Rick Mofina
Encyclopedia
Rick Mofina is a Canadian author of crime fiction
and thriller novels. He grew up in Belleville, Ontario
, and began writing short stories in school, selling his first short story at the age of fifteen. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America
, the International Thriller Writers
, the International Crime Writers Association, the Crime Writers' Association
and Crime Writers of Canada
, Rick continues to be a featured panelist at mystery conferences across the United States and Canada.
studying Journalism, English Literature, and American Detective Fiction. He was a summer student rookie reporter at The Toronto Star, the same paper that once employed Ernest Hemingway
, before embarking on a career in journalism that spanned three decades and several newsrooms. His freelance crime stories have appeared around the world in such publications as The New York Times
, Reader’s Digest, Marie Claire
, The South China Morning Post
magazine and The Moscow Times
. He’s also written for the UK’s Sunday Telegraph
.
His reporting has put him face-to-face with murderers on death row in Montana and Texas. He covered a horrific serial killing case in California, an armored car heist in Las Vegas, the murders of police officers in Alberta, flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD, and gone on patrol with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He has reported from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.
Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. His second Reed-Sydowski book is Cold Fear. With that book, Quill & Quire said Rick, “positions himself high in the suspense genre saddle.” It was followed by Blood Of Others, which #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson praised as, “tense, realistic, and scary in all the right places.” The Ottawa Citizen described Rick as “a writer clearly destined for literary stardom,” while Penthouse said he was, “one of the leading thriller writers of the day.” The Globe & Mail said Rick was becoming one of Canada’s favourite crime writers. Blood Of Others won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 2003.
No Way Back, the fourth Reed-Sydowski book, was released in 2003 and praised by Michael Connelly as being, “My kind of novel — a tough, taut thriller.” It was followed in 2004 by Be Mine, the fifth in the series. Dean Koontz said, Rick was writing, “A fine series of thrillers to which Be Mine is a great addition: swiftly paced, entertaining, with authentic details of police procedure.”
After five books — and movie options on If Angels Fall and Cold Fear, which have since expired — the Reed-Sydowski series went on hiatus and Rick launched a new series featuring Jason Wade, a rookie crime reporter based in Seattle, for that book he drew upon his own experiences at The Toronto Star and later, The Calgary Herald. The series debuted in the summer of 2005 with The Dying Hour, which climbed to #7 on Canada’s best seller list (Quill & Quire) and hit #1 among Wal-mart Canada’s best sellers. Sandra Brown, an acclaimed international best-selling author, told Rick that she loved The Dying Hour. “It starts scary and ends scary.”
The second book in the Jason Wade series is Every Fear, which features a story that “Pushes crackling suspense to the breaking point and beyond,” according to New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper. Rick’s third Jason Wade book is A Perfect Grave, which New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen called, “A lightning-paced thriller with lean, tense writing.”
Rick followed A Perfect Grave with his first standalone book, the global thriller Six Seconds. For that book, Rick drew heavily on his international assignments as a newspaper reporter and his time as a wire service reporter. Six Seconds became a bestseller in the US, the UK and Canada, and has drawn praise from around the world. It will soon be published in 12 countries and 7 languages, including German, Danish, Finnish and Polish.
After Six Seconds Rick launched a new series featuring crime reporter Jack Gannon, who is introduced in Vengence Road. Jack Gannon will return on July 1, 2010 with the release of The Panic Zone.
The popularity of Rick’s stories continues to grow. Throughout the United Kingdom and across Australia and New Zealand and other parts of the world, readers are being introduced first-hand to the Jason Wade “trilogy” with release of The Dying Hour, Every Fear, and A Perfect Grave in those parts of the world. In Norway, where all of Rick’s books are bestsellers, his Norwegian publisher is planning to re-introduce the first two books of the Tom Reed-Walt Sydowski series, If Angels Fall and Cold Fear, in a combined special edition.
Rick is currently writing more books.
He has appeared regularly on the TV documentary series True Pulp Murder
as a guest novelist.
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
and thriller novels. He grew up in Belleville, Ontario
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
, and began writing short stories in school, selling his first short story at the age of fifteen. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
, the International Thriller Writers
International Thriller Writers
International Thriller Writers, Inc., was founded October 9, 2004, at a meeting at Bouchercon World Mystery and Suspense Conference in Toronto, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide had joined the organization as founding members.Co-founders...
, the International Crime Writers Association, the Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
and Crime Writers of Canada
Crime Writers of Canada
Crime Writers of Canada is a national organization for Canadian crime writers, founded by Howard Engel.-Arthur Ellis Awards:Its annual awards are the Arthur Ellis Awards. The award statue itself is wooden model of a hanging man. The arms and legs move when the statue's string is pulled.The award is...
, Rick continues to be a featured panelist at mystery conferences across the United States and Canada.
Journalism career
He attended Carleton UniversityCarleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
studying Journalism, English Literature, and American Detective Fiction. He was a summer student rookie reporter at The Toronto Star, the same paper that once employed Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, before embarking on a career in journalism that spanned three decades and several newsrooms. His freelance crime stories have appeared around the world in such publications as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Reader’s Digest, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, The South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
magazine and The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
. He’s also written for the UK’s Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
.
His reporting has put him face-to-face with murderers on death row in Montana and Texas. He covered a horrific serial killing case in California, an armored car heist in Las Vegas, the murders of police officers in Alberta, flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD, and gone on patrol with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He has reported from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.
Novels
His first novel If Angels Fall was published in 2000 and introduced San Francisco Star crime reporter Tom Reed and San Francisco Homicide Inspector Walt Sydowski. It was a Best First Novel finalist for an Arthur EllisArthur Ellis Awards
The Arthur Ellis Awards are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing....
Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. His second Reed-Sydowski book is Cold Fear. With that book, Quill & Quire said Rick, “positions himself high in the suspense genre saddle.” It was followed by Blood Of Others, which #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson praised as, “tense, realistic, and scary in all the right places.” The Ottawa Citizen described Rick as “a writer clearly destined for literary stardom,” while Penthouse said he was, “one of the leading thriller writers of the day.” The Globe & Mail said Rick was becoming one of Canada’s favourite crime writers. Blood Of Others won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel in 2003.
No Way Back, the fourth Reed-Sydowski book, was released in 2003 and praised by Michael Connelly as being, “My kind of novel — a tough, taut thriller.” It was followed in 2004 by Be Mine, the fifth in the series. Dean Koontz said, Rick was writing, “A fine series of thrillers to which Be Mine is a great addition: swiftly paced, entertaining, with authentic details of police procedure.”
After five books — and movie options on If Angels Fall and Cold Fear, which have since expired — the Reed-Sydowski series went on hiatus and Rick launched a new series featuring Jason Wade, a rookie crime reporter based in Seattle, for that book he drew upon his own experiences at The Toronto Star and later, The Calgary Herald. The series debuted in the summer of 2005 with The Dying Hour, which climbed to #7 on Canada’s best seller list (Quill & Quire) and hit #1 among Wal-mart Canada’s best sellers. Sandra Brown, an acclaimed international best-selling author, told Rick that she loved The Dying Hour. “It starts scary and ends scary.”
The second book in the Jason Wade series is Every Fear, which features a story that “Pushes crackling suspense to the breaking point and beyond,” according to New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper. Rick’s third Jason Wade book is A Perfect Grave, which New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen called, “A lightning-paced thriller with lean, tense writing.”
Rick followed A Perfect Grave with his first standalone book, the global thriller Six Seconds. For that book, Rick drew heavily on his international assignments as a newspaper reporter and his time as a wire service reporter. Six Seconds became a bestseller in the US, the UK and Canada, and has drawn praise from around the world. It will soon be published in 12 countries and 7 languages, including German, Danish, Finnish and Polish.
After Six Seconds Rick launched a new series featuring crime reporter Jack Gannon, who is introduced in Vengence Road. Jack Gannon will return on July 1, 2010 with the release of The Panic Zone.
The popularity of Rick’s stories continues to grow. Throughout the United Kingdom and across Australia and New Zealand and other parts of the world, readers are being introduced first-hand to the Jason Wade “trilogy” with release of The Dying Hour, Every Fear, and A Perfect Grave in those parts of the world. In Norway, where all of Rick’s books are bestsellers, his Norwegian publisher is planning to re-introduce the first two books of the Tom Reed-Walt Sydowski series, If Angels Fall and Cold Fear, in a combined special edition.
Rick is currently writing more books.
He has appeared regularly on the TV documentary series True Pulp Murder
True Pulp Murder
True Pulp Murder is a 30-minute documentary series that examines real murder cases from the point of view of the detectives who investigated them with commentary from actual murder mystery authors, while being told in a graphic novel style.-Season 1: 2007:...
as a guest novelist.
Links
- http://www.rickmofina.com
- http://www.facebook.com/rickmofina
- http://twitter.com/rickmofina