Author Talk at Collingwood Public Library, Collingwood, ON. Thursday December 14, 2023

AUTHOR TALK at Collingwood Public Library. 6:30 PM, Thursday, December 14th, COLLINGWOOD, ONTARIO. Free to All. Directions | Website

Signed copies of The Color Red and Bay of Blood will be available for purchase.

“Impressive series launch.” ~ Publishers Weekly

Local Authors Day at Port Elgin Public Library, Port Elgin, ON. Saturday November 4, 2023

READ ONTARIO. Meet/talk with local authors at Port Elgin Public Library, 1:00-3:00 PM, Saturday, November 4th, Port Elgin, Ontario. Free to All. Directions | Website

Featuring eight authors, including A.M. (Andy) Potter. Signed copies of The Color Red and Bay of Blood available for purchase.

Author Talk at Blue Mountains Public Library, Thornbury, ON. Saturday October 21, 2023

Author Talk at Blue Mountains Public Library (L. E. Shore Memorial Library). 11:00 AM, Saturday, October 21st, Thornbury, Ontario. Free to All. Directions | Website

Signed copies of The Color Red and Bay of Blood will be available for purchase.

Click here to reserve a seat and see more Author Talk details on the Blue Mountains Public Library site.

The Color Red: Bleeding Facts into Fiction

The history of the novel has been characterized by unending experimentation. However, one thing has remained constant. Novels are based on facts, real-world details that are twisted and turned to spin a story.

Every work of fiction sits on a fact-fiction continuum. On one end of the continuum there is pure fact; on the other, pure invention. Much of any novel sits somewhere in between.

What about The Color Red? What facts bleed into its fiction? The novel’s main murderee, Rollo Novak, loosely resembles Robert Herjavec; Novak’s business associate, Karlos Vega, loosely resembles Kevin O’Leary. Readers might recognize the names: Herjavec and O’Leary appeared on Dragon’s Den in Canada and now appear on Shark Tank in the US. However, the resemblance isn’t crucial to the story. Novak’s first wife, Melanya, was born in Slovenia. She might remind readers of a First Lady named Melania, who was also born in Slovenia. Of course, while Melanya Novak may mirror someone – anyone – she’s just a character in a novel. As copyright disclaimers say, “Any resemblance to actual persons is entirely coincidental.”

Then there’s Detective Lt. Ivy Bourque, the main character in the novel as well as the series. She’s not based on anyone “factual”; however, she is a prototypical New Englander: amiable, capable, and perceptive. On her father’s side, her French-Canadian heritage pays homage to Jack Kerouac, whose parents migrated from Quebec to Massachusetts in the early 1900s.

One final note for aficionados of fact-in-fiction and true crime stories. The main crime scene in The Color Red, an indoor pool, echoes the crime scene of a recent double murder in Toronto, Canada: the Barry and Honey Sherman murders. Echoes, I say. Okay, I’ve said enough. 😉 If I keep going, I’ll leak some spoilers.

Click here for sales information on THE COLOR RED.

To preview THE COLOR RED, download the free teaser below.

The Color Red: Release Day, March 20, 2023

The Color Red is now available. Click here for sales information.

“Impressive series launch. Fans of intelligent procedurals will hope for a long series run.” ~ Publishers Weekly

The Color Red brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod. A Slovenian-born billionaire and his second wife are found dead, hanging side-by-side at their pool. Some say the man was giving away his fortune; others say he was once an oligarch. Who’s the killer? Old Soviet operatives? His butler, his son? Balkan relatives? Detective Ivy Bourque and her team encounter many suspects, but none of them have a motive. Why would someone kill a benevolent rich man without an apparent enemy in the world?

To preview THE COLOR RED, download the free teaser below.