The Garnished Truth

Although they have both passed, my wife Jane and my daughter Beth remain an inspiration. Dr. Beth was beloved by family and friends. She was a renowned scientist, an athlete, an artist, and a wilderness adventurer. Check out ‘Cougar’ in my new anthology.

My Guilty Award

My fictional account of a jurist’s reflections on the Stephen Truscott trial was a finalist in the Stratford Rotary Club short story contest. This May, you will find ‘Guilty’ in my anthology, ‘The Garnished Truth.’ Here I am receiving my award.

The Garnished Truth

Edging closer. Here’s the latest iteration of the cover for my short story collection. I guess this means I now must stop dreaming up short stories … at least for a while. That’s good - I’ll focus on finishing my murder mystery stage play, ‘Murder is One Option.’ and on my Jack Beer prequel… title unknown. Cheers to anyone who happens upon my blog.

The Garnished Truth... Toward a Title Page.

My daughter Beth was so loving, smart and talented. We lost Beth earlier this year. In tribute, I hope to use a piece of her art on the cover of my short story collection. Ben, my book-producing collaborator, came up with this. It’s beautiful but it takes imagination to connect it to the book’s themes. We’ll find a way to make it work.

"An Eye for the Opposite Sex."

After reading “Shelly’s Number,” from my upcoming anthology, I was told I have “an eye for the opposite sex.” The truth is I do like developing female characters… the scary, the funny, the feisty and the heroic. And I really like writing about the kind of woman who nails a sign like this over her desk.

Beth's Awesome Team

This year, my daughter Beth led her Terry Fox Team in raising $19,890 for cancer research. That brings her total over ten years to $109,375.

Also, in March family and friends donated roughly $5,000 to the cause in memory of my wife, Jane.

I will be forever grateful for all who supported Beth and Jane.

So what am I up to? Three projects… ‘Murder is One Option,’ is my stage play. ‘The Garnished Truth,’ is a revised edition of my anthology (with 6 new short stories). Then there is the prequel to my Jack Beer series (being curious as to what he was like as a young man). I’m halfway there to figuring this guy out.

The photo caught 2 of the TF runners.

Murder is One Option

Setting - McGregor Point, Bruce County, spring maybe 2002… Jane and I are birdwatching from the Ducks Unlimited Viewing Tower. Kind of romantic. No one else around, right?

Shoot but doesn’t an obnoxious know-it-all birder show up. His goals - to correct us (‘it was a flycatcher not a phoebe,’ he notes with distain.) And to creep us out (‘are you nervous out here on your own?’)

When we finally shook loose from the meddler, Jane sidled close and whispered, ‘That guy’s a serial killer.’ I laughed. She laughed. Still, it made one consider - what did he have in store for us? Nothing obviously.

But many years on, the memory of Jane’s wisecrack sent me down the path to ‘Murder is One Option,’ my stage play. I think it’s pretty darned good and so I pitched my play to Blyth Theatre a couple days ago.

This Muskoka photo, taken by our daughter Beth, looks a little like our Tower marsh.

Lost my Muse

I was damned lucky to get to spend fifty-two years with Jane. I really wanted more.

Some of the people who have read my Jack Beer mysteries have asked whether there is much of me in Jack or much of Jane in Sheila, his love-interest. I have always said, ‘just a little.’ But that isn’t true. The love between those two fictional characters is unwavering, which is way more than ‘just a little.’