Chris Patchell's Blog

Check out my Guest Blog post for the partners in Crime Tour. It takes about breaking the rules.

You can find it at:

http://www.writersandauthors.info/201...

As far back as I can remember, my Dad drew. Everything from caricatures on little scraps of paper to political cartoons for a local newspaper.

I was always amazed at how he could express his humor in a few clever strokes of a pen. One summer, my mother broke her foot and was off work while it healed. My father drew his impression of her world. In it, I saw every single thing that mattered to her represented in his drawing. It was the first time I realized how well he understood us all.

There's a little of my father in the Detective in Dealy lies; Alex Shannon, not just his skill with a pencil or brush, but the way he internalizes his problems until he reaches a solution; or at least a conclusion.

Me? Well, I write.

What forms of expression do you use?

Growing up in Eastern Ontario, the summers were long, hot and buggy. Every weekend, my parents would load up the car, strap the canoe to the roof, and go fishing.

Fishing. Ugh…

Long hours spent in the hot sun with the bugs buzzing around my head. I hated fishing more than I hated gym class, and that was saying something. Sadly, I was the only one. So there I sat in the middle of a cramped in a canoe, bobbing along the lake, praying for death.

Looking back, I think those fishing trips had something to do with why I became a writer. Around hour three when desperation set in, I started telling stories. I opened my Dad's tackle box and picked out the lures I liked. The pretty shiny ones were girls, and the ugly ones were boys. Telling stories in my head was the only way I survived all those long hours on the water, praying for rain.

Then I moved to Seattle. And you know that old Chinese proverb – be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. I never pray for rain anymore.

In DEADLY LIES, Jill learns to shoot to impress her stepfather.

What childhood activities did you do with your family? How did they shape you?

I know you'll be shocked to hear this, but I'm not a cop. Never have been. I don't even play one on tv. So when I set out to write a suspense novel with characters who are cops, I knew I had a lot to learn.

Working in hi-tech, I don't meet a lot of law enforcement types. Most of the lawyers I know specialize in IP and Trademark law. So how does a nice Canadian girl like me learn about crime and punishment? I'll admit to watching my fair share of tv crime shows over the years, but I knew I had to dig a little deeper in terms of research, so I pulled out the big guns. I signed up for the Seattle's Citizen's Police Academy.

Deep down in the gritty heart of Sodo off Airport Way, I attended an eleven-week training course that covered a wide range of topics from Criminal Justice to Arson to Sex Crimes. My favorite class was Fire Arms Training (not with live guns, of course). The class was split up and we were walked through a number of scenarios where you're forced to make split-second decisions. I was shot in under three seconds. I think that's some kind of class record.

Yep, just me, a bunch of cop wannabes and a few lawyers checking out the Bomb Squad rig. One of my fellow classmates asked me if I was interested in becoming a police officer. I almost snorted coffee out my nose. "Me? Oh hell, no. I'm a writer."

The classes were fun and informative, taught by some really great Seattle cops. It's open to the public. If you're interested, you should definitely check it out.