25th Trillium Award

Read Ontario, with David Whellams

 
Share |
David Whellams

Ontario has a wealth of fantastic writers and amazing stories. From October to mid-November the Ontario Book Publishers Organization is highlighting a selection of Ontario's finest writing from some of the great Ontario publishers. Pick up an Ontario book and ?Read Ontario!?

But just where does the magic happen? Visit the Open Book: Toronto and Open Book: Ontario websites over the next few weeks to find out how living in Ontario has influenced some of our best authors.

Ottawa writer David Whellams has a lifetime of experience as a criminal lawyer and is an expert in the Criminal Code of Canada. Until now, he wouldn't have identified himself as an Ontario writer. The hero of his mystery trilogy, Peter Cammon, is a Scotland Yard detective, and the investigations he pursues in Walking into the Ocean and The Drowned Man (ECW Press) take place overseas and outside the province. But David is now hard at work on the third and final book in the series, and he hints that the intrepid Peter Cammon may soon find himself closer to the home of his creator.

Visit a participating Read Ontario independent bookstore to purchase your copy of The Drowned Man or click here for details on how you can enter to win this novel and 41 other Read Ontario books.


Read Ontario: David Whellams

I have lived in Ontario all my adult life, worked 31 years in the justice system in Ottawa. I have no intention of moving. My first novel was published by ECW Press after I turned 60. Has my Ontario life shaped my writing? Am I an ?Ontario writer?? Until very recently, I have been in vociferous denial. My mystery trilogy, Walking into the Ocean, The Drowned Man and the third, as yet untitled book, is set variously in England, Malta, Montreal, D.C. and (the current one) Utah. My main character is a Scotland Yard detective and he has never been to Ottawa. Why have I been avoiding my home town? Well, I never felt compelled to use my experiences directly in any of my stories. My main guy always seemed British in temperament and I ended up placing him in dangers on cliffs, islands and deserts far from Ontario. Now that the trilogy is wrapping up, I?m reconsidering. To paraphrase Woody Allen, ?Are my films autobiographical? Of course. How could they not be?? My experience in law, bureaucracy and Canadian sensibilities already creep into my writing — as they should. My next book, whatever it is, will probably have an Ontario setting. I write at a desk in the corner of the master bedroom in my house in Ottawa. It could be anywhere . . . but it?s not.



David Whellams is the author of the Peter Cammon mysteries, Walking into the Ocean and The Drowned Man, and the third novel now in the works. The trilogy features a semi-retired Scotland Yard detective who brings his lifetime of experience to bear on especially complicated murders and serial killings. The settings of these mysteries range from England to Malta, Montreal, Washington and Salt Lake City, as desperate criminals discover that the mild-mannered but indefatigable detective can solve murders just about anywhere. The author lives in Ottawa, Ontario, where he worked as a lawyer in the justice system for 31 years.

For more information about The Drowned Man, please visit the ECW Press website.

Buy this book at your local independent bookstore, online from the publisher or at Chapters/Indigo or Amazon.

Post new comment

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

By submitting this form, you accept the Mollom privacy policy.

Advanced Search