w w w .in s id e h a lto n .c o m | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, O c to b e r 6 , 2 0 1 7 | 8 Celebrated British author brings mystery to Oakville by Marta Marychuk Oakville Beaver Staff Ann Cleeves, one of Britain' s m ost popular authors, will be coming to Oakville on Monday, Oct. 16, to present her newest novel The Seagull. The presentation, from 7-8:30 p.m., at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, is part of a cross-Canada tour and hosted here by the Oakville Public Library. "I'm really looking forward to coming back," said Cleeves in an interview with the Oakville Beaver from her home in the United Kingdom. Cleeves has written 31 novels and received numerous awards, including the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Crime Writers Association (CWA) Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel, in 2 0 1 2 , for her novel Black Raven. At the time, Cleeves was also inducted into CWA Crime Thriller Award Hall of Fame. In October 2 0 1 7 , The CWA will present Cleeves with the Diamond Dagger, the highest honour in British crime writing. The Seagull is set in a "faded seaside town" similar to where she lives in W hitley Bay -- on the coast east of Newcastle, England. Whitely Bay was once known as a party destination -- but Cleeves said the town no longer has wild parties and people are not spilling out of nightclubs and bars, during British author Anne Cleaves will be at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre Oct. 16. | Micha Theiner photo the night, and into the streets. "It' s a fantastic community," says Cleeves, adding Whitely Bay is in the process of renewal with many young families moving into the town. There is a tiny independent cinema and there are good places to eat and drink. "It' s coming back." In The Seagull, Cleeves said character Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope is forced into doing a lecture in an old prison. She goes to the prison and encounters an inmate, who is a former police officer she helped put behind bars. The former police officer wants to strike a deal with Vera, providing protection for his daughter and grandchildren in return for information about the location of a body -- a long-dead wheeler-dealer. During book tours, Cleeves said people are very intrigued about the character Vera and how she does research for her novels. Cleeves, who trained to be a probation officer, also relies on information from two good friends who are trained forensic experts. Cleeves doesn't like writing plots, but the structure of crime fiction which includes a limited number of suspects and resolution of drama, provide a "corset" to hold up what interests her the most -- fractured families and how communities function. Cleeves, who sticks to a working schedule where she tries to write something every day, produces a book about every nine months and does one novel at a time. She has no plans to retire in the near future and is in the process of negotiating a new four-book deal. Cleeves will be in her-mid 60s when the books are finished. "I might think about it then," she says, referring to retiring. For information about the upcoming presentation, visit visit wwwopl.ca. IB Open House November 2 nd @ 7 pm White Oaks has Oakville's largest IB Diploma Programme Questions? C o n ta c t: Maureen Paci (P re-IB /A LP ) pacim@hdsb.ca 9 0 5 .8 4 5 .5 2 0 0 x 2 3 2 W h ite O a k s S e c o n d a r y -- - t h e ----------------------------------------------------- S le e p F a c t o r y TH E Canadian Made Canadian Owned - Are you an academ ically m otivated student? -Do you love to learn? M IX & M A T C H HUGE SAVINGS! Steve Lebourveau (IBDP) Lebourveaus@hdsb.ca 9 0 5 .8 4 5 .5 2 0 0 x 2 3 4 S ch o o l S o u th 1 3 3 0 C a m p u s M o n t c la ir D riv e CONTINUOUS COII LMORY FOAM BAMBOO FABRIC DOUBLE MATTRESS QUEEN MATTRESS. KING MATTRESS M ILTON 2 3 8 M ain Street, East · 9 0 5 . 8 7 8 . 4 6 0 6 MISSISSAUGA 2 1 5 0 Burnhamthorpe Road · 9 0 5 . 5 4 2 . 0 4 8 1 HOURS: Monday-Wednesday 10am - 6pm ·Thursday- Friday 10am - 8pm · Saturday 9am - 6pm · Sunday 11am - 5pm