Calgary, Alberta, Oct. 30, 2007.

Steven Owad launched his new novel, Brother's Keeper, at McNally Robinson's bookstore in Calgary. Bestselling thriller writer Jeff Buick was on hand to introduce the author, and other special guests included award-winning memoirist Gordon Cope, Steven's daughter Sara, Democratic Party luminary Hillary Clinton and the Dalai Lama.

All copies of Brother's Keeper were sold shortly before crowbar-wielding henchmen infiltrated the party, mistaking it for an Alberta Oil Royalty Review Commission meeting.

Injuries were minor, though Buick was later found wandering the streets of his Willow Park neighborhood wearing only pajama bottoms and muttering, "I did the best I could, I did the best I could."

McNally Robinson Events Coordinator Thor Maxiflex told the Calgary Herald, "It was just awful. We was all there slobbering over this killer author, and these fellas jump in and act like we're some scum from over there in Ontario or something."

"I never seen Owad so scared," Cope told the National Post. "It was like the time he figured out that clothes can get stuck in the escalator. I gotta put this in my next book."

Police Spokesperson I. Hangem assured McNally Robinson that the incident will be investigated with a sense of haste befitting such a tragic affair, right after they finish installing those new Parkomat machines on 4th Avenue.

Dear Friends and Family of RendezVous Crime

It's that season, but we know that you never get enough of books and launches and signings and all those other good things.

Please come and join us at Sleuth of Baker Street, details below, for a signing by Toronto's own Jon Redfern and Calgary's own Steven Owad, signing their latest fall releases from RendezVous Crime.

The mysteries are very different, different centuries even, so we know there will be something for everyone.

MARY JANE MAFFINI EVENTS

WINDSOR, ON Nov 1 CBC-Radio. I'll get to chat with CBC afternoon show host Barbara Peacock during an interview sometime between 4:10 and 4:30 pm.

WINDSOR, ON November 3 BookFestWindsor 2007 (Nov 2-4) I'll be at the Art Gallery of Windsor, 401 Riverside Drive West Windsor, ON Tickets: $10 per day or $25 for the weekend. Students free!
3:00 pm How to Build a Better Sleuth. Mary Jane Maffini (Mystery Writers Workshop) Lecture Room
8:00 pm To Make a Long Story Short. I'll be joining Paul Glennon, Alistair MacLeod and John Metcalf. Moderator: Paul Vasey, will entice us to talk about short stories - and other things. Wilkinson Room
Please see www.bookfestwindsor.ca for a full schedule and a complete list of participating authors and artists. Contact: Lenore Langs Tel: 519-945-8106E-mail: langs@cranberrytreepress.com

TORONTO Tuesday, November 13 2:00 p.m.
Reading and discussion. Agincourt Library 155 Bonis Ave.
416-396-8950

TORONTO Tuesday, November 13, 7:00 p.m.
Reading and schmooze. North York Central Library
5120 Yonge St.
416-395-5637

TORONTO Wednesday, November 14; 2:00 p.m.
Reading and schmooze. Deer Park Library, 40 St. Clair Ave. East
416-393-7673

TORONTO Wednesday, Nov 14, 6:30 pm

Book Launch: Barbara Fradkin will be launching Dream Catcher, her latest Inspector Green mystery and I'll be kicking off Too Hot to Handle, the second in the Fiona Silk series. Join us for readings, signings, refreshments and more. Sleuth of Baker Street, 1600 Bayview. 416-483-3111 for more info.

OTTAWA Nov 15, 7 -9 pm
Book Launch: Library and Archives Canada. 395 Wellington Street, Sunken Lobby.
613-238-CLUE for information. Join the Ottawa kick-off for my new Fiona Silk mystery, Too Hot to Handle, and for Dreamcatchers, Barbara Fradkin's latest Inspector Green tale. We've stockpiled the chocolates and the suspense is mounting.

OTTAWA Wednesday, Nov 28th 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Ottawa Public Library North Gloucester Branch 2036 Ogilvie
Ottawa ON K1J 7N8
613-748-4208
I'll be talking about my first Charlotte Adams mystery: Organize Your Corpses.

PERTH, ON December 1, 10:30 - Noon. Book signing and schmooze with Barbara Fradkin - just in time for Christmas. Valley Books, 17 Wilson St. East, Perth.

KINGSTON, ON Dec. 1, 2 - 4 pm. Barbara Fradkin and I will be chatting and signing in the always welcoming atmosphere at Kingston's mystery bookstore As The Plot Thickens, 66 Brock St. Thanks to host Brian Fenlon.

OTTAWA Dec 13 6:30 pm. Radio interview Literary Landscapes on CKCU-FM with Jane Crosier. I always look forward to host Jane Crosier's insightful questions when I drop in for a visit to this program for book lovers.

RendezVous Crime authors Rick Blechta and Barbara Fradkin at Word on the Street in Toronto, September 30, 2007. Rick was signing his latest crime novel, When Hell Freezes Over and Barbara was signing her new release, Dream Chasers, the latest in the Inspector Green series.