Bernadette Calonego's Blog: Eventful, page 4

Stranger than Fiction

In our books, crime fiction authors like me have to be careful to create plots and twists that are credible but surprising at the same time. It is a fine balance and if we miss the mark, the entire story suffers. In real life, however, the most incredible things happen, and I often think: If I had used this fact or event in my crime novels, my editor would have pointed her finger on it. Just recently, I read of a woman in Australia who got lost in the bush on a stroll away from her friends. She came across an empty vacation home where she carved SOS in big letters into the soil. What she didn`t know was that a remote security camera filmed the SOS sign and somebody watched the feed and noticed the desperate message. The person contacted the police and the woman was rescued after three days in the bush!
I`m sure you know of other instances where luck, coincidence or an incredible turn of events occurred which nobody would accept in a fiction book as "real". Let me tell you about a woman in Alaska who found a memory card on the ground beside a grocery store and detected videos of a murder on it. She alerted the police who caught the killer. Unreal, isn`t it? But it happened.
On the other hand, authors can be inspired by real-life events and true murder cases - as long as they are not over the top. There has to be a large amount of reality in good crime fiction. But a "normal" reality. Which reminds me of another case: that of an aspiring female astronaut in the United States who wanted to hijack a rival in her affection for a man (who was married by the way but not to any of those two). The trained astronaut wore diapers so she didn´t have to stop on her long drive to meet her victim. You see, this is exactly one of the details that happen in real life - but in fiction, it is best not to use them.
Anyway, on November 7, my new German crime novel "Mörderischer Morgen" will be published as e-book and paperback. I really tried to write a believable story. Check it out.

To be or not to be mysterious?

How much should an author reveal about herself? Should she be mysterious and let the readers guess? Or should she share as much as possible to keep the readers engaged?
I ask myself this question often when I am on social media or when I write a blog post on my website. Recently, I decided to publish my first NEWSLETTER. I don`t want it to be just promotion but to facilitate a closer connection with my readers. Again, I wondered how much of my private life should be disclosed in this letter. So far I have drawn a fine line between being personable and giving away too much information. The man in my life for instance doesn`t want to be in my public life which helps to know where the line is.
But what about me and my daily life and my travels and experiences? Already so much is out in the open when I`m feeding social media. I`m also a reader, and as a reader, I would like to know more about authors whose books I like. But do I want to know about every visit to the hairdresser or that they just had had a nap? It is a balancing act for sure. In my first newsletter, I share some of my private stuff so readers can relate to me but I don`t turn myself inside out.
Dear readers, what would you like to know about an author? Would you like them to be mysterious or do you want to know as much as possible? If you like to see how I have solved the dilemma, you can go to my website www.bernadettecalonego.com and subscribe to the newsletter. Maybe you feel like giving me your opinion afterwards? I am always looking forward to hearing from you!

Death is stranger than fiction.

It is an eery feeling when an author publishes a murder mystery and soon after that, a crime takes place that is strangely similar to the one in her book. I know the feeling because it has happened to me. Not long after my murder mystery "Stormy Cove" was published, a young woman disappeared on the Northern tip of the Canadian island of Newfoundland, exactly where my murder mystery is set. In "Stormy Cove", a young woman disappears without a trace, too.
When I came to Northern Newfoundland, I instantly thought that this is a region where somebody could make a body disappear very easily. There are swamps, hundreds of small lakes, there is wilderness, the tundra - and there is the North Atlantic. When you dump a body in the North Atlantic, it won`t wash up on one of the beaches. It just vanishes.
The woman who disappeared in November 2016, a mother of two, hasn´t been found yet. The police treat her disappearance as suspicious and as a possible homicide. The locals talk about who they think is the murderer. But the police has a hard time finding the perpetrator. There is no body, no crime scene, no witnesses.
This is the dirty little secret in criminal investigations (and in crime fiction): So many cases are never solved. Thousands of murderers commit the perfect crime and get away with it. Only in crime fiction, we have the answer at the end of the book. Still, I haven`t given up hope that the woman - her name is Jennifer - will be found one day and that there will be justice for her.

Taste of Switzerland

This week I will fly to Switzerland for some reading events. A book club has invited me, a community centre, a school, an night class and I will do a reading in downtown Zurich.
Switzerland is my first home country: I was born and raised there. Eighteen years ago, I emigrated to Canada. My first book "The Zurich Conspiracy" is set in Switzerland, but all my other mystery novels take place in Canada.
I love both countries with all my heart. I still have family and lots of friends in Switzerland. When I visit the country, I am stunned how beautiful it is. I really have the best of both worlds.
I like to write about locations that I know personally. I did the same trip to the Arctic as tourist guide Valerie Blaine with her tour group in my latest book "The Stranger on the Ice". And I spend a lot of time on the rugged island of Newfoundland where "Stormy Cove" is set. Landscapes play an important role in my novels. It is the locations that inspire my books and the plot. I like to travel and I like adventures and when I read the reviews, I can see that a lot of readers love them, too. Even when they cannot travel to these remote, isolated places, they can do it in their imagination. Our minds are really neat in that way. Let`s all have a great trip, my dear readers!

Arctic Cold

I`m very excited that my new mystery novel "The Stranger on the Ice" will be published in August. This book is set in the Canadian Arctic.
The Arctic is a place of immense fascination for me. I traveled on the icebreaker of the Canadian Coast Guard through the legendary Northwest Passage. Unforgettable.
For this book, I drove from Whitehorse to Dawson City, a goldminers` town and historic location of a well documented goldrush. On the Dempster Highway, an isolated dirt road, I traveled to Inuvik, an Inuit community, famous for its Igloo church.
When I was up there, the ice road on the Mackenzie River delta still existed (today it has been replaced by an overland road). The ice road is also the location in my next book where a body is found, I drove on the ice road to Tuktoyaktuk, another Inuit community right on the Arctic Ocean,
All these places can be found in "The Stranger on the Ice". The Arctic is still little known and the people who live there are so resilient and interesting. So if you like to dive into the cold and into desolate areas where people survive against all odds, "The Stranger on the Ice" is the book for you!

Not so quiet Christmas

I know, Christmas should be the time when you take a break and just enjoy all the good things that are coming your way.
Well, because I`m not only an author but also a foreign correspondent, my newspaper editors are desperate for stories during the festive days because almost everybody else is on holiday.
So Christmas is actually a very busy time for me. I shouldn`t complain, to have work is better than not to be in demand.
On top of it, I am also working on a new mystery novel which makes me antsy about any distractions that take me away from it. Once you are on a roll, you want to keep rolling.
I am aware that there are a lot of authors who have day jobs like me. A publisher (not my publisher, just an acquaintance) once told me that one of his authors was a judge who was still working in his job - and he wrote his books from 4 a.m. to 8. a.m.. Being a journalist actually helps me to find ideas and plots for my books, so there is definitely an upside to it.
Nevertheless I do wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays - and take a good swing at this unknown entity called New Year!

I am swooning

I have just returned from an extensive trip to Switzerland, my country of origin, where I met family and friends, and my editor of course - and all these inquisitive and curious readers of my German books. It was a wonderful journey and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually, I had book readings in both English and German which was an extraordinary experience. It sometimes seemed to me that I was a different persona, depending on the language I used.
In Zurich, I was invited by the English Readers Club, and when I started to give the introduction to my mystery novel "Stormy Cove", the questions started coming and coming. So I just kept talking and explaining and reminiscing about Newfoundland and its people and my experiences in a tiny fishing community in Eastern Canada. In the end, I had not read a single word from my novel because there were so many interesting questions from my audience. So I thought: Bernadette, go with the flow! Which I did - and I had no regrets. It was such a lively exchange that we didn`t want to interrupt.
Really there is no rule to what an author reading should be. I just love to meet readers and hear their voices and feel the energy that is coming from them. I especially loved the fact that there were some young language students in the audience. So cool!
These kind of encounters are the icing on the cake for an author after long periods of voluntary reclusion. Very rewarding and utterly delightful!

Beautiful crime scene

I`m back in Newfoundland which is the location of my mystery novel "Stormy Cove". Maybe some authors are drawn back to the locations of their books like some perpetrators go back to the scene of their crime.
In contrast to these criminals, I mostly encounter beauty and adventures in Northern Newfoundland. Swarms of capelin, a small silvery fish, have landed in the coves, followed by humpback whales who feed on capelin. There are icebergs everywhere I look, stunning monuments, white against the blue sky.
I think I have become a "Northener", a person who thrives in cooler temperatures and barren landscapes. My next novel is set in the Arctic. I have traveled to the Arctic twice and I am hooked. The only thing I miss there is swimming in the summer. But - I have seen Inuit kids in Kugluktuk swim in Coronation Gulf which is part of the Polar Sea. I hope one day they will read my book!

Eventful!

I am multitasking right now, juggling several books in my head. My mystery novel "Stormy Cove" is being released for one. Another mystery that is set in the Arctic is being edited. And I am thinking about a future mystery novel, with cowboys and horses and unexplained high profile accidents/murders...
Sometimes, when people ask me about a book, I mix up characters and names and locations. It must happen to other busy authors, too, I guess. (Mothers of course are multitasking constantly, without even mentioning it. Sorry, mothers, for not being more non-chalant about all this. )
But I am really looking forward to my readers`reactions and questions, I enjoy that part very much!
All I can say is: Bring it on.

Exotic and mysterious Newfoundland

It is no coincidence that I wrote a mystery novel with the title "Stormy Cove" that takes place in Newfoundland, a windswept island on Canada`s East coast. I spent many months in an isolated fishing community on the Northern tip of this fascinating and in many ways still exotic territory. I went fishing with the fishermen in the North Atlantic, ate with their families, got to know their customs and rituals and hiked many hills and coast lines. A coast where polar bears cross the land in the spring - watch out!
I found the barren tundra and the wild ocean landscape to be totally fascinating. It is an almost natural setting for a mystery novel. I also experienced first hand how it feels as a stranger to come into a close-knit community that has its own (often unspoken) rules and traditions. Many times I assumed the wrong thing and was perplexed.
The rocky landscape is absolutely inspiring, its beauty and dangers captivating. I owe this book to Newfoundland and its dark stories that kept me in their thralls. Like the one of the French aristocratic lady who was marooned on an island - and survived. To this day, the fishermen hear chillingly strange sounds coming from that island...