When Words Collide 2017 - August 10-13 in Calgary

It's August again, and you know what that means: it's time for When Words Collide, Calgary's wildest wrangling of genre-crossing literature, a Festival for Readers and Writers.

The convention has been sold out since June but there are a few areas open to the public. Check the website at When Words Collide to learn what events you can access from outside.

I'll be appearing on several panels to discuss the amazing alternate-Victorian world of Maddie Hatter, how to plot the perfect crime, who my favourite paranormal authors are, and other topics of interest to readers and to writers of crime and/or speculative fiction.

My Schedule:

Friday, August 11th 

* at 7 p.m. in the Canmore Room (Atrium Building): When, Where, Why and How Would You Kill This Character?  Audience participation as writers brainstorm. With only a setting, character, and motive, how will each panelist kill the character and hide the body?

* at 9 p.m. (room TBA)  Tyche Books Ltd and Steampunk Arts & Sciences Society (SASS) present their annual  absinthe and Scotch tastings. Learn about malts from true aficionados  and watch a perfect absinthe drink created from the fountain manipulated by the Commander's experienced hands.

Saturday, August 12th
(all in Tower Building from here on unless specified)

* 12 noon in the Fireside Room:   Tyche Books Presents their annual book social with editors and authors presenting the 2017 collection. Panel discussion and Q & A. 

* 2 p.m. in Bonavista Room: Paranormal Mysteries by subtype and style. How much woo-woo is too much? What authors do it well?

* 8 p.m. in the Parkland Room: Mass autograph session, where I'll be signing my two Maddie Hatter Adventures, two Enigma Front anthologies, and whatever other anthologies or old magazine stories of mine readers bring along.

* 10 p.m. in a semi-secret location: Bundoran Press's combined party and triple book launch. I'm just going as a spectator and cheerer-on of the authors.

Sunday, August 13th

* 2 p.m. in the Parkland Room: Elements of Suspense (a Sisters-in-Crime panel), in which we discuss what keeps readers turning the page and sleeping with the lights on.

* 4 p.m. in the Fireside Room: Women of Mystery (a Sisters-in-Crime panel), in which 4 long-time mystery writer/readers discuss their favourite new and established female crime writers, and reveal a few secrets of our own.

Looking forward to seeing lots of friends old and new!

 Find me on Facebook or Twitter

Launch Party for MADDIE HATTER AND THE GILDED GAUGE

It was May 10th, 2017, and dusk was creeping over Calgary when MADDIE HATTER AND THE GILDED GAUGE leapt from the printed page to party and parasol duel at Owls Nest Books.

 And from there to the #1 slot on the Calgary Herald Bestseller List for Fiction! 

Same as MADDIE HATTER AND THE DEADLY DIAMOND did 18 months ago!

Yay, Maddie! 

Friends and family in the packed store ate, drank, and made merry to the lively tunes of Calgary folk duo Hazel Gray. Their song, PAPER-THIN KINGDOMS, is a book-lover's classic!.



 We raised $100 for charity, to be split between CALGARY READS and GIRLS NOT BRIDES.

 Some characters from the book showed up:

Countess Olga, wearing the Dragon Draper Necklace which is our prize for the entire summer's charity fundraising.

Emmy Gat Ain't No Flat!

Cat Cheshire - Look at that GRIN!

Muffet, the littlest Urchin, and one smart cookie!

Tyche Books represented by Editor-in-Chief Margaret Curelas and substantive editor Adria Laycraft.

Fabulous food and wine was provided by Tyche Books and Owls Nest Books.

Some lucky folks took home a Steampunk Statue of Liberty Chocolate Bar.

The Urchins were never far from the food!

The March Pair (Rabbit and Hare) with Muffet and the snacks

These kids go nowhere without their crazy scooter.

In the white and black, the first World Parasol Dueling Champion, mentally preparing to face down Countess Olga, the World Street Dueling Champ!

 

Amanda and her daughter drove 5 hours to be there on the night.

 I told a tall tale or two of parasol duels by daylight and darkness.

Add caption

Emmy Gat and Cat Cheshire set to duel. Those far at the back of the store couldn't see the duelists well, but they were closer to the refreshments.

 

 

With great support from Steampunks of SASS and Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Dueling League, and the warmest of welcomes from Owls Nest's Mike Hare, Judith Duthie and Sarah Johnson, MADDIE HATTER AND THE GILDED GAUGE got off to a great start!  Thanks, all of you!


Available at Owls Nest Books in Calgary or through any of the links below:  Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XJ9YT31 
Amazon.CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XJ9YT31 
Amazon.UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XJ9YT31 
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/maddie-hatter-and-the-gilded-gauge 
Nook & iBooks: https://www.books2read.com/u/bxgDJv
For up-to-the-minute news about Maddie and my other writings, find me on Facebook or Twitter 

Christmas in Cairo

Miss Maddie Hatter, foreign fashion reporter for the London Fog & Cog, passes the Christmas of 1898 at Shepheard's Hotel Anglaise in Cairo. 

Picture the hotel's lovely Egyptian-inspired dining room all dressed up in English holiday finery while you read the excerpt below:

The hotel’s little orchestra played Christmas music at every possible occasion, until Maddie began to prowl the streets around the hotel, ever surrounded by loudly begging children just to escape from the relentless tunes. The British baron and his war-hero guest were present at every festivity. The former was fond of talking about his quest for a fabulous treasure. Maddie tried in vain to interest CJ in a serial story of his proposed adventure. Surely expeditions in search of legendary treasures would interest readers more than the exact style of ascot the royal relation had worn this week

On Christmas Eve, Baron Bodmin threw a lavish dinner party. He had caused real fir trees to be flown in from somewhere, and they blazed with real candles beside every pillar in the vast dining room, dripping wax into their sand-filled tubs and onto the floor tiles. The tables were dressed with holly and ivy and fat, red candles. A sumptuous feast of roast turkey, pan gravy, and all the traditional side dishes was brought in by the steam-driven serving carts, each one attended by a human server to pile high the pre-warmed plates. This was followed by flaming puddings with the appropriate sauces. A heavy meal indeed in the summery climate

And now, a more festive image of Madame Saffron's parlour in festive apparel, as Miss Maddie, Madame Saffron, Oberon O'Reilly, and me wish you and yours a joyful, adventurous holiday season:

It's still a thrill when people enjoy Maddie's first adventure:

"one of the most delightful tales I’ve read in a while. It’s a lovely mix of mystery, science fiction, humor, froth and adventure that can be found in the best steampunk"

For the full review, see Buried Under Books

Maddie's Kindle edition is at #29 in Steampunk. Anything in the Top 100 is cause to celebrate, right?

Maddie's Marvelous Debut

While I was busy plotting and conniving to squeeze more remarkable clockwork critters into the next Maddie Hatter adventure, THIS happened:

That's right! Our delightful damsel and her high-flying pursuit of the Deadly Diamond hit the very top of the Fiction Charts in Calgary! 

Can an author BE more excited than I am today?

Come for Coffee with Jayne

Ask your questions about Maddie Hatter, the Deadly Diamond, the airships, the clockwork birds, or any other aspect of Maddie's first, fun-filled Steampunk adventure.

Bring your favourite beverage in your favourite mug or teacup.

Live online interview  
Saturday, October 17, 2015
1 p.m. Mountain Time

Your invitation to the launch

Maddie's in the house!

The publishing house, that is. Only six days in advance of the launch at Owls Nest Books in Calgary SW. Not that we were getting nervous or anything....

Anyway, here's the first view of the second edition. This one is lacking Robin's working drawings from the special-run conference edition (those are all gone to good homes weeks ago), but it has six lovely line drawings scattered through the text.

Soon to be available in-store at Owls Nest Books. They'll take phone or online orders, and if you can't get to the launch, ask them to hold an autographed copy for you.

More launch details coming very soon! Look for news of our wonderful musical guests!

Also available now for Kindle, Kobo, and paperback pre-order via Tyche Books, 
Chapters/Indigo,  
Barnes & Noble, 
Book Depository
and Amazon