In this episode, we have the editors of A CAPITAL MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY, the mostly retired public relations professional, writer and editor Bernadette Cox and the award-winning and bestselling author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series, Mike Martin. A CAPITAL MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY is presented by THE CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA and features 21 talented mystery authors. Some of our mysteries are set in modern times, some reach all the way back to Bytown, Ottawa’s original settlement. But wh...
Peter Thomas Pontsa is a Canadian author known for his thrilling William Fox Adventure Series, which includes Outfoxed (2023) and Sanctity of Freedom (2025). Before turning to fiction, Pontsa had a distinguished career in the dental industry, authoring numerous techno-clinical articles. After his retirement, he decided to develop his creative writing side by taking a course at the University of Waterloo on Advanced Fiction Writing. He also became active in writers’ groups such as the Wordsmit...
As an author of novels (for YA readers and adults), playwright, journalist, and screenwriter, Shane Peacock has always been interested in larger-than-life characters, seeking the truth about human beings, and exploring the invisible things that matter to us all. Earlier this year (season 3, ep. 2), I interviewed Shane, and we discussed the first novel in his new Northern Gothic series, “As We Forgive Others”. The novel has received significant recognition, including the 2025 Crime Writers of ...
Joanne Kormylo’s debut novel, THE RESISTANCE DAUGHTER, is a work of historical fiction inspired by true stories. She is the daughter of a WWII bomber pilot and prisoner of war. As part of her research for this novel, she studied her late father’s Wartime Log, interviewed veterans, served on the board of an Air Force Museum, and traveled to the UK, Poland, and Germany. Joanne holds both an MA and a JD, leading to a career as a lawyer and business owner. She has one daughter, Andrea, and reside...
Born and raised in Montreal, Rosemary McCracken has worked on newspapers across Canada as a reporter, editor, editorial writer, arts reviewer, and restaurant critic. Safe Harbor, the first novel in her five-book Pat Tierney series, was a finalist for Britain’s Debut Dagger Award in 2010. It was first published by Imajin Books in 2012, followed by Black Water in 2013 and Raven Lake in 2016. All three were republished by Carrick Publishing in 2018, followed by Uncharted Waters in 2020 and River...
Timothy S. Johnston is the author of the Science Fiction/Thriller The Rise of Oceania series, which includes The War Beneath, The Savage Deeps, Fatal Depth, The Shadow of War, and most recently, A Blanket of Steel. He has won the GLOBAL THRILLER Award Grand Prize, the EPIC Award, the CYGNUS Science Fiction Award Grand Prize, as well as the CLUE Award. He has been an educator for twenty-five years and a writer for thirty. He lives on planet Earth, but he dreams of the stars. Visit www.timothys...
Iona Whishaw has been a youth worker, social worker, teacher, and an award-winning High School Principal, who continued with her writing throughout her working life. Receiving her Masters in Creative writing from UBC, Iona has published short fiction, poetry, poetry translation and one children’s book, Henry and the Cow Problem. The Lane Winslow mystery series is her first foray into adult fiction. Iona was born in Kimberley, BC, but grew up in several different places, including a small comm...
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing four cozy mystery series: the Tea by the Sea mysteries for Kensington, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series for Crooked Lane Books, the Catskill Resort mysteries for Penguin Random House, and the Lighthouse...
Karen Grose is from Toronto, Canada. Her debut novel, The Dime Box, was selected by Amnesty International for its 2021 Book Club. Her second is Flat Out Lies, and All June Left Behind is her third. She has flash, poems, and short stories published by Roi Faineau Press, Paddler Press, Punk Noir Magazine, Epistemic Literary Magazine, Hooghly Review, Bunker Squirrel Magazine, and Superior Shores Press. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters-in-Crime-Toronto and National, and the #th...
Dean Jobb’s book, A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, (published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.) is nominated for The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize Dean Jobb writes historical true crime. His latest book, A Gentleman and a Thief, the story of a daring jewel thief who targeted New York’s Jazz Age elite, is a national bestseller and a New York Times Editors’ Choi...
William Watt’s novel, Predators in the Shadows, is nominated for the Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize. William is a retired educator living in North York, Ontario. He graduated from York University with combined honours in English and sociology and later earned a Master of Education degree at the University of Toronto. To keep busy after retirement, he took on a succession of activities. He owned a chocolat...
Liz Ireland’s novella, Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper (published in Halloween Cupcake Murder, by Kensington Press) is nominated for Best Crime Novella sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $200 prize. Elizabeth Bass, aka Liz Ireland, has been navigating the changing seas of publishing for thirty years, and has published fifty works of romance, women’s fiction, and mystery. As Liz Freeland she wrote the award-winning Louise Faulk historical mystery series, and as Liz Ireland she wr...
Linda’s debut short story “The Electrician” was published this past November in the Sisters in Crime – Canada West’s anthology, Crime Wave 3: Dangerous Games and is nominated for Best Crime Short Story. She’s seeking a home for her debut mystery thriller Off the Mark and she’s plotting out the sequel. As a former producer, writer, and director of factual series television, Linda’s credits include three seasons as the senior story producer on the true crime show Murder She Solved (W Netw...
Lorrie Potvin’s novel, A Trail's Tears, is nominated for the Best Unpublished Crime Novel Manuscript written by an unpublished author sponsored by ECW Press. Tradeswoman, artist, and teacher Lorrie Potvin, a queerishly Two-Spirited Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario, is the author of Horses in the Sand – A Memoir (2022). Her first book, First Gear – A Motorcycle Memoir (2015), the essays - My tattoos speak of life and loss and Why I’m thankful for multiple sclerosis (Globe & Mai...
David A. Poulsen novel, The Dark Won't Wait, (published by Red Deer Press) is nominated for Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize. David A. Poulsen has been a broadcaster, teacher, football coach, rodeo cowboy, stage and film actor, and--most of all--writer. His writing career began in earnest when his story The Welcomin’ won the 1984 Alberta Culture Short Story Competition. He is now the author of 33 books, many for middle readers and young adults...
Nate Hendley’s book, Atrocity on the Atlantic: Attack on a Hospital Ship During the Great War (published by Dundurn Press) is nominated for The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize. Nate Hendley is a Toronto-based journalist and author. His work has appeared in The National Post, Maclean’s magazine, and numerous trade and business publications. He has also written scripts for podcasts, feature articles for th...
Le roman Fracture de Johanne Seymore (publié par Libre Expression) est nominé pour le meilleur livre policier en langue française. (You can find the English version of this podcast at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2232876/episodes/17217796 ) Johanne Seymour est une actrice, écrivaine, réalisatrice et romancière franco-québécoise. Elle a commencé sa carrière en tant que comédienne au théâtre, à la télévision et au cinéma, avant de se tourner vers la mise en scène de pièces de théâtre et l'...
Johanne Seymore’s novel Fracture (published by Libre Expression) is nominated for Best French Language Crime Book. (Vous pouvez retrouver la version Française de ce balado à l'adresse suivante : https://www.buzzsprout.com/2232876/episodes/17217826) Johanne Seymour is a French Quebec actress, writer, director and novelist. She started her career as an actress on stage, TV and in films, before she switched to directing plays and writing for the popular comedy stage act: Jacques et N...
Catherine Astolfo is nominated for The Best Crime Short Story, for her story Farmer Knudson, From Auntie Beers: A Book of Connected Short Stories, published by Carrick Publishing. Catherine Astolfo is an award-winning writer of short stories and the author of seven novels and two novellas. Catherine won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story in 2012 for "What Kelly Did" and again in 2018 for “The Outlier,” which is included in the Mesdames of Mayhem Anthology, 13 Claws. Catherine’s...
John L. Hill’s Novel, The Rest of the [True Crime] Story,(Published by AOS Publishing) is nominated forThe Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize John L. Hill is a Canadian lawyer who has defended some of Canada’s most notorious criminals. He holds a B.A., M.A., and J.D. from Queen’s University and an LL.M. in Constitutional Law from Osgoode Hall Law School. He has taught prison law at Queen’s University ...