The competition requires that entrants submit the first chapter and a synopsis of a murder mystery. Crime Writers' Association and sponsored by the Orion Publishing Group in Britain. īradley's wife was listening to CBC Radio as Louise Penny, a Canadian mystery author, discussed the Debut Dagger fiction competition, run by the U.K. He wrote a non-fiction book called Ms Holmes of Baker Street and a memoir called The Shoebox Bible. The experience inspired him to do something different, and he began focusing on memoirs instead of screenplays. Then, during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire, many homes neighboring Bradley's were destroyed, although his was spared from the fire. He wrote multiple screenplays over the course of nine years. Following his early retirement from the University of Saskatchewan in 1994, Bradley and his wife Shirley moved to Kelowna, British Columbia, for her work, while Bradley focused on writing. Writing career īradley wrote several short stories that were read on CBC Radio and published in literary magazines.

He took an early retirement from the university in 1994 to become a full-time writer. There he helped develop a broadcasting studio, where he worked as Director of Television Engineering for 25 years. He then worked briefly for Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto (now Toronto Metropolitan University), before moving to Saskatoon to take a job at the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. However, Bradley confesses to having been a 'very bad student', particularly in high school, spending his free time reading in the local cemetery because he felt he didn't fit in.Īfter completing his education, Bradley worked in Cobourg as a radio and television engineer, designing and building electronic systems. Bradley learned to read at an early age, partly because he was a sickly child who spent a lot of time in bed.

When Bradley was a toddler, his father left the family and his mother raised the children alone. He was brought up with two older sisters in the small town of Cobourg, Ontario.

Flavia de Luce mystery series (including The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie)Īlan Bradley (born 1938) is a Canadian mystery writer known for his Flavia de Luce series, which began with the acclaimed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.Įarly life and engineering career īradley was born in 1938 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The sweetness at the bottom of the pie