Popular Canadian mystery writer Winona Kent introduces her tenth book with the publication of Ticket to Ride, a mystery that follows folky-pop band Figgis Green’s 50th Anniversary Tour of England.
About Winona:
Winona Kent
was born in London, England but grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. She has an MFA
in Creative Writing from UBC and a Diploma in Writing for Film and TV from
Vancouver Film School. She’s the current BC/YT/NWT Representative for the Crime
Writers of Canada, and is also an active member of Sisters in Crime. She lives
in New Westminster, BC.
http://www.winonakent.com
http://www.bluedevilbooks.com
Tell us about your life outside of writing.
I've
been writing since the mid-1970s and back in those days, it was virtually
impossible to make a living in Canada as a writer unless you were Leonard Cohen
or Margaret Atwood. So I decided a very long time ago that if I had to work
full-time, I would never have a job that actually involved creative writing. I
wanted to save my imagination for my own fiction. So I was a temporary
secretary and a travel agent. I took a little break for three years while I got
my MFA in Creative Writing at UBC, and then after that I went to work for Telus
for about 18 years--I was in Word Processing, and then in their Learning
Services area. Roundabout 2003 Telus decided to downsize and they offered me a
massive amount of money to leave--so I took them up on their offer and went to
Vancouver Film School so I could learn how to write screenplays. Then I went
back to work--this time at my old alma mater, UBC--and I landed a job in their
Department of Health Care and Epidemiology (later the School of Population and
Public Health)-- where I was a program assistant looking after MSc and PhD
students. I stayed there until October 2019, when I officially retired--and now
I'm actually (and finally) a full time writer!
Along
the way I've also indulged in some of my more imaginative passions. In 1995 I started
a semi-official website for the British actor Sean Bean. It was active until
2012, when I archived it. But one of my legacies was the creation of the
original "Death by Cow" list--which detailed all of the films that
Sean died in. The title came from the movie The Field, where Sean's run
over the edge of a cliff by a herd of cows. I was also granted a
ground-breaking interview with Sean when he was in Toronto filming Don't Say
a Word.
I
have a few interesting hobbies. One of them is family tree research. I have a
very mysterious great-grandfather whose birth record I can't find and whose
parentage is quite murky. I've done the DNA test and plunged into genealogy
head-first. The hero of my amateur sleuth novels, Jason Davey, shares that
interest with me. My other passionate interest is the London Underground--and
more specifically, abandoned Underground stations. A few of my novels and short
stories have included current and abandoned stations in their plots.
Do you have a work in progress?
I’m
just starting to research and outline my next Jason Davey mystery, Bad Boy
It has a rather startling opening, involving The Shard in London. In fact, I’ve
just got back from England. The original purpose of the trip was to scatter my
mum’s ashes in her birthplace (she died in May 2021) but while I was there I
took the opportunity to conduct a lot of first-hand research—which included
going up The Shard and taking part in a 4 ½ hour walking tour of Soho’s Musical
Venues—Soho being where Jason works, in the Blue Devil jazz club. I got some
amazing ideas for the book, which will feature the return of one of my
favourite all-time baddies, Arthur Braskey (from Notes on a Missing G-String).
What was the most difficult section/piece you ever wrote? What made it
difficult?
Hands
down, Ticket to Ride, my current book. It battled me every step of the
way, from the outline through all six drafts. All the time I was working on the
story, my mum (aged 95) was encountering health problems, which were actually
to be expected in such a very ancient lady. She lived with my sister, but I was
sharing care-giver duties, and twice a week I would drive from New Westminster (where
I live) to North Vancouver (where they lived) to help out, to take mum for a
ride in the car, to basically spend the day with her. Without wanting to sound
selfish, all those journeys did have an impact on my concentration and my
ability to maintain some kind of continuity with the story. As my mum’s health
declined, the problem only got worse. I resorted to all kinds of outlining
software to try and keep the story straight in my mind (I’m definitely a
plotter, not a pantser), until, in the end, my lovely mother had to go to the
hospital and, ultimately a hospice, where she died, peacefully and with nothing
left unsaid. Following that, I had to help my sister with her grief, and go
through a process of sorting through mum’s belongings and papers and photos,
and help my sister find somewhere new to live…so it wasn’t surprising that Ticket
to Ride ended up having to be put on temporary hiatus. Finally, with mum’s
affairs settled and my sister in her new flat, I found I had time for myself
again. It was as if a curtain had opened. The way became clear, and I was able
to finish the book. I hadn’t been aware of all the things I was dealing with at
the time, but my publisher, Brian Richmond (from Blue Devil Books) very kindly
pointed out that my attention had been very much distracted over the previous
year and a half, so it was all completely understandable.
What sort of research do you do for your work?
I'm
extremely meticulous when it comes to research. I always base my stories and
novels on kernels of things that I've experienced myself, but that's usually
just the starting point. I love to let my imagination run wild but, because I
may not have first-hand experience with what comes next, I have to resort to
research. I love doing research and I am so grateful for the existence of the
internet. I remember the bad old days when I'd spend days, weeks, months, in
different libraries, hunting through card catalogues and microfiche and dusty
old stacks of books, writing letters, making phonecalls...the internet opened
up the world for me and what used to take three months now takes about 10
minutes. But I'm always conscious that there might be a reader out there who’s
an expert and they’ll take issue with what I've written and say, "No!
That's not right at all!" So, as a result, I will research something until
there is no room for error. One of the greatest accolades I've received
recently came from a couple of my writing colleagues who were both absolutely
convinced, on the basis of my Jason Davey Mysteries, that I have a background in
music, and that I'd either managed a rock band or toured with one. I did take
formal piano lessons and music theory for four years... but as for the rest...
Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author who
inspires you?
My
favourite authors are Monica Dickens (who was Charles Dickens'
great-grand-daughter), John Galsworthy (who wrote The Forsyte Saga) and
John Le Carre (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and every other spy
novel he's ever written). More recently I've been spending time with English
singer Tommy Steele's autobiography, all three Call the Midwife books by
Jennifer Worth (upon which the British tv series was based), Roadie: My Life
On The Road With Coldplay by Matt McGinn (fascinating and extremely
informative) and, believe it or not, The Railway Children by Edith
Nesbit. I've seen the film a few times--it's one of my all-time favourites--but
I don't remember ever reading the book, which was written for children. It's
absolutely charming.
I'd
have to say that Monica Dickens is the author who inspired me from a very early
age. She was like me--she worked for a living, but she managed to create
fiction from all of her work-life experiences. The novel that made the biggest
impression on me was The Listeners, which was about the early days of
The Samaritans, the original telephone help line for people in emotional
distress.
Was there a person who encouraged you to write?
There
were a few, actually. One was a high school Lit teacher, Sam Robinson. He
recognized that I wanted to be a writer when I was 14 or 15 and actively
encouraged me. This was back in the days when writers tended to succeed in
spite of what we were taught in school, rather than because of it. There was
very little creative in the curriculum back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I was lucky that I went to a very progressive high school. Another was my Grade
12 Lit teacher, Mr. Williamson--I never did know his first name!--who actually
let me write a novel for my major class project--and gave me an A+ for it when
I handed it in.
Later
on, when I was at university working on my BA in English, one of my instructors
was Canadian writer Ken Mitchell. He taught me the basics of fiction and I'm
still using a lot of his early wisdom. I also remember his favourite pet peeve:
"There is no such word as gotten!"
TICKET TO RIDE
Figgis
Green is on tour! But when a fortune-teller warns of impending danger, the band
is suddenly plagued by a series of seemingly-unrelated mishaps. After Jason is
nearly killed in Cambridge and a fire alarm results in a very personal theft
from Mandy's hotel room, it becomes clear they're being targeted by someone
with a serious grudge. And when they play a gig at a private estate in
Tunbridge Wells, that person finally makes their deadly intentions known. Jason
must rely on his instincts, his Instagram "guardian angel," and a
wartime ghost who might possibly share his DNA, in order to survive.
Visit the Figgis Green website to read more about Jason and the band as they tour England.
MORE JASON DAVEY Mysteries
Book 1 in the prolific author’s Jason Davey Mystery series was the novella Disturbing the Peace, in which Jason’s extracurricular activities found him tracking down a missing musician in northern Alberta.
Then, in Book 2, Notes on a Missing G-String, Jason was asked by an old friend to help investigate the theft of £10,000 from a dancer’s locker at a gentlemen’s club in London’s Soho.
And in Book 3, Lost Time, while Jason rehearsed for Figgis Green’s upcoming tour, he was asked to investigate the disappearance of a teenager from 1974.
Now, in Book 4 of the series, Ticket to Ride, Figgis Green is on the road. But when a fortune-teller in Sheffield warns them of impending danger, the band is suddenly plagued by a series of seemingly unrelated mishaps. After Jason is attacked and nearly killed in Cambridge, and a fire alarm results in a very personal theft from Mandy's hotel room, it becomes clear they're being targeted by someone with a serious grudge. And when Figgis Green plays a gig at a private estate in Tunbridge Wells, that person finally makes their deadly intentions known. Jason must rely on his instincts, his Instagram "guardian angel," and a wartime ghost who might possibly share his DNA, in order to survive.
REVIEWS
“If
you haven’t discovered Jason Davey yet, you’re in for a treat. Rock star, private
eye, and the target of a deadly and malevolent force seemingly attached to his
band’s anniversary tour like a demonic limpet. Delightful and compulsive
reading!” ~ Iona
Whishaw, award-winning author of the Globe and Mail bestselling Lane Winslow
Mystery series.
“Ticket
to Ride is a captivating and original mystery with a cast of quirky characters
and a likable protagonist who entertains a belief in ghosts and guardian
angels. Jason Davey proves a clever sleuth with a wicked sense of humour and a
tenacity that never wavers even when confronted with increasingly
life-threatening situations. Winona Kent writes with a deft hand, melding
suspense and comedy in a thoroughly entertaining mix that will keep readers
entranced until the very last page.” ~ Brenda Chapman, author of the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural
series, the Anna Sweet mystery novellas, and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for
middle grade.
“It’s
time to tune up the band as guitarist and amateur sleuth Jason Davey returns
for another deadly ballad! Fans of music and mysteries won’t want to miss out.” A.J. Devlin, author of the award-winning “Hammerhead”
Jed ex-pro wrestler turned PI mystery-comedy series.
“What
a perfect character: popular jazz musician/private eye…everybody’s perfect job,
right? Well, yes! Until someone with a big grudge tries to kill you! That’s
when this whodunnit gets very interesting... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?? Perfect for a
tv series, because Winona Kent does what a good crime writer must do; she puts
you in the room next to the characters! Write on Ms. Kent !!!” ~ Willy Ward, songwriter, vocalist
and broadcaster.
“Ticket
to Ride crackles and sparkles, pulling the reader along with a heady mix of
mystery, mysticism, murder and music.” M.N.Grenside, author of thriller Fall Out and
award-winning TV producer
Ticket to Ride is published by Winona Kent and Blue Devil Books. It’s available in e-book and paperback formats on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books and Kobo.
Release date: March 26, 2022
For a review copy, a high-resolution image of the cover, interviews or further information, please contact Winona Kent.
Winona Kent Website: http://www.winonakent.com
Blue Devil Books Website: http://www.bluedevilbooks.com
