Road Trip for Book Three

My husband and I went to Fort McMurray so I could do a little research for the 3rd book in the Marie Jenner mystery series.

What can I say? Traffic was rush hour all the time, the people were friendly and helpful, and I was lost most of the time!

These photos will not give you a real sense of the city. After all, I was there to find Marie's mother's house, Marie's father's house, and the oldest cemetery. Which I found!

Back yard, Marie's mom's trailer

The windows of Marie's mom's trailer

 The cemetery was called, not surprisingly, the Fort McMurray Cemetery. There I found the real history...

 

And then we found all the huge equipment. This was in a small "museum" on the way to the oil sands. (Just so you know, my husband is 6 foot 5.)

And, Syncrude. One of the drivers behind all the wealth in this part of the country.

Interesting note: I found Fitzsimmons Avenue while I was there. This is named after Robert Fitzsimmons, a man who was the first to commercially sell bitumen in Edmonton, in the '30s. He was also a friend of my grandfather's, and he and I were friends. What a small world it is!

Where are all the ghosts? Here, it seems!

Bet you wonder where I get the inspiration  for all my ghosts. Are there really haunted houses in Edmonton? Looks like there are!  (It appears ghosties  are everywhere!

Here is a list of haunted spots in Edmonton (and elsewhere!)

Ten Spooky Spots in Edmonton (Edmonton Journal article)
La Bohheme Bed and Breakfast (Out of the Dark: The Ghosthunting Chronicles)
The Old Strathcona Tour (thelocalgood.ca)

I took the Old Strathcona Tour this summer, and it's a good one! Check it out if you're in Edmonton.

The Paramount Theatre has been turned into a haunted house. Called Deadmonton, it looks delightfully spooky! (Didn't make it this year, but it's on my list...)

And the Arlington Apartments--the building on which the Palais Office building in my first book, Seeing the Light, is based--were there ghosts there, too? Looks like it!

There won't always be real ghosts in the settings for my novels. But there will be enough to make things go bump in the night!

Alberta Book Publishing Award finalist, and working hard on the next book in the series

I was thrilled to learn that Seeing the Light had been shortlisted for an Alberta Book Publishing Award. This means another event to attend, this time in Edmonton, in September.

Since Tyche Books swept the Speculative Fiction Book Award section, I hope that we'll all be attending the gala, being held this year at Fort Edmonton Park. This is going to be so much fun!

In other news:

The cover art for Drowning in Amber (book two) is almost ready! Love love love it, and can hardly wait to show every one!

Book three is trundling along, and should be to the publisher in August. (Hopefully, it will be finished in time for When Words Collide, the Calgary multi genre literary con, but if it isn't, it will be close! )

I'm doing a couple of presentations at WWC (Writing a Series with Mahrie G. Reid, Kay Stewart, Gary Ryan, Sam Wiebe, and SG Wong) and Giving a Great Reading (with Jayne Barnard). Should be fun!

Then, I'm taking a short breather before all the madness that is prelaunching Drowning in Amber starts. (So far it looks like it will be a staycation, but that's all right with me!)

After all, I've got a wonderful deck, and two delightful dogs to keep me company! What could be better?

Welcome to Marie Jenner's New Home!

Hi! My name is E.C.Bell (Eileen Bell to fantasy readers) and I've decided it's time to start a blog for my paranormal mystery series.

I know, the first book came out ages ago, but I've decided now is the time to start talking about the series.

Why, you ask? Because the 2nd book is coming out in a few months, so, it's officially a series now! (Yay!)

This is where I'll be talking about all things Marie Jenner. Marie is a feisty little amateur sleuth who, unfortunately, has the ability to see and interact with ghosts. She doesn't appreciate this "gift" much, because it causes her all sorts of troubles! (Which,  fortunately for us, is a lot of fun!)

The first book, Seeing the Light, was published in 2014 by Tyche Books, with much fan fare and really great launches at Audreys Books in Edmonton and Owl's Nest Books in Calgary. (Much much love to these two terrific book stores!)

Then came the award season--and Seeing the Light was shortlisted for the Boney Blithe Award! Didn't win, but had a great time at the event in Toronto, and met most of the other wonderful writers who were also shortlisted (including Cathy Ace, who won.)

From left to right -- Janet Bolin, me, and Cathy Ace, three of the five finalists. Don't we look wonderful? (The answer is "Yes. Yes we do.")

I'm waiting for edits on the second book in the series. I'm also writing the third book, and tomorrow will be taking a quick trip to Fort McMurray, to reacquaint myself with Marie Jenner's home town. (I'll also be testing my brand new camera, so expect photos of my experiences, if I can make the thing work!)

That's what I'm doing in the short term. Long term? I'll be at When Words Collide (the multi genre con in Calgary) and the Edmonton Comic Book Expo. (Might even be doing a panel or two, so if you want to hear me speak, feel free to drop by!) And whatever else I can dig up. (There will be more when I get closer to the launch for the second book!) So, watch for updates.