Featured Author E.R. Yatscoff

Visit https://bookswelove.net/yatscoff-e-r/  to purchase E.R. Yatscoff books

 If any of you readers are somewhat tired of cops, lawyers, and PI novels I’d like to steer you toward something different—firefighter crime. BWL Publishing Inc. figured it was different enough and took on my firefighting crime series. A firefighter crime series certainly fills out their wide range of genres. FIRE DREAM, MAN ON FIRE, and next year’s FINAL RESPONSE are the three comprising the series. I like writing about fire officers as they are masters at chaos control. During my career I’ve found they can handle anything—that is until I get a hold of them. My recipe is simple: mix a courageous, competent, logical fire officer with elements of murder, various crimes, and voila…firefighter crime series novels.

In FIRE DREAM the first of the series, my protagonist captain’s public persona is that of a courageous hero due to an accidental photo that went national. His visit to his hometown triggers past memories and he is blindsided by an incident he took part in as a teenager. It’s a very large skeleton in his closet. The closet door opens wider. He’s trapped by his past and can barely understand the crimes swirling around him. Two strong female digging deep, are not at all satisfied by his obfuscation and heroic persona. Revealing his murderous past may solve the crimes but destroy his life.

The same protagonist, Vancouver Fire Captain Gerry Ormond is also featured in MAN ON FIRE #2 in the series, but now he’s a chief. The story has much more crime and some returning characters, notably the strong women as in FIRE DREAM. This time they are far less hostile to him but still driven. In MAN ON FIRE the new chief gets embroiled in embezzlement, murder, extortion, and heavily involved with the Russian Mafya. Oh yeah, plenty of crime from plenty of angles.

Now FINAL RESPONSE the 3^rd in the series is totally different. The idea came to me one frigid February afternoon while on duty. A blizzard whipped snow around my fire station and for all the world seemed the entire city was abandoned—no vehicles, no pedestrians. What if me and my crew were truly alone in an empty city? The story is a bit of speculative fiction and set in Edmonton during a 6-month brutal Polar Vortex. A cadre of firefighters are tasked to protect an ‘evacuated’ city from burning down. Soon they discover a gang of thieves looting the city and the criminals don’t want any witnesses. As if the brutal weather wasn’t enough. It’s the old saying “When your up to your ass in alligators, draining the swamp is not the first priority.”

FIRE DREAM is the first Canadian firefighter crime fiction ever. Why? There’s plenty of police/detective writersbecause police response begins at the outset, arrests are made, witnesses questioned, evidence is gathered, arrests made, and finally a trial. Firefighters respond to an emergency and hand off investigations to the police who have greater resources and experience. Fire crews return to station in order to prepare and resupply equipment used at a scene. Fire investigators in Canada, except for the Toronto Arson squad who can make arrests, are limited to finding the point of origin of a fire using sniffers and dogs. Many dispatches are ‘unknown’ which can be anything including various crimes. When people don’t know who to call for an emergency—any emergency—it’s firefighters who get the call.

My 32-year career wrapped up as a Station Officer where I could sometimes have as many as 50 firefighters under my command at a large incident. I’ve lived the life and it does reflect in my writing. Initially, in MAN ON FIRE you will read about the Incident Command System which is a standard command and control operation, utilized in North America. The first responding officer on scene takes command—even a junior captain—and controls/manages the incident.

Some years back my District Chief needed some members of the community to attend Reading Week at a nearby elementary school. I got a few hours off for it. At the school I sat at a table beside a nurse, CN rail engineer, and a veterinarian. I had my yellow helmet on the table and uniform shirt with shoulder flashes. The others wore their work clothes of their various disciplines. Each of us read a page from a popular book and then the kids asked us questions. At the end of it all, the teachers told me that the kids were quite surprised to see a firefighter there; they didn’t think firefighters could read.

I have written and sold travel articles, one which won a competition. I’ve published several young readers short stories and won a 2017 John Bilsland award for a non-fiction piece.

THE RUMRUNNER’S BOY a YA historical crime fiction was an Arthur Ellis Award Finalist. The story does have an interesting background. It’s unique because it’s the first YA fiction on the rumrunning era, however; more adults are enjoying it than young adults. My grandfather was a real rumrunner in the Detroit-Windsor area. My cousin and I would often talk about him although we never knew the man because he died when we were quite young. After rolling that family history around for a number of years, I began some research and discovered there is no fiction in Canada on the rumrunning era during U.S. Prohibition. Writing a decent story might just be the winner I need.

The book was almost finished but I felt it needed more and I couldn’t really say just what that was. I headed to Essex County, Ontario and an appointment with Captain Harvey Ryersee who piloted the ferry to Pelee Island from Kingsville. He invited me up on the bridge and I got a wealth of info from him. Every name he mentioned went into my story as did the names I garnered from the Port Dover Harbor Museum. I figured on keeping the memory alive of the men during that era. Pelee Island is the most southern point in Canada in the warm waters of Lake Erie. Islands dot this western end of Lake Erie stretching down to Ohio like stepping stones, all within sight of one another. One can understand why rumrunners prowled this area as there were plenty of places to hide and dodge the U.S. Coast Guard. Unfortunately, there is no written history from there on the liquor smuggling era.

I submitted it to the Crime Writers of Canada for an Arthur Ellis Award competition. I knew I was the outlander as many authors who enter this competition are bestsellers and well known. Along with some family members in Toronto, I attended the Crime Writers of Canada awards gala. Many top Canadian authors and publishers were there. My name and my book was even in lights on the stage backdrop. I met bestselling author Linwood Barclay (love his books) who was also a finalist in my category. We spoke during the early schmoozing period. He said I would likely win as I was the ‘outsider’ and anyhow, he’d already won last year. Well, he won again. At least I know I’m in good company.

Judge for yourself. My BWL publisher author page is https://bookswelove.net/yatscoff-e-r/ My book links are: https://www.books2read.com/Fire-Dream