Back to the Scene of the Crime

Just back from New York and Canada’s Media Marketplace, where my fellow Canadians and I mercilessly flogged our country’s wares in the hopes that media will write gushing stories. I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel for the first two nights, Ian Schrager’s latest hotel project in collaboration with artist Julian Schnabel. I’d heard mixed reviews, but I loved the place. Amazing arrival experience. Major lounge scene. Awesome neighbourhood. Service is at a higher level than Schrager’s former properties, but be prepared to pay accordingly. The décor is a mix of ultra-modern, classic and bohemian, yet somehow it works. I’ve never been a fan of tassels – in my mind they should be seen only on grandma’s curtains or Vegas showgirls – but the ones on the chairs in my room came across as playful and urbane, much like the rest of the hotel.

On Sunday New York was hit with one of the worst storms in history. As a Vancouverite I mocked the hardened New Yorkers who were making such a fuss over a few droplets of rain. Then I went outside. I’ve never experienced horizontal rain before. It was like being in a carwash. I spent the rest of the day cowering in my room.

The next day I checked into the conference hotel, the Waldorf-Astoria. I did so with trepidation. It was built in 1931 and has 1425 rooms. Large hotels are not for impatient people. I’m not big on old hotels either. I like shiny new things. But the staff at this hotel won me over. It’s difficult to provide a consistently high level of service in a big hotel, but they manage it well here. Employees seem genuinely proud. Often their lines sound scripted, but well scripted. I encountered more tassels though, on the curtains in my room. I guess New Yorkers are big on them. And the floral bedspreads have got to go. Have I disclosed before why hotels use such ghastly patterns on carpets and bedspreads? They hide stains. But I’ll leave the investigative reporting to Dateline.

I love New York so much I set my novel there, Murder at The Universe. I imploded the Hilton on Sixth Avenue and erected my hotel in its place. It made me feel like Donald Trump. The novel opens with the murder of the hotel’s owner. It soon becomes apparent that one of the executive staff members may have done it. The main character, Trevor Lambert, director of rooms, is forced to play sleuth while managing the clash of values among pampered guests, harried employees and a militant conference organizer. Some hotel executives may find the premise cathartic, what with the owner getting murdered. I should point out, however, that I conceived the idea many years ago. I would never even think of such a thing at Opus.

Things are gearing up for my book’s release in September. It’s now available for pre-order online. My publisher, Midnight Ink, contracted me to develop the concept into a 3-book series. Book 2, which I’ve been working on for a year now, is due – excuse me while I gasp for air – in two weeks. Time to get started, I guess. The working title is Murder at Hotel Cinema. Trevor moves to Los Angeles to open a swank boutique hotel in Hollywood. At the opening party a gorgeous young movie star is murdered. This time the executives and owners are off the hook, but middle management isn’t. The suspects include the hotel’s executive housekeeper, the chief engineer and the publicist. The victim is a hotel guest, but she’s a diva and a tyrant, so Opus guests have nothing to worry about as long as they behave.

The question I’m most often asked (besides what’s your phone number) is how do I find time to write and manage a hotel? The quick answer: early mornings and long days. Both jobs are a labour of love, so I don’t mind. I’ve wanted to write since I was four, when I used to carry a notebook around entitled “Poims”. Yeah, I was a weird kid, and not a very good speller. When I turned 30 I realized that if I wanted to call myself a writer at some point I would have to write something. I naively thought it would be fun and easy to write a mystery. They say write what you know, so I set it in a hotel. It’s pure fiction, but without a doubt I’ve been inspired by the colourful characters and bizarre situations I’ve encountered over the years.

I’m on “vacation” for two weeks beginning April 30. I say “vacation” because during the first week I’ll be furiously trying to shape Book 2 into something readable. The next week I’ll be on a real vacation. But my mind is always working, and while on the beach in Hawaii sipping strong fruity drinks I’ll be plotting my next murder.

Thanks to Katrina for filling in during my absence. Aloha!

Technical Challenges for the Technically Challenged

It seems my recent posts have not been going out to the subscriber list - a travesty! Our web designer extraordinaire Pierre seems to have fixed the problem, so this is a quick post to see if it's working. Check out the latest, and thanks to all my loyal readers (make that reader, Dad got bored but Mom's still hanging in).