It's 420 today, and with all the words being thrown around for the same thing, we started wondering how one plant accumulated so many nicknames.

I recently participated in a ‘blog hop’, a kind of chain letter for writers: one writer tags the next. We all answer the same four questions. This is a condensed version of my replies. For the full version, with links to blogs by some really interesting writers, visit www.erbrown.com

1) What am I working on?

This morning Dundurn Press was pleased to learn that three of its crime writers were shortlisted for this year’s Arthur Ellis Awards, further concretizing its reputation for producing stellar Canadian crime and mystery writing and publishing groundbreaking new authors. The shortlist was announced yesterday evening in events across the country.

I remember a quote from David Byrne, who advised a young musician that, if he wanted to write better pop songs, he should listen to opera. His point, I think, was that musicians—and I'd expand that to creative people of all kinds—should explore outside the familiar.

This week’s blog theme is British Columbia. We’re talking to authors from B.C., and we’ve got some B.C. authors who are writing blog posts for us too. Today’s blog post is an interview with E.R. Brown, author of the new release Almost Criminal. E.R. Brown is an award-winning advertising writer whose fiction has been heard on CBC Radio 3 and seen in national magazines. Born in Montreal, he lives in Vancouver.

Caitlyn: Tell us about your book.