Award winning Kelowna author meets fans

Excited fans lined up for the chance to get a signed copy of one of the top crime novels of the year, and as an added boost, the author is from Kelowna.

A large group of avid readers attended the event at the Downtown Library where they got to meet Tyrell Johnson, a newly recognized New York Times award winner.

He describes his latest book ‘The Lost Kings’ as a riveting psychological thriller with a killer twist, and with it’s recent recognition by such an acclaimed name, it’s been gaining some major traction.

“Getting that email from my editors because I learned beforehand that it was going to be chosen as a best crime novel of the year was super exciting,” Johnson told Kelowna10. “Always good to see support from other readers, but a platform like The New York Times was pretty special for sure.”

It’s yet another accolade for Johnson, whose debut novel ‘Wolves of Winter’ landed on the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star’s fiction bestseller lists.

He finds the most compelling part of his novels to be the characters, drawing inspiration from personal experiences, conversation, or other media he has viewed.

“If there’s not a character that I care about and believe in, or want to root for, then I’m not that interested,” he said. “So hopefully for me, for these books, you find a character that you're hoping succeeds and you're rooting for, along with a story that is compelling, interesting, and believable.”

As someone who has struggled himself in the writing world, he urges those who want to break out into the medium to be always keep trying, as cliched as he admits that advice can be.

“Sometimes it’s hard because with writing you’re going to get tons of rejections,” Johnson explained. “But if you really are passionate about it, and just always continue to try to better your craft and not give up on working on the next thing, then hopefully you’ll get there.”