It's the final countdown!

In just a few short hours, the 2013 winner of the prestigious Bony Blithe Award will have been announced.

In just a few short hours, one author will be called up to the podium at the National Club to accept their award (oh and yes! a nice little cheque to go along with it!) and stand in front of their peers and loved ones to accept the award and have their moment in the spotlight.

In just a few short hours, all of the months of hard work and effort of a team of fabulous collaborators will all come together in a glorious room, in an amazingly historic building that's full of it's own mysteries and intrigue.  In just a few short hours, perhaps a brand new Bony Blithe entry will be born...!


And as the 6 finalists prepare for the award gala this evening, no one could better understand how they all must be feeling than last year's winner, the amazingly talented, Gloria Ferris.

In 2012 the award was brand new, and Gloria Ferris submitted her very first novel, Cheat the Hangman.  As she explains below, she never expected to win, but win she did!  Find out how winning the inaugural Bony Blithe Award has affected her life and what it meant to her.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ms. Gloria Ferris.

     

COUNTDOWN TO MAY 29^TH!

I have my ticket for the 2013 Bony Blithe Gala on  May 29^th. I’m going to get a pedicure and wear some fancy duds to the affair (I love my studs and bling and, if I don’t light up the Toronto night, I’ll just add more glitter). I plan to enjoy the excitement and anticipation to the fullest. Oh, and my dinner, I look forward to my dinner. Last year I was too nervous to eat. I can hardly wait to find out which of the six talented finalists will take home the coveted award, not to mention the not-too-shabby cheque.

In 2012, my paranormal mystery, Cheat the Hangman, made the short list for the inaugural Bony Blithe Award. I was thrilled to have been chosen  along with four other authors. But, truth? I didn’t expect to win. Cheat the Hangman was my first mystery novel, and I was up against some big names. I was fine with being a finalist. After all, this was validation that my writing had passed a “peer review”.

When my name was called during the Bloody Words closing banquet, I didn’t hear it. Really, I expected to hear another name and it wasn’t until the other people at my table turned and looked at me, that I realized  - I won the very first Bony Blithe Award! I don’t remember going up to the stage to accept the award. I don’t remember what I said, or getting back to my table. Even today, when I think of that moment, it’s like a wonderful dream.

The award sits behind my work station in my home office where I can see it any time I want. And I look at it whenever the words are slow to come, or the right words refuse to flow from my brain to the screen. I tell myself that I did it before, and I can do it again. I can write a story that makes the readers smile, or even laugh. When they reach the last page, I want them to feel satisfied with the story, and sad that it’s over. I want them to say to themselves – damn, that was a good book. I hope this author writes more stories like this.

Did the award make any difference in my career? Well, I’ve been invited to be a guest author at the Wolfe Island Scene of the Crime Festival this summer. Cheat the Hangman has been read by a book club in Oakville, Ontario and I was invited to one of their meetings to discuss the book. That was the most fun I ever had at a book event! And, an article about me winning the award was featured in Mystery Scene Magazine. All great stuff, and every bit of exposure helps.

We writers of the “light” mystery are unique. If we must dispatch a victim by gunshot, stabbing, hanging, axe blade, wood chipper, or a thousand other tried and true ways, we usually do it off page. If there’s blood, we don’t dwell on it. Personally, I’m fond of dry, old bones, or a nice tidy poisoning. We 

leave the gratuitous violence to the thriller and horror writers. I mean, seriously, we can even make sex a hilarious event which, now that I think about it, isn’t all that difficult.

The Bony Blithe Award was created for us, and our voices. It is recognition that brutality, horror, and gore are not required to tell a good story. A light touch can move a plot forward, form characters, establish settings, and evoke emotions. We may not spew blood-spattered words from the pages, but our words entertain, inform, and linger in the consciousness just as effectively. These are the books we write. These are the books I love to read, and I’ve read all six shortlisted entries. What a wonderful cross-section of light mysteries! I don’t envy the judges.

I hope that Janet, Karen, Elizabeth, Chris, Michelle, and Morley are enjoying the thrill of being on the 2013 Bony Blithe shortlist. They have spent many months, perhaps years, on their works. In each case, a publisher saw merit in the manuscript, and sent it out into the world. And now, that writing has risen to another level.

Many books were entered in the Bony Blithe contest, and the judges picked these six as the best. My heartfelt congratulations to the author who takes home the award on May 29^th. But, you know you’re all winners already, right?