One place to get inspiration - Al Capone

     People often ask, “Where did you get the idea for this story?” They are often surprised by the answer: daydreams. Perhaps they expect my Muse to whisper to me as I sleep and dream. I am not Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet. My dreams are disappointing.      

     I can have a Star Wars level murder mystery working in my head, but my dreams, the ones I remember anyway, don’t contribute. My dreams are about crowded airline terminals, Atlanta for example. I am in a mad rush to the gate to find my gate has been changed to one that’s across the airport! I run thru thongs of people like it was the Rose Bowl and the band was still on the field. My huge and heavy suitcase pops open, I struggle to get it snapped! Then, somewhere deep in my skull, I remember I had this anxiety dream before, and I know it goes nowhere and contributes nothing, and I wake up to get out of it. Spit, pee, try to go back to sleep. Needless.

     Daydreams are different. Neil Gaiman said, “You get ideas from daydreaming…. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it.” Anon said, “Daydreamers have the advantage over those who dream only at night.”

     I imagine scenes, full of color and human activity. I “listen” to characters talk. I put characters in the scene and give them a problem, a threat, a mission, rewards. Then I daydream about what they do. 

     Titles take inspiration from the world in the story, and reality helps me twist them a bit. Plots come from what the characters decide to do.  Plots might be linked daydreams.

     Quotations can get me thinking. I collect them. They offer a new perspective on human events, they present truths, they play with reality, they illustrate moods. If they give me a mental buzz, perhaps there is a story in there someplace. They spark daydreams, and off we go!

     I am currently working on a story featuring my Denver PI, Sammy Lagune (the latest story is in Micky Finn 5). The plot is inspired by the famous Chicago mobster, Alphonse Capone.

     He said, “You’re either at the table or on the menu.”   Vicious, predatory, kill or be killed. Dangerous territory for Sammy, life-threatening. A threat to his Capitol Hill community too, out east on Colfax. Raymond Chandler described the perfect PI as a modern Knight protecting society. Sammy will hear the call to action and he won’t ignore it.

     Dream on, keep a notebook by your bed, next to where you write, maybe even with you all the time. Daydreams are ephemeral and they lose fidelity quickly. Jot down a few notes so you can revisit the daydream later. It will serve you well.

Steve Pease/Michael Chandos

Off To A Slow Start

 

I'm very late posting today, which is not the greatest way to start the New Year, but it is a way. Here we are again, at  the beginning of a whole new cycle. December has always been a momentous month in my life. Besides Christmas, when I was growing up, my family celebrated my mother’s birthday, my grandfather’s birthday, my sister Carol’s birthday, and my birthday. My mother and grandfather are gone (in fact today, Jan 2, is the 20th anniversary of my mother's passing), but Carol and I are partying on.

I finally finished the first draft of a new MS after toiling on it for an entire year. My critique group was very complimentary throughout the process, until I submitted the reveal at the end. They were too polite to say they hated it, but I can read the room. So back to the murder drawing board.

On a more personal note,I decided that this year I was going to let my hair go grey, because why the hell not? But after a few months, I changed my mind. I love grey hair on others, and I’d love it on me if it were a pretty grey. But sadly my salt-and-pepper only looked faded and sad. So back to the color of my youth. At least until my grey decides to cooperate and turn to a stunning all-over silver.

 November 15 was my 50th wedding anniversary. Above is a selfie we took on the day. There is nothing like the bond that develops between two people who have stuck with each other through thick and thin for decades.

Happy New Year!

I have been very remiss in posting this past month, although in fairness, it's been a very busy month with holiday activities and also abdominal surgery stuck in the middle. But here I am, just in time to wish everyone all the very best for 2025. I can't believe we are a quarter way through this century when it seems only yesterday we were all worrying about the computers crashing and the world ending as the calendar turned over the millennium. Of course, it helps to remember that date is an entirely arbitrary invention and that other civilizations have very different dates.

The year 2025 promises many surprises for the world order, and many of us are approaching it with trepidation, even dread. I don't intend to to turn this into a political post because this blog is meant to focus on crime writing, but suffice it to say, in the upcoming uncertain times, perhaps exploring murder and mayhem within the safe confines of a book is useful therapy. Or at least an outlet for our frustrations.

With that in mind, I am starting off 2025 with a very busy author schedule. My latest Inspector Green novel, SHIPWRECKED SOULS, hits the bookshelves at the end of January, although it can be pre-ordered now in many outlets, and I will be signing free copies in my publisher Dundurn's booth at the Ontario Library Association conference in Toronto on January 31. On February 1, I celebrate the book's Toronto launch at the famous and wonderfully supportive Sleuth of Baker Street from 1 - 3 pm.

Then on Sunday February 9 from 3 - 5:30 pm,  I am holding the main launch party at Irene's Pub in Ottawa. There will be some food platters but also a cash bar and full pub menu available. I can't wait for this, because it's the first pub launch I've held since the pandemic and I am ready to enjoy myself. I hope others are too! 

After that I so far have a couple of talks and one signing planned at Indigo Books in the Bayshore Shopping Centre, Ottawa, on February 22 from 1 - 3 pm. Now that the holiday festivities are over, it's time to start booking more, Maybe a spring mini-tour of the many independent bookstores in towns in the Ottawa Valley? 

At the same time, I am working on a short story for an anthology Dundurn is planning around the theme of 'Monsters'. Lots of scope there! And I am slowly - and I mean very slowly - working on the first draft of another book. After a challenging health year that forced me to slow down drastically, I've made a resolution to take life at a more leisurely pace. It's one way to cope with 2025.

Here's to health, happiness, and peace for all in the new year.