You won't find a lot written or reported about the paranormal in Canada. Canadians just don't talk about it all that much. Almost seems to be a secret from the rest of the world.

But, Canada has a dark past, hidden history and things that go bump in the night.

Canadians have not always been so polite and quiet as they appear. You can hide a lot in the frozen tundra, the endless forests, islands and the long stretches of roads between small towns and the odd big city.

The Haunted Canada Collection is available at Canada Post this year (the collection came out Friday, June, 13, 2014).

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I began reading the Immortality Bites series when the first paranormal romance came out in paperback at my local book store. The last three books in the Immortality Bites series have evolved from paranormal romance to the mystery genre. An interesting switch in genre while staying true to the original characters and style of the books.

Michelle Rowen is a Canadian writer, from the Toronto area. This year Michelle celebrated a ten year anniversary for heroine, the main character, Sarah Dearly. Ten years from the original idea, books published in two genres to now. Quite an accomplishment.

Finding Michelle Rowen Online

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A Quick Interview with Michelle Rowen

I was disappointed to read that you have put the Immortality Bites mystery series on the back burner. Do you have plans to keep Sarah Dearly going, maybe in another genre?

I'm very happy to hear you've enjoyed the series! I would say, more than "putting it on the back burner," that after writing about Sarah for a decade, over seven books in which she "starred," we've both come to a comfortable stopping place. I absolutely adore the paranormal mystery genre, so the future will probably include more books about a brand new main character, or perhaps I'll get the urge to revisit Sarah and Thierry one day and see where their adventures have taken them.

What was the hardest or most interesting thing about writing in the mystery genre?

I started writing in what could only be properly described as "paranormal chick-lit" when it was a hot genre back in 2006. Before too long, most paranormal readers began looking for grittier and sexier books, rather than quirky and funny. What I love about paranormal mysteries is that the "fun" stuff that I love can rise to the surface again. Mystery readers (specifically in cozy paranormals) are totally okay with talking animals, wacky spells, and sarcastic heroines -- which is what I love to write the most.

Why did you choose to write a mystery rather than science fiction, fantasy or the horror genre?

For many of the reasons stated in the last question... there's more room to explore the fun side of things that isn't entirely welcomed in other genres. Also, I will admit that Sarah is the one character I've written that stubbornly directed me in what she wanted -- probably since she's existed in my head for so long, she feels she can take such liberties. And after she got the vampire of her dreams (who, FYI, was not the guy she was originally supposed to end up with at the end of Bitten & Smitten!), she implicitly stated that now she was ready to solve some mysteries. There were always mystery and suspense elements in the original series, so it felt like a very natural evolution.

I really enjoy your writing style. What was your writing background before you became a published writer?

Thank you! It took me a while to find my voice. I spent my "wannabe a writer" years trying to write historical romances and literary fiction, to no great success or personal passion. I'd say that my love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a huge influence on me -- and I know it was a huge influence on many other paranormal authors. Around the same time, I discovered first person urban fantasies, in particular the earlier Anita Blake books, that helped me develop my own writing. I even wrote some fan fiction to practice, which will never, ever, ever see the light of day. grin They say write what you love to read, so that's what I tried (and still try!) to do.

What do you especially like to read yourself?

I'd love to say I read widely, but that is a goal I constantly fail at. Currently I seem to read a great deal of YA paranormal and fantasy books, almost always in first person, and...judging from my TBR shelf... not much else! I used to be a big Stephen King fan and would love to get back to his writing. And I am a major Karen Marie Moning fan who is counting down the days until the next Fever book.

What do you see as the future of paranormal novels? It seems to be a genre that's slowing down a bit.

I think, like with every "hot" genre, there is a life span to it. Paranormal has been super hot for, I'd say, twelve years now, which is quite a long time in publishing. A few years ago, I visited a bookstore to see that the shelves, particularly in the romance department, were full to overflowing with paranormals, as publishers scrambled to put out what readers were buying. Nothing can be sustained at those numbers for long, and readers' tastes change. As businesses that need to see a profit to survive, publishers will try to meet these changing interests. Luckily, now there is the option of self publishing and authors who love to write PNR can take the fates of their vampires, werewolves, or fae princes, into their own hands -- and straight to the reading public who can't find it as plentifully on the selves anymore. It's a great time to be a writer!

Reading Immortality Bites

The name Sarah means "princess" and I was expecting the character would be another of those vampire princess types who seem to have endless money and resources for shopping, beauty and fashion being a feature of the book as much as the story itself. I was very glad to be wrong.

Although fashion is part of the story it is not the focus. Instead you will find an adventure with plot twists, a strong backstory, unexpectedly likeable villains and characters you don't easily forget. The writing style flows and carries you along. I found myself unable to stop reading until after 4:00 AM when I came to the last page and all the loose ends were tied up in a fairly happy ending for most of the characters. No, not everyone gets a happy ending, some just get to carry on and maybe find themselves in another story.

The story is the thing in a book by Michelle Rowen.

I like Old Postcards from Towns and Cities in Canada Mostly I have postcards which I bought myself during family vacations and adventures. But, some I have found in second hand stores, hobby shops and so on. The postcards I treasure most are those which are vintage, becoming antiques (100 years or more in age).

I really like seeing how each city used to look so long ago. The postcards are more like drawings coloured in shades of water colours, then photographs..

So many of the majestic, grand old buildings which were in cities then are now gone, demolished to make space for modern buildings, streets or parking lots. Other than these old postcards there aren't other pictures to remember so much of the architecture and the creative details which are missing from modern buildings built for efficiency rather than art.

Old postcards carry so much history. Not only forgotten cityscapes but a link in image form of life then. Postcards were sent in the days before cameras and photography were available to most people. There were no family vacation photos but you could buy a postcard and remember you were there.

Postcards are a Tresured Link to the Past

The sad part of history, architecture and antiques is that nothing last forever.

Postcards of old Canadian cities, towns and places I have been in the current time are a treasure. Old postcards show how a place used to look. How the streets, buildings and even the trees were when most of it was still new.

The street views are my favourites. Some still have just the horse and buggy going down the street. Often there are people in the background too. Not people drawn in as a feature in an illustration but real people who were there at the time the photograph was taken or there to be included in the artist's rendering for the images before photography.

Travels? History? Collectibles and antiques? Art? What do you think abut old postcards? Have you seen many in museums or libraries, hobby shops or other likely places? Or do you have a few yourself?

The Mantracker TV series is a rough and tumble, rustic game of cat and mouse. Two people set in the wilderness (locations change) with the equipment they can carry on their back plus a compass and a map. They are given a starting point and a finish point on the map, which they have to find in order to win. In a day and a half (a 36 hour time limit) they must reach the finish, 22 miles away.

This means they will have one overnight outdoors, on their own. Other than the map and compass people bring their own gear. If they are cold at night, they stay that way unless they brought something to help themselves. If you get too much sun and not enough water, try to find a puddle. If he rain has you walking in mud up to your knees, pull your boot out of the mud and keep going. If there are signs of a bear, they better hope they took precautions... before they left home.

Just coping with the wilderness and finding the finish would be challenging enough. But, that is the easy part. Mantracker is a race to the finish because you're being tracked and chased like prey. (Did you ever read The Most Dangerous Game)?

Imagine yourself, in the outdoors, trying to remember your skill with a compass and maps, having to cross freezing rivers, stumbling over fallen logs, bushwhacking, possibly losing your map along the way. Using whatever you know about nature and the outdoors to avoid getting lost. But, you do all that while running for your life to avoid being caught by the Mantracker.

Mantracker is a man who seems to appear like a ghost, larger than life, on top of his horse. He has a local guide who directs him to how the trail runs and gives him a second set of eyes and a decoy too.

The Mantracker finds you and chases you down. You can't hope to hide, unless you get lucky. He can even figure out where you will be just from a footprint you left by mistake. People will try to trick him, distract him and they will even laugh - just before they realize the Mantracker is on his horse right behind them!

Run!

If you're lucky you will find a place where the horse gets caught in brush and scrub.Take a break, drink some water (if you have any left) and catch your breath. Figure out where you are among all the trees and if you are still going in the right direction. Try to pick a route and decide how you can avoid being caught before you get to the finish.

Well, that used to work with the older, more gentlemanly Mantracker (Terry Grant). The new Mantracker isn't so... forgiving. I've seen him jump off the horse and run through the scrubby brush to grab some poor prey who thought they had outsmarted him. I've also seen him fall from his horse and land badly, bruised and sore. So, the pain goes both ways.

You may think Mantracker is a game for the boys, like a war game, an action movie come to life. This isn't the case. Women have challenged the Mantracker too. Some have even been successful. However, the success rate is not so great on the side of the prey, overall.

The Original Mantracker: Terry Grant

Terry Grant is a veteran of the Alberta Foothills Search and Rescue Team. He built up his skills working as a full time cowboy on remote ranches in southern Alberta, trailing and gathering cattle. He became an expert horseman and a guide and outfitter in the Rocky Mountains. He is an expert in tracking prey utilizing footprints, knowledge of the outdoors, probable path, and other signs of human presence.

Terry Grant became a consultant with the British Military Chiefs for basic ground and track awareness training for the 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats). Terry is also one of the few civilians invited to the K-9 Training Facility for the Edmonton Police Service.

Terry Grant retired from Mantracker (the TV show) after the 6th season.

He continues to work with Foothills Search and Rescue Team. He is also a popular speaker, when he appears at functions hosted by law enforcement, private groups, fundraisers and schools.

There are dinosaurs in Canada and they aren't all quiet, old fossils.

Primeval was (or maybe still is) a science fiction series about dinosaurs coming into the current, modern time through anomalies. The anomalies were portals which popped up in the time of the dinosaurs and led them to the current time. If you watched Primeval you would see dinosaurs in the swimming pool, the fast lane on the highway and acting like a bull in a china shop at the city museum.

The show was created in the UK, cancelled and brought back, then cancelled again. For a year (a season) Primeval had a new version, made in Canada. The Canadian show didn't get a second season but it sure went out with a bang, not a whimper.

The Story So Far

The leader of the Canadian team (Vancouver, British Columbia) is Evan Cross. He seems to have unlimited money from a business connected to science and computer technology. Evan Cross discovered the anomaly and the dinosaurs while urban exploring with his wife. She was eaten by a dinosaur, he witnessed her death but was unable to stop it. Since then he became determined to discover where the dinosaurs are coming from, how they are able to travel through time and how it can be stopped.

So Evan builds up resources (hidden inside his existing business) and a team of people to help him. First on the team is Mac Rendell. I count Mac as first because he has a connection to the dinosaurs in his own unique way. He was also killed by one, but in a future time which is how Even finds him (at Mac's death). It is a complicated story and yet while you watch the episode on the show it all seems pretty logical and sensible. Mac, in the future, was on the UK Primeval team and died trying to capture an escaped dinosaur. Of course, he could not have his body found in the past (when he should have been a teenager living in the UK still). So Evan hides the body in a deep freeze in his offices.

Dylan Weir is used to dealing with wild animals, in the present time. She joins the group when her mentor is killed by a dinosaur - this is also how she finds out about the dinosaurs. Evan invites her to join and she becomes his right hand in the field.

Toby Nance is a young woman who dresses like a pop star but is actually the brains being the operation. She is inventive and ingenious. She does not usually join the group in the field but stays behind in the secret lair to guide the team and come up with solutions when technology fails or any other problems arise.

Ange Finch starts out running the actual business. She is Evan's business partner and a trusted friend. As the show progresses Ange wanted to take part and do more. She has feelings for Evan and though he also likes her romantically he can't quite get past his wife's death and his own feelings of guilt and the drive to do something about it. At one point Ange seems to defect and being working with another group who are aggressively hunting the dinosaurs for their own purposes.

Primeval New World didn't get another season but you can watch the original UK series for more background on the story.