Erik D'Souza interviews Barbara Stokes, discussing her nomination for Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author, sponsored by ECW Press, for her manuscript, Death Scent. Barbara discusses her character Doc, a retired Black Lab cadaver dog, and the protagonist Em, a former RCMP officer turned private detective. Barbara explained that her writing takes a gritty approach with a feminist agenda, and she is already working on a second book titled Ladykillerz, featuring the same main character.

A professional writer for her entire career, unpublished author Barbara Stokes has penned a wide variety of materials, from political speeches to poetry.

At the tail end of COVID, standing in a parking lot on a hot Saskatoon day, Barbara Stokes listened to a man tell the story of how he was almost arrested when his identity was stolen by a wanted man. Inspired by what she heard, Barbara expanded the parking lot story into Death Scent, a crime novel featuring a female ex-RCMP officer, Em Tremblay, and her sniffer dog, Doc. The story is set in the southern prairies, as an unrelenting heat dome bakes the fictional towns of Valmont and Milk Creek.

Four years later, with the number of rewrites impossible to count, Barbara is honoured that Death Scent has joined the CWC shortlist for books by an unpublished author. Barbara is currently at work on her second book, featuring the same main characters, also set in Saskatchewan, with the working title Ladykillerz. Barbara Stokes lives with her husband in Aldershot, Ontario, and makes frequent visits to the Prairie provinces, where beauty and inspiration are everywhere. In 2026, her goal is to find a publisher for Death Scent.

Learn more about Crime Writers of Canada at: crimewriterscanada.com
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