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.
Bloody Words by Lou Allin (12/28/10)
Interview with Lou Allin (8/26/11)
(7/12/13)
Lou will live on not only in her writing but also in the authors she gently nudged.