Maggie Giles' sequel novel adds mystery to the fictional anti-anxiety drug featured in her last book, Twisted COLLINGWOOD – By day, she’s a multi-media marketer, by night Maggie Giles is a sleuth of sorts, crafting her own mysteries. The Collingwood woman is celebrating the release of her latest novel, Wicked, a sequel to her 2023 mystery, Twisted. “It really explores this controversy around this recently released prescription medication” which has caused some problems on the market, fresh with a bit of conspiracy, she begins.

While Twisted is set in Toronto and includes the discovery of a new anti-anxiety drug, the setting for Wicked is Ottawa and explores the creation of the drug and how it makes it onto the market. Giles hails from Oakville and made the move to Collingwood nine years ago, following so many others who originally discovered the area by spending much of the winters on local ski hills. Without any background in writing, Giles had stories she wanted to share so she began taking courses and working with mentors.

Her first effort, which remains unpublished, was an historic fiction centred around Anne Boleyn who was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 and the second wife of King Henry VIII. But her interests tugged her away from that genre. She had devoured many of Mary Higgins Clark’s bestselling suspense novels as a teenager, some of which explored mental health.

That theme then found a home in the pages of Wicked. “I ended up moving away from that kind of story (historic fiction) telling and more to thriller, suspense work,” she recalls. While Giles was keen to explore her creative side through writing, she discovered she has a unique challenge.

She found the images people develop in their minds didn’t appear in hers. She’s since learned she has a condition called aphantasia and she lacks the capacity to create mental images or scenes. This then became an important element for her to concentrate on as she sat down to write.

She quickly set to work correcting that in her books, drawing out the characters, settings and situations so those with the ability to create mental images would be able to envision her story. She describes her first published book, The Things We Lost, as a woman’s fiction with suspense. It follows the protagonist, a 30-year-old woman, who is thrust back to her past 10 years earlier.

While many lookback stories allow a redo or alternate history full advantages, Giles’ character discovers that the grass is not necessarily greener, even with modifications. Giles considers herself lucky to have developed a relationship early on with Rising Action Publishing Collective. Launched in 2020, the women-owned and operated, traditional, independent publishing house made its debut in April 2022 with Giles’ novel.

As it grows, committed to supporting diverse authors and stories, so too has Giles, who now sees her work being distributed through the Simon & Schuster publishing house via a new agreement with her publisher. “It’s been a really interesting experience working with a new press… to see their growth now with Simon & Schuster because they’re getting more recognition,” allowing for a wider distribution of her novels, which are now in Indigo and other book stores, she says. While promoting her latest release, Giles is set to release her fourth novel, The Art of Murder, in June.

Its setting, Cedar Planes, is heavily based on distinct features from Collingwood. She’s also working on a co-writing project. As long as she has the stories, she says, she’ll keep writing, and hopes to grow her audience.