Oh Canada

 I'm heartbroken over this separation between America and Canada. America's stance toward our closest neighbor couldn't possibly be more abrasive. 

Years ago, I wanted to be accepted by the really cool kids who originated Type M For Murder. They were mostly Canadians. However, Donis Casey had made the cut. And although she lives in Arizona, she was transplanted from Oklahoma. I was thrilled when Donis asked me to submit a guest post. Then, overjoyed when I had to chance to join permanently. 

I've shied away from any political discourse on Type M For Murder. We try to stick to topics that will be of interest to mystery readers and writers. But this new rift does directly affect writers and in fact the whole publishing industry. 

All of our books whether self-published or a trade publication contain both American and Canadian pricing. That is a direct acknowledgement of the number of books that will appeal to readers from both countries.

 I adore Louise Penny's Three Pines series. Right now, I'm reading Barbara Fradkin's wonderful Mist Walker. It's the latest entry in her best-selling Inspector Green series. It's terrific and doubly enjoyable to me because Barbara is one of the original Type M posters. 

Books have become frightfully expensive. I recently reviewed an academic book that was priced for $75.00. Whew! Even worse was one of my granddaughter's textbooks for law school. It's $900.00. Will the prices we pay for books continue to rise? You bet. Canada is the major supplier of paper for the book industry. Paper is a huge component of publishing expense. 

If I were a publisher, in today's market, I would only publish books that were destined to make a lot of money. No taking changes on new authors. No indulging of mature authors with diminishing sales. 

What a sad situation for both writers and readers.