April 22, 2024 Meeting Summary by Nancy Mcfadden
A Conversation with Steve: “From Paramedic to Published Author: A Journey along the Bumpy Road of Writing.”
Our Speaker at the Probus meeting on Monday, May 27th was Steve Urszenyi.
Steve Urszenyi and his wife, Lynne entertained us with an interview style presentation on Steve’s evolution from paramedic to award nominated author. Their question and answer format evoked the authenticity that permeates his characters and locations in his novel. We got to know them as individuals, as well as Steve’s debut novel: The Perfect Shot.
Steve began as a paramedic in Toronto before he became a tactical medic with the Ontario Provincial Police where he specialized in SWAT, CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives incident response) and other special operations. He rose to become the commander of the Province of Ontario’s disaster medical team, EMAT, and received the Governor General of Canada’s EMS, Exemplary Service Medal, and Bar in recognition of his distinguished service. Lynne described the gruelling physical and mental training that the transition from career number one as a paramedic to career number two as a tactical medic took. And then career number three took flight.
Steve described how he, as a young boy, admired his father’s book collection and dreamt of publishing a book with his name on the cover. The years of the pandemic gave him some time to write more often, but it did not lead to publication on the first round of writing books. He struggled to find his protagonist; his first males lacked originality. He finally found his voice in Alex, a strong female protagonist whose qualities mirrored many of those in the women he had worked with. His international travels inspired the locations adding richness to the script. He then explained that he writes as a ‘pantser’ going by the seat of his pants (as opposed to a planner who lays out their scripts before writing.)
Publishing a manuscript produced its own series of challenges; finding an agent was the first. Agents are the gatekeepers to publishers but only 1 of 10,000 writers who approach agents are taken on. He discovered his through networking at literary festivals. The Perfect Shot was published in November 2023.
It all looks easy now. His debut novel became an instant best seller at Indigo, has received critical acclaim and has just been nominated for three awards. The second in the in the Alex Martel series, Out in the Cold, is coming out in November 2024, and he has been offered an advance for a third book. There are some discussions about movie rights as Hollywood swoops in on his action-packed novel with Alex as everyone’s new favourite heroine.
Congratulations Steve! Your story is so inspiring. We look forward to reading The Perfect Shot and appreciate the time that you and Lynne spent with us.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 