks in, often when you do nothing. I heard later (and I don’t remember from where) that she not only didn’t get a writing group going in her bungalow, the landlord kicked her out, I believe because he wanted the house for a family member to move into. Lesson: if you give someone the boot or equivalent, you will also get the boot from someone.

In late 2019 we started preparing for our 20th anniversary in 2020. In February 2020 I picked up flyers for a guest novelist at one of our upcoming celebrations and was just going to distribute them when…

COVID-19 hit and many businesses, etc. in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario, in other parts of Canada, shut down. That included all Toronto library branches. The library was now only online, so many of us were put on hold, in COVID limbo, where we still sit thanks to all the waves and variants of COVID. I will not go into who is to blame for all this COVID stuff here. Maybe another time. Maybe on my Only Child Writes blog. For now I prefer to focus on writing and the like.

One of our members, a retired IT guy got us on Zoom in April 2020. He does the technical stuff so is called the host. I am the meetings’ moderator. Since then we’ve been meeting on Zoom twice a month except for December. However, 20th anniversary celebrations got put on the back burner. I was too busy dealing with all the changes in living due to dealing with all the COVID stuff (for another blog post on another blog), and very busy with several rewrites of my memoir The Enemies Within Us – a Memoir, which as you may know from previous blog posts, was published in October 2020 by Blue Denim Press.

When 2021 arrived and COVID was still sticking its ugly face and other parts into our lives, I decided we were going to celebrate East End Writers’ Group 20th anniversary in 2021. Everything was all topsy-turvy, so why not?

Unlike our previous celebration presentations (10th, 13th, and 15th anniversaries) I was not going to do most of the organizing, preparations, etc. myself. So I put together a group of four of us – longtime members Shane Joseph and Tom Taylor and newer member (as in started to attend from our library meeting days) Andrea Laver, and me. All of us took on parts to get this show on the road -virtually, of course. Shane who is computer savvy (he is a writer but also publisher at Blue Denim Press) is handling all our technical stuff – planning meetings on Zoom, dress rehearsal on Zoom, upcoming show on Zoom, and the invitation on Facebook (with the Zoom login embedded in it for activation the evening of the show). Andrea volunteered to host the presentation, and I put out a call for presenters in the East End Writers monthly newsletters which I write and send out. And we got a variety of talent signed up – author interviews,singing and songwriting, readings, a presentation on what happens when fact and fiction collide, and a panel on publishing, although Shane took that one over after I got one more panelist signed up and he signed up the third panelist. Once that was done I left the panel set-up to those involved. Unlike our library presentations, this one won’t require a food spread for all.

In the following posts before the presentation I’ll be putting a bit more about who is doing what and an insight on an individual preparation for doing a presentation without giving it all away. As well as a few other things being done.

Meantime, take note again of this date for the presentation: Wednesday, May 26, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. EDT(please adjust your time zones) and please sign in to attend. Here is the link which will get you to the actual invitation on Facebook before you sign in. You do have to login to Facebook to sign in as going. So, if you are a writer or reader, please join us.

East End Writers’ Group Logo designed by Lee Parpart

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

The M and M Author of Mystery and Memoir

Books available on Amazon

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2021 in Author Reading, East End Writers' Group, Public Libraries, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Getting around the COVID-19 writing block for writers meetings

28 May

Logo designed by Lee Parpart

COVID-19 days and nights continue and so do a lot of changes. For those of you (writers and others) who think that we writers just write in isolation anyway and can continue to do so, think again.

Writing isn’t just about writing. You have to market your little written darlings to get published, and if a book, promote it.

Before all that you might want (and need) some feedback on your writing-in-the-works. And if you have been attending in-person writing groups, you just can’t do that anymore – or at least for nowthanks to COVID-19. And for me, to add insult to injury (pardon the cliché, but a cliché is well, normal in these definitely non-normal times), the writing group I founded and still run, East End Writers’ Group, is supposed to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. We had lots scheduled and being prepared for this year.

A Writers Circle reading in person before

Then, thanks COVID-19, things were cancelled. Public venues were closed, including the libraries and we were meeting at the S. Walter Stewart library branch in Toronto since July 2014. Before that we were meeting for a few months in a used book store until it closed; before that in a café which closed too; before that for 17 years in my tiny bungalow. The latter is not an option now, especially with COVID-19 and doing the self-isolation bit until who knows when. Also, even without COVID-19, I don’t want meetings in my house anymore. Too much work.

My favourite meeting place – closed for now

So enter online.

Like many writing groups (and other groups, including my gardening club), we have zoomed into Zoom. I probably don’t need to tell anybody what this is, although how it works, is something else. Both my son, Martin (the IT guy) and a retired IT guy, Nick, who belongs to East End Writers’ Group suggested Zoom and although I haven’t too many clues about how it works (I’m improving with their help), I’m enthused about using Zoom and grateful they came up with the suggestion, and grateful that Nick is doing all the technical stuff to get the meetings going and creating the invitations for members. I am sending out the invitations, so not sitting on my laurels (cliché). So, I like to say, Nick hosts the session and I moderate it. In our two hours or so we have time for four members to each read a poem or two or a short prose excerpt and then after each author reads, it is my turn to lead a discussion and everybody else (and me, too) to give constructive feedback. At the end of our last Zoom meeting (we are meeting every two weeks) the diehards who stayed behind after all the feedback was finished, got into a discussion of how COVID-19 is affecting our writing. The consensus was it is causing us to be distracted and not get as much writing done as we would usually do.

As for the East End Writers’ 20th anniversary celebrations, that too has gone online. Earlier in May, novelist Shane Joseph, who is one of the EEWG’s original members and I were guests on Liquid Lunch on thatchannel the online TV station where I tape my Crime Beat Confidential Show. Liquid Lunch’s host, Hugh Reilly, interviewed Shane and I (remotely – he was in the studio and Shane and I were in our respective homes and coincidentally in our respective offices. Maybe some underlying wish that it will inspire our writing?) to tape the show. The episode is on You Tube now and also you can get to it via thatchannel. Shane and I talk about the early days of East End Writers’ Group. But pay attention to the last part and what we talk about. You can probably guess. Note: as we are isolated, we are not wearing masks, but Hugh is wearing his trademark toque.

 

Link to show is here. Scroll down and across.

And the link to my East End Writers’ Group is here.

So, I guess the message for writers is: don’t let COVID-19 get you down. Find a writers’ critique group online and KEEP WRITING. If you go to my Facebook author page, I post daily writing quotations on weekdays, from other writers, some well-known, some not, to inspire you and get you thinking and writing. Here is that link.

Stay safe, stay healthy and write and read.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on May 28, 2020 in East End Writers' Group, Public Libraries, Shane Joseph, Sharon A. Crawford, thathannel.com, Uncategorized, Writers in COVID-29 Times, Writing

 

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Public Libraries Help Writers and their Readers

14 Mar

How many times have you been at a table trying to sell your books? Maybe it is a writer’s festival or maybe a church bazaar or some other event. And you get some interest in your book from someone until they look at the price. Then it is “is it available in an e-copy.” Or I don’t have enough cash on me/spent all my money/I’ll be back later when I’m leaving.”

Instead of frowning, yelling, whining or going into extreme book selling mode, why not suggest the person borrow your book from their local library branch? Maybe you don’t think about that because you figure you won’t be paid if someone reads a borrowed copy of your book.

Wrong.

If you as an author have your book(s) signed up with a Public Lending Rights Program (over 30 countries have them), you can receive royalty payments annually. Some library systems base the amount on how many times your books are borrowed or if your book or books are in the library catalogues (tcatalogues are online on most library websites). Canada follows this latter method and the payout annually has to work out to not under $50. But it can go up to $4,000. My Beyond mystery books haven’t reached a $4,000 royalty, but for last year, the amount was more than a 100 per cent increase from 2017.

Canada’s Public Lending Rights Program has a window of time to sign up – usually from sometime in February to May. And then that’s it for another year. Forms are online and are downloadable. This year the timeline ends May 1.

See here for more information on Canada’s program.

So how do you get your books into the library? Most libraries have book submission forms – in print at the branch or online, although sometimes the former are set up for  you to recommend a book by any other author who isn’t you. So get another author you know to recommend your book and you do the same for them.

The best way is to have a librarian get your book in. I have cold-called some librarians and persuaded them to carry my book. Depending on the library I may mention that I have family in their city or town (this has to be true – don’t make up stuff – leave that for your fiction books). Or I may say my books are set in their city or town or a city or town loosely based on their city or town (true for York Region just north of Toronto).

My favourite is actually doing a presentation (with other authors or on my own) or teaching a workshop at a library branch. Now, I have been doing the former for eight years and the latter six years. Particularly if the presentation or workshop is connected to your book – i.e. creating compelling fiction characters and you write fiction. Also, if you are presenting at a library, the librarians usually do order in a few copies of your book ahead of time.

Although one didn’t. So, one of the five of us crime writers reading asked the librarian if copies of our books were available in the library.

No. But they were soon afterwards.

Probably the best-case scenario is the librarian, Janet, at the library branch where I teach one or two workshops a year and my East End Writers’ Group partners with this branch to hold our meetings there. The librarian actually suggested it after we did a presentation at the library and I decided to get the group out of my house to meet and the two places after that where we met briefly went out of business. So, we are in partnership with the library with this and the program gets under the branch programs umbrella. Janet has made sure my three Beyond books are in that branch.

Of course each library system has its own methods for getting in programs and presentations. How I got into some (besides the East End Writers’ Group one) is fodder for another post.

The bottom line is getting your published books into libraries is a win-win-win situation – for your readers, for libraries and for you.

Cheers.

Sharon A, Crawford

Author of the Beyond mystery series

Available for borrowing in the Toronto Public Library system, some in the York Region Library system, etc.

And I am teaching a memoir writing workshop and doing two presentations with other authors, all in Toronto library branches. See my Gigs and Blog Tours Page on this website here to find out when and where.

 

 
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Posted by on March 14, 2019 in Author Reading, Beyond mystery series, Book Promotion, Public Libraries, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Sharon and Dana and Beyond books at Word on the Street

20 Sep

The latest Beyond mystery. (2017).

 

But before I talk about being there, first a word about Word on the Street (WOTS).

It’s an outdoor festival for books and magazines and much more that is related – panels of authors, author readings, author presentations, publishers, agents, magazine editors, writing organizations, children’s area, etc.

It’s currently in its third location at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West by Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada

It is free to get in. But you can spend a lot (or a little) money on books, magazines and magazine subscriptions, and food

It is for readers and writers – and often that’s the same person.

It is a great place to meet other writers and readers.

It is a great family outing as well as great for individuals.

It runs this Sunday, September 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More info here

And at this point, the weather is supposed to be cool and sunny.

I’ll be there at two booths with my Beyond Books (see below for book titles and cover shots) and will also have flyers for  the following:

my East End Writers’ Group, which meetsvthe last Wednesday of the month (excl. Aug. and Dec.) at S. Walter Stewart Library

Another War Between Mystery Fiction and Literary Fiction Presentation I do with Michael Robert Dyet (literary short story collection Hunting Muskie, Blue Denin Press fall 2017) Oct. 23 at Annette Street Library, and

my new writing workshop, Memoir as Creative Nonfiction which I’ll be teaching Oct. 16 at S. Walter Stewart Library

And my appearances for book selling and signing at WOTS:

2 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. at the Crime Writers of Canada booth

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sisters in Crime Toronto booth

Before that I’ll be checking out a few other booths. As for Private Investigator Dana Bowman from the Beyond books – she thinks she will be running around there, but we’ll see about that.

Speaking of the Beyond books – here they are:

Short story collection (2012)

The third Beyond book (2014)

 

The third Beyond mystery (2017)

 

See you there.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on September 20, 2018 in Beyond mystery series, Book Promotion, Book Signings, East End Writers' Group, Michael Dyet, PI Dana Bowman, Sharon A. Crawford, Word on the Street

 

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Muskie and Murder engages audience

28 Jun

Michael and Sharon – Muskie and Murder presentation June 27. Shane Joseph photo.

Muskie and Murder with Michael Robert Dyet (Muskie) and me, Sharon A. Crawford (Murder) made its debut presentation last evening at S. Walter Stewart Library. It was my East End Writers’ Group’s second event for 2018. Although I was disappointed in the small number of people who attended (probably to inaccurate weather forecasts for torrential rain) those of us there were really engaged in the presentation. I’m not talking just Michael and I and our guest speaker, Shane Joseph (editor at Blue Denim Press – our publisher), but the whole audience of writers and readers.

There was a continual conversation going on among all of us and I think we learned a lot. I know I did.

Using four different set-ups, we were all looking at what Michael so aptly titled The War between Literary Fiction and Mystery Fiction. We discussed questions dealing with plot and characters in both and not only discovered there is both in both types of fiction, but we found out we all read more than one or the other. Margaret Atwood (she of Alias Grace and The Handmaidens Tale) and Stephen King (Pet Cemetery,The Shining, The Outsider) entered the conversation – at least their names and writings did. So did memoirs – another “M” area of writing. Perhaps we should add Memoir to future presentations?

Then Shane asked Michael and I questions on plot and characters and then he asked us how often do we write and do we write regularly.

Not as often or regularly as we would like. The other stuff of life (Michael’s day job, my teaching writing and editing, the garden, and house problems ), all took up necessary time. But there are a lot of other things in our lives that can be pruned or purged and some of what is still there can be manouvered somewhat.

Michael and I read parts from our books based on a theme (not telling what – we want to use it at more presentations).

And then it was skit time. Michael played Norah Watson from “Slipstream”, the novella in Hunting Muskie and I played PI Dana Bowman (although Dana might argue about the latter as she thinks she wrote Beyond Faith and is a separate person. Hmm.) Norah had reluctantly hired Dana to find a missing family member, but Norah and Dana are like oil and water.

You can imagine how that went. If not you’ll have to catch a Muskie and Murder presentation in the fall.

PI Dana Bowman and Norah Watson. Shane Joseph photo.

Meantime, this whole presentation, particularly what the writers and readers in the audience said, has inspired me to get back on my creative writing track. Not just writing book promo blurbs and the like, but my own M and M – Mystery and Memoir. I remembered that I used to always write at least two afternoons a week – Friday was sacrosanct for my creative writing, with Wednesday afternoon another one.

Earlier this year I started the fourth Beyond mystery book, started another rewrite of a black noir mystery short story, and returned to my memoir writing – both the book and some shorter pieces for possible magazine publication.

And anyone who dares interfere with my writing time, let’s just say it could mean “murder”.

Well, between the book covers.

Do you write regularly?

How do you do it?

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

The Mystery half of Muskie and Murder.

Michael and Sharon with Muskie and Murder. Shane Joseph photo.

 
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Posted by on June 28, 2018 in Uncategorized

 

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Beyond Faith on the PR road again

21 Jun

The latest Beyond mystery.

 

Beyond Faith continues in person appearances – the next one is with my writing colleague, Michael Robert Dyet. Our books were published by the same publisher (Blue Denim Press) and launched the same date last fall by Blue Denim Press. So Michael and I are doing some joint (and not the weed kind either) presentations, readings and the like. Besides the book launch we have both done readings at the same library last fall. But this upcoming presentation, next Wednesday, June 27, is the first of this kind and more are in the works. And Michael writes literary fiction and is known as The Metaphor Man. I write murder mysteries and am sometimes mistaken for my main Beyond book character, Dana Bowman.

I came up with the general idea, then narrowed it down to the below blurb. But Michael organized and wrote what we are going to do – it is very interactive with the audience. We don’t want to put people to sleep. We’ve been practicing and still are practicing and fine-tuning as we go. This is the show’s inaugural and are we nervous? You tell me. Nervous energy is good as long as the memory doesn’t pull a blank.

Anyway, here’s the blurb for it to give you an idea what it’s about.

East End Writers’ Group Presents Muskie and Murder

Is there murder in literary fiction and character depth in mystery fiction? Join Michael Robert Dyet, author of the literary short story collection “Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage” and Sharon A. Crawford, author of the mystery novel “Beyond Faith”, for a lively discussion, rapid-fire questions, readings, audience participation and a skit involving story characters. Free. All welcome. Rumour has it that there will be a special guest.

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Location:

S. Walter Stewart Library (auditorium)

170 Memorial Park Ave. (Coxwell/Mortimer Ave. area)

Toronto

And there will be book characters present including her… (and she is NOT the special guest although she may think she is.)

Dana Bowman PI from Beyond Faith and Beyond Blood

 

If you are in the Greater Toronto Area,  hope to see yhere. If not, you can always read our books. They are available in the usual places, Amazon, Indigo-Chapters and the like including some bookstores – chain and independent – for those who like to visit bricks and mortars stores.

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 
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Posted by on June 21, 2018 in Author Reading, Beyond Faith, Book Promotion, Channelling Fiction Characters, East End Writers' Group, Michael Dyet, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Beyond book characters new mystery online here

21 Jul

Dana Bowman escapes from Beyond Blood again.

As some of you know I do comedy skits featuring Dana Bowman, the main character in my Beyond mystery books. After the most recent skit, which I did with literary fiction author Shane Joseph at my East End Writers’ Group “Creativity from the Stacks” presentation the end of June, I’ve banished Dana to between the covers of Beyond Blood…until the next book in the series, Beyond Faith, comes out in October.

But that isn’t sitting too well with Dana and she’s been straining the book covers. So, I’m letting her out, but in my weekly blog posts only, and only until Labour Day. Dana swears she has a story to tell and it has to be told.

Very well, I’m turning the blog post over to Dana.

Dana: Finally. Oh, yeah. Thanks Sharon. Yes, well let’s get right to it. First, I have to go bring in the weekly local newspaper. Well, it is 1999 and print was still the main way to read a newspaper, although there were some articles posted online.

Dana goes to the front door, opens it, steps out onto the veranda, and stoops to pick up the paper. A large photo of a young woman stares back at her. The headline says Local teacher’s brother suspect in b and e ring.

Dana: What the? .She starts reading the story as she heads for the kitchen and a cup of coffee.

Bast: Anything interesting in the paper?

Dana: Yeah. David’s teacher has suspected criminal ties.

Bast: What? Here give me that paper.

Dana hands it over and Bast starts reading the story.

Bast: The brother of a Thurston grade school teacher is being held by police on break and enter charges. Wayne Dugan, who lives with his sister, Carla Dugan in Thurston, was picked up last night by Cooks Regional Police as he left Morgan’s Hardware on Main. He was carrying a bag of screwdrivers which he had just bought.

Detective Sergeant Donald Fielding who is heading the investigation, claims they received an anonymous tip that Dugan was involved in the current break and enters in Thurston. These break and enters are widespread across different areas of Thurston.Unlike the spurt of vandalism and break and enters that plagued Thurston in August of last year, it is believed that the current burglaries involve more than one person.

In August 1998, Thurston’s burglaries took an ugly turn with dead raccoons being found at the homes of some residences broken into. The situation escalated into the murder of Debbie Sanger during The Attic Investigative Agency’s opening reception. Co-owner of the agency, Dana Bowman’s son, David, was kidnapped that same evening..

Dana: Oh for Christ’s sake. Can’t they leave last year alone. David is having enough trouble recuperating from all that. Here, give me that paper.

Bast hands it back to her.

Dana: It says here that Carla Dugan is proclaiming her brother’s innocence and that the screwdrivers were needed to fix some loose hinges in the front door. Really? I mean the innocent part.

Bast: Innocent until proven guilty.

Dana: Oh, for Christ’ sake Bast, get real.

Bast: I’m just saying.

Dana: Well he is David’s teacher’s brother and they live together. What if the rest of the gang were at their place? What if she is part of the gang? What if…?

Bast, mimicking Dana’s voice:  Oh for Christ’s sake…

Dana: It’s not funny. It’s too close to David, especially after last year.

Bast: I know, sis. Maybe you should have a chat with your er, boyfriend.

Dana: Fielding is not my boyfriend.

Bast: Well, your admirer. I’m sure you could get him to talk. I’m sure…

A loud knock sounded at the front door.

Dana: Who can that be? David just left for school an hour ago. And it’s not the agency door.

The two rush to the front door. Bast pulls it open.

On the doorstep stands David. Beside him is the woman in the newspaper photo – Carla Dugan.

David: Mommy, mommy, the police are after Ms. Dugan. You have to help her.

 

Want more? You’ll have to come back next Thursday..

Cheers.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

 

 
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Posted by on July 21, 2017 in Beyond Blood, Beyond Faith, Book Promotion, Channelling Fiction Characters, East End Writers' Group, Fiction Characters, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Book Launch Crossing Limbo July 8

29 Jun

Dana Bowman escapes from Beyond Blood again.

Creativity from the Stacks  presented by my East End Writers’ group last evening went over very well – despite a smaller audience than expected, despite the laptop falling over (and the connecting cable coming out – yes, everything was fine) and despite Shane and I mixing up some of the order of our skit (we did a lot of improv there, which I prefer, and it went over well). The food was good, everyone enjoyed themselves and I managed to get my main Beyond mystery series character Dana Bowman back between the covers of Beyond Blood. That despite one of Shane’s book characters, George Walton, stealing a copy of Beyond Blood.

Speaking of Shane Joseph, the Toronto Launch of his new literary book, Crossing Limbo, a collection of short stories, is Saturday, July 8, 3 to 5 p.m. at Supermarket Restaurant and Bar, 268 Augusta Ave. in Toronto’s Kenginston Market area. If you are in the Toronto area then, why not drop in? It is open to the public and there is no admission charge. And no, George Walton is not in the book. And oh yeah, I’m one of the guest readers and so is Michael Dyet.

Crossing Limbo’s 13 stories cover the harder and darker side of life – greed, desire, ambition, loss, illness, death, and the driving quest to find purpose in a meaningless world.

Below is a sized-down version of the poster for Crossing Limbo.

Cheers.

Sharon

 
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Posted by on June 29, 2017 in Author Reading, Book launches, Book Promotion, Channelling Fiction Characters, Comedy Skit, Creativity from the Stacks, Sharon A. Crawford

 

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Creativity from the Stacks June 28 – more talented performers

22 Jun

As promised I will introduce the rest of the creative talent from the East End Writers’ Group who are performing/presenting at our big event Creativity from the Stacks. We meet in a library branch in Toronto which is also where the presentation takes place, hence the title created by Paola Ferrante one of our performers. You met Paola in last week’s post.

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 28, 2017, 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.

Includes mix and mingle, light refreshments, sample writing critique, authors’ books for sale, and presentations by EEWG members.

Location: S. Walter Stewart Library (auditorium), 170 Memorial Pk. Ave., Toronto, Ontario

 

 

 

We are also partnering with the library branch for this presentation as we do with our regular writing critique evenings. More info about the East End Writers’ Group here.

We also are partnered for this event with East End Arts.

More info about them here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now – drum roll…

Here are the rest of us who are presenting.

Nick Nanos – Musician, Composer, Fiction Author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gail Murray – Poet and Creative Non-fiction author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee Parpart – Poet and Fiction Author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shane Joseph – Literary Fiction Author

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Sharon A. Crawford – Mystery Author, Memoir Writer, Writing Instructor

 

More info about the performers and the  presentation here.

Of course to get the full flavour, the full experience, you have to come to the event.

See you there.

Sharon A. Crawford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More info about all the performers and the presentation here.

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2017 in Author Reading, Beyond Blood, Comedy Skit, Creativity from the Stacks, East End Arts, East End Writers' Group, Sharon A. Crawford, Uncategorized

 

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