The next event - CCW Mystery Cafe

Writing associations are a necessary and very beneficial part of a writer's life. I belong to several and have just been made Regional VP for Crime Writers of Canada for Eastern and Northern Ontario. But there is one association that has been near and dear to me since I began my writing life, the Ottawa-based Capital Crime Writers. Started in the late 1980's by a group of energetic women intent on becoming crime writers, it has blossomed to over 70 members, many of whom are published novelists and short story writers.

Needless to say this includes the original founders, who went on to become the Ladies Killing Circle, famous for their mystery anthologies. The latest "When Boomers Go Bad" is to be released this fall. The Ladies Killing Circle comprises Joan Boswell, Vicki Cameron, Barbara Fradkin, Mary Jane Maffini, Sue Pike and Linda Wiken, all of whom have either been nominated for prestigous awards or have won them. And I must not forget the late Audrey Jessup, who was a major force behind the formation of CCW as we affectionally call it.

CCW was established to nurture emerging crime writers through its monthly meetings, networking and critiquing groups. For me it has proven to be particularly valuable. It introduced me to a community of writers of similar interests and goals, many of whom have become friends. It offered me the opportunity to join a critiquing group that has become an essential part in fine-tuning my work for publishing. And it also offered the path that eventually led to the publication of 'Death's Golden Whisper', the first in the Meg Harris Mystery series.

An integral part of CCW's program is the annual CCW Mystery Cafe. Held in June at a local pub, members and the public are invited to read a selection from their latest work, be it short story or novel, published or work-in-progress. This year's event took place on June 6 at the Royal Oak Pub on Echo Drive. Despite the heat of the non-air conditioned room, a packed room enjoyed a fun evening of intriguing readings by both published and pre-published authors, including Arthur Ellis Award winning author Barbara Fradkin and best selling author Peter Clement.

But as much as I enjoy the readings by published authors, the ones I enjoy most are by the aspiring authors. It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of an audience of strangers and expose one's first words. I know. I've been there, when I read with my voice trembling a selection from the second draft of Death's Golden Whisper to a crowd of fellow aspiring authors at the Humber School of Writing's Summer Workshop. This year we had several from a reading of a newly completed thriller to a short story written to amuse grandchildren. We also had some of the winners of the Audrey Jessup Award for Best Short Crime Fiction, a contest intended for emerging writers.

And if you yourself are an aspiring crime writer living in the Ottawa area, keep the CCW Mystery Cafe in mind for next June. If you want to know more about Capital Crime Writers check out the website at www.capitalcrimewriters.ca.

Click to view the CCW Mystery Cafe photo album