BLECHTA, Rick 1951-

PERSONAL:

Born June 6, 1951, in New Rochelle, NY; son of Edward (in business) and Elsie (a copy editor; maiden name, Huebner) Blechta; married Vicki Woolsey (a musician), July 14, 1973; children: Karel, Jan. Education: McGill University, B.Mus.Ed., 1973. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, camping, cooking, baseball.

ADDRESSES:

Home—892 Castlefield Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6B 1C8. Agent—Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists, 94 Harbord St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1G6. E-mail—rick@rickblechta.com.

CAREER:

Itinerant music teacher at public schools in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1977-2001; writer, 2001—.

MEMBER:

Crime Writers of Canada (Ontario vice president, 1993-95), Writers' Union of Canada.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Derrick Murdoch Award, Crime Writers of Canada, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Knock on Wood (crime novel), Castlefield Press, 1992.

The Lark Ascending (crime novel), Castlefield Press, 1993.

(Editor, with Mary Curtis) In Cold Blood (directory), Crime Writers of Canada, 1993, 1995.

Shooting Straight in the Dark (crime novel), McClelland & Stewart, 2002.

Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Cemetery of Lost Names, a crime novel.

SIDELIGHTS:

Rick Blechta told CA: "Having been a full-time musician for twenty years, in 1991 I was looking for a different creative outlet. Since I have a minor in English and have always written articles and reviews, I thought that I might meld my two passions together. Since very few crime fiction authors could use or were using music as a background to their plots, I thought it would be an interesting combination that would also stand out in a crowded field. Also, as I'm not interested at this point in writing a series based on a single character, musical backgrounds provide some cohesion from one book to the next. Having been active in many facets of musical life (rock, jazz, classical, opera, musicals, teaching) I have a lot of varied experience to call on—and I do!"