| "I think the big part of the surprise people get from my book is not the fact that this is a gay detective novel, but that there are actually gay people in Saskatoon," says author Anthony Bidulka with a laugh.
Former bartender, teacher, shoe salesman, waiter and bull-cook at a uranium mine, currently delinquent accountant and first-time novelist, Anthony Bidulka is promoting Amuse Bouche: A Russell Quant Mystery. The book is a thriller with a twist – its private-eye hero is young, cute and gay. And he lives in Saskatoon.
"The old adage is, ‘Never set your story in Canada if you want to be read in Canada,’ and I think it’s time we struck that out," says Bidulka, who’ll be in Calgary June 25 to read from Amuse Bouche at McNally Robinson. "Insomniac Press, bless their hearts, were drawn to the fact that I based my book’s plot in the Prairies."
Amuse Bouche introduces readers to Russell Quant, a novice Saskatoon sleuth who finds himself on his first big case when the groom goes missing from a gay wedding, leaving his lover at the altar. With a powerful man’s reputation at risk, Quant finds himself tracking clues from Saskatchewan to France and back again.
The story is populated with a broad variety of interesting and very human characters, written with warmth and a genuine sense of humour. Bidulka’s writing style is being compared to authors such as Armistead Maupin and Robert B. Parker and response so far has been very good.
"A lot of characters are an amalgamation of a few people I know," says Bidulka, "but as for Russell Quant, there’s very little of me in his creation. I’m much too boring for a mystery-novel character."
Bidulka is modest about his first attempt at a novel. "I was fortunate to get a great editor and she is very good at her job," he says. "Writing the novel itself took about eight months and that was the first of many drafts.
"Throughout the process I have had to eliminate some scenes that I really enjoyed," he adds. "So what I’ve done at a few of the readings (is) pulled out some of the more relevant removed scenes to present to the audience – sort of like getting extra features on a DVD."
Bidulka is, of course, proud and touched that his first book should generate such a positive buzz. In Toronto, his book has taken pride of place in the window of a bookstore owned by an ex-Saskatoonian. "You are never assured that you can go on tour with a book," Bidulka says. "When the book was still in galleys, Quill & Quire gave Amuse Bouche a very favourable review and that really made a big difference, and after discussions with the publishers we decided to do a little travelling with the book."
Bidulka says that, to date, the book tour has been an amazing experience. "I’ve been in four cities so far with four left to go and everyone’s been great – nothing but positive experiences from the booksellers and the audiences."
Encouraged by the growing success of Amuse Bouche, Bidulka plans to write a series of Russell Quant mysteries. "Actually the next book, if all goes well, will be out in the spring," he says. "I just hope that people will want to read another."
In the fiercely competitive field of genre fiction, Bidulka is aiming for quality. "I’ve always loved mysteries, and I think whenever you try to do something you love… you want to make it better."
As for his day job, Amuse Bouche has not made Bidulka wealthy enough to leave accountancy, but at least he’s down to one (very patient) client.
"One thing that I have run across, being most recently a writer, is that people are surprised that I am also an accountant," he says. "And other accountants are just as surprised I’m a fiction writer." |
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