Crime novels, it has been said, show the human psyche under pressure.

Ottawa is a hot spot of Canadian crime writing, with perhaps the greatest concentration of active, involved, published crime writers anywhere.

The CWC is a professional organization for professional writers. Non-published writers are welcome as associate members.

On a personal basis, when I decided to become a writer, about the last reason I did it was because I thought I'd meet interesting people and make new friends. But that has turned out to be the very best part.

Human beings can withstand a week without water, two weeks without food, many years of homelessness, but not loneliness. It is the worst of all tortures, the worst of all sufferings.

For all our secular rationalism and technological advances, potential for surrender to the charms of magical thinking remains embedded in the human psyche, awaiting only the advertiser to awaken it.