Vancouver Voyager: Vancouver's Da Vinci

My four-day free promotion for my book, Missing Flowers, is over. It was a wild four days, I have to tell you. It was also a highly successful promotion. My final download numbers were: US - 9523, UK - 382, DE - 150 (Germany), FR - 4, ES - 1 (Spain), TOTAL: 10,060. Thank you to everyone who downloaded a book and helped to spread the word.

Thanks to these numbers, my publisher has decided to go ahead and put Missing Flowers into paperback. I will notify you when that happens.

This building is at the corner of Lakewood Drive and Hastings Street. Built in 1912, it is known as 'The Lakewood'.

Another announcement. This blog has been nominated for a Best Company Award with Vancouver's first social media awards. I will let you know more when I do. Now on to the entry.

From 1998 to 2005, TV viewers were held enthralled by the exploits of Vancouver coroner, Dominic Da Vinci.

The show started with a bang featuring a three part story line that looked at the then unsolved disappearance of prostitutes on Vancouver's East side. (Sound familiar?) Show creator Chris Haddock didn't hold back either with those first episodes or in any of the shows during the seven seasons Da Vinci's Inquest was on.

The show was loosely based on the life of former Vancouver chief coroner Larry Campbell - who went to become our mayor - but the part was apparently written for the show's star, Nicholas Campbell.

DaVinci is an opinionated, well meaning. ex-Mountie, crusading for justice. He has an ex-wife who, for the first four years of the series, is a medical examiner working with DaVinci. He has a daughter and he likes his alcohol.

Surrounding DaVinci was a cast of characters that were portrayed by some of the best actors in the business. Names like Ian Tracey, Callum Keith Rennie, Venus Terzo, Camille Sullivan, Colin Cunningham, Stephen Miller (who is now a fantastic author!) And the list goes on. And on.

I don't have any information on this house but as you can see, it was built in 1910.

So, Haddock gets together this group of uber-talented people, digs into Vancouver's sometimes sordid tales and creates a show that weaves fact with fiction to take the viewer on an entertaining journey. Through DaVinci's Inquest, Chris shows the world the city of Vancouver.

I remember an episode about a serial killer who was feeding women alcohol until they died. Does that story ring a bell with you? If you have been reading my blog, it should. On October 5, 2012, wrote about the Boozy Barber who did just that.

Haddock not only explored the history of Vancouver with the show but exposed some of the issues in our current day city. Like the struggle to set up the Insite, Supervised Injection Centre and the constant battle to organize a red light district. Outsiders, and even Vancouverites, were able to learn more about Vancouver through the episodes. And those who have never been here, were exposed to just how utterly gorgeous Vancouver can be.

I never realized until just this moment how much Chris Haddock and DaVinci's Inquest has influenced me. I am also taking stories of Vancouver and fictionalizing those tales then creating something to entertain and perhaps educate my fans. I am just using another medium as my art form.

I hope you find the beauty around you.