S6 Episode 38: Marion McKinnon Crook on how mysteries helped her write memoir

ABOUT THIS EPISODE: In this episode, host Megan Cole talks to Marion McKinnon Crook. Marion is the author of Always On Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching, and Rural Living. Always on Call is a finalist for the 2025 Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. In this conversation, Marion talks about why she chose to write memoir after a long career of nursing, teaching and writing over 25 books that include non-fiction for teens, mysteries, and biographies. She also talked about the research she did to examine her own memories. To find out more about Always on Call visit: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/project/always-on-call/ To view the 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prizes shortlists: https://bcyukonbookprizes.com/2025/04/10/bc-and-yukon-book-prizes-2025-shortlists-announced/ ABOUT MARION MCKINNON CROOK: Marion McKinnon Crook is a nurse, an educator, and the author of more than twenty-five books, including the bestselling Always Pack a Candle, which won the BC Historical Federation’s Community History Book Award. In addition to her nursing degree, McKinnon Crook holds a master’s in liberal studies and a PhD in education. Now a full-time writer, she also writes the British Book Tour mystery series under the name of Emma Dakin. She lives on the Sunshine Coast in BC. ABOUT MEGAN COLE: Megan Cole the Interim Executive Director for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She is also a writer based on the territory of the Tla'amin Nation. Megan writes creative nonfiction and has had essays published in Chatelaine, This Magazine, The Puritan, Untethered, and more. She has her MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King's College and is working her first book. Find out more about Megan at megancolewriter.com ABOUT THE PODCAST: Writing the Coast is recorded and produced on the traditional territory of the Tla'amin Nation. As a settler on these lands, Megan Cole finds opportunities to learn and listen to the stories from those whose land was stolen. Writing the Coast is a recorded series of conversations, readings, and insights into the work of the writers, illustrators, and creators whose books are nominated for the annual BC and Yukon Book Prizes. We'll also check in on people in the writing community who are supporting books, writers and readers every day. The podcast is produced and hosted by Megan Cole.