I was a teenager, about sixteen, when I got my first part-time job at a grocery store. It was called Sunnybrook Food Market and it was located at Midland and Lawrence in Scarborough, Ontario, about a mile and a half walk from my house, and a ten minute walk from school. To say Sunnybrook Food Market—long since out of business— was a discount grocery store would be putting a gloss on it, but they were willing to train, and they paid us every Friday without fail.

Now you might be wondering how that job impacted my writing all these years later, and the short answer is, it didn’t, with one exception. There was another student there, Camilla. Once Camilla knew that I liked one of the stock boys (whose name I no longer remember), she made it her mission in life to date him. And she succeeded. Fast forward a few decades to The Hanged Man’s Noose and you’ll meet Camilla Mortimer-Gilroy. Those of you who have read the book know that Camilla is the woman Arabella holds responsible for breaking up her marriage to Levon. Coincidence? I leave it for you to decide.

Camilla’s last name is a compilation of the street I was born on: Mortimer Avenue in Toronto and Gilroy Drive in Scarborough. I wanted a name that gave a sense of entitlement, and the combination seemed to work. Here’s an excerpt from The Hanged Man’s Noose, where Camilla comes to the Grand Opening of the Glass Dolphin.

“Arabella,” Camilla said, her tone implying she’d been standing there for hours.

“Camilla, so kind of you to come slumming to the poor side of town.”

“You are a droll one, Arabella. I’m here on the advice of my interior designer, Shakyra. You know, the Shakyra. I’m sure you’ve seen her fabulous decorating show on HGTV, Shopping with Shakyra? Shakyra says it never hurts to poke around a shop. Shakyra says even places like the Sally Anne and Goodwill occasionally have things of interest.” Camilla preened. “I’ve been working exclusively with Shakyra’s firm in Toronto to accessorize the Mansion.”

Camilla was comparing the Glass Dolphin to charity thrift stores like the Salvation Army and Goodwill? Arabella eyed a platter of appetizers and contemplated throwing the lot at her.

“Shakyra, you say? Can’t say I’m familiar with the name, but then I don’t watch reality television, always seems so staged. Not that I’m accusing this Shakyra of anything. I’m sure she’s simply marvelous at accessorizing. And for your purposes at the Gilroy Mansion, I’m sure that’s quite enough. It’s not as if the guests of a small town B and B are expecting the proprietor to be knowledgeable about antiques.”

Arabella knew it was petty of her, but she was delighted to see the self-satisfied smirk all but wiped off Camilla’s face. Time to insert the dagger and twist it. “But certainly, Camilla, do feel free to poke around, as you so eloquently put it. Everything in the shop is available.”

She smiled sweetly and pointed to her ex-husband.

“Even Levon.”

The Hanged Man’s Noose is available in trade paperback at all the usual suspects, and in all e-book formats (Kindle, Kobo, Nook, GooglePlay, Apple Books) and in audiobook on Audible, Apple Books, and Amazon. Click here to listen to a 4:37 minute sample.