Ken Ogilvie’s passion for fiction writing took flight at 30,000 feet.
The 71-year-old Leaside resident recently put the finishing touches on his third in a trilogy of crime novels.
“I was reading a book one day on an airplane,” says Ken. “It was a mystery book and I said, ‘I could do a better job.’ That was 30 years ago.”
That desire to write eventually manifested itself as the adventures of Rebecca Bradley, an Ontario Provincial Police officer whose mother is the victim of an unsolved murder when Rebecca was a young girl.
The most recent book and final installment of the series, The Three Caves, follows his initial offering Her Dark Path and his second book Hound. The title of the second book is a literary nod to the character of Hound, a giant of a man at 6 ft. 10 inches and weighing around 350 lbs. who plays a large role in Rebecca’s life and quest for answers.
“She became an OPP officer, wanting to be a detective in order to learn how to solve murders,” says Ken. “Rebecca’s mission in life is to catch her mother’s murderer and have justice or revenge. She has to get over this issue of her mother’s murder and that will find its thread through the books.”
Through his work at all three levels of government in the area of environmental protection (including being executive director of Pollution Probe), Ken was certainly no stranger to the keyboard. But the bulk of his work had a much more structured and technical feel.
He was eager to test his creative mettle. “With a technical piece you’re not writing for emotional impact,” he explains. “So, the challenge of switching from one side of my brain to another – that’s really, really quite fascinating.”
After an initial attempt at writing a science fiction tale fizzled, Ken was inspired by his wife, Elizabeth.
“My wife is a big fan of murder mystery books and murder mystery movies and so I started watching them with her.”
Ken says although the three books are intertwined, each stands as a separate story. And without offering a spoiler as to the third book’s finish, he hints there may be more books to come.
“I really opened up some interesting stuff,” Ken says. “At the same time, I wouldn’t mind trying to write another standalone book.”
A veteran of the Crime Writers of Canada association, Ken joined many of his fellow authors at the MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival at Toronto Harbourfront Centre in early June. “I’m learning every day when I’m writing,” he says. “The third book is more me than the first book. I’m not so sure that the book’s any better because the first book is simpler. The third book is much more complex. I enjoy the challenge of doing something that I don’t think I was naturally set out to do.”
All of Ken’s books are available at www.amazon.ca by searching his name.
Visit www.kenogilvie.com for more information.
