The novel I tried to write when I was 13 was to be the quintessential “great Canadian novel,” so of course it was set in England, a place I’d never been.  I’ve learned a lot in the intervening decades.  I wouldn’t have any problem with setting a novel in a location I’d never been, but I know a great deal more about research these days.

“Inconstant Moon” is set in Canada. This isn’t especially important to the plot, or events, but it seems a good idea to explain a few things that might be confusing to my readers, Canadian or otherwise. 

I’ll start this special features section off with Canadian Law. Until I began writing crime fiction myself, like most Canadians, I just assumed that Canadian Law was pretty much interchangeable with American Law. Certainly there are many similarities.

This is also the place where the article about Canadian Education, for instance, needs to be. If you went to school somewhere else, it might help to know how it works in Canada.

And when I write an article about writing in Canadian English, this is where it will go, too. [Hint: if it looks like a spelling mistake, chances are good that it’s Canadian.

But as they say, the devil is in the details.