Writing Awards

The Stone Mountain Mysteries On Sale

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Thanks to Imajin Books for putting DESCENT and BLAZE on sale.  Why not buy yourself a present, curl up, and read.

Just to entice you, here’s a little endorsement for Descent.

In this impressive debut, Kristina Stanley weaves a vivid, chilling tale of jealousy, secrets, and betrayal in a close-knit mountain ski village. Like its likeable young heroine, Kalin Thompson, DESCENT is both tender and tough.” – Barbara Fradkin: author of the Inspector Green Mysteries and two-time winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel.

stonemountain-sale

DESCENT shortlisted for the 2014 Arthur Ellis Unhanged Arthur for excellence in crime writing.

When Kalin Thompson is promoted to Director of Security at Stone Mountain Resort, she soon becomes entangled in the high-profile murder investigation of an up-and-coming Olympic-caliber skier. There are more suspects with motives than there are gates on the super-G course, and danger mounts with every turn.

Kalin’s boss orders her to investigate. Her boyfriend wants her to stay safe and let the cops do their job. Torn between loyalty to friends and professional duty, Kalin must look within her isolated community to unearth the killer’s identity.

BLAZE shortlisted for the 2014 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger.

Instead of exchanging vows, Kalin Thompson spends her wedding day running from a forest fire near Stone Mountain Resort, and the pregnant friend trapped with her has just gone into labor. Meanwhile, Kalin’s fiancé, Ben Timlin, hangs from the rafters of a burning building, fighting for his life. Can the situation get any hotter?

When the fire is declared as arson, finding the firebug responsible becomes Kalin’s personal mission. In the course of her investigation as Director of Security, she discovers that some people will go to extreme measures to keep her from exposing their secrets.

Thank you 🙂

Thanks to all my readers who have bought and read the books in the Stone Mountain Series. It’s a wonderful feeling to know others have read my stories.

Crime Writers Of Canada Announces Arthur Ellis Awards

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Crime Writers Of Canada has announced the shortlist for this year’s best in crime writing, so if you’re looking for a good read, here’s the list for you. This year is exciting for me as a have several friends on this list. Good luck to all!

Announcing the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards 

Shortlists for Crime Writing

Best Novel

Brenda Chapman, Cold Mourning, Dundurn Press

Barbara Fradkin, None so Blind, Dundurn Press

C.C. Humphreys, Plague, Doubleday Canada

Maureen Jennings, No Known Grave, McClelland & Stewart

Alen Mattich, Killing Pilgrim, House of Anansi

Best First Novel

Janet Brons, A Quiet Kill, Touchwood Editions

Steve Burrows, Siege of Bitterns, Dundurn Press

M.H. Callway, Windigo Fire, Seraphim Editions

Eve McBride, No Worst, There Is None, Dundurn Press

Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents, Dundurn Press

Best Novella *

Rick Blechta, The Boom Room, Orca Book Publishers

Vicki Delany, Juba Good, Orca Book Publishers

Ian Hamilton, The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, House of Anansi

Jas. R. Petrin, A Knock on the Door, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story

Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress, McClelland & Stewart

Melodie Campbell, Hook, Line and Sinker, Your McMurray Magazine

Peter Clement, Therapy, Belgrave House

Madona Skaff, First Impressions, The Whole She-Bang 2, Sisters in Crime

Kevin P. Thornton, Writers Block, World Enough and Crime, Carrick Publishing

Best Book in French

Hervé Gagnon, Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, Expression noir / Groupe librex

Andrée Michaud, Bondrée, Editions Québec Amérique

Maryse Rouy, Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, Édition Druide

Richard Ste Marie, Repentirs, Alire

Best Juvenile/YA Book

Michael Betcherman, Face-Off, Penguin Canada

Sigmund Brouwer, Dead Man’s Switch, Harvest House

S.J. Laidlaw, The Voice Inside My Head, Tundra Books

Norah McClintock, About That Night, Orca Book Publishers

Jeyn Roberts, The Bodies We Wear, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Best Nonfiction Book

Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner), Being Uncle Charlie, Penguin Random House

Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder, HarperCollins

Joan McEwen, Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry, Heritage House

Bill Reynolds, Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling, ECW Press

Paula Todd, Extreme Mean, McClelland & Stewart

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel

Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

Full Curl by Dave Butler

Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden

Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild

 And the winners are?

Find out May 28!

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Can Listen Well (Audrey Jessup Crime Writing Award)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here,

I’ve had a weird week.

Kristina talked for days on end and it took me a while to figure out what she was doing. First I thought she was talking to me, and I felt pretty flattered to get so much attention.

Then I realized she was focussed on something else entirely. And look what she made me wear.

Farley in Hat

“Take this hat off my head,” I bark.

“You’re my audience,” Kristina says.

“Audience for what?” I bark.

“I have to read aloud at the Audrey Jessup awards, and I need to practice.”

“Yeah, but why do have to wear a hat?”

“Because I’m pretending you’re sitting in a bar listing to me read my story.”

Okay, I get it. She’s nervous and wants to practice. She keeps mumbling something about the 10,000 hour theory and the more you do something to better you get at it.

So the night of the awards, she comes home all happy and dances around the living room. She won 🙂

Kristina Stanley Audrey Jessup

Now I just wag my tail. I’ll let her read to me anytime if it helps.

Woof Woof.

Capital Crime Writers

 

Prepping for a Reading

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

Have you ever read your writing aloud in public? I haven’t and am about to.

My short story “When a Friendship Fails” has been nominated for the Capital Crime Writer’s Audrey Jessup. As part of the nomination, the 5 nominated authors are asked to read part of the story aloud. The event is taking place in a pub in down town Ottawa.

The complete story takes 20 minutes to read, and I’ve been given 7 minutes.

I’ve been using Audacity to practice, and to deliver a strong emotional impact, I need to choose if I should read:

  • from the beginning
  • middle
  • or the last three scenes

Audacity makes me listen and practice. After I decide which section to read, I can work on the timing.

Here’s my question.

When reading a scene on a page, the reader can see paragraph breaks and knows a new character is speaking. But when listening to a story, the listening doesn’t have the advantage of seeing the paragraph breaks. I’m not an actor who can change the sound of my voice for each character (although I’m trying),  so when reading from a finished work, is it okay to add a few he said/she said tags to make it clear who is speaking?

What comes next and is the most nerve-wracking of all: I have to read aloud in front of people.

Yikes.

Thanks for reading . . .

Thanks to HSW Literary Agency

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Life as a writer is often spent behind closed doors working hard, but there are moments when a writer catches a glimpse of hope that her work may actually entered the world of the published.

Margaret Hart and Natalie St. Pierre at the HSW Literary Agency have been working hard behind the scene to help me get my novels published.

Their last post at HSW Literary Agency:News certainly made me smile, so here’s a shout out to say thanks.

Sometimes a girl just has to share her happiness.

Thanks for reading . . .

Here is what HSW wrote about me:

Persons Unknown? Crime Writer Kristina Stanley Makes Her Name

Author Kristina StanleyThe life of an author, quietly perfecting her craft, is often anonymous. But the efforts of crime writer Kristina Stanley are at last getting the attention they deserve: Stanley has three works up for separate crime writing awards!

Descent, the first book in Stanley’s Kalin Thompson series, is nominated for the Unhanged Arthur, the Arthur Ellis Award recognizing the year’s most promising piece of unpublished crime fiction. Over in the UK, the Crime Writers’ Association honours book two in the series, Burnt, with a nomination for their Debut Dagger. Finally, just in time for Short Story Month, Stanley’s “When a Friendship Fails” is nominated for the Capital Crime Writers‘ Audrey Jessup Short Story Award.

Congratulations, Kristina! We anxiously await the results!

Farley’s Friday: My Human Is Doing The Happy Dance

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Farley here.

My human is singing “Debut Dagger Shortlist” and doing the happy dance. Sometimes Kristina looks really silly, but she’s so happy I won’t mention that to her.

I give her my confused look to ask her what’s going on. Seriously, she’s freaking me out.

Farley looking interested

She makes we wait until I settle down. Then she says, “My novel BURNT has been shortlisted for the Debut Dagger Award.”

“Huh,” I bark.

“It’s from the Crime Writers’ Association in the UK for unpublished authors.”

I decide I better do the happy dance too.

Farley Happy Dance

Then I bring her a present. Who doesn’t like an already chewed stick?

Farley With Stick

 

Well apparently Kristina. She won’t chew it, but she’s still dancing.

 

Woof Woof

 

See Mystery Fanfare: CWA Nominations

Reading Before E-Books

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

Life before E-books? Try sailing before E-books.

On our Niagara 42, Allura, we sailed from Toronto to Aruba and back. Every summer I would scour the second-hand books stores looking for a year’s worth of reading material. Trying to figure out in August what I’ll want to read in January is difficult. So many things influence what I feel like reading.

You can imagine the storage space all the books took up, not to mention the weight. Throughout our first sailing adventure, I searched for book trades if I needed to add to my library. I left books in many marinas and libraries along the way.

Enter E-books. I bought my first Kindle after one year on Mattina. Imagine the happiness my husband felt when I cleared out the cabinets and storage spaces under the bed. He thought he could have the space for storing important things like tools and spare parts. So the negotiations began, and we shared the space. I used to stuff the built-in bookshelf on my side of the bed with books, now I don’t know what to put there. My Kindle only takes up a tiny space.

With the Kindle, I have an endless supply of books at my fingertips. I thought of this today because I’m reading all of the books nominated for the Arthur Ellis writing awards for excellence in crime writing. Before an E-book, I never would have had access to these books while I was sailing. Isn’t it nice how technology makes our lives more fun.

Thanks for reading . . .

Reading to Write Well

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

I believe to write well, you have to read. Read everything in the genre you write in, read everything close to the genre you write in, read books you would never write but love to read, but find the time to read.

This is a lovely excuse to spend time reading. I pretend I’m working. Yup – working. Then I don’t feel as if I’m slacking off and not doing other things I should be doing.

So how do I find books to read?

Every year when the Crime Writers Of Canada announces the Arthur Ellis Short lists, I read all the books on the list.

I read by category. The Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Novella.

Then I play a game with myself and pick the winners. After the winners are announced I compare my list to the winning list. If I’ve chosen a different book, I go back and look at the two books and try to figure out why a certain book one over the one I chose. It makes me look at the book in  a different way and helps me learn new writing techniques.

I hope you find time to read too.

Thanks for reading . . .

Crime Writers Of Canada: Arthur Awards

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

I’m giddy with happiness and need to share.

Writing  and trying to publish a novel is a long, seriously long, journey, with very few accolades along the way.

With trepidation, I entered DESCENT in the Unhanged Arthur competition. This competition is for Canadian writers and is given for excellence in mystery, suspense and crime writing to unpublished authors.

I submitted my entry last fall. In January came the first exciting news. Descent made the long list. A wild sense of relief filled me. Descent had made it that far, and I felt pretty good. Now, all I had to do was wait until April 24th for the short list announcement.

That’s sounds easy, right?

Wrong. I didn’t sleep for the four nights leading up to the announcement. On the night of the 24th, I went to bed not knowing if Descent made the list or not. I woke up more times than I want to admit, but forced myself not to turn on my computer and check. If Descent wasn’t on the list, I knew I was in for a completely sleepless night.

On the morning of the 25th, I took my first sip of coffee, opened my laptop and collected my email.

The first message I read was from a facebook friend. The text read : Congrats on making the short list.

I looked up at my husband and smiled.

“I told you, you would make it,” he said with a big grin on his face.

Next I read the email from CWC (Crime Writers of Canada) with the official notice that Descent was short listed.

I asked my husband to read the email, just to make sure I wasn’t reading only what I wanted to see.

“Yup, he said. You made it.”

Friday turned out to go by in a blur. I couldn’t quite believe I was on the list.

Saturday morning, I woke up with the first feeling of happiness about the award.

I’m still in the middle of my journey, but once in a while it’s good to stop and enjoy small successes.

Thanks for reading . . .

Here are the places I found the announcement:

CBC Books

Crime Writers Of Canada

Blog Mystery Fanfare

Blog Criminal Element

Blog Shots Crime and Thriller Ezine 

Blog Mystery Mavin Canada

Blog Black Mask

Blog The Rap Sheet

Blog Mystery Scene

How to Get a Free Manuscript Critique

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

The value of blogging hits home. I’ve been following Joan Edwards for a while now and here’s what happened.

Joan posted an offer of a free manuscript review just for commenting on her blog. So I commented and I won.

I sent the first 1000 pages (oops – I meant words)  of my novel Avalanche to Joan. Joan assured me complete privacy and got straight to work.

What Joan did:

  • She sent me a covering letter describing her overall strategy and what her highlighting meant .
  • She gave me high level comments before reviewing each line in detail.
  • The critique included story line, grammar and punctuation comments.

It’s exciting to receive professional feedback that will help me improve the quality of my story. She included areas for improvement and highlighted sentences she thought were good. Now I have to get to work and make this better. It’s amazing what a second pair of eyes can do for a manuscript. I wish I could have Joan review my entire manuscript. Thanks Joan. You are a star!

If I didn’t blog, I never would have had this opportunity. This comes right back to Authors Helping Authors.

Thanks for reading . . .