Maddie's Amazing Venetian Carnevale Launch Party

Welcome, one and all, to the fabulous, amazing, fantastical Timely Taffeta Masquerade Launch Party!

The Maddie Hatter Adventures welcomed to our launch party another Tyche Books new release, Dying on Second, the fourth in the Marie Jenner mysteries by Edmonton author (and temporarily dead second-base narrator) EC Bell.

The thrilling choral performance by Double Treble Ensemble transported us to a Venetian palazzo!

Members of the Ensemble picking up their copies of

 MADDIE HATTER AND THE TIMELY TAFFETA

Many launch guests arrived in costumes worthy of the most extravagant Venetian Carnevale!

Solo Piratical Woman

Dashing Mother-Daughter Duo down from Edmonton for the event

This mother-daughter team came dressed as Emmy Gat and Cat Cheshire from
MADDIE HATTER AND THE TIMELY TAFFETA

Moaning Myrtle made an appearance

A whole-family affair!

Altogether, there were four juniors in costume

The super Owls Nest staff threw themselves into the spirit of Carnevale

This man with the fabulous wrist-brace is using his sundial-wristwatch to find his way through the twisting tale.

The night's most elegant masquerader shone in gold and white satin against the blue dusk beyond the windows

The man who inspired Oberon O'Reilly attended with his charming lady-love

Calgary author and impressario Neil Enoch took home the coveted Timely Taffeta coffee mug.

Maddie's Fourth Adventure is officially afloat! Available at Owls Nest Books in Calgary and everywhere online that fine fantasy novels are sold.

Find out more about the book at this link

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A Post-Festival Post

Photo credit to AJ Proc

What a wild and wonderful weekend! 

From finally shaking hands with Sam Hiyate of The Rights Factory (my agent Olga's boss) at his seminar on Thursday through to a last meal with friends from far away at Sunday suppertime, it was one ever-flowing meet-and-greet with eager readers and other writers. all  passionate about their work and their genres. 

There were many more panels and presentations than I had a hope of getting to, and many great authors I either didn't get to meet or only nodded to as we rushed past each other in the hallways. This really is an amazing festival-slash-conference-slash-freewheeling party; one person can never see, let alone participate in, everything. 

My fun with panels began with a hilarious set of mysteries plotted from audience suggestion at "Who Killed this Character" ably moderated by Mahrie G. Reid of Calgary Crime Writers. Tying together parakeets, goats, blackmail and an air traffic controller with a victim and a murderer in under 15 minutes was no easy feat!

Photo credit to AJ Proc

Presenting this season's books with other Tyche Books authors was a blast. Time travel and kidnapping, ghosts and baseball, deep-dark Noir to light-bright Steampunk, Tyche has reading for every taste and age. Check out Axel Howerton's FURR, EC Bell's DYING ON SECOND, Simon Rose's TWISTED FATE,  Pat Flewwelling's upcoming HELIX: SCOURGE OF BONES   and of course MADDIE HATTER AND THE GILDED GAUGE.

Pat Flewwelling setting up her reading from her second HELIX book.

Later Saturday afternoon I had a howling good time debating all aspects of writing paranormal mystery with fellow panelists EC Bell, Erin Lindsey, and SG Wong: Ghosts and Fae, mythical and mystical dangers, magical systems and their limitations, and how to throw a challenging obstacle in the path of a character who can throw a fireball back. The audience of mainly mystery writers asked great questions and kept us on our toes. Panelists' personal ghost stories had us on the edge of our seats and shivering with the chill of the unknown.

SG Wong's latest!

Sunday's Elements of Suspense panel - featuring members of Sisters In Crime Canada West - was a real thinker. Old WWC hands SG Wong and Eileen Bell and me, along with newcomer Merrilee Robson, wrestled with the differences between suspense and tension and how to express them through our characters, plots, and settings. 

EC Bell, hiding her wicked wit behind a pale, cool facade

We all threw out examples of writers who do it well, and how we think they manage it. And we gave a collective whoop of delight at learning that the inimitable Deanna Raybourn will be coming to When Words Collide in 2018. #fangirling 

Photo credit to Constantine K

At the end of the day, Sisters in Crime Canada West presented Women of Mystery, moderated by the sparkling SG Wong (our chapter's president). We fabulous four presented our new books, told jokes, threw candy and gave away prizes. 

Look for SG Wong's  DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST and Merrilee's MURDER IS UNCOOPERATIVE as well as my second Maddie Adventure and Eileen's Marie Jenner mystery series (4th one, DYING ON SECOND, is coming out in September). 

The Maddie Hatter Adventures and I would also like to thank all the people who threw their coins and bills into my collection box for Girls Not Brides. The weekend total came to nearly $200 over just 4 panels, adding to the money raised at my Calgary and Edmonton book launches.

 Girls Not Brides empowers young women everywhere

Since Maddie herself was a runaway to avoid being pressured into marriage, it seemed fitting to collect for this very reputable organization that helps girls all over the world stay out of early/forced marriage and in school, learning whatever skills they need to become healthy, productive, independent citizens. I am thrilled that so many wonderful attendees at When Words Collide supported the cause, and wish to shout out to fellow crime writers SG Wong, Eileen Bell, and Erin Lindsey, who amplified my meager effort in word and in deed.

All in all, it was a marvelous weekend, one I'd happily repeat a lot sooner than this time next year. For now, farewell and happy reading/writing/listening to stories of your choosing.

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Teaser Time: MADDIE HATTER AND THE GILDED GAUGE

 Maddie's back in action!

A mysterious message from a midnight duelist sends fashion reporter Maddie Hatter to New York’s finest parasol dueling academy, where she foils a daring daylight kidnapping and embarks on her most dangerous adventure yet!

 MADDIE HATTER  And The GILDED GAUGE 

May 2017 from Tyche Books

Pre-order here:
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

* Enter to Win  *

an Advance Copy

by SHARING or TWEETING
any or all

teaser covers 

with #MaddieARC

Maddie's first published adventure, MADDIE HATTER AND THE DEADLY DIAMOND (Tyche Books 2015) was a finalist for the Prix Aurora Award and the Books Publishing in Alberta Award, and won the e-Festival of Words Award.  

For up-to-the-minute news about Maddie and my other writings, find me on Facebook or Twitter 

Artie's Alberta Welcome Party

Calgary Crime Writers' annual barbecue featured a tribute to the Arthur Ellis Awards, and a group photo of all its members who have been shortlisted:

Best First Novel:  Axel Howerton, 2014 (centre)

Best Unpublished First Crime Novel::

• Dwayne Clayden, 2015 (back row)
• Alice Bienia 2016 (left)
• Jayne Barnard 2011, 2016* (right)

* Winner of 2016 Dundurn Unhanged Arthur for When the Flood Falls, a suspenseful tale of danger, dogs and an out-of-control hockey player, all caught up in the swirling currents of the Elbow River in full flood.

When the Flood Falls - Judges' Comments

And the 2016 Dundurn 

Unhanged Arthur

for 

Best Unpublished 

First Crime Novel:

Jayne Barnard for 

When the Flood Falls

Judges' Comments:

"When the Flood Falls impressed us with the author's polished writing. The protagonist, and ex-RCMP officer, is engaging and flawed. Lacey's police career and marriage are in tatters, and she's currently working as security detail at a new art museum. Until she finds somewhere else to live, she's staying with a friend, the president of the building committee of the museum. Suspense is created by the threat of a midnight prowler.

What made this entry stands out is that a woman with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome plays an integral role in solving the case. Formerly smart and successful, her cells no longer produce enough energy and she deals with debilitating fatigue, watching the world through her window. A new medication allows her brain to briefly function the way it used to before the illness, and she is able to help solve the mystery.

When the Flood Falls depicts the shadier side of a favourite Canadian sport, portraying the power hockey team owners and agents have over their players. The writing shows confidence and the pacing expertly keeps the story moving toward its conclusion."

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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?

Your invitation to the launch