The Ottawa Way: Guilty by Gender in Canada’s Capital received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with authors Demetrios (Jim) Angelis.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The book is titled The Ottawa Way: Guilty by Gender in Canada’s Capital. It was published on August 3, 2021.
What’s the book’s first line?
Welcome! You are about to embark on a journey through the turbulent seas of my life.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
The book is about a man who gets wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for the supposed murder of his unfaithful wife in front of their young children one month before going to court to start their divorce for her attempted abduction and endangerment of their three-year-old son since local police officers were uninterested in getting involved due to their xenophobia. The cause of death was initially determined to be “unascertained” after she died trying to castrate the children’s father (and in fact, she drew first blood with her sharp nails) on a Sunday morning while he and the children were getting ready to go to church as usual.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The book is a true story based on my life and experiences.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
People who want to know more about the realities of spousal abuse and domestic violence should read this book as well as those who want to know the truth about the failings of the Canadian judicial system.
When did you first decide to become an author?
When I was 14 years old, I wanted to write a novel. I always loved reading science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, and spy novels since I was nine or ten, and so I came up with a story idea at 14 (back in 1983 when I was living in New York City) about a political thriller combined with science fiction and fantasy that takes place in Washington DC, the capital of the United States. I never got around to fleshing it out (but it was still lingering in the back of my head) until I was waiting in prison for two years (2011 -2012) waiting for my lawyers to appeal my wrongful conviction. I have just begun writing this story and I am excited to finish it and share it with others. I have pitched the story with a few writers, and they loved it. [I should mention that while I was in college in Montreal, from 1988 to 1990, I wrote and co-wrote the lyrics to the songs my rock band co-wrote.] Of course, I had to write and publish my autobiography first, which also happens to be sort of a political thriller/courtroom drama/true prison story that takes place in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. You could say that although I have written policy papers for government officials while employed as a public servant, life circumstances made me shift gears and focus towards more on writing for the general public.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes and no. I have co-written and co-edited two books with others, but again, they were policy pieces for governments on health care policy, and emergency preparedness and response. If we exclude policy books, then yes, this is my first (and solo) work that I have produced. My next book will also be a solo production … and as I have previously stated, it is a political thriller combined with science fiction and fantasy that takes place in Washington DC, a fictional story that questions the American government’s true intention behind its policies. I just completed co-writing the Hollywood movie script with two others in New York and Los Angeles for the film adaptation of my autobiography. We are now at the stage of finding an Executive Producer to finance the movie.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
When I don’t write, I buy neglected houses and renovate them for resale. I have to date renovated and sold two houses in New York State and one in Ontario, Canada, … and I have already begun another renovation project in Ontario.
How much time do you generally spend on your writing?
I am a slow and meticulous writer. I like to take my time planning in advanced with outlines and rough drafts beforehand, often writing out of order. For my autobiography, “The Ottawa Way”, I wrote Chapter 4 last, after I had written Chapters 5 and 6. I had actually stopped writing my autobiography and had it set aside for 18 months before writing Chapter 4 and finishing the book entirely. I started writing my autobiography in December 2013 and only finished it in February 2019. Chapter 4 was a difficult chapter to write because it deals with a lot of emotional and painful topics which I was not ready to write about, so I set my book aside and focused on renovating houses and taking care of my sick, elderly late mother who passed away on August 25, 2020. So yes, I take my time writing choosing the right words to express and portray the message and feelings I want the reader to understand. I tend to go overboard with the content and descriptions, … sort of like Stephen King, but don’t blame King; if anyone is to blame, it’s the professors at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, who taught me everything I know about writing.
What’s the best and the hardest part of being an indie?
The best part of being an indie is that you get full control of your creation (which can be a bad thing if you write and write and write, and don’t know when to stop, but still, that creative control is priceless). The most difficult part of being an indie is financing your book for publication. You definitely need a paying job to cover the costs of publishing your own work.
What’s a great piece of advice that you can share with fellow indie authors?
We all have at least one story to tell. Don’t be afraid of writing it and sharing it with the world. There are so many readers who are looking for your type of story. If you are afraid to write because you feel that you don’t write well, then either pay a professional editor to correct your English, and/or find someone who has good writing skills to help you write your story. Don’t let anything stop you from writing your story.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
The only way I see myself writing with a traditional publisher is if I was given full creative control, … otherwise, no, I will not go traditional.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
What motivates me to write is telling a story that will change people’s thinking whether it be via a non-fictional story like my autobiography, or a fictional political thriller combined with sci-fic and fantasy that takes place in Washington DC.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
In all honesty, I cannot limit myself to just one writer for the simple reason that I love several different genres, not only in the traditional novel format, but other formats as well. If I had to choose only one because you twisted my arm, it would have to be Dan Brown because I truly enjoy conspiracy stories particularly those that deal with religious institutions, corporations, and governments.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
There is a maxiseries in comic book format that was released in 1985 written by Mark Gruenwald and published by Marvel Comics titled “Squadron Supreme” about superheroes that were created or discovered in their infancy by the government for the purposes of abolishing war and crime, eliminating poverty and hunger, and curing death, but the lines get crossed putting into question the ethics of heroism. When do heroes stop being heroes? That’s a theme that I would have loved to explore and write about.