Vanessa Westermann, author of Shudder Pulp, a Charley Scott mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today to tell us a bit about finding inspiration in cottage country. Since I grew up in Canada and have lots of happy memories of my times in cottage country, I’m looking forward to hearing about her experiences.

Welcome, Vanessa. I’ll turn the floor over to you –

Have you ever jumped off a dock into clear water and wondered what just brushed your leg?

I grew up spending summers in cottage country. Some of my favourite summertime memories are of eating s’mores around bonfires, reading thrillers in Adirondack chairs, watching canoes drift by. And diving off the dock.

In our cottage garage hung an old lake map, bordered with ads for local businesses that had long since closed. Hydrological features were marked out as well as rocks, bays and islands. The labels included thrilling names, such as: Snake Island. Frost’s Folly and Knight’s Nightmare. A hint at the dangers that wait out in the water.

Ontario, Canada is lakeland. Fresh water is everywhere. Canadian folklore is teeming with monsters. The monsters are a part of our collective unconscious. Oral tradition filled the lakes with threatening creatures. Horned water lynx who conjure storms. Mythical half-human creatures who lure children into underwater lairs. The lake monster Ogopogo is still a tourist attraction in British Columbia today.

There’s something unpredictable and wild about a lake, no matter how peaceful it may seem at times, and this element of the unknown is inspiring for a crime writer. I thought, why not have the killer blame the murder on a legendary lake monster?

In Shudder Pulp, Charley Scott is creating an immersive pulp art installation based on the local lake monster legend that is meant to fundraise money for a permanent gallery. She knows of the lake monster legend because of the cautionary tales her grandfather used to tell to stop her from swimming out too far. He’d say to her, The monster exists. This story really did happen and I can show you where. But he never had. Each time he told the tale, the location shifted, changing like the dimensions of a fish in dockside boasts about the biggest catch of the year.

Life imitates art when Laura, a mercenary newcomer, claims to have been attacked by the monster and, hours later, is found dead by dry drowning. To find the truth, Charley must unmask the villain before the murderer strikes again.

Part of the fun of writing a cozy mystery series is being able to invite readers to return to a familiar setting — or scene of the crime. You know the saying, life is better at the lake? In the Charley Scott mysteries, murder is better at the lake. The air is fresh and so is the crime scene.

Thank you for sharing this with us, Vanessa, and good luck with Shudder Pulp, the latest book in the Charley Scott mystery series. Readers can learn more about Vanessa Westermann by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads pages.

The book is available online at the following retailers:

Amazon.com  –  Barnes & Noble  –  IndieBound/Bookshop.org

About Vanessa Westermann: An avid reader of mysteries, Vanessa Westermann is a former Arthur Ellis Awards judge, holds an M.A. in English Literature and a Bachelor of Education, and has taught creative writing. Cover Art, first of the Charley Scott Mysteries, was published to great acclaim in 2022. At the heart of all of Westermann’s stories are strong female protagonists inspired by the heroines in her own life. She currently lives in Ontario.