Brenda Chapman

Profile Information:

Hometown:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
About Me:
I have published three Jennifer Bannon mysteries for the 10-15 year old age group. I am currently working as a senior communications advisor for the federal government but was a special education teacher for several years before seeking work in the writing/editing field about ten years ago. My degrees are in English literature and education.
Website:
http://www.brendachapman.ca
Books And Authors I Like:
Stuart Pawson
Elizabeth George
Giles Blunt
Val McDermid
Mary Jane Maffini
The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
No Great Mischief, Alistair MacLeod
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
British mysteries
Notes on a Scandal
Benny and June

Comment Wall:

  • Evelyn David

    Thanks Brenda for stopping by. I see you have written for the "tween" market. What made you decide to focus on that age group?
    Evelyn

    Jul 3, 2007

  • Brenda Chapman

    Evelyn - I wrote the first book, Running Scared, for my two daughters who were 12 and 9 at the time. I also taught this age group for several years and was familiar with their reading level and interests. I've written some adult stories as well - one is in the anthology When Boomers Go Bad, a Rendezvous Crime publication.
    Brenda

    Jul 3, 2007

  • Kathryn Lilley

    "When Boomers Go Bad"--I LOVE that title!

    Jul 3, 2007

  • Brenda Chapman

    Yes, the previous anthology by the same group (The Ladies Killing Circle) is called Menopause is Murder. They publish a book every few years but only take submissions from Canadian women writers.

    Jul 4, 2007

  • Kathryn Lilley

    Omigosh, I have GOT to find these books, lol!

    Jul 4, 2007

  • Babe King

    Since I have 2 special needs sons who have largely been home schooled, I can easily understand how you went from special education to writing murder stories. Ahem. Yes, I do love my little darlings, but still .... lol
    Thanks for friending me. :-)

    Jul 4, 2007

  • Newt Love

    I suspect that your Special Education skills were very useful when dealing with politicians and some Federal workers. ;-)
    Keep writing!

    Jul 4, 2007

  • Brenda Chapman

    Well, teaching taught me patience so I guess that helps in government work. Writing for the government is different from writing novels in that the approval process is so long. For books, I work with one editor, but for government products, there are about ten levels of approval. You just have to go with the flow of it.

    Jul 5, 2007

  • JackBludis

    I must have met yor at a convention someplace. You look very familiar. Toronto Bouchercon Maybe.

    Jack

    Jul 7, 2007

  • Brenda Chapman

    I've only been to the Bloody Word conferences in Toronto - maybe there?

    Jul 7, 2007

  • Pari Noskin Taichert

    Brenda,
    That's a great photo -- says it all: intelligent with a sense of humor. I'm going to find your books for some younger readers I know.

    Great to meet you.

    Jul 7, 2007

  • Brenda Chapman

    Thank you Pari! It's good to know how I come across in my picture - better than the opposite, which would be dour with a stunned look. I appreciate you checking out my books for your younger friends - I think they'll enjoy the stories.
    Brenda

    Jul 7, 2007

  • Pari Noskin Taichert

    Ouai, je parle Francais, mais j'ai oublie beaucoup. Ca fait longtemps depuis j'avais l'opportunite de parler avec quelqu'un.

    pauvre moi.

    Jul 9, 2007

  • Mary Saums

    Hi, Brenda - I've heard some of the Ladies' Killing Circle speak, can't remember which convention. I'm also a British mystery lover. Stuart Pawson is terrific. Very nice to meet you!

    Jul 9, 2007

  • Elizabeth Zelvin

    Thanks for the comment, Brenda. A slow runner AND an old English lit major, huh? We do have much in common. :) Liz

    Jul 20, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    Hi Brenda, actually we don't have that many who oppose the death penalty who actually speak out. I was on a talk show years ago in Toronto called, The Shirley Show and she was horrible. She lied to us about who was to be on there, plus she had a talk show host from Buffalo bring a bus load of people who were for the death penalty so that there were only three of us against all the rest for. I felt like walking out but I stayed till the end....

    My new book is my life story at www.amotherstorment.com It was published many years ago and called, They're GOing To Kill My Son, but the publsiher changed a lot of names, places and things that happened.

    A movie company took an option to make a movie but then said there wasn't an ending to the story so they backed out. Now we have an ending but I don't know the company who took out the option...

    I lost my second son two years ago and he used to speak at the schools and colleges with me.... www.trevordicks.com Shirley

    Jul 23, 2007

  • shirley dicks

    It was one lady who stood up and she was from Canada and said she was appalled at the audience for what they were saying....but most of the audience had been from Buffalo in the US.....it's a hot topic that's for sure...

    Jul 24, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Ive written a kind of droll edgy teenage coming of age novel set in northern Canada titled The Suicide Diary. Those who've read it seemed amused, so i thought I'd let you know. Best.

    Jul 25, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Actually, I've taken my imagination and cartography to extremes, going up to just south of the Arctic circle in order to get polar bears involved in the plot (why not? John Irving has bears). The fictional brigadoon borealis, as narrator Grace Alter refers to it, is referred to by locals as Upper Moose Ass.

    Jul 25, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Oh, yes, it is very much for and from the POV of older teens, with all of their issues about parents and themselves at the center of things. Closest in tone my be some of Judy Blume's early stuff.

    Jul 25, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Judy Blume has probably pushed the 'edge' of YA fiction as far as commercial publishers will go. After that you may have to self-publish. Many imprints are available to escape the anathema of 'self-published,' and there are small presses with specific preferences that will go beyond what the big houses accept. I was amazed to learn that the NF best seller Twilight in the Desert, about the coming Saudi oil crisis, was almost self published. The author admits that he felt strongly enough about getting the material out that he would have gone that route, joining Thomas Hardy and others who never found a press willing to take their stuff.

    Jul 26, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Actually, no. A wealth of reading, PBS and Discovery Channel documentaries, plus Carol Roberts, an NSF National Science Foundation fellow who is an Antarctic expert. I do believe in visiting when possible, but I also believe in a balanced personal budget.

    Jul 26, 2007

  • David L. Hoof

    Hello again, Brenda,
    I tend to space out my contacts in order to keep them particular and personal and relevant. Here's what I have for you today. The feature article in the latest Washingtonian magazine is on teenagers, to wit, your YA audience. I've an extra copy if you would like me to send it along. Ditto Suicide Diary, my YA novel. Should you decide you'd like them -- one or the other or both -- I encourage you to use my personal e mail, david.hoof@littlegods.net to provide me with contact information, a PO box or work address if that works.
    Best,
    David

    Aug 3, 2007

  • Krystal Waters

    Oh My goodness you look like an actress... she played in "Freaky Friday" the newest version. I wanted to stop by and say thank you for adding me to your friends list. I look forward to talking with you and asking questions about getting published as I am trying.

    You have an interesting career. I have a nephew with autism. He comes to visit his parents every once in a while. He is seventeen and not doing well. His medications are making him shake uncontrollably and he is just a mess right now. The doctors are trying everything they know... but it is hard to watch.

    Stop by my page sometime and say hello! I would love to talk.

    Kristine

    Aug 3, 2007

  • Krystal Waters

    I'll think of her name... but you look so much like her. Anyway, yes my nephew has autism and he is 17 now? Getting closer to that date... I don't see him often and he is in a home. He doesn't talk and I don't think he knows who I am.

    Have a great weekend!
    Kristine

    Aug 5, 2007

  • Krystal Waters

    I got it, Jamie Lee Curtis! lol That's who you look like. Lucky! =)

    Aug 6, 2007