SCHMOOZING WITH JOHN MOSS

1. Who has influenced me the most in my writing career?

Surrounded by the murmurings of writers, the question seems disarmingly simple and infinitely complex. I am writing this deep within Shakespeare and Company, the legendary bookstore on the Left Bank in Paris. The gleam of my laptop illuminates shelves tumbling with books that transform this cramped little alcove into a labyrinth of words. Looking around at books within my reach, it would be easy to pick out dozens of writers who influenced my life and writing, from the wonderfully eccentric Jorge Luis Borges to the profoundly thrilling P.D. James, from Poe and Hammett to Faulkner and Atwood. If I had to single out one, however, it would be Shakespeare, himself: for giving us language enriched so indelibly that four hundred years later it excites with its grandeur and subtlety, for mixing horror and wit in defiance of the classical rules, for writing with such exuberant insight about the extremities of human behavior, finding in murder and vengeance, romance and passion, the common threads that make up the human fabric.

2. What am I working on now?

I’ve just completed a trilogy of mysteries featuring a cosmopolitan private investigator who works out of Toronto and deals exclusively in murder. Harry Lindstrom is a paradox: a contemplative man of action, a brooding hedonist, a pragmatic moralist. Before the loss of his wife and children in a canoeing accident that he feels was his fault, he was a philosophy professor. The dramatic transition from exploring the fundamental questions of life in a lecture hall to exposing the mysteries arising from murder seems both absurd and grotesquely inevitable. A proud and solitary man of forty-three, Harry carries his wounds privately, with an edgy awareness that allows him to deal with inspired depravities that fall in his way, first in Sweden, then in Vienna, and finally on an axis linking the South Pacific to London and Greenwich in England.

3. In what ways are my protagonists and I alike?

I draw from the worlds I know, whether emotionally, socially, or geographically. The protagonists in my Quin and Morgan series originated in my wife, Beverley, and myself. They are originals, however: much of Miranda is born out of my own life and David Morgan, out of Beverley’s. Imagination is transformative. After emerging in three consecutive novels just finished, Harry is so familiar to me it is difficult to appreciate we have separate lives. The facts of our lives differ—I’m a lot old and not as smart— but we are cut from the same cloth.

4. Character driven or plot driven?

Characters caught up in situations that bring out the complexities of their innermost lives fascinate me, so the answer is both. Murder is the catalyst that sets the processes of revelation in motion.

5. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I’m not sure of the difference between pantser and plotter. I work my characters through intricate and surprising plots, but where these lead I’m seldom sure until I get there. I write until it feels right, until there’s a retrospective inevitability to what I’ve written. I love surprising myself.

6. What do I hope my readers take away from reading my work?

I want readers to be entertained; I want them to be challenged, confused, illuminated, edified, and, ultimately, satisfied. I want to change lives, however imperceptibly. Life’s too brief for empty diversions. Writing must be more than building birdhouses; reading should be more than watching them hang in the wind.

7. Where do I see myself ten years from now?

At my age, that’s a loaded question. I’d like people to be reading my work. I’d like, of course, still to be writing. I’d like to be here.

8. I’d re-write this question to ask, what surprises me about myself?

I’d like to think, as a retired professor of Canadian literature, that I’m not professorial. I’m a master scuba diving instructor and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Apparently, it’s possible to be both. What surprises me most is how happy I am to have lived a rich and diverse life, to see my children prosper, and to know my books and Beverley’s books are being read. And until I stop, altogether, I think of myself as a mystery writer as being in mid career.

9. What do I like reading for pleasure?

All reading is pleasure. I read nutritional data on cereal boxes and the magic realism of Jorge Luis Borges. I tend to avoid current award-winning books. I read fiction, especially quality mysteries, and I read non-fiction that challenges convention. I consider a settee in an alcove in Shakespeare and Company, amidst a tumult of books, as close to heaven as I will ever need to be.

10. Blood Wine, my latest and last mystery in the Quin and Morgan series, in a tweet:

A corpse in bed and a wine scandal lead to explosive revelations of drug smuggling as an unexpected cover for international terrorism.

John Moss is the author of over thirty books, the most recent of which are murder mysteries. He has become happier since turning to writing about murder. He and his wife, writer Beverley Haun, live in Peterborough where they are almost through the second decade of restoring an old farmhouse that has taken them in

MYSTERY REVIEW -- THE DEAD SCHOLAR

THE DEAD SCHOLAR
by John Moss
Anne McDermid and Associates Ltd.

This mystery is a good fit for readers who enjoy history and grammar along with the body count. The fourth in the Miranda Quin and David Morgan mysteries, The Dead Scholar immerses the two Toronto detectives in, as the title suggests, the death of a scholar, an ecclectic group of characters, all members of the Francis Bacon Society, and verbal sparring that's right up their alley.

The body is that of the elderly Professor Dieter Kurtz, found on Philosophers Walk in Toronto. It turns out that as the president of the Francis Bacon Society, Kurtz appears to be despised by the remaining twelve members and each had a motive to kill him. In an attempt to get to know the members better and hopefully find the killer, Quin and Morgan agree to attend a weekend getaway the Society has planned at a secluded island in the Muskokas. The sumptuous lodge and its surrounding buildings provide the perfect setting for the divining of old secrets, hidden loyalties, and death.

Since the life and writings of Francis Bacon are the focus of this group of suspects, it's natural that the author also devotes a fair amount of space to the historical aspect. The question for the detectives is, where does the motive lie? There are enough red herrings, intricacies and dialogue within the 579 pages of the novel to engage the reader during the quest for the killer.

The amount of research that went into The Dead Scholar is obviously enormous but it's evident that Peterborough author John Moss has a particular affinity to his topic and setting. He also takes much delight in word play, as do his two protagonists. It's a good read for these long, cold nights when a puzzle more than a thriller hits the spot.

The Dead Scholar was published principally as an e-book and is available on Kobo and Kindle. For more information see the author's website http://www.johnmoss.ca.

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

And a good time was had by all!

I'll bet you're not surprised! Scene of the Crime 2012 is now passed and we're back to laundry and reality today. But what a great event it was!

I'd say each one of us in the Ladies' Killing Circle was just thrilled by the tributes, the care and feeding provided by the SOTC board and its amazing volunteers, the friendship of our fellow authors attending, and of course, the beautiful award.

Each year, a kaleidoscope is crafted by Wolfe Island stained glass artist Linda Sutherland and she's adept at creating an award that relates to the author. In our case, since our logo is six pen nibs, we each received a pen with nib and attached kaleidoscope. The carrying case was also made by Sutherland and has the award title, our own name and the LKC logo. Just beautiful, don't you think?

We truly do feel honoured.

It was also so great to meet the many attendees who love mysteries so much! And what fun to see colleagues in the audience. It also was a rare opportunity to spend time catching up with old friends and new ones, since all authors were in the same bed and breakfast, Dreamcatcher's. Yummy breakfasts and lovely rooms!

The other authors at the event -- those who had to do all the work with readings and panels -- were Thomas Rendell Curran (who can be seen these days swanning around Ottawa in 'Stride 1', his new car/toy with the license plate bearing his Newfoundland detective's name); Y.S. Lee, now known to us as Ying (who writes a killer Young Adult series set in Victorian England and a great read for adults, too); D.J. McIntosh or Dorothy as we like to call her (her first antiquities thriller, The Witch of Babylon, skyrocketed to acclaim); and, John Moss (author of the stylish Toronto police procedural series that was set on the Easter Islands last time out).

Did I mention we had fun?

So, thank you to everyone involved with Scene of the Crime -- Violette Malan and Vicki Delany in particular who, as president of the board and board member respectively, spear-headed such a fabulous event.

Now back to the laundry.....

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com

MYSTERY REVIEW

RELUCTANT DEAD
by John Moss
Dundurn Press

John Moss is quite the storyteller. He seamlessly blends historical details, descriptions of locations, and spy-tingling adventure into a page-turning novel. It's called Reluctant Dead. And although it starts with a murder or is it a suicide, in Toronto, that somehow gets lost in the convergence of lost treasure, spy antics, political factions, romantic notions and exotic locations. And yet, it doesn't get lost. It's still there, under the surface and weaves its way through it all.

In this, the third outing for Toronto police detectives Miranda Quinn and David Morgan, the partners take different paths. Quinn is on a three month sabbatical to Easter Island, in order to write a mystery novel. Morgan is handed the investigation of the death of Maria D'Arcy, wife of well-known lawyer, on a yacht moored at Toronto Island. Or is it truly a suicide, as he's led to believe?

Quinn's idyllic retreat turns into a hazardous setting, where she's drawn into a maze of deadly dealings having to do with a lost culture and political aspirations. While Morgan finds himself in the Arctic, trying to survive a rescue mission gone bad. Their stories converge back in Toronto and play out as both try to unravel the clues in this deadly game. The body count is high and the stakes are even higher. Plus, there are some unusual methods of murder!

There are a lot of layers to this novel, so be sure to pay close attention when reading. Part of the pleasure lies in the wonderful use of words that Moss chooses. And that's part of the annoyance, because you want to linger on the sentences. But you also feel the urgency to get on with the story and read to the conclusion. For instance, "Rove paused to let his emotions catch up to the narrative." ; and, "Miranda spun the notion around in her mind, looking for traction."

Reluctant Dead is also an homage to the settings -- Toronto, Easter Island and the Arctic. Do not expect a typical police procedural. But do expect to be entertained.