“Philomela and I sometimes see our sentences slurring with alliterations – caused perhaps by verse writing. We also both like shoes,” says Benni Chisholm, on Philomela Nightingale, the protagonist in her mystery series.
With three Philomela novels already published, the quick-witted mystery novelist’s career is on a steady track as she’s recently sent her fourth Philomela manuscript to her publisher, Black Opal Books.
Protagonist Philomela Nightingale was inspired by a Greek mythology about Philomela and her sister, Procne. When the sisters committed murder after being treated brutally, the gods took pity on them and Philomela was transformed into a nightingale, her sister, a swallow.
Philomela has travelled with each new book and now she and her engineer husband are settling down in the quintessential fictional seaside town of Saltair, based on Benni’s home of Sidney and areas on Central Vancouver Island. Due to popular demand, fans will begin to see Mr. Nightingale become more involved in unravelling the mysteries that keep his wife hopping.
Rather than have Philomela as a murderess or a victim, Benni decided to make her an amateur sleuth, a nod to Agatha Christie classics or Nancy Drew tales. Nor did Benni turn to brutality; her novels are “cozy” mysteries, so there may be murder and betrayal, but the stories don’t rely on gore and shock value.
“Our basic philosophies are similar. We both wonder about the mentality and motives of people who commit dastardly acts. Both our studies indicate that most murderers, though not all, are beyond narcissistic and are true psychopaths,” says Benni, of her character. The similarities end there, for the most part.
“Philomela is close to my oldest daughter’s age, not to mine,” she says.
“Also, Philomela helped solve five murders. I helped solve none.”
Born in 1930 in Saskatchewan, Benni was named after RB Bennett – the Prime Minister of Canada during the major recession in the 1930s. A retired Registered Nurse, Benni took writing courses during her undergrad, using the craft as an emotional release throughout the intense five-year program at the University of Alberta. Later, as a young mom, she continued writing while her four children slept, and carved out whatever time she could to create light verse pieces, articles and even a shortlisted manuscript, “which is, in retrospect, a pretty big deal,” says Benni.
In the heyday of her professional career, Benni was a Health Director at the Holy Cross Hospital, ran the Cancer Clinic, and later worked as a Public Health Nurse in Regina. Through all those busy years, she took writing courses, including a Science Fiction course led by Robert Sawyer. Oddly enough, that course led to writing mystery novels when the stories she was working on stubbornly refused to conform to Sci-Fi tropes and devices, morphing instead into mysteries.
“I used to really like reading Science Fiction. Then I discovered all my writing turned out to be mysteries,” says Benni. “Finally, the light went on and I thought ‘I really should be writing mysteries.’”
After retirement, her focus shifted heavily toward writing, and her Philomela Nightingale series was inspired by the late Agatha Christie, and Canadian writers Gail Bowen and Louise Penny – all personal favourites.
Benni’s first work, Stained Sand, was the premier Philomela Nightingale mystery, released in November 2011 (Friesen Press).
The second novel was Odd Odyssey in June 2015, and the third, Showman or Shaman, was published in January 2017 (both Black Opal Books).
Benni is a member of various writing groups, including the North Saanich/Sidney Library Writing Group, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Canada and, most recently, Sisters in Crime, the Canada West Branch. She also divides her time between her husband of 63 years, Merritt, and their large family of four children, 14 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
Benni is by no means chained to her keyboard, but she does write daily, working hard to keep distractions at bay, and reach the mini goals she sets for herself. When Merritt is busy with his own hobby – restoring classic cars – Benni tends to write the most.
“It’s good when he’s very busy because it gives me lots of time to write,” she says with a chuckle. “When I’m really on a roll, I try to work every minute I can. I’ll often break off and do chores around the house, then I’ll come back to it.”
When she’s not writing or spending time with family, Benni enjoys sewing, doing a bit of deck gardening at their condo, working out at the local gym, walking with Merritt or spearheading get-togethers with former nursing buddies.
With a friendly demeanour and a relaxed sense of humour, Benni is living a rich and fulfilling life with never a dull moment.
“I would recommend if you have any hobby that you enjoy, to pursue it without question,” says Benni. “I think especially after you retire, it’s really great to expand on that.”
“If you want to write, it doesn’t need to be a novel, perhaps it could be a memoir, or simply writing down the quirky story that has been churning around in your head. If you are inclined towards doing anything creative, work towards it.”
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