Book Review: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (historical fiction)

  historical fiction about the '60s scoop.

photo by ldyck

The Berry Pickers

Amanda Peters

Harper Perennial

2023

Writers Trust of Canada Finalist

In The Berry Pickers, an Indigenous family of seven—three sons and two daughters—travels seasonally from Nova Scotia to Maine to pick berries for a farmer. In 1962, when the youngest child, Ruthie, was just four years old, she was kidnapped by a white family. As a result, Ruthie loses all ties with her birth family, and many of those left behind believe she is dead. For the next fifty years, Ruthie lives under the name Norma as the only child in a middle-class white family. Any memories she retains are dismissed as dreams by her adoptive family. 

The narrative alternates between Norma's life in Maine and that of her youngest brother, Joe, in Nova Scotia. Both well-developed characters—Norma (formerly Ruthie) and Joe—are portrayed as relatable, flawed, and compassionate. 

Although the book addresses the dark period in North America's history known as the '60s Scoop, it maintains an underlying tone of love and hopefulness, making its important message easier to digest. I highly recommend this finely crafted book.

Next Sunday...

Sunday, August 31

Stranger (short memoir) by Leanne Dyck

"...a few feet away from my bench, the elevator door opened and..."

Book Review: The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe (historical fiction) published by Vagrant Press

 Mary Poppins-like Emmeline Darling floats into people's--family, friends, strangers--lives spreading kindness, compassion, and understanding as she fixes what's broken. The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe is a heart-warming tale set in England and Canada during the 1960s. Keep those tissues handy.

The Spoon Stealer

Lesley Crewe

Vagrant Press

an imprint of Nimbus Publishing

2020

long-listed for Canada Reads 2022

363 pages

Buy this book from an Independent Bookstore in

Canada

United States

Never-married and childless, seventy-four-year-old Emmeline lives a simple life with her dog Vera in a seaside community in England--Leigh-by-the-sea.

Emmeline leaves her house to attend a memoir class at her local library as the story begins. Her memoir soon becomes the star attraction for a diverse group of five women. They listen with rapt attention as Emmeline shares her life story. 

Emmeline was born on a farm in Pictou County, Nova Scotia--the last sibling and only girl in a family of brothers.

The women are eager to learn how she ended up in England during World War I and why she has remained in the country for forty years. 

Emmeline believes that the only family she has is Vera but a letter arrives from Canada to prove her wrong.

Book Message: It's never too late to fix what you perceive is broken in your life.

Book Cover: The book cover is especially appropriate--you'll discover how appropriate after you read the book. The book cover was created by Nimbus's Co-owner, Art Director, and Production Manager Heather Bryan--with input from Lesley Crewe.

May on this Blog...

International Short Story Month

Sunday, May 29

Short Story

My Song by Leanne Dyck

They say that you shouldn't meet your heroes. This story offers an explanation of why you shouldn't.

photo by ldyck

Sharing my Author Journey...

My dog Abby and I play a game when we are out on a walk. She sits and I toss a treat ahead of us. Then I tell her to, "Find it."

Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page (historical fiction, romance) Published by Biblioasis

 Set mainly in England, Dear Evelyn is about a man Harry Miles and his two greatest loves--Evelyn (Hill) Miles and poetry.

"More than anything, he was a husband." (p. 242)

Buy this Book

From an Independent Bookstore in

Canada

United States 

Dear Evelyn

Kathy Page

Biblioasis

2018

Rogers Writers' Trust of Canada Prize winner

305 pages

Born shortly after the First World War, Harry is the second son of Albert and Adeline Miles.

Adeline tells baby Harry: "'You're a good listener. You'll be good to your wife. You'll know what she wants.'" (p. 16)

Harry credits winning a scholarship to a prestigious school to changing his life.

In Mr. Whitehorse's classroom, thirteen-year-old Harry is introduced to a life-long passion and constant companion--poetry. 

Six years later, when Harry is nineteen, he meets Evelyn Hill in the library. She drops the novel she's reading Rebecca and he stoops to pick it up.

"'Evelyn! The sound of the word, the feeling of it in his mouth was almost a kiss.'" (p. 47)

Harry and Evelyn fall in love and remain together through the horrors of war, through the pleasures and challenges of raising a family, through... Until...

I was charmed by Harry and Evelyn's old-fashioned courtship. But I believe Dear Evelyn would have benefitted if more attention had been paid to transitions. For example, Harry and Evelyn are newlyweds and then suddenly become a family of three. No mention is made of Evelyn's pregnancy or the child's birth. Blink and the baby was there. Salt Spring Island resident, author Kathy Page is gifted at depicting characters at different stages in their life. And... And the end... Wow! I know it will remain with me for a while.

'I, a slow reader, will never get to all the words I long to read, but I will relish the onces before me' -from an article--Slow Readers, Let's Leave Shame Behind--by Cristi Donasa

 

 

photo by ldyck

On this blog in February...

Wednesday, February 16

Afi

A tribute to my grandpa

Sunday, February 20

Short Fiction

Is the Reverend Dead?

Inspired by remote island life, this 17-chapter short fiction piece is set in the time of Lent leading to and including Easter. It's not your usual cozy mystery.

I plan to share two chapters of this story every week--every Sunday and Wednesday--until Easter Sunday--April 17.

Sharing my author journey...

In the Acknowledgements, Kathy Page writes: "I am particularly grateful to my father for

Book Review: Away (historical fiction) by Jane Urquhart, published by McClelland & Stewart

 "Esther O'Malley Robertons...was told a story at twelve that calmed her down and put her in her place. Now, as an old woman [82 years old in June 1982], she wants to tell this story to herself and the Great Lakes." (p. 3)

It's a story brimming with mysticism, adventure, romance. It's a family legend that hides a three-generation-old secret. To tell the story, to hear the story is to ensure the survival of a culture.

"Everything began in 1842,...on the island of Rathlin which lies off the most northern coast of Ireland." (p. 4)

Buy this Book

From an Independent Bookstore in

Canada

United States

Away

Jane Urquhart

published by McClelland & Stewart

published in 1997

356 pages

Jane Urquhart is one of my favourite authors. Away is one of my favourite books. The prose reads like poetry; the transitions are as smooth as a calm sea. I savored the story. I desired to see, hear, taste each word, each scene. I read carefully--fearful that I would miss something.

As a writer, my goal is to study the writing craft as I read a captivating story. Away floats my boat.

photo by ldyck

On this blog in February...

Wednesday, February 2

World Read Aloud Day

The world will be celebrating reading aloud and so will I. My blog article will feature advice on how to read to your child(ren) and stories about reading aloud.

Sunday, February 6

Short Story

Reading Picture Books

Emma loves to look at books and that's all she wants to do, but Grandma doesn't want them to be late for lunch.

Wednesday, February 9

Author Reading

Suggestions, please

I am forever grateful for your amazing--and at times, surprising--suggestions. Please keep them coming.

Sunday, February 13

Book Review

Dear Evelyn

Kathy Page

A romance to celebrate St. Valentine's Day

Wednesday, February 16

Author Reading

Suggestions, please

Sunday, February 20

Short Fiction

Is the Reverend Dead?

Inspired by remote island life, this 17-chapter short fiction piece is set in the time of Lent leading to and including Easter. It's not your usual cozy mystery.

I plan to share two chapters of this story every week--every Sunday and Wednesday--until Easter Sunday--Sunday, April 17.

Freedom to Read Week February 20 to 26

What to Read When You Want to Read an "Uncomfortable" Read

Banned/Challenged books by Canadian Authors

Yesterday, I started listening to... 

Out of the Sun

On Race and Storytelling

Esi Edugyan's

CBC Massey Lectures

And I look forward to listening to more this week.

No make-up, hair pulled back. I'm not hiding behind anything--but my glasses--in this selfie.

Are you still hiding?

Last Christmas I re-watched a music video for Wham's song Last Christmas. In the video, George Micheal plays a guy pining for his ex-girlfriend.

Years ago, when I watched the video for the first time, I remember swooning over George. I thought he was so cute!

Re-watching the video I still thought George was cute (although, arguably, he was cuter with short hair). However, the strongest emotion I felt was sadness.

Book review: MASH by Richard Hooker (historical fiction)

 Augustus Bedford "Duke" Forrest and Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce spend eighteen life-changing months serving in the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in South Korea in the early 1950s--during the Korean war.

(Because I bought the ebook version I don't have any fancy book jacket to photograph--just one reason I love paperbacks)

Buy this book

Published by William Morrow

an imprint of HarperCollins

Publishing in 1968

The book opens, in the middle of November 1951, with Radar O'Reilly's comment that Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake 'is trying for two new cutters'. Enter Duke and Hawkeye. The "boys" quickly endear themselves to their new Colonel by doing the best and most work.

Hawkeye and Duke devalue (undervalue) rules in favour of compassion, skill, and humour. (I laughed out loud.)

Most chapters are utilized to introduce new characters--until we meet a camp full. The character that shows the most growth throughout the length of the story is "Trapper" John McIntyre. In chapter three we meet the 6 foot 130-pound chest surgeon from Winchester, Boston who hides in his parka.

Duke says of Trapper:  '"That...is the strangest son-of-a... I ever did see. If he wasn't the best chest-cutter in the Far East Command, I'd kick his ass out of this here tent."'

The chapter concludes with Hawkeye introducing Trapper to everyone in the mess hall by saying... 

'"Gentlemen, this here is Trapper John, the pride of Winchester, Dartmouth College, and Tent Number Six, and if any of you uneducated b... don't like it you'll have to answer to Duke Forrest and Hawkeye Pierce."'

Thanks to the support he receives from Hawkeye and Duke, Trapper emerges from his parka to become the 4077's chief surgeon. 

from Google images

I was attracted to this book because I was a devoted fan of the TV show (One of my first crushes was on Hawkeye.) The book lent itself very nicely to being developed for TV. In fact, some of the chapters reminded me of episodes. The book format allowed room for backstory that TV couldn't afford. However, I found some of the language and attitudes expressed in the book dated, but that didn't stop me from loving this book. As well the book is lacking the anti-war sentiment that the TV show champions. William Hornberger told a New York Times journalist that his father 'hadn't intended to write an anti-war book. "My father was a political conservative, and he did not like the liberal tendencies that Alan Alda portrayed Hawkeye Pierce as having."' (Why the Real-Life Hawkeye Pierce Hated MASH by Erin Blakemore)

MASH is a raw look at army life.

Author Richard Hooker writes in the Foreward...

'Most of the docotors who worked in Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals during the Korean War were very young... [T]hey acheived the best results up to that time in the history of military surgery...

The various stresses...produced behavior in many of them that...seemed inconsistent with their earlier, civilian behavior patterns. A few flipped their lides, but most of them just raised hell.'  

 *My husband--in the name of being more environmentally conscious--persuaded me to buy MASH as an ebook. It was an interesting experiment, but I far prefer paperbacks. For one, I missed the pretty book cover.  

About the author...

Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He died seventy-three years later in Waterville, Maine. In between times, he studied medicine, became a surgeon, and served in the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean war. To deal with the trauma Hornberger experienced during the war, he began to write MASH. It took him twelve years to complete the book and five years to find a publisher. In 1968, MASH was published under his pseudonym Richard Hooker.

Need to know more about author Richard Hooker.

Virtual Author Reading

Wednesday, December 2

Blessed Be

a short poem to fills us.

And for your listening pleasure, I will also read...

Irene's Reading

a short story that gives an example of how NOT to participant in a writers' group.

photo by ldyck

December's offerings...

Sunday, December 6

Short Story

The End (horror? humour?)

by Leanne Dyck

Will writers view this short story as horror? Will non-writers view it as humour? I wonder... I'm looking forward to hearing what you think.

And I couldn't resist beginning the book with The End

Wednesday, December 9

Virtual Author Reading

Blue Christmas (humour)

by Leanne Dyck

Christmas from Mrs. Clause's point-of-view

Sunday, December 13

Book Review

The Mystery of Black Hollow (mystery)

by Julia Nobel 

A mystery novel for middle grade readers. American Emmy Willick moves to England to attend Wellsworth--a boarding school.

Wednesday, December 16

Virtual Author Reading

Christmas with Family

by Leanne Dyck

A short story about how my husband, my cousin, and a kind stranger saved my Christmas.

Sunday, December 20

Short Story

Ice Angel

by Leanne Dyck

Inspired by a true story about meeting a little girl who added magic to my life--and uplifted me when I was feeling lost and alone.

Wednesday, December 24

Short Story

Office Party

by Leanne Dyck

Inspired by a true story about attending my husband's office party.

This is my Christmas present to you. I hope you enjoy your gift.

Sunday, December 27

2020:  My List of Accomplishments

Leanne Dyck

photo by bdyck

Are you following me?

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photo by ldyck

Sharing my author's journey...

In a month when many in the writing community have pumped out 50,000 words...

word count:  15,119 words

goal:  40,000+ words 

The more words I add to this manuscript the clearer the story 

Book Review: The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan (historical fiction)

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan provides glimpses into the relationship between two sisters growing up in the slums of Paris, France during the late 1800s. Sisterly love--sisterly envy. The secrets they can't share with each other, they share with us. The prejudice they face we witness. 

'I want to put my face in my hands, to howl, for...all the women of Paris, for the burden of having what men desire, for the heaviness of knowing it is ours to give, that with  our flesh we make our way in the world.' (p. 284)

I see you struggling. Starving,  you live in squalor and your future is bleak. But I can sleep easy without lifting a finger to help. In fact, I'm wise not to help because you'd only take advantage of me. Your facial features, they give it away. 

This type of blame-the-victim thinking was known as physiognomies.

Cathy Marie Buchanan's author notes explain that one of the inspirations for The Painted Girls was the discovery that 'Degas bought into the idea that certain facial features hinted at a person's innate criminality and sought to incorporate it into his artwork.' And she wondered, '[h]ow might such perception have affected the lives of his teenage model.' 

Buy this book

Published by Harper Perennial
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Published in 2013

I enjoy shopping for almost all the books I review on this book--mainly at independent bookstores. Occasionally, there are exceptions. I received my copy of The Painted Girls from the HarperCollins. Along with a beautiful and useful beach bag. 

The Painted Girls is alternatively narrated by two sisters--Antoinette and Marie Goethem. Antoinette is the elder by four years. She seems resolved to her fate. Marie still dares to dream. The bleakness of their lives made The Painted Girls a challenging read, but my hope that they would escape the fate that was targeting them and eke out some kind of happiness kept me reading. 

Target reader:  Those interested in French or art history--especially dance or the fine arts.

February 19th is...

 I Read Canadian

'a national day of celebration of Canadian books for young people.' 

Next Sunday Evening...



Short story collection
Stories of My Life

A collection of short story that was inspired by my life.

Are you following me?

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From 2012 to 2019: a collection of book reviews by Leanne Dyck

photo by ldyck

Your favourite book based on how many page views the book review received.

If you click the title the link will take you to my book review. If you click the publisher it will take you to their web site.

2012

The Sentimentalist
Johanna Shibrub
psychological fiction
Douglas & McIntyre
won the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize

a daughter gets to know her father

2013

Half-Blood Blues
Esi Edugyan
historical fiction
Dundurn Press
won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize

set in Paris during 1940, a jazz musician is arrested by the Nazis

2014

Indian Horse
Richard Wagamese
historical fiction
Douglas & McIntyre
won the Blurt Award for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Literature in 2013

an aboriginal hockey player journeys back through his life 

2015

The Robber Bride
Margaret Atwood
literary fiction
McClelland & Stewart
an imprint of Penguin Random House

three women's three-decade troubled relationship with a woman named Zenia

2016

Burn
Paula Weston
young adult fantasy
Tundra Books
an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada

the fourth and final book in the Rephaim series

2017

Short
Holly Goldberg Sloan
middle grade
Dial Books for Young Readers
Penguin Young Readers Group

about a short girl in the big adult world of theater

2018

The Birth House
Ami McKay
historical fiction
Vintage Canada
a division of Random House Canada

chronicles Dora Rare's life as she learns the ancient healing science of midwifery


note:  what's the difference between a division and an imprint?
Bookjobs defines division as a branch of a publishing company and imprint as the identifying name of a specific line of books


2019

A Wake for the Dreamland
Laurel Deedrick-Mayne
historical fiction
Friesen Press

about the faithfulness and devotion of enduring friendship

What will you read this year?

I have enticing suggestions. For example...

Next Sunday evening...



Empire of Wild
Cherie Dimaline

Will Joan find her husband? Where did he go? Did the rogarou get him? What is a rogarou?

"snow" by ldyck

Sharing my author journey...

I've been working on expanding a manuscript that I've been working on for a while. It's a collection of knitting-themed

Book Review: The Pearl by John Steinbeck (short novel)

Update Amber Iven left a comment about this book review on Linked In. In her comment, Amber mentioned the John Steinbeck Museum. 
Museum, I thought, how cool. A little digging and I found--National Steinbeck Center.

The Pearl (a 90-page short novel written as a parable) opens with a heart-warming yet simply written scene--the morning activities of a peasant family. Although Steinbeck doesn't explicitly say it, it's clear that Kino, the father, is content. You see it; you feel it. Kino loves his family with such intensity that you wish for their perfect happiness. But Kino hears the song of evil... The scorpion strikes, stinging Kino's son. Coyotito will die without treatment. Knowing this, Juana (Kino's wife) gathers brown seaweed and makes a poultice. 'But the remedy lacked...authority because it was simple and didn't cost anything.' (p. 15) The town doctor refuses to treat the baby because Kino can't afford to pay.

First published in Woman's Home Companion as 
"The Pearl of the World" in 1945
First published by Viking Penguin Inc. 1947
First published by Penguin Books 1976
Reissued by Penguin Books 1986

Buy this book

I was introduced to The Pearl in junior high (middle school). This story has haunted me ever since. I was profoundly saddened (outraged) by the family's struggle. I understood the story's moral as a caution--know your social status and don't reach beyond it for if you do something bad will happen to you and your family. 

'It is not good to want a thing too much.' (p. 18)

Yet what Kino dreams of--the right to marry, the right to clothe his family, the right to educate his son--should be granted to all men.

John Steinbeck gave voice to the labourer, brought them to life on the page, and made us care. That was his genius.

'Mayne Island' photo by ldyck

On this blog in October...

We're in a little bit of a rut. We need to shake things up. So, we'll start October with two lists.

October 6:  Writing about writing quotes (list)

This list is in celebration of this blog's 9th anniversary. Yes, we're nine. We made it. Over the years, I've shared tons of book reviews with you. Recently, I re-read my notes and found wonderful quotes about writing. And I thought, what better way to celebrate than to share them with you.

October 13:  Book Reviewer Blogs (list)

I searched the blogosphere and found these book bloggers. If you're an author with a new book... If you're a reader looking for a new book... These blogs are an invaluable resource.

October 20:  The Craftsman (short story)

While in elementary school, one of my short stories was published in my community newspaper. Where is that short story now? I have no idea. 
Grey clouds gathered overhead and...
Wait what's that lump under all that dust?
Huh, it's the plot.
Click went the pen. Word after word and the story appeared.
And now I can't wait to share it with you.

October 27:  The Picture of Dorian Gray (book review)

The Picture of Dorian Gray has long been one of my favourite movies (the 1940s film). I thought it was high time to read the gothic novel. Here's what I thought...

'Abby in arms' photo by ldyck

Sharing my Author Journey...

This week I entered a writing contest--The CBC Short Story Prize...

Book Review: The Princess Dolls by Ellen Schwartz (historical fiction)

What would you do if you felt a friend was being treated unjustly?

Buy this book 

I received my copy from the author

Illustrations by Mariko Ando

Published by Tradewind Books

Published in 2018

won The Diamond Foundation Award

Set in Canada in 1942, The Princess Dolls is a middle-grade (for readers 8 to 10 years old) novel that explores the challenging topics of prejudice and activism.

Esther, a Jewish-Canadian girl, and Michiko, a Japanese-Canadian girl, are best friends and avid fans of princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. When their differences stand in the way of their friendship they turn to their mutual interest to heal their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed the feel-good ending. 

More...

My interview with author Ellen Schwartz

Ellen Schwartz CWILL BC member

On this blog in September...

September. Ah, September... The transition from Summer to Fall has always been difficult for me--especially when the Summer has been lovely. This Summer was lovely. Thankfully, I have my writing and good books. They help.

Story Stories...

September 1 and 8
Afi

Who helped shaped your life?
This two-part short story is about my afi (Icelandic-Canadian grandpa) and amma (grandma)

September 22
My First Writers' Group

During my first couple of years on Mayne Island, I formed a writing group. This short story is about my experiences with this group.

Book reviews:  

September 15
Bunny by Mona Awad

I love weird and twisted books. I loved Bunny.

September 29
The Pearl by John Steinbeck

I first read this book in junior high (middle school) and recently re-read it. Did my impressions of this book change? How? This is a then and now review.

Before taking this picture, I encouraged Abby to look at me. She refused. That's why I call this picture... 'Abby posing' by ldyck

Sharing my author journey...

What's harder to write than the synopsis?

Book Review: The Quintland Sisters by Shelley Wood (historical fiction)

In 1934, during the Great Depression, the birth of the Dionne quintuplets charmed Canadians and the world. The sisters were a tremendous help to Ontario's flagging economy--to the tune of half a billion dollars. Tourists lined up to visit the sisters and purchased whatever they endorsed. And yet in 2018 one of the remaining sisters struggled to make ends meet on a fixed income.

What happened?

One of the driving forces behind writing this novel for author Shelley Wood was to help us remember the Dionne sisters.

Buy this book

I purchased my copy from Amazon

Published by HarperCollins

Published in 2019

Emma Trimpany, a seventeen-year-old rural (Northern Ontario) French-Canadian girl, helps to deliver the quintuplets and continues to care for them--as their nurse--for five years. Told in journal entries, newspaper clippings, and letters, The Quintland Sisters spans the years 1934 to 1939. Emma takes us behind the facade of the quints seemingly happy childhood into the drama and we learn what it meant to be a young woman in the 1930s, what it meant to live in the shadow of fame. 

Shelley Wood gives a portion of the proceeds derived from this novel to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

Adding mystery and romance helped keep me riveted from page one to the final page. 

Favourite quote:

'it is in doing the hardest things that we find ourselves the happiest, and that when we're happy, the harder things come easy.' (p. 433)

 More...

'The Quintland Sisters went on sale March 5, 2019 and was an instant bestseller on the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star Canadian bestseller list, holding the #1 spot for its first five weeks in print.' -Shelley Wood

After reading The Quintland Sisters, you may also enjoy reading
The Birth House.

Next Sunday evening...

The Invisible Woman

Has someone you knew disappeared? Have you? Maybe it's time it stopped.

Book Review: A Wake for the Dreamland by Laurel Deedrick-Mayne (historical fiction) and interview with the author

Set in Alberta, Canada--and England and Italy--before, during and after the Second World War, A Wake for the Dreamland is about the faithfulness and devotion of enduring friendship.

Buy this book

(Laurel Deedrick-Mayne sent me a copy to review)

Published in 2015

Printed by Friesen Press

on the Edmonton Journal Bestseller list for 35 weeks

won the Alberta Readers' Choice Award (2016)

and the Whistler Independent Book Prize (2018)

Annie, Robert, and William--the trio of twenty-somethings meet the way people do. Robert meets William in music school. Robert meets Annie and then introduces her to William. They bond by going to movies at the Dreamland theatre. Through the horrors of war and self-discovery, they remain close. A well-crafted multi-layered character, William is clearly the star of the book. 

Interview with the author

How/why did you start writing?

I have been writing in one form or another most of my life. My family, going back many generations on both sides, were terrific correspondents. My maternal grandfather was a broadcaster and journalist. My father, his family: mother and aunts especially, were letter writers and yarn spinners with a particular penchant for poetry. By that I mean they would conjure all the mundane reportage of the day into fantastic verse. My parents wrote those crazy family Christmas newsletters and we kids were raised to have thank-you notes written by the end of Boxing Day. Whenever possible I turned school assignments into creative writing projects. 

Sometimes I wrote because spoken words failed me. Writing a book was always something I hoped and wanted to do but, as you know, life can get in the way of many of our aspirations. It took years (decades really) for the stars to align. And it took a triad of lightening bolts of inspiration before I fully committed. 

What was your first published piece?

I hope this doesn’t shock you too much but A Wake For The Dreamland is my first published piece. Unless you count the program copy from my stint as a publicist for Alberta Ballet or CBC’s Bill Richardson reading the story I wrote about losing my dress (I was wearing it at the time) on the corner of Vancouver’s Broadway and Granville streets.

Where was it published?

I was writing publicity material for Alberta Ballet back in the early 80’s. The CBC story was nationally broadcast on their afternoon show, Richardson’s Roundup, some time in the 90’s. All this to say I’m a late bloomer.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by people just living their lives — from the little tiny gems of day to day existence to the huge capacity of the human spirit to endure and prevail in the most trying of circumstances. People never cease to amaze and fascinate me. I’m a writer whose day job has been practicing massage therapy for over thirty years. I have learned a great deal by the privilege of working one on one with folks. 

Why did you choose to self-publish? What are the benefits and challenges?

I shopped the manuscript around to a couple of places that turned it down. I had thought that the book would primarily be read by my parents’ generation and they (like me) were getting older. One afternoon I realized that even if I miraculously got a book deal that very day, it would probably be at least 3 years before it hit a bookstore shelf and that’s when I started exploring independent publishing. At least it could be available to readers within a year. 

The challenges and benefits are many. 

Benefits: 

The author has control.

Challenge:

The author has control.

Hahaha — But it’s true. The responsibility is huge and there were many skills I simply did not possess (or have time to learn) which is why I went through a company that could see the project through and who I felt I could count on to produce a good looking book that could hold its own among traditionally published ones. I needed their expertise but one needs to have the resources or willingness to go into debt to see their dream book become reality. That’s a scary prospect. Sure, they produce it and make it available but ultimately it is up to the author to make it sell. Writers are often quite introverted and authors need to don their shameless hussy pants. Fortunately I think I fall in the category of ‘gregarious hermit’ so with deep breaths, I embarked on book promotion, not knowing if I had a hope in a windstorm of recovering my costs. 

Reflect on your writing process

We’re in a deep freeze here in Alberta as I write this so I’m going to use the analogy of getting up in the morning and hoping to goodness the car will start. Does that sound cheesy? Yes, I think so but it was true for me. Often, when I had a little time I was lacking inspiration. Or the mountain just seemed too high to climb. Nothing I tried seemed to work and that beautiful story that was so rich and fully formed in my head couldn’t seem to find its way to the page. I had so many other balls in the air at the time, which I don’t want to sound like a ‘the dog ate my homework’ excuse but —  I had kids in school, aging parents, the aforementioned massage therapy practice and, just to top things off, the attention span of a flea. I mentioned mountains a few lines back. One of my saving graces was periodically abandoning life as I knew it and retreating to the Banff Centre in the Rocky Mountains where I could hole up for days or weeks at a time and soldier through.

Are you working on another book (my fingers are crossed)?

My great aunt was THE district nurse for the Indigenous people of the Yukon in the 40’s and 50’s. The entire territory was her district. I have all her correspondence, field notes, photos, sketches and poetry as well as the memoir she published. I’m hoping to create something from this material. Maybe a biography. Maybe a series of novellas of her episodic adventures. Or, maybe I bundle up all that material and take it to the Yukon archives for the descendants of people she served to access and create something from. Is that vague enough?

Why did you choose to set your book in the years before, during and after World War II?

I had no choice and here’s why: 

The first bolt of inspiration came the one Remembrance Day we weren’t taking in any ceremony and I was in a Safeway spaghetti aisle at the 11th hour. An announcement came on to stop for 2 minutes of silence. I stood there weeping. Something opened up inside me. 

Then, on December 26, 2003 a feature came on the 11 o’clock news about the 60th anniversary of the crucible Battle of Ortona. I hadn’t even known there’d been an Italian campaign and that the Loyal Edmonton Regiment was instrumental in its success. Again, I was deeply moved. 

A couple of months later, driving to pick up my kids from school, which happened to be right next door to an Armoury that I’d hardly given a moment’s notice of before, the three primary characters of the novel sprang to mind. I felt they were whispering their life story in my ear as I drove. Their story came so fully formed: a spark, a flash. I knew it would begin with the Royal Visit of 1939 and end with the (spoiler alert) demolition of the Dreamland Theatre in 1979. I just didn’t know how the hell I was going to do it.

 When I first started writing A Wake For The Dreamland, I knew nothing about the second world war. Not really. Not much. My dad had been in the RCAF but not overseas. I’d only been to one war movie, and only because I had to —  social studies class went to see Bridge on the River Kwai. In fact, I consciously chose NOT to see war movies. And I’d certainly never read any war fiction. I thought it would break my heart.  Writing the book nearly did. But I don’t regret a single step of the journey.

Words of advice for the yet-to-be-published

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for anyone contemplating self-publishing to take a good hard look at all the ways and means they will get the book into readers’ hands. You only have to step into a bookstore or library to realize the world will keep on spinning with or without your book.  In addition to my own hard work, I also got lucky. I am incredibly fortunate that enough people liked it and began telling their friends, who told their friends, that it started to gain some momentum. 

It doesn’t matter how good your book looks if what’s between the covers isn’t the very best it can be. This is where taking your time and spending the money to work with a really good editor is absolutely essential. It is the best money one can spend. People ask me why it took ten years to get this book from the brain to the bookshelf and, aside from it being very heavily researched (although that should not be too blatantly obvious on the page — boring!) I had to take the time to raise the money to take the steps to find and pay for the workshop or manuscript consultant or editor to help me make it as good as possible. I’d tuck it away for awhile. Bring it out and work through it again. Do not try to take a shortcut on this part of the process. Whew! Went on a bit of a rant there.

I would add that distribution is a huge challenge. Being available and widely distributed and promoted are different things and one kind of needs all three to make sales. Even traditionally published authors now have to do a lot of their own legwork on the promotional side. Most bookstores (think Chapters/Indigo) are not likely to take an Indie author’s book. They’ll order it for customers but not stock it. 

Let’s talk about money, even though my mother would have said that’s gauche. Self publishing a book is very expensive. Promoting it and distributing is costly. You will see a very tiny return on e-book and amazon sales. The more books you print and distribute yourself, the more likely you will cover your costs or make a little money but you must give a great deal of thought to how you’re going to do that. It’s very hard to get traditional media coverage now. Even traditionally published authors struggle to get reviews or coverage. 

None of this is meant to be discouraging. Only realistic. Most people only dream about writing a book. Very few actually do. Have courage. Have patience. Persevere.

More...

Are you writing a historical fiction novel? I just found this helpful article:  Three Ways to Make the Historical Real by Katia Raina 

'February 2019 on Mayne Island' photo by ldyck

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Sunday, March 31 at approximately 5 PM PST

I recently penned a short poem about the transition from winter to spring--Let the Sunshine in.