With five mysteries to her credit in just five years, Gulf Islands resident Linda L. Richards has mastered a genre she embraced because, according to an interview with Canadian bookstore McNally Robinson, she “set out to write the story in my heart” and “kept tripping over dead bodies”.

So it’s dead bodies and their mysterious ways that Richards will explore at her Writing Killer Fiction workshop on Sunday, July 12 for the Write on Bowen! literary festival, sponsored for a second year by the Bowen Island Arts Council.

From thrillers and suspense novels to closed door, cozy and ‘femjep (think female in jeopardy) stories, Richards will talk about what makes these genres-within-a-genre tick. Workshop participants are encouraged to attend with plot ideas in mind for a how-to discussion about mystery writing.

Workshop attendance is limited, so early registration is encouraged at www.biac.ca/writersfestival for this workshop and others offered over the July 10 – 12 weekend.

Richards also facilitates a free panel about writing mysteries, thrillers and crime fiction on Saturday, July 11, joined by Don MacLean, who came to the genre after 35 years in film and theatre, and who has completed his first thriller, Watertight; Nick Faragher, whose short story collection, The Well, was published last year; and Barbara Murray, author of a historical mystery series which debuted in 2007 with Gifts and Bones.

Faragher also reads at the Opening Night festival kickoff, Friday July 10, 7:30 p.m. at Cates Hill Chapel, along with science fiction author Spider Robinson, performer Pauline Le Bel, memoirist Keath Fraser, storyteller Susanna Braund and a performance by AURAL Heather, featuring Heather Haley and Roderick Shoolbraid. Tickets are $15, available in advance at Phoenix Books and online.

In addition to his Friday presentation, Robinson will read from his most recent novel, Very Hard Choices, and answer audience questions on Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m. at The Gallery in Artisan Square. The author of more than 30 books, Robinson recently completed Variable Star, a novel that the late SF grandmaster Robert A. Heinlein began in 1955 but never completed; three sequels are in the works.

Tickets for the question and answer are $20, from the festival website, where information on the Lieben Lands Walk, a short story contest (deadline extended), youth plays, young adult workshops and Blue Pencil Editing opportunities can also be found; box lunches from Artisan Eats can also be ordered in advance.

Richard Labonté

Write on Bowen! Committee