Collingwood author gives Detective Ivy a new mystery in latest novel

Andy Potter has gone from writing code to writing fiction.

The Collingwood writer released his third novel, Silver Moon Rising, the second in the Detective Ivy Bourque series, in September.

For over two decades, Potter worked in the information technology (IT) industry, writing code, working with machines and not always interacting with people before he was finally able to transition into writing detective novels.

“IT was a good way to make a living and now I’m doing something I find more interesting,” says Potter, whose name appears as A. M. Potter on the novels. “It’s a second career.”

Potter’s interest for the written word began early on. Growing up in Nova Scotia and then going to school, he was able to hone his interest in literature, math, and science.

While studying, Potter spent time reviewing books for small magazines and creative journals, an experience that deepened his understanding of the written word and the literary world.

In his writing, he tries to combine all his interests, while always keeping the reader in mind.

“What I try to do is talk about those things from the non-scientific point of view,” he explains. “We’re giving the reader an interpretation of what the scientific facts are.

“I want them to come along on the story and understand the underlying facts are there.”

Potter moved to the Collingwood area about 20 years ago where his wife, Dorothee has roots. They first met in Toronto and Potter says he first started visiting the Georgian Bay area about 35 years ago.

Potter’s first book, Bay of Blood: Tom Thomson Redux re-envisions the mysterious death of the painter who inspired the Group of Seven on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. Instead of being set in 1917, Potter’s tale takes place in 2017 with some of Thomson’s characteristics woven into a new character.

Looking for a wider audience, Potter’s publisher encouraged him to make the shift to a more distinctly American setting.

His latest book, Silver Moon Rising, features Detective Ivy Bourg who solves crimes against the backdrop of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The story’s murder victim is loosely based on John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. who died in a 1999 plane crash

The switch from a Canadian setting in the Bay of Fundy to Cape Cod was largely driven by his publisher’s interest in tapping into the American market. Potter had spent time in New England and was able to draw from his experiences as he takes his protagonist along the New England coast to solve a fatal stabbing on a ferry crossing on Cape Cod.

The novel also delves into the decline of the right whale, an endangered species closely connected to New England.

Silver Moon Rising has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Paperback Original) and an International Thriller Writers Award (Best Series Novel).

It is the sequel to The Color Red (2023), which introduced the intuitive detective assigned to investigate the hanging of a Slovenian-born benevolent rich man and his wife.

Potter is already at work on his fourth novel. He is interested in seeing his books translated into different languages.