Ask the Author: P.D. Workman
Answered Questions (46)
P.D. Workman
I was working on a collaborative project with another author when we came up with a similar idea. That project ended up not going anywhere, but I had already scheduled the time to write it, so I decided to take a run at murders that took place in Calgary area parks on my own. I had been thinking about setting something locally for a while. Most of my stories are set in the USA, which always means doing extra research into those little details like weather and climate, foliage, animal life, and sunrise and sunset times, as well as cultural aspects such as speech/colloquialisms, dress, demographics, jobs/industry, government, and more. Setting a series in Calgary, I could take advantage of my knowledge and experience living here. And I love Calgary parks!
P.D. Workman
I really feel compelled to speak for those who have been marginalized and misunderstood. A lot of times, that means I am writing about abuse and mental illness. When I see an injustice, I want to tell people about it and to make them see it. The way I communicate those things is through story.
The topics that I feel the need to tell stories about may be in the news, something I have seen or experienced, or topics that my friends and readers email me about or send me articles on. They have talked to me about EDS, hair strand testing, electric shocks of autistic individuals, medical kidnap, the marginalization of aboriginal youth, and other topics that I’m sure I’m not remembering right now. It is incredibly gratifying to get an email from someone who says “thank you for writing about this” because it helps them not to feel so alone.
It is also so good to hear "I never knew that this was happening. I googled it as soon as I finished reading your book, and it's a real thing! I couldn't believe I'd never heard it before." Because that means I'm doing my job. I'm educating at the same time as I'm entertaining and people are really “getting it.”
The topics that I feel the need to tell stories about may be in the news, something I have seen or experienced, or topics that my friends and readers email me about or send me articles on. They have talked to me about EDS, hair strand testing, electric shocks of autistic individuals, medical kidnap, the marginalization of aboriginal youth, and other topics that I’m sure I’m not remembering right now. It is incredibly gratifying to get an email from someone who says “thank you for writing about this” because it helps them not to feel so alone.
It is also so good to hear "I never knew that this was happening. I googled it as soon as I finished reading your book, and it's a real thing! I couldn't believe I'd never heard it before." Because that means I'm doing my job. I'm educating at the same time as I'm entertaining and people are really “getting it.”
P.D. Workman
The homicide detective in the Parks Pat series is Marguerite Patenaude, a Métis woman. Growing up, Margie saw the impact that the systemic abuses of the Residential School program had on her family. Her grandfather, who features in the story, is a residential school survivor, and his experiences still affect him decades later. He talks with Margie and her daughter about it and warns them about not letting others subvert their culture.
Out with the Sunset was written in September of 2020, before the discovery of the Kamloops graves was announced.
I have been concerned for a number of years about the intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools, living conditions on reservations, and discrimination faced by the Indigenous peoples in this land, and have written about some of these issues previously in Questing for a Dream. It is my hope that my writing can raise awareness and educate readers on both the history and the current conditions of those who have lived these experiences.
If you are also concerned about these harms, I would encourage you to write to your MP (if you are Canadian), encouraging the federal government to follow through on the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in their final report in 2012 and the promises they have previously made with regard to such things as clean water, medical care, and keeping Indigenous families together.
You can also make a donation to a charity that benefits residential school survivors, such as the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
Out with the Sunset was written in September of 2020, before the discovery of the Kamloops graves was announced.
I have been concerned for a number of years about the intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools, living conditions on reservations, and discrimination faced by the Indigenous peoples in this land, and have written about some of these issues previously in Questing for a Dream. It is my hope that my writing can raise awareness and educate readers on both the history and the current conditions of those who have lived these experiences.
If you are also concerned about these harms, I would encourage you to write to your MP (if you are Canadian), encouraging the federal government to follow through on the calls to action made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in their final report in 2012 and the promises they have previously made with regard to such things as clean water, medical care, and keeping Indigenous families together.
You can also make a donation to a charity that benefits residential school survivors, such as the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
P.D. Workman
The first three books are set in September 2020, one year ago, which is when they were written, and I did take the pandemic restrictions into account, so you will see some unique aspects in the stories. Police detectives and others wearing masks, and the issues that causes during an investigation, NHL playoffs being held in September instead of May/June, and more.
The next three books are set in July 2021, so they include the removal of restrictions by the Alberta government, though there were still masking recommendations in place for Calgary Police Services.
The next three books are set in July 2021, so they include the removal of restrictions by the Alberta government, though there were still masking recommendations in place for Calgary Police Services.
P.D. Workman
I was! I have worked for Calgary lawyer Andy Crooks for many years, and one of his long-time clients was the Harvie family, beginning with Neil when he was still alive. We worked with Neil’s four children to help establish the legacy that he had envisioned decades before, protecting the land from urban development for future generations. We helped with the build-out, creating and staffing Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation, and getting the initial programs off the ground. As with many of the volunteers, stewards, and neighbours of the park, I consider GRPP “my park.” But it is quite a distance from my house, so I don’t get out there as often as I would like. I recently took part in GRPF’s “Steward an Acre” fundraiser, and sponsored an acre of the park near my murder site in Long Climb to the Top.
P.D. Workman
I have enjoyed writing the series and exploring parks around Calgary, and have written six so far. I think you can expect at least another three in the series.
P.D. Workman
Margie is not inspired by any one person. I did a workshop on characterization for When Words Collide in August 2020, and decided to involve the participants in some of the exercises I go through when developing new characters. I indicated that I wanted a main character who was white, and it was one of the participants who suggested that she be Indigenous. I have previously written a Cree character and decided Margie should be Métis. There were also suggestions that she be a single mother, and several other bits that I eventually included.
P.D. Workman
I have tried to structure it so that all of the titles in the series say something about a feature of the park they take place in and something about the murder or plot. The victim in the first book goes out with the sunset, and the sky, sunrise and sunset in Fish Creek Park are a big part of its beauty.
P.D. Workman
With the stories taking place in Calgary, I didn’t have to do as much research on setting as I have had to in other series. I have also previously written about Indigenous peoples in Canada in Questing for a Dream, so I focused more specifically on the Métis people. One thing I learned was that there are a lot more people with Métis roots than I realized in Alberta, and a lot of people who don’t even know that they have Métis roots.
With this series, I was able to walk through the settings with my husband, scouting out various places where bodies could be found and features of the park that might come into play. I took pictures and immersed myself in the settings. We tried to be careful not to talk too loudly about body dumps or murder around other park visitors, and luckily didn’t have any actual Calgary police officers coming to our door asking what we were up to. In exploring Edworthy Park, we actually came across a Calgary Parks sign itemizing the many ways that you could be killed on the Douglas Fir Trail. How very convenient! Thank you, Calgary Parks.
With this series, I was able to walk through the settings with my husband, scouting out various places where bodies could be found and features of the park that might come into play. I took pictures and immersed myself in the settings. We tried to be careful not to talk too loudly about body dumps or murder around other park visitors, and luckily didn’t have any actual Calgary police officers coming to our door asking what we were up to. In exploring Edworthy Park, we actually came across a Calgary Parks sign itemizing the many ways that you could be killed on the Douglas Fir Trail. How very convenient! Thank you, Calgary Parks.
P.D. Workman
Parks Pat Mysteries is a police procedural series, with Métis detective Margie Patenaude investigating, a new Calgary homicide detective, investigating a spate of murders in Calgary and area parks.
Margie is a single mom arriving in Calgary in August/September 2020 in the midst of the covid epidemic, so she has a few things on her plate. She also has a grandfather in Calgary who she reconnects with.
These are quick, easy to read mysteries that are just right for those days when you could use a break from your busy life
Margie is a single mom arriving in Calgary in August/September 2020 in the midst of the covid epidemic, so she has a few things on her plate. She also has a grandfather in Calgary who she reconnects with.
These are quick, easy to read mysteries that are just right for those days when you could use a break from your busy life
P.D. Workman
I was working on a collaborative project with another author when we came up with a similar idea. That project ended up not going anywhere, but I had already scheduled the time to write it, so I decided to take a run at murders that took place in Calgary area parks on my own. I had been thinking about setting something locally for a while. Most of my stories are set in the USA, which always means doing extra research into those little details like weather and climate, foliage, animal life, and sunrise and sunset times, as well as cultural aspects such as speech/colloquialisms, dress, demographics, jobs/industry, government, and more. Setting a series in Calgary, I could take advantage of my knowledge and experience living here. And I love Calgary parks!
P.D. Workman
No, it’s all composed in my head, but I do have a very strong internal narrator. It’s been very interesting to learn as I get older that not everyone has a voice narrating everything they do and think!
Usually, reading for my fans on release day is the first time that I’ve read aloud from my book. I enjoy reading aloud and have read all of the Harry Potter books aloud to my son at least three times. Some of them more. Dobby still makes me cry…
Usually, reading for my fans on release day is the first time that I’ve read aloud from my book. I enjoy reading aloud and have read all of the Harry Potter books aloud to my son at least three times. Some of them more. Dobby still makes me cry…
P.D. Workman
Fairy Blade Unmade brings back a character that Reg first met in book 2, A Psychic with Catitude, the adolescent fairy Calliopia. Calliopia has received a dire wound and everyone has given up on being able to save her. Reg believes that the destruction of the magical weapon that wounded Calliopia is the key to her being able to heal. But unfortunately, no one in Black Sands has the ability to unmake it. Can you say road trip?*
I generally title my books before I begin writing them, brainstorming various words and phrases that fit with the theme of the book, playing with them, and searching on Goodreads to avoid identical titles if possible. Then I lay the various “winners” out on a mocked up cover to see what works well visually. I particularly liked the rhyme and resonance of “blade unmade” for this book.
*Tip: Don’t take two cats, a pixie, and energy drinks on a quest. They don’t mix well.
I generally title my books before I begin writing them, brainstorming various words and phrases that fit with the theme of the book, playing with them, and searching on Goodreads to avoid identical titles if possible. Then I lay the various “winners” out on a mocked up cover to see what works well visually. I particularly liked the rhyme and resonance of “blade unmade” for this book.
*Tip: Don’t take two cats, a pixie, and energy drinks on a quest. They don’t mix well.
P.D. Workman
I think the protagonist makes a bigger difference to my frame of mind than the genre. Thrillers and mysteries have a different structure, but it is really the characters’ that I need to switch tracks for. Erin Price is light and optimistic, Zachary Goldman darker and grittier, and Reg Rawlins is playful and adventurous. It’s always fun to go back to Reg after writing something more serious.
P.D. Workman
Reg was born to an addict mother and spent her first five years in poverty and neglect and the rest of her childhood in foster care. Always in poverty, she grew up to be a scam artist, always trying to make money off of a con. She thought she’d really found her sweet spot with telling fortunes and pretending to commune with the dead. Fun clothes, big acting, and the ability to cold-read people made it the perfect profession. But when she moves to Black Sands, a haven for psychics, witches, and people with other gifts, things start happening that she can’t explain…
P.D. Workman
Reg Rawlins, Psychic Investigator is a spin-off from the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series. Reg is a foster sister of the main character (Erin) in that series and makes an appearance in book 6, Coup de Glace. I enjoyed writing her so much I knew she needed her own series. I already had the plot for the first book in a paranormal cozy series on the backburner (believe it or not, from a dream my husband had), so I adapted it for Reg.
All books in both series can be read as stand-alones, but of course you’ll get extra enjoyment from reading the whole series.
All books in both series can be read as stand-alones, but of course you’ll get extra enjoyment from reading the whole series.
P.D. Workman
Thank you for leaving reviews! Here is a link to June, Into the Light:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
P.D. Workman
Yes, definitely. I think that most authors tend to write a particular "type" over and over again: L.M. Montgomery with spunky dreamers and orphans, James Patterson with highly-intelligent thrilling heroes, Stephanie Meyer with heroines moving from weak to strong.
One of my readers observes that he has come to expect "an underdog worth rooting for, a powerful voice fighting to be heard," in my books. And it's true, you will see this character type repeatedly in my books. I try to make sure that each character has a unique background and voice, but there are definitely similarities between them. A lot of my characters are battling depression or anxiety, PTSD, BPD, or paranoia. Many have lost a parent. Chronic illnesses, addiction, or psychosis are common themes. And maybe a few too many twins...
One of my readers observes that he has come to expect "an underdog worth rooting for, a powerful voice fighting to be heard," in my books. And it's true, you will see this character type repeatedly in my books. I try to make sure that each character has a unique background and voice, but there are definitely similarities between them. A lot of my characters are battling depression or anxiety, PTSD, BPD, or paranoia. Many have lost a parent. Chronic illnesses, addiction, or psychosis are common themes. And maybe a few too many twins...
P.D. Workman
"Chloe" and "Ronnie" both show a lot more of the mother's role in the abuse.
P.D. Workman
Both words have the same meaning:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/artic...
And both types of stammer/stutter are often seen together. Bobby mostly displays the "first sound" stammer, but you will also see him repeat words or phrases trying to get them out, or change what he is saying midstream when he can't manage a word.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/artic...
And both types of stammer/stutter are often seen together. Bobby mostly displays the "first sound" stammer, but you will also see him repeat words or phrases trying to get them out, or change what he is saying midstream when he can't manage a word.
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