Bernadette Calonego is the author of twelve novels in German. Eight of her murder mysteries have been translated into English, one into Dutch.
She is of Swiss origin, lives in Canada and also works there as a freelance foreign correspondent for media in Europe.
She resides on the Sunshine Coast near Vancouver and in Newfoundland.
Her mystery novel “Stormy Cove” that is set in rugged rural Newfoundland became a bestseller in the U.S.
Her book “The Stranger on the Ice” is one of the rare Arctic crime novels.
Bernadette Calonego was raised in a village on the shores of Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Lucerne) in Central Switzerland. “It is a beautiful rural area, with mountains for hiking and lakes to swim in. The impact of nature and the lure of stark landscapes play an important role in my books.”
She was voracious reader from an early age, and fed her imagination with stories such as The Leatherstocking Tales, Ivanhoe, Treasure Island, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. She was just eleven years old when she published her first story, a fairytale, in a Swiss newspaper.
“I also wrote poems, learning from my mother who was a poet.”
Being a foreign correspodent in a country like Canada means adventurous travels to fascinating areas like the Arctic. “I love the North and rugged, barren landscapes.” Bernadette sailed through the legendary Northwest Passage on a Coast Guard Icebreaker, drove from Dawson City up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik in winter and from there on the Ice Road to Tuktoyaktuk on the Polar Sea.
She hiked mountains in British Columbia, encountered black bears in Alberta, trekked to Crater Lake in Pingualuit National Park in Northern Quebec and watched iceberg climbers in Newfoundland.”My experiences as a journalist and the places I have visited are a major inspiration for my books.”
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
“I don`t remember the exact moment but, from an early age, I always wanted to write stories. Eventually I aspired to become a reporter but I took a detour, studying at university to become a teacher. After six years of teaching, I switched gears to become a journalist. As an author I am somewhat of a late bloomer, starting my first book in the late 90s. But sometimes a detour is a good thing because you learn a lot along the way.”
When were you first published?
“I was eleven years old when I sent a fairytale to a Swiss newspaper.”
Every year, Bernadette spends a few months in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has found love and natural beauty there. Her bestselling mystery novel “Stormy Cove” could not have been written without the experiences and encounters in Northern Newfoundland.
“I love rugged, barren, wild landscapes and the people who live there. I love the North Atlantic and the proximity to the Arctic. When I`m staying in Newfoundland, I feel reduced to the very basic and essential qualities of life. Like nature, survival and people helping each other. There is magic to be found in it.”
Twenty-two years ago, Bernadette moved to Vancouver in order to work in Canada as a foreign correspondent. “I instantly fell in love with the laid-back life style, the Pacific Ocean and the small islands, the mix of people living here, the coastal rain forest, the wildlife, the spectacular summers and the mild winter climate.”
On the Sunshine Coast, a coastal mainland region about two hours from Vancouver, she found even more nature and time for enjoying the outdoors. She loves hiking and photography. “Bears and cougars, racoons and deer live here in close proximity which I find very exciting.”
“I have a very close connection to my first home country Switzerland where I have family and lots of friends. I try to visit as often as I can to see them. The first of my ten books, “The Zurich Conspiracy”, is set in Switzerland.
I often stay in Zurich, a city which I adore, and in Central Switzerland where I grew up as a “country girl”. In Lucerne, I attended college, and in Fribourg, I got my university diploma for teaching French, English and German. I still love it there! ”