One of life's great joys for a writer is to get the chance to chat with other writers about the craft. Writing is something of a solitary business so it's nice once in a while to kick back and talk with someone who cares as much about point of view, building tension, writing dialogue as you do.

I had that chance a couple of nights ago when my friend Ross Pennie and I got together (via telephone wires) to talk about the novels we are each working on. I had finished reading the draft of his new Zol Szabo mystery while he is about halfway through my latest Phillip Gold offering. Ross and I have a great relationship as writers (nurtured through our writers' group with John Hewson) and respect each other enough to be able to offer and receive constructive criticism in a positive way. This makes these conversations all the more enjoyable.

We spent much of our time together discussing the issue of building dramatic tension in a novel: how to get the reader caught up in the plot and characters and how to ensure your novel is a "page turner" that readers can't put down. We also talked about the importance of having an objective reader review your draft, someone who can see the problems and weaknesses that you, as the writer, are too close to notice.

It's such a great feeling to have a talented writer hear what you have to say about his work and immediately jump on board with your suggestions. It's also great to receive similar comments about your own work and to feel genuinely invigorated by the feedback so that you want to go back to your draft and start the rewrites.

I am fighting that urge, however, since I want to get feedback from all my readers before I dive back in. Still, Ross has helped me to see some things I need to work on with The Silent Goodbye and he's also confirmed for me that the book is worth the work.

I can see now how much I miss my old writers' group and its regular meetings. I wonder if there's anybody out here in Nota Bene who might be interested.

Tags: Ross Pennie, Phillip Gold, Tainted

The past week has been incredibly busy here in Nota Bene. After a week of sunshine and warm temps, we found ourselves back into the rain, sleet and, yes, snow just in time for our long-anticipated visit from my sister Janice and brother-in-law Harry earlier this week.

It was a great visit, though much too brief and much too busy. I know we wore ourselves out with the whirlwind tour and I think I dropped two pretty exhausted people off at the Freddie airport on Tuesday afternoon. It was still, however, a great deal of fun and so nice to see them again.

On the Reading and Writing fronts, there's a great deal to report. The Silent Goodbye has been sent to some of my readers (Patti, Ross, John and now Janice and Harry) and I'm starting to receive some very positive responses to it. Ross has sent his comments on the first 80 pages of the book while Patti has given me verbal responses on the first half. I'm happy to report that both readers seem to like it and both have made suggestions and offered criticisms that are remarkably consistent. That's good news when you're a writer: when multiple readers find the same things strong and the same things needing work, it's much easier to do the revisions.

In the meantime, I have begun a full rewrite of my first Phillip Gold novel, A Fleck of Gold, to match the narrative style of TSG. Since I wrote the original version of Fleck more than a decade ago, I've decided to try to write it again from scratch. I know the plot and characters very well so I'm avoiding rereading the original draft; I'm writing it again fresh. It's a weird feeling, to be sure, but I think the approach will help. I'm a better writer today than I was back then and, were I to try simply to revise the original version, I don't think I would be aggressive enough in my revisions.

I have also come up with a better working title for the next completely new Phillip Gold novel: instead of Luke, as I had at first proposed, I'm now working with the title, The Shadow of the Father. Not as snappy but I think it captures well the central theme of the book.

On the reading side of things, I finished Stieg Larsson's epic first novel, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, last week. It was great. An impressive book with a complex, challenging plot and several truly fascinating characters. I thought the denouement went on a little long (the climax takes place a full 120 pages before the book finally skids to a stop) but it was still a pretty fantastic read.

I dove right into Larsson's second book, The Girl Who Played With Fire, but, after reading the four-page prologue that is told entirely from the point of view of a thirteen-year-old girl who has been imprisoned by a sexual predator and chained to a bed, I had to put it aside for a while. The first book was pretty intense; I think I'm going to need a little bit of psychological rest before I tackle this second one.

Instead, I'm back to Dick Francis for a while. Less stressful. I'll return to Larsson in a couple of weeks, I think.

On the music front, my brother-in-law Gavin helped me figure out how I can turn my old cassette tapes into MP3 files. Unfortunately, most of my store-bought tapes from the '80s (Kate Bush, Thompson Twins, Pat Benatar, et al) have proven themselves to be completely degraded and virtually unusable; fortunately, the tapes I really wanted to preserve are still in good shape.

My main goal was to save a series of tapes I have that feature a Hamilton band I hung out with while in University in the late 1980s: the Dik Van Dykes. I have seen some discussion of the Dykes on the internet and even a couple of cover versions of their iconic tune, "The Birthday Song", on Youtube. I was surprised to read people lamenting the fact that so many of the early Dykes recordings are not readily available on the net.

So I've spent some time converting four tapes I have of the Dik Van Dykes into MP3 files. Once I figure out how to do it, I'll share some of them with the public (unless of course Mike, Renee, Stu, Sarah, Steve or Paul contact me to ask me not to post them online), either through this website or Youtube. In case you're wondering, I've converted the Dyke's second major album, Waste Mor Tape, into digital format as well as three live tapes I've got: New Years Eve 1988 at the Gown and Gavel (a simulcast on CFMU radio hosted by yours truly); a live show at Chuggies bar in Hamilton from 1989 (I think) as well as an earlier live show from the Gown, date unknown.

We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile, I'll keep reading and writing.

Tags: Phillip Gold, Ross Pennie, Stieg Larsson, Dick Francis, Dik Van Dykes

I have finished my initial review of The Silent Goodbye, first draft. I worked much of this evening on the task and am pleased to say not only that I have completed the review but also that I very much enjoyed the novel, now that I am able to get a little distance from it.

I won't spend much time on the self-praise but I was pleased with how well it flowed, how much action it contained and how much depth there was to the characters. I have since e-mailed the revised draft to my writing-group colleagues, Ross Pennie and John Hewson, to get their feedback on it as well. Patti continues to read it carefully for me and we've already had several very helpful conversations about her thoughts on the book.

It's a very exciting part of the writing process: receiving your first feedback from readers. I just love it. And Patti is a fab reader who notices things most others wouldn't, who is not afraid to question things that others might let slide, and who is willing to say good things too when they are merited. I'm looking forward to hearing more from her and also from John and Ross as well.

In the meantime, I've been enjoying reading the draft of Ross' second novel. I'm deep into the story now and find myself firmly caught up in the mystery. Ross plunges his reader into the detection process and I just love that. We're right there with the investigators as they work their way methodically through the evidence; we learn as they learn, make connections as they make connections. It's a very exciting way to tell a story.

I have also been reading Stieg Larsson's first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The first fifty pages or so were interesting but perhaps a little slow; now that Larsson's actually introduced the "Girl", however, it's really taking off. What a fascinating character she is and what an interesting relationship Larsson has created between the "Girl" and her boss. I'm still in the early stages of the book but it's got me well hooked.

It seems like a very busy time for me right now, what with the three writing/reading projects on top of a demanding full-time job and a family as well. But it feels really good too. I feel like I'm accomplishing things, both as a writer and as a reader. Who knows, maybe that excitement will help me get back to writing my next Phillip Gold novel, Luke.

Tags: Phillip Gold, Ross Pennie, Stieg Larsson

Oh my goodness! With my birthday now over (but very happily celebrated) I find myself with a fistful of reading and writing priorities staring me in the face.

I finished Dick Francis' Blood Sport, a novel I very much enjoyed for the pure detective work in it. Set mostly in the US, this one involves a trio of missing horses and the cold trails leading to them. Francis' hero, Gene Hawkins, struggles with severe depression as he works to piece together what happened to a prize stallion that went missing on its trip from New York to Kentucky, the third such disappearance in the past ten years. Although the depression stuff is a little heavy-handed, the mystery is a good one and the personal stories are also finely developed.

But now I've had to put my journey through Francis aside for a short while to focus on other pressing tasks. First, my sister and brother-in-law have sent me Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, an international best seller that will soon come out in movie form here in North America. Larsson's sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, has just appeared in paperback form and my sister assures me it's on its way to Fredericton as well. Having finished Blood Sport last night, I'm only 42 pages into the first Larsson book but so far it's pretty good. I like the main character and the prologue promises an intriguing story.

At the same time, I've received my friend Ross Pennie's draft second novel in electronic form with a request that I give it the writers' group treatment. So I'm trying to spend some time with that book as well, mostly on my lunch hour at work. I've gotten well into it already and am really enjoying it but, since it's still in draft form, I won't go into much more detail than that.

My third major project is the review and revision of my own Phillip Gold novel, The Silent Goodbye. I finished writing the first draft in December and promised myself I'd set it aside for a while, asking only Patti to review it. Well, Ross indicates that he's looking something to occupy his time while people review the draft of his own novel so I figure I better do at least a quick review and then send it along to him. John Hewson has also indicated a willingness to read it for me; I value both of their input and plan to strike while the iron is hot.

Once I've got those projects finished, I'll turn my attention to another gift I received for my recent birthday: Voltaire's Candide, in the original French. My understanding of French (written and spoken) is passable but I'm interested to see if I'm up to the task of reading this classic. We'll see, I guess.

So it's a busy time out here in NB. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Tags: Dick Francis, Voltaire, Phillip Gold, Stieg Larsson, Candide, Dragon Tattoo, Ross Pennie

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the chance to get back into contact with some old writing friends: Rickie Pattenden, Ross Pennie and John Hewson. I met all three of these talented people through writers' groups in the Hamilton area and am fortunate enough to have been able to keep in touch with them, even after I left Ontario. I miss the meetings, the support and the camaraderie of those groups so it's nice to be able to catch up with my old friends from time to time.

Rickie is a wonderful writer, whose short stories are excellent and whose major project has been writing her mother's life story. Rickie is still in Burlington and has been writing poetry of late, a great way to take advantage of the lyrical quality of her writing.

Ross, meanwhile, is busy completing the first draft of his second novel, which is expected to be published by ECW Press later this year. His first novel, Tainted, came out early in 2009 and is still selling very well. Ross tells me he's putting in two separate sessions of writing each day to try to meet his deadline for the draft. I'm looking forward to reading a new Zol Szabo mystery from start to finish, since John and I workshopped Tainted as it was being written, several years ago.

As for John, he continues to work on his wonderful novel, Corbett's Daughter. One of John's writing mentors has suggested some major revisions to this book and John has leapt right in to making those changes; I'm interested to read the revised draft since I thought the original version was pretty spectacular.

I'm trying not to let the industriousness of my friends make me feel guilty for my ever-lengthening hiatus from writing. Ideas continue to pop into my head but I'm not yet able to get myself in front of the computer for a serious stint. Luke, my next Phillip Gold novel, is on hold while plans for Abigail Massey, another young adult novel and The Way Forward, the Rowling-world sequel, are all in the offing. Distantly in the offing.

There's a play-writing contest here in Fredericton that I'm considering trying to enter but, beyond some ideas on interesting character for a play, I'm getting nowhere on a plot. I've got four more weeks before the deadline so I'll keep trying but, to be frank, I seem to be stuck right now.

I'm not complaining. Sometimes fallow times are as important as periods of great creative production.

Yeah, Mark. Keep telling yourself that.

Tags: Ross Pennie, Phillip Gold

I don't feel it would be appropriate for me to write a formal review of the novel Tainted, by Ross Pennie, which I have just finished reading. Ross is a friend and I was lucky enough to have had the chance to have some minor influence on this novel as it was in its early draft stages. I'm afraid, therefore, that any review I could attempt to write would be hopelessly biased.

Let's just say I liked the book. Very much. And I was impressed with how much work Ross evidently put into it after it had passed through the hands of our writers' group. Ross has made significant changes since then and the book is the better for it. If I read Ross' Acknowledgment's correctly, Edna Barker was his editor at ECW and she has done a heck of a job, helping him make an already solid novel even better.

Instead of a review, I offer some of the very positive comments about Tainted that others, more influential than I, have made about it:

Best-selling author of medical thrillers Tess Gerritsen calls it "[f]ascinating and fast-paced" and adds later, "Ross Pennie knows how to weave real science with crackling suspense."

Publishers Weekly writes: "Pennie's mystery debut introduces a winning protagonist" in Dr. Zol Szabo.

And finally, the reviewer for the American Library Association says: "Pennie's novel is a taut and timely work of suspense." The same reviewer adds, "Pennie builds tension perfectly, grabbing readers from the first page and keeping them entranced," and calls Tainted "[M]ust reading for fans of Robin Cook and Peter Clement."

With those kinds of raves from the professional reviewers, who needs more kind words from writing hopefuls like myself? But I add my endorsement to their kind words: Tainted is an exciting read; I can't wait for the next Zol Szabo mystery to find its way into my waiting hands.

Tags: Ross Pennie, Tainted

Last Thursday night, I had the happy privilege of meeting up with my old writing pal, Ross Pennie, at a coffee shop in West Hamilton. Ross, John Hewson and I spent three happy years meeting every two or three weeks to share our drafts, swap tall tales and challenge each other to get better as writers. Both Ross and John are medical doctors by training and wonderfully skillful writers by talent and hard work. They are also exceptional human beings.

Ross published his medical memoir, The Unforgiving Tides, a couple of years ago with a small publisher in the Hamilton area and then worked his own tail off to make it sell. And sell it did. He then decided he wanted to try fiction on for size, specifically medical mysteries, and John and I had the honour of being involved on the ground floor of that venture.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, Ross's first medical mystery novel, Tainted, has recently been published by ECW Press in Toronto. The early drafts were very good. The published novel is even better. I'm still reading the beginning stages but I'm impressed with how good it is: how much credit for that John and I can claim I'm not sure, of course.

But I'm not writing this entry to talk about Tainted. More on that book later, once I've savoured every word. I'm more interested in writing about what a nifty evening it was to chat with Ross now that he's a published purveyor of fiction.

In preparation for our meeting, I had wandered over to a place called Bryan Prince Booksellers, just up the street from the coffee shop, to see if they had Ross' book on the shelves yet. In keeping with Prince's commitment to local authors, they not only had it in stock, it was beautifully displayed both in the big picture window at the front of the store and on a table inside. For good measure, a stack of Tainted sat right by the cash register, with the other "must buy" books. This is just a small sign of the fantastic support Bryan Prince gives to writers from the Hamilton area.

I met up with Ross in the line for coffee. He had a copy of the book in hand for me and I was admiring its cover while we waited to order. The barista looked up, saw the novel, and cooed, "Oh, that looks good. What is it?": one of the nicest unsolicited compliments I've ever heard. Ross beamed while I opened the cover and held the author photo on the dust jacket up next to Ross's smiling face. The barista was duly impressed.

Ross and I took our coffees and sat down to share our news. We talked family, we talked writing, we talked publishing. Ross told me he's already about a quarter of the way through the next "Zol Szabo Medical Mystery" and filled me in on the basic plot. I gave him a little update on Phillip Gold and we compared notes.

Ross was good enough to sign my copy of Tainted for me and I'm even mentioned, alongside John, in the Acknowledgments at the back. A nice compliment for both of us. After our coffee, Ross and I walked back to Bryan Prince to look at his book in the window. What a great experience, to stand with a first-time novelist and share in his joy at seeing his beautifully published book in a bookshop window!

Other than the very pleasant chance to catch up with an old friend and a respected colleague, I also gained some excellent tips from Ross on how to improve my Gold book. I'll be looking to work up a strong subplot, something in a legal, courtroom line to compliment the main mystery plot. I'll also be working to add some convincing personal habits for my main character.

No, Ross didn't suggest that one directly. But he does it so well in Tainted that I figure I'll steal the idea from him.

Tags: Ross Pennie, Tainted