Questions and Answers – Parks Pat Mysteries

Can you tell me about the series?

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

What inspired you to write the Parks Pat Mysteries?

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!

What did you learn when writing Out with the Sunset?

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.

What does the title Out with the Sunset mean?

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.

Was Marguerite Patenaude inspired by a real person?

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 did not want 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.

Will you write more in the Parks Pat Mysteries series?

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.

You were involved in the creation of the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park?

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.

How did you deal with covid in the Parks Pat Mysteries? When are the stories set?

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.

You touch on the issue of residential schools in Out with the Sunset. Why did you address this subject? Was it because of the recent discovery in Kamloops?

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.

Your books often deal with serious real-life issues like mental illness, addiction and abuse.  Why do you take this approach?

It was my compassion for others and outrage over injustices that pushed me into writing as a way to express my feelings and to tell the stories of the vulnerable and marginalized. These issues will always find their way into my books, no matter the genre.

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.”

What is the most wonderful thing about being a writer?

I love to write and to create. I probably get more joy and satisfaction out of writing a book than my readers do from reading them. I love to explore characters and find out what will happen next. I love to reread them again later.

I also love hearing from my readers and seeing the excitement on someone’s face when they find out that I’m a “real writer.”