Sunday, July 20, 2014

A Tribute to Lou Allin by Leanne Dyck


On Friday, July 11th, I held my friend in my arms and spoke softly, “I have bad news. Lou Allin passed away.” It was hard news to share—hard for me to say; hard for her to hear.

A few minutes later, my friend found a magazine and flipped to an article she'd written. “Without Lou's gentle nudge I won't have submitted this; without her gentle nudge I won't have been published in this magazine.”

I wonder how many authors can credit Lou's gentle nudge for helping to develop their careers? My guess—many. I know I can. I know an entire organization can—Crime Writers of Canada.

How did I meet Lou?


Lou Allin was an award winning mystery author. And so, appropriately, how I met her is a mystery.

Back in 2009, I had newly self-published a mystery. I wanted to learn more about the publishing industry and thought finding a writers association would help. A search engine delivered me to the Mystery Writers of America website. I emailed them asking if I could join and explaining that I was Canadian. Their polite reply directed me to the Crime Writers of Canada. And I made a mental note to learn more about this association. A few months later, I received an email from Lou Allin (then membership chair) informing me that the Crime Writers of Canada was holding a free mini conference. How she found me will remain a mystery. But I'm very glad she did.


During that first conference, I participated in a one-on-one blue pencil session with Lou. (Learn more about how that went here.) And I invited her to visit me on Mayne Island. She accepted my offer and we became friends. Like a good friend, Lou was always there to offer me opportunities like sitting on panels, give me feedback on my writing and write articles for this blog.




(7/12/13)


Lou will live on not only in her writing but also in the authors she gently nudged.