Essex County author unveils her latest book at busy launch event

Author Marcy Lane signs a copy of her new book “Her Final Toast” during a book launch event last Tuesday evening.

An Essex County author has launched her latest book with there being a bit of an Amherstburg flavour to it.

Marcy Lane has written “Her Final Toast,” a murder mystery set in the fictional town of Erie Bluff. Lane said Erie Bluff is a combination of Kingsville, Colchester, Amherstburg and Leamington. She explained that not one town had every aspect she wanted in a hometown in the book, so she combined elements of each into her invented setting.

“The town has had some tough economic times and its new mayor has the desire to put the town on the map,” Lane explained of the plot.

Festivals were the solution, including a wine festival.

After one of the characters dies under suspicious circumstances and a scapegoat is blamed, a group of citizens dubbed the “Eh Team” decide to team up to find the real person behind the death.

The name, a play off the 1980’s television show, came from the town’s police chief, written by Lane to be “a nasty piece of work.”

“Her Final Toast” is Lane’s second book, though her first murder mystery. Her first book was “A Mercy of Widows,” that being about grief, loss and the ethics of assisted dying. 

“I had people stop me on the street thanking me for my first book,” said Lane.

The new book is a shift from her first, with Lane stating it took a year-and-a-half to write. It is also the first of a planned series of books.

“(Her Final Toast) is a little more uplifting. This is fun,” she said.

While it is her first murder mystery as an author, Lane is familiar with the genre.

“I’ve been reading the genre since I was a kid,” said Lane. “I watch mysteries on TV.”

Lane says she often spends all day writing, starting at 5:30 a.m. and continuing throughout the day. Sometimes she doesn’t write as much during the day, but the editing process of her most recent book saw her work 14 hours per day for eight straight days.

“My day doesn’t feel complete until I’ve written something,” she said.

The turnout at the book launch at the Kingsville library, which was moderated by Amherstburg resident Daryl Fogal, was strong as it filled a room off of the main library.

“This is amazing,” she said of the turnout last Tuesday evening. “This is beyond any of my expectations.” 

The new book is $21.99 on Amazon and is also available on e-book through Amazon and Indigo. She said she is also hopeful of getting it into the River Bookshop.

Lane encourages aspiring writers to find another group of writers, something she has done. She also said people can look up ways to improve their writing skills.

“There are so many resources on how to learn to write,” she said.

Lane also said to find a topic and figure out how an author wrote about it.

“And then just write,” she said.

Essex County author unveils her latest book at busy launch event

By Ron Giofu