Author Spotlights

Anne Kelly’s first published novel is Jacques’ Escape, released by Trap Door Books in 2019. But she has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She got her first taste of sharing her writing in Grade 4, when she wrote a class newspaper with a friend. Anne is an avid reader, and especially enjoys reading historical fiction, crime novels and stories from Atlantic Canada.

As well as being a writer, Anne is an English teacher at heart. She taught English-as-an-Additional-Language (EAL) to adult newcomers to Canada for more than 20 years, and loves learning about different cultures and traditions. She currently works as a English Language Coordinator at the Bedford Public Library. When not reading, writing or working, you’ll find Anne walking, doing yoga, playing piano, or singing with her community choir.

In this Author Spotlight, Anne talks about her first book, which was originally submitted to the Atlantic Writing Competition (now Nova Writes), theWriters’ Fed of Nova Scotia’s competition for unpublished manuscripts, and getting published.

Congratulations! It’s exciting to see that your debut book Jacques’ Escape was shortlisted for the Hackamatack Children’s Choice Award (See the Hackmatack Shortlist 2020-21 here.) What was your reaction when you heard that news?

The nomination came out of the blue for me, so I was surprised.  That’s one of the things about having a published book that I didn’t anticipate—that it would take on a life of its own! Jacques’ Escape is being read, discussed, reviewed and nominated for awards without my knowledge—like a child who has headed off to school and a life away from his parents! I am of course thrilled to be nominated, especially since it means so many more children will be encouraged to read it!

Tell me about the book. What’s it about?

Jacques’ Escape is the story of a 14-year-old Acadian boy from Grand Pre. During the Expulsion, Jacques and his family are deported to the British colony of Massachusetts.  Jacques longs to escape and join his older brother in fighting with the French. Through his experiences, Jacques comes to know the true meaning of family and home, as well as what it means to be Acadian.

As a first-time author, what was the experience like to get your book published?

Amazing! As I said at my book launch, when I hold a copy of Jacques’ Escape, I’m holding a dream in my hand!

The process of writing this book and having it published was a long and slow one, with multiple rewrites and many rejections. I often felt frustrated and wanted to give up on the whole project. But I loved my characters and believed the story was worth telling. So, I kept rewriting and sending it out again and again. 

My publishers at Trap Door Books are wonderful—always supportive and respectful of my story. They truly helped my dream to come true.

I understand that you originally submitted the manuscript for Jacques’ Escape to the Writers’ Fed’s Atlantic Writing Competition (now called Nova Writes) and that you won the category you submitted in, back in 2001. Why is this program important to writers such as yourself?

I find that I lose the ability to look at my writing objectively, especially once I’ve begun the editing and rewriting stage. Programs such as Nova Writes give developing authors clear, written feedback, practical suggestions, and lots of encouragement!

The book is fictional, but obviously grounded in fact. Why did you decide to take this approach?

I personally love historical fiction. It brings history alive for me. I was never as interested in facts and dates as I was in the what life was like in the past—what did people eat and wear? Why did they do what they did? How did they feel about what was happening around them?  I first learned about the Deportation of the Acadians when I was in Grade four, and for many years I wondered what life was like for the families once they were driven out of Acadia.  What happened? Where did they go? How did they feel? So, I set out to answer those questions.

How did you do the research for your book? What was involved?

I started out by reading everything I could get my hands on about the Acadians, and I read until the books all began to say the same things! I took many, many notes, which I referred to as I wrote. I visited Grand Pre and some of the other Acadian sites in Nova Scotia, then went to Boston to access the Massachusetts Archives. That was really exciting for me—holding and reading original documents that dated back to the 1700’s.

Much of my research was done before the internet became so fast and easy to use. Although the internet may make some of the material easier to find and access, I don’t think it would change my style very much. Holding books in my hand and being where the events took place gives me a sense of the history in a more powerful way than reading an online article ever could.

Your book is quite beautiful to hold, with illustrations by Helah Cooper. Did you work with the illustrator? What was the process like?

I didn’t actually see the illustrations until they were almost finished, when they were sent to me to preview. And I didn’t meet Helah until the book launch. But I was amazed at how she took my words and turned them into pictures!

Like everyone else at Trap Door Books, Helah was respectful of my story and my opinion. There was one illustration that I felt wasn’t dramatic enough for the scene it was portraying. I hesitated before expressing my opinion, but Helah willingly made the changes for me.  

I love the way the book looks, the cover, the pictures, the blue and red text. As one of my daughters commented, it looks like a real book!

When you were a young reader, what books did you love? Was there a book that made you say to yourself, “I’m going to be a writer one day too”?

My two favourite books as a child were Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery and  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The main characters in both these books—Anne and Sara—are storytellers. I don’t think that’s a coincidence! I don’t remember consciously deciding that I wanted to be a writer. I’ve just loved books and stories—reading and writing them—well, forever!

What are you working on these days? Will you be revisiting the time period?

The novel I am working on now is vastly different from Jacques’ Escape. It is for a slightly older age group and is a mystery of sorts, set in modern day. I don’t have any plans at this time to revisit the Acadians, although many people have asked me whether I am going to write a sequel, so I suppose the possibility is there.

– Questions by Marilyn Smulders

Jen Powley is a prairie girl living in Canada’s ocean playground. Since moving to Halifax in 2001, she has held jobs at the Independent Living Resource Centre (now Independent Living Nova Scotia) and the Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities. Realizing she could not engineer the type of societal change she wanted, Powley returned to school earning her Master’s of Urban Planning at Dalhousie University, and then worked for five years at the Ecology Action Centre. Losing her voice due to her multiple sclerosis, Powley recognized the presentations the job required were no longer feasible so she returned to the University of King’s College to pursue her Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Non-Fiction.

In May 2017, Powley released her first book, a memoir Just Jen (Roseway), winner of the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award (Non-Fiction). Her second book, Sounds Like a Halifax Adventure, will be launched virtually on Tuesday, June 16 at 7 pm. (See the invite below.)

In this Q&A, Powley talks about her books and her advocacy for people with physical disabilities. 

Your first book Just Jen is a tour de force, allowing the reader a glimpse of what it is like not only to live, but to thrive, with multiple sclerosis. Was this a book you needed to write? 

I don’t think I needed to write it, but I think it needed to be written. I think the public needed to hear what it’s like to have a disability. It’s not about feeling sorry for yourself, though of course there is some of that. But it’s about getting on with life. I am very lucky to have parents who continue to support me. I wonder what people with disabilities could accomplish if government supported us to a greater degree.

If Just Jen is a book that needed to be written, is Sounds Like a Halifax Adventure the book you’ve always wanted to write?

I didn’t always want to write Sounds Like. It started as a gift for my partner, Tom. It grew from there.

You take a novel approach to this book by paying attention to sounds. Why sound? Why not another sense (say touch or taste)?

I picked sound because it is important to Tom and it made me think about it a lot. It is also the one sense I have not affected by my multiple sclerosis, so it made sense to write about sound.

The other thing totally crazy about this new book is that it can have an ending unique to each reader. Do I have that right? How did you manage that?

I formulated the book based on the books where you could choose your own path I read when I was a kid. I wanted to make some major changes to the genre. I wrote in third person, not second like those books used to write. I also wanted the choices to not lead up to a quote-unquote “correct” ending but wanted the choices to be like life where the smallest choices can determine the path you take, so it might just be a matter of whether you turn right or left as you leave the building, not whether you choose to die for some other character’s plan.

What is the process of writing like for you? Has it changed since you wrote Just Jen?

For this book, I wrote mainly what came into my head. For Just Jen I had thought about most of the scenes and was merely re-creating them based on previous events.

Why did you decide to self publish this book?

I decided to self-publish because the book didn’t fit the criteria of what other book publishers accept. I was taught to always read what a publisher accepts. I didn’t find anyone accepting interactive adult fiction. I didn’t want to be the publisher, but I wanted the book to get out into the world.

Tell me about the launch party. When and where is it?

The virtual launch is on Tuesday, June 16, 7 pm on Zoom. All are welcome.

Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/5773160199?pwd=ZDdwc0JxQkVqdEcvVnhGYjhOK0hTZz09 

Meeting ID: 577 316 0199

Password: 123

How can people get a copy of your book?

The book is available at Bookmark in Halifax. I am setting up a Shopify site. It will be ready by the launch.

What’s next for you Jen? Do you have another book percolating?

I am working on getting 24-hour attendant care for people with physical disabilities with Independent Living Nova Scotia approved by the province. Until January, when a proposal for a living situation for four adults with disabilities was approved for a two-year pilot, the only thing in Nova Scotia for adults with physical disabilities who needed round-the-clock care was to live in a long-term care facility, i.e. a nursing home. I don’t think that is right. Why shouldn’t I be able to have my boyfriend stay overnight? At the moment, I have no book ideas percolating.

– questions by Marilyn Smulders

Gloria Ann Wesley is an award-winning writer and a retired teacher. She is the author of several books of poetry, children’s literature, and young adult fiction, including Chasing Freedom (Fernwood Publishing, 2011), which was listed as a Grade Nine and African Canadian Studies resource by the Nova Scotia Department of Education and was shortlisted for the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Young Adult Fiction in 2012 (Atlantic Book Awards), and If This Is Freedom (Fernwood Publishing, 2013), which was selected for One Book Nova Scotia in 2017. Her latest book is called For King and Country,to be published by Formac.

Read on to learn more about Wesley’s writing, the inspiration behind her historical fiction and her life during the pandemic. 

I see you have a new book coming out this August – For King and Country. It looks interesting, a combination of fiction and non-fiction. What is it about? 

For King and Country is about a young man, Wilbur (Will) Wesley, who wants to fight in the First World War. Though he attempts to enlist, he is turned away because of rampant prejudice, but he remains hopeful that attitudes will change. When Will is finally accepted, it is not to fight, but to be part of a construction company, eroding his dreams of valour and pride as discrimination continues to plague his service.

What is it about this particular battalion that is significant?

The No.2 Black Battalion was Canada’s first and only all-Black military regiment.

Many of your books deal with the black experience in the past. Why do you gravitate to this theme in your writing?

Literature can be a powerful force for enlightenment, create discussions and act as a bridge to address the racism that continues to restrict inclusiveness, justice, and respect.  Because Black novels, relevant to and about the daily lives of African Nova Scotians did not exist, I decided to take on the work of filling the gap.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

My advice is that if you have a special interest or something you really want to say—write about it. Aspire to please yourself first and then others may follow.

What’s great about writing in your part of Nova Scotia?

In Nova Scotia, there are so many untold stories waiting to be discovered.  

What’s your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is Lay’s plain potato chips with a Snickers bar and a Pepsi or peanut butter and strawberry jam on crackers.

What do you do when you have writer’s block?

When my brain freezes, I go to bed early, then wake up at one a.m. and write for an hour or two, then sleep in. It’s great to be retired. 

A lot of artists have been creatively stymied during the pandemic. Have you found that?  Has your writing been affected?

The pandemic seems like just another day to me. My writing routine has not changed. I am a recluse by nature and continue to write at all hours of the day and night. The one thing I miss is public engagements. 

What are you working on now?

I’m editing a book about a young woman who is coming to terms with the repression of sexual assaults she experienced as a child. A total 360 from historical fiction.

What are you most looking forward to when restrictions are eased?

I’m really looking forward to leaving the province to visit family members and hug my grandchildren.

– This Author’s Spotlight with Gloria Wesley updates an earlier spotlight posted in July 2018. Additional questions by Marilyn Smulders

Ray Cronin is a writer, editor, and curator. Between 2001 and 2015 he worked at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia as both curator and director, and he is the founding curator of the Sobey Art Award. Cronin has been writing about visual arts for magazines and newspapers for almost thirty years. As well as writing a series of “field guides” on Atlantic Canadian artists published by Gaspereau Press, he is the author of Our Maud: The Art, Life and Legacy of Maud Lewis, and the Arts Canada Institute e-books Alex Colville: Life & Work and Mary Pratt: Life & Work. His book Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide, is forthcoming from Nimbus Publishing in 2021. He lives in Elmsdale.

These field guides published by Gaspereau are really wonderful. The essays are beautifully written, and of course when you’re reading about art, it’s nice to have the colour plates to refer to. How did the series come about?

It all started with the best rejection ever. I proposed a book to Gaspereau Press of twelve essays about Atlantic Canadian artists, a kind of “greatest hits,” I suppose, which would have had a combination of previously-published work and new essays (much writing about visual art is pretty ephemeral, often for magazines or newspapers, or for exhibition publications that are little distributed and out of print quickly). Anyway, Gaspereau’s publisher, Andrew Steeves, responded quickly with, “No, I don’t want to publish that.” Basically, he didn’t think he could sell it, and that he didn’t find the idea interesting (anyone who knows Andrew, knows that there is no BS with him). But then he asked if I was interested in writing 12 books on individual artists. You can see why I call it the best rejection ever.

Why are they called “field guides”?

Gaspereau’s motto or tag line is: “Literary Outfitters and Cultural Wilderness Guides.” In coming up with a name for the series I wanted to play off of that, and to telegraph to prospective readers that the books would be both interesting and useful. Art writing has a well-earned bad reputation for being impenetrable and I wanted to signal that these books would introduce interested readers to interesting artists, and would do so in an informative and engaging manner (I hope!). I was thinking of bird books, or mushroom guides, those sorts of things. More and more in the arts we talk about the community as an ‘ecosystem.’ A set of “field guides” to some of that ecosystem’s more prominent members seemed like a fun approach.

I wonder if you can tell me briefly about the subtitles for these books, for example, Gerald Ferguson: Thinking of Painting and Alex Colville: A Rebellious Mind.

I want the subtitle to give a potential reader information about how I am positioning each book’s subject. Ferguson was a conceptual artist who struggled with the very idea of painting for his entire career: painting for him was first and foremost an idea. Colville saw the world as chaotic and sought order amidst that chaos. I argue in the book that he was an exemplar of what the French existentialist and novelist Albert Camus (how timely is his book The Plague today?) calls a rebel, one who demands “order in the midst of chaos, and unity in the very heart of the ephemeral.” I hope each subtitle conveys some of the atmosphere of the book. 

The new addition to the series is Maud Lewis: Creating an Icon. What do you think will surprise the reader about Maud Lewis?

Maud died in 1970, long before her paintings became as well known as they are today. Her work wasn’t even included in an art gallery exhibition until 1976. What I hope will surprise readers is how much Maud is both an active creator of a certain vision of Nova Scotia, and a product herself of that vision. In her lifetime she created an iconic vision of Nova Scotia, a vision that has, since her death, turned her into an icon.

What’s the challenge of writing about art and artists for a general audience?  

I suppose that goes back to the reputation arts writing has for impenetrability. I started writing reviews when I was still an art student at NSCAD, mainly because I was so frustrated by what I was reading in magazines in the late 1980s. It was so theory-laden and obscure. Why write something that people can’t read?

I grew up listening to my father reprise his philosophy lectures to my mother when he got home from work. She had been a nurse, but with seven children she was a very busy stay-at-home mum. When my father got home, she had been with us kids all day and was desperate for adult conversation (I stayed quiet in the background and soaked it all up).

When I first went to university I lived at home, and when I got back from my classes I would do the same thing – sit and talk with my mother about what I was learning, what I was thinking, and I got used to explaining my ideas to her. When I started to write about art, I thought about who my ideal reader would be. And my mother, who read every word I wrote in her lifetime, was that ideal reader. As a young artist and aspiring writer I was discovering things every day that I wanted to share with as wide an audience as possible. I still am, and I still do.

Are there other books planned in the series? On whom?

There are. Things are pretty up in the air these days of course, but I am working towards a fall release in the series, a book on Brian Jungen, subtitled “New Understanding.” Jungen is famous for his Nike Air Jordan sculptures that mimic Northwest Cost masks (“Prototype for a New Understanding”), and for his whale skeleton sculptures made from plastic lawn chairs. I first met him when he won the inaugural Sobey Art Award in 2002, and have followed his career closely ever since. After that I plan to do a book on Nova Scotian artist Colleen Wolstenholme, another great sculptor.

What is it like to release a new book during a pandemic?

It’s anticlimactic, certainly. No launch, no readings, bookstores mostly closed and struggling. The new book on Maud Lewis would have had a broader market because of tourism, but that too has been derailed by the pandemic. But it’s not like there’s ever been a huge market for books on Canadian art, so I’m not discouraged. People manage to find the books. I’m doing more social media than I ever have, writing a blog for my website (raycronin.ca), posting excerpts of my writing, just trying to get things out there.

What do you see as the positives about this time? What have you found to be the most difficult?

Well, I have certainly noted the generosity of artists – the musicians doing online concerts, the authors doing readings, the actors presenting plays, the visual artists posting images of their work, and so much more. That evidence of how resilient artists are despite the closed theaters, cancelled concerts, and shuttered galleries, that’s the most positive.

Professionally, what has been difficult is the way that the pandemic has shut down the arts scene. Exhibitions and their catalogues are getting cancelled or delayed, magazines are suffering terribly from lack of advertising revenue, so freelancers are getting less and less work (my blog for Halifax Magazine has been suspended, for instance, and understandably so). I had a book’s publication delayed into next year as a result of the pandemic, and another that is stalled because I can’t do the research I need with libraries and archives closed (old files on the visual arts in Halifax are not on the top of anyone’s list for digitization, unfortunately).

Say the field guide series on Canadian artists continues 30 years from now … and you’re still writing them. Name three artists under the age of 30 whom you expect will be worthy of a field guide essay in 2050.

The thing about artists under 30 is that most of them won’t still be making art when they’re 40. I look back at my peers from my 20s and that’s as true for us as it will be for the current 20-year-olds. Making art is hard and too often unrewarding. Luck plays an outsize role as well, because everyone starts with talent.

Artists in their 30s are a much better bet for prognostication, but you asked for artists in their 20s, so here goes. I think that Letitia Fraser, whose show at Mount Saint Vincent I wrote about last winter for my Halifax Magazine blog, and who paints her friends and family from East Preston, has a lot of interesting things to say in paint. I think Laura Jean Forrester, a ceramicist who makes public commissions and floral sculpture out of clay will have a strong career. And Darcie Bernhardt, an Inuk artist from Tuktoyaktuk and recent NSCAD graduate, who is living in Halifax now is someone with a big career ahead. All three of them are artists I expect to be still relevant in 30 years.

I know that you are a graduate of NSCAD … what made you decide to work as a curator and writer instead of making art yourself?

That decision was sort of made for me. I made art until I was in my late 30s. Writing and making sculpture were parallel activities for me until 2001. But, when I was hired as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, I knew that the job would be so demanding that I could never be more than a hobby artist. On top of that, I would have a role and position that would give me outsize impact on the careers of artists who were working at it full-time. Being an artist is too hard to have gatekeepers competing with you. As a curator I had tons of new opportunities to write, so it really wasn’t a difficult decision.

Whose art do you have on your walls at home? What’s the favorite artwork that you own?

So many great things are on our walls (and floors, shelves, ledges, and mantles). A partial list includes work by my wife Sarah Maloney, our daughter Mollie Cronin, Mary Pratt, John Greer, Gerald Ferguson, Lucie Chan, Cora Cluett, Greg Forrest, Colleen Wolstenholme, Gerard Collins, Cliff Eyland, Cal Lane, Mark Bovey, Mitch Mitchell, and David Askevold.

In terms of my favourite, I’ll instead name the most recent: a puppet by Graeme Patterson from an exhibition he had in Calgary in 2010 called The Puppet Collective 2. The idea was that he would do 52 puppets (one a week) based on observations of random people. Those were offered for sale in an exhibition in 2009. Everyone who bought a puppet was required to send Graeme photographs of themselves, which were used to make a second series of puppets. I bought his portrait of a bike courier in 2009, and Graeme made a portrait of me called Man in a Black Hat in Wire-rimmed Glassesfor the 2010 show. It didn’t find a home until a few weeks ago when it arrived in the mail. It’s hanging in my office right now.

Author/illustrator Emma FitzGerald was born in Southern Africa to Irish parents, and did most of her growing up in Vancouver, BC. After completing her Bachelor of Fine Art in Visual Art at UBC, she moved to Halifax, NS where she completed a Masters in Architecture at Dalhousie University.

It was in summer of 2013 that she started documenting her North End neighbourhood through drawings and stories. This became the beginnings of her first book, Hand Drawn Halifax (Formac Publishing, 2015), which has sold 10,000 copies to date. The drawings and words speak to the importance of community, and shared oral history, and extends beyond her own neighbourhood to include places like North Preston, Cherrybrook, St. Margarats Bay and Lower Sackville, showing her interest in not only ‘the centre’ but also the edges of the city. She has also illustrated children’s books, including A Pocket of Time: The Poetic Childhood of Elizabeth Bishop  by Rita Wilson (Nimbus Publishing, 2019). It was nominated for IBBY Canada’s Elizabeth Mrazik Cleaver award for Excellence in Canadian illustration. Emma’s many years of researching Elizabeth Bishop, including artist residencies in Great Village and Rio de Janeiro, allowed for the project’s full realization, and also to a collaboration with film maker John Scott, creating animation sequences for The Art of Loosing, a forthcoming documentary film about Nova Scotia’s most famous poet. 

Emma continues to document places and people, in Hand Drawn Vancouver (Appetite of Penguin Random House, 2020), and has started work on Hand Drawn Victoria.

I note in your bio that Halifax is your “chosen” home. What is it about Halifax that captured your heart?

I think the people, who are community minded, and the general feeling that people work together to “make things happen.”

Did your house portraits come first or your study of architecture?

I liked to draw houses as a little girl, based on reading Anne of Green Gables and other L.M. Montgomery books where the protagonists had a strong attachment to a particular house/home. This sparked my interest in architecture, and was the beginning of my motivation to pursue it as a career. However, the house portraits came out of economic necessity, when I was laid off and not able to find architectural office work.

Why did you switch to illustration?

I always would illustrate things for my mother, whether it was menus or place cards for dinner parties. When I worked as an architect, I kept an art studio practice, focused on installation and art that had its basis in relational art practices, with community as its focus. Alongside this, I would make posters for music events, cd covers etc, always saying yes to opportunities to draw. From this came a desire to make books, and I submitted an illustration portfolio to a publisher at around this time (2010), but it took several years before it became clear what direction I would take in publishing.

Tell me about Hand Drawn Halifax. What was your goal in creating that book?

The book emerged, as opposed to being something I set out to do. I had always sketched when traveling, but never taken the time to draw on location when at home in Halifax. Then came the economic necessity of making a living, so I went about completing a drawing every day in my neighbourhood for one month, to test drive my ‘style’ and attract attention to my house portrait business. From the beginning I posted the drawings online on social media, accompanied by short stories that were told to me as I was drawing/snippets of conversation I overheard. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and people started sharing their own stories with me. This experience formed the basis of my “Pitch to the Publisher” at Word on the Street in 2013, which resulted in a contract with Formac Publishing. At that point the book pivoted from just being about my North-end neighbourhood to all of HRM, including neighbourhoods that are typically under represented. I wanted to celebrate the moments of connection that can happen anywhere; whether at a Tim Hortons, in a parking lot, on a sports field, or at an after-school program. There was a real sense of adventure and discovery, as I went to places I had never been before, drawing and ‘seeing’ what would happen. So the book acts as an invitation to the reader to similarly discover new places on their own. I also tried my best to be aware of my own position, often as an outsider, and be respectful in how I represented people.

You’ve also illustrated books written by other people, including EveryBody’s Different on EveryBody Street by Sheree Fitch and A Pocket of Time by Rita Wilson. What is that process like? Do you work collaboratively or quite separately?

The author and illustrator work separately, with the publisher, mainly the editor, acting as a liaison, and of course the designer also has a voice in the process.  However, I had met both Sheree and Rita before getting started, which is fairly unusual, but helped in connecting with their work, and motivated me to do the very best work I could. In both cases I got a small amount of feedback after the initial sketches, but that was communicated via the editor, Whitney Moran.

I know that A Pocket of Time: The Poetic Childhood of Elizabeth Bishop is very special to you. Why is that?

The project had a feeling of being ‘fated’. Both the author, Rita Wilson, and I, have spent many years separately researching Bishop, including both staying at Bishop’s childhood home in Great Village, as artists in residence. On my part, I had also travelled to several of her homes in Brazil, during a six-week artist residency in Rio. I have also been working on a film project with John Scott, creating images for his forthcoming feature length documentary film about her life. So I feel very invested in Bishop, in a really lovely way. To happen upon Rita’s book project and get to just ask if I could illustrate it was like a dream come true. I think I love Bishop so much because of the clear love for Nova Scotia expressed in her work, alongside her obvious need for travel. I think I can relate to that!

Do you see yourself writing your own children’s books? Why or why not?

I have a few ideas, kicking around. I am trusting that when the time is right, that might happen. For now, I have been too busy with other projects. I do enjoy how the Hand Drawn books are words and pictures together, for adults as much as for children. I think we all have an innate need to look at art and ‘listen’ to stories though pictures…. 

What picture books captured your imagination as a child? What picture books do you recommend today?

I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess with illustrations by Graham Rust, Roahld Dahl’s books illustrated by Quentin Blake, books written and illustrated by Richard Scarry, John Bergman, Beatrix Potter, Rosy’s Garden by Satomi Ichikawa,  and Winnie the Pooh illustrated by EH Shepard.

I have to say I still have a soft spot for the old favourites, but I also am inspired by how dynamic the picture book world is today. The most recent children’s book I bought and enjoyed is My Best Friendby Julie Fogliano, with illustrations by Jillian Tamaki, and I am excited for Jillian’s forthcoming book Our Little Kitchen.

How has life been like for you during the pandemic? What aspects of quarantine and staying home do you like? What are some of the first things you’ll do when stay-at-home orders are lifted?

It was quite dramatic in that I moved across the country on March 27th. My initial plan was to move to Victoria on April 2nd, but I sped up my decision as it was seeming like interprovincial travel might be stopped. I completed a 14-day quarantine on arrival, which was made easier because I had some friends drop over groceries and basic kitchen supplies. Since getting through the quarantine, I have mostly been self isolating, and just treating each day as a new day, trying to be gentle on my expectations of myself. Luckily there have been no restrictions on visiting city parks, and there is so much nature to enjoy here in Victoria. During my daily walks I will see owls, otters, sea lions, eagles and more! Also lots of lush plants and blossoms. I am returning to my love of ballet, doing online dance classes, and keeping connected with family and friends via phone and Zoom. As we look towards some of the restrictions I look forward to visiting my parents and siblings in Vancouver.

What project are you engaged in right now?

The intention was to be fully engaged in promoting the launch of Hand Drawn Vancouver this month, with many events planned in Vancouver by my publisher, Appetite of Penguin Random House Canada. However, due to the pandemic, the release date is now June 23rd, and so far the only event still planned is an online exhibition of drawings via the West Van Memorial Library, coming up on June 10th. I do have plenty to work on in the meantime, including getting started on Hand Drawn Victoria, which will also be published by Appetite. It will be interesting to see how much of the ‘new normal’ will influence the book.

– Questions by Marilyn Smulders

John Read’s journey into astronomy began with a small and rickety telescope purchased at his local pharmacy. He found it fascinating to observe the Moon and Saturn with its rings using such meagre equipment. He decided to share these views with others by writing his first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope, an easy-to-understand beginner’s guide which he self-published and sold through Amazon starting in 2013.

Since then, he has written a number of other books on space for children including 50 Things to See on the Moon (Formac Publishing). In 2020, two more books are coming out—50 Animals That Have Been to Space, which he co-wrote with his wife Jennifer Read, and 50 Space Missions That Changed the World, due out before Christmas. Both books are published by Formac. Besides writing, John works as the telescope operator at Saint Mary’s Burke-Gaffney Observatory.

In this Q and A, John talks about his love of space, his collaboration with wife Jennifer, and what you can see in the night sky right now.

How did you get interested in space?

My dad was an agricultural salesman and he moved our family to Prince Edward Island from Nova Scotia while I was in Grade 4. That’s when I started watching Star Trek and reading old National Geographic magazines about space. I was probably about 10 at the time.

As an adult, I bought a cheap telescope and pointed it at Saturn. We were living in California then—I was in corporate finance at Clorox—and my interest just grew and grew into larger telescopes.

The first book (50 Things to See with a Small Telescope) sold pretty well, about 1,000 copies the first year it was out. I thought that was pretty cool. And the next Christmas it sold maybe a few more thousand copies.

But then it kept selling and selling and that let me know it had business potential. I had it translated in 10 different languages (including German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese) and I created a southern hemisphere edition.

So you quit your job at Clorox?

The growth was exponential—I’ve probably sold 100,000 copies of that book now.

And my job in finance. I realized I wasn’t 100 per cent there. My mind was occupied with all things space.  So I applied to the astrophysics program at Saint Mary’s University and decided to write more books. We moved back to Halifax in 2016.

What is with the ’50 things’ approach?

I think of it as a brand to tie all the books together. I look at it from a marketing perspective and that’s the hook. It originated as 10 telescope targets per season, plus the eight planets, Sun, and Moon.

The book that’s just out is called 50 Animals That Have Been to Space. Why did you collaborate with your wife Jennifer on this one?

Jennifer is the animal buff. When she was in University in California, she was on movie sets making sure the animals were being well taken care of. She also grew up on a ranch.

Jennifer did most of the research while I worked full time on my studies. She found out all the facts and got the photographs. Then we kind of matched everything to my writing style in the other books. This was a unique case—the intersection of our two hobbies, space and animals.

Was there anything surprising that you found out in writing this book?

Well, what’s surprising to me is how many animals have gone into space, and how many different species — they’ve sent up scorpions, snails, shrimp, jellyfish, newts… The Soviets sent turtles flying around the moon. Mice have been in space to see what happens when are struck with cosmic rays. When a cosmic ray hits a black mouse, its hair turns white … they’re like geiger counter for space radiation.

In the early days, space was an unknown frontier, so animals were sent as biological samples, everything from fruit flies to guinea pigs. Later, the Russians sent up dogs to test life support systems. The Americans sent up monkeys and chimps which could pull levers and press buttons … and this happened right before human flight.

What’s it like releasing a book during the pandemic?

Releasing a book during the pandemic was tough. Our official launch date was March 28^th, so we had several events canceled, including a major release at the Halifax Public Library. Instead we held a reading contest, offering free ebook copies of the book. Some people liked the book so much they bought the paperback as well. I’ve also had several teachers reach out to me about getting the book for their classrooms.

You write fiction too?

Between my first and second space books, I wrote two sci-fi novels —The Martian Conspiracy and Callisto Deception. I may pick that up again but for now I have a mortgage to pay and a family to feed, writing is really my only paying job. I don’t mind waiting on the sci-fi, since I enjoy writing non-fiction just as much.

What has life been like for you during this time?

Well, I’ve got to say that Jennifer has been super supportive and handling the kids while I finished up classes. Untill mid-April, the astrophysics program kept going at me 110 per cent.

Now, I’ve been writing pretty much full time. I work intensely in the morning while Jenn is home schooling. We try to get the kids outside in the afternoons.

At night, when there’s clear skies, I’m doing astronomy. If we weren’t in a pandemic, I’d like to return to Herring Cove and set up my telescope on the wharf and take photographs.

What can you see in night sky at this time of year?

To astronomers, spring is referred to as galaxy season. You point your telescope toward Virgo and look for galaxies. There’s lots to see from the city as well, even without a telescope. In the morning, you can see Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. In the evening, the bright star you see in the west is Venus.

 – In conversation with Marilyn Smulders

Lindsay R. Ruck, born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is a graduate of Carleton University’s School of Journalism in Ottawa. Since graduating in 2008, she has worked in the marketing, communications and publishing fields. Similar to her grandfather, the late Calvin W. Ruck, she has a deep and abiding respect and affection for her home province of Nova Scotia and recently returned to Halifax, after living in Ottawa for 12 years to further her career as a writer and editor. Her latest book is a biography of Dr. John Savage called Against the Grain (Pottersfield Press).

In this interview, Lindsay talks about the inspiration her grandfather Calvin W. Ruck has given her and her interest in history.  

Can you tell me about your grandfather, Calvin W. Ruck?

I know I’m biased, but my grandfather was an incredible man. He grew up in Whitney Pier and eventually moved to Halifax to work as a sleeping-car porter with the Canadian National Railway. He dealt with racism and discrimination on a daily basis, but he never wavered or stopped fighting for what was right. He fought for basic human rights, like haircuts at local barber shops, jobs for black men and women at local businesses, and land titles for residents who lived in communities their entire lives but still weren’t properly acknowledged as property owners. He brought dry cleaning services and school supplies into communities that went without up until that point. He was never content with the status quo and spent his entire life improving the lives of others. He would eventually go on to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and was able to continue his work on a larger platform. He will always be one of my greatest inspirations and his life is a testament that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it and believe that they can make a difference. 

Why did you decide to write about him in the book Winds of Change?

 Among other job titles, my grandfather was an author and historian. He wrote a book about the No. 2 Black Construction Battalion and was working on a second book when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It became apparent that he would no longer be able to tell the important stories of the past and that included his own incredible story. When I started thinking about this project, I had just graduated with a journalism degree and was figuring out what to do next. Writing has always been my passion and being able to tell the story of my grandfather’s life was a huge honour. For me, it was the perfect first swing at the bat as an author because I was confident in his story, I was passionate about the subject and I wanted others to know just how incredible he was. So many people after reading the book have said they didn’t realize he did this or that, or they had no idea black families endured so much in Nova Scotia. I wanted people to know we are where we are today because of trailblazers like my grandfather, and there is still a lot to do to continue the work he began in this province and in this country.

How did you write the book? What kind of research did you do? Were you able to interview him? (I realize he passed away in 2004.)

When I first started writing the book I was living in Ottawa. My grandparents lived with us in Ottawa and although my grandfather had passed away by the time I started working on the book, he had left boxes and boxes of documents ranging from transcripts of speeches he’d given to post-it notes where he had written down thoughts, names, and titles of books and newspaper articles. So the early days involved digging through all of those boxes and piecing together any relevant information pertaining to his life and the projects that were most important to him. Once I moved back to Halifax, I had a chance to meet with several of my grandfather’s colleagues, friends and family members. Those first-person accounts were really special for me and I was able to see how moved people were by one man’s actions. But my favourite interviews were the ones with my grandmother. Talking about how they first met, the loss of their daughter (my aunt), and the struggles of a young mother were all things we never talked about before and I will cherish those conversations most.

What are some of things that you take away from his life story?

There’s so much to be learned from how he chose to live his life. One of the biggest takeaways is standing up for what is right and not being afraid to speak up. My grandfather was fearless. He didn’t come from a wealthy family. He had to leave school when he was quite young to get a job and support his siblings. (But would then go on to get his high school degree and obtain a university degree in the 1970s – becoming the oldest in his graduating class.) These things never held him back. If he saw something was wrong, he figured out how to make it better. He also had a way of speaking calmly and concisely to get his point across. When people go into battle, sometimes they think the louder they are the better, but my grandfather believed the opposite. He came armed not with fists and weapons, but with a calm demeanour that somehow could captivate a room and change the minds of even the most stubborn of individuals.

Your latest book is a biography of John Savage called Against the Grain. Tell me about the title.

It wasn’t until I neared the end of writing this book that I thought of Against the Grain. In my opinion, it really sums up the biggest theme in the book, which is making unpopular decisions and doing things that weren’t always well-received. Politics aside, Dr. Savage was a huge advocate of sex education in the schools and this was at the time when the topic was considered taboo. He worked with drug addicts and alcoholics and opened a detox centre for those who were essentially tossed to the side by society. He then battled day in and day out to reform a province that wanted nothing to do with his ideas and fought him at every turn. He went against the grain and was unapologetic in his beliefs and actions when he truly believed he was doing what would be best for a people and a province.

Why did you want to write about John Savage? Did you see in him qualities he shared with your grandfather?

My grandfather and Dr. Savage worked together in Preston. When Dr. Savage discovered the area didn’t have a medical centre, he knew he wanted to do something about it. Among other volunteers, my grandfather and Dr. Savage not only brought a medical centre to the community, but also a daycare and a ball field. They both believed that if they saw a void or if something wasn’t right, it needed to be corrected and if they couldn’t do it themselves, then they would find the right people who could make it happen. 

I was quite young when Dr. Savage was premier of Nova Scotia, but I was certainly aware of the major moves he made while in power, such as the amalgamation and the HST. I was intrigued by what I did know about him and it was apparent there was so much more to this man than just a politician and I really wanted to uncover those other layers and tell a complete story of his life.

In the books that you write, you seem to gravitate to history. Why do you think you went in that direction?

When I was younger, I wanted to write YA novels and children’s books and I filled notebooks with ideas that catered to those age groups. I really had little interest in history, especially when it came to writing about it. It wasn’t until I began considering my grandfather’s biography that my fascination grew in telling others’ stories. Growing up, my history textbooks held very little in relation to black history and while working on Winds of Change I began to feel a responsibility to tell those stories that get lost in school curriculum. While it was never part of the plan, I feel incredibly grateful and honoured to tell these stories. A few weeks ago one of my high school teachers sent me a message saying a student included a line in their presentation that started with “As author Lindsay Ruck stated….” That is exactly why I now gravitate towards historic literature. So that students will learn far more than I did about the stories of incredible individuals who made a difference, who stood up for what they believed in and fought racism and discrimination to make a difference. There is a void that needs to be filled when it comes to black history resources and I hope to help in filling that void. That’s not to say those YA novels still won’t become a part of my repertoire someday!

I see you have another book coming out this fall — Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians. Who are some of the people you profile in that book?

There are so many incredible black Atlantic Canadians and I couldn’t include them all in the pages of this book, but I tried to feature a wide range of men and women, including athletes, artists and educators, both past and present. Operatic greats Measha Brueggergosman and Portia White, the coloured hockey league, Halifax activist Quentrel Provo and the No. 2 Black Construction Battalion are all featured in this book. I’m so excited to see it released so kids can learn all about these incredible individuals.

OK, changing direction. You’ve got a toddler and a newborn with you at home. What has that been like during these strange days?

My son was born just days before the stay at home order was issued and so our family and friends still haven’t been able to hold him or spend that special quality time with him in those early days with a newborn. That’s been tough for sure. My daughter is two years old and trying to explain to a toddler why she all of a sudden can’t see her friends or spend time with her cousins is difficult. On the flip side, I keep thinking how blessed we are to have welcomed a happy and healthy baby boy into the world who is so loved by so many already. Life can become so busy and this has forced us to slow down, appreciate the little things and really just enjoy being together with our growing little family.

I wouldn’t imagine you would be able to write at all with two little humans depending on you … have you?

Despite this being my second child, I still naively thought I would write during the “down time.” So far, that hasn’t happened. I’m still working on finishing up Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians and have been able to tackle that in short spurts so far. I certainly have a lot of notebooks to fill with new ideas and storylines that are currently sitting in my brain waiting to be explored further.

What do you miss the most from the time before?

Time with my family. Both my husband and I come from very close-knit families and not being able to just pop over to their homes or invite them over to our place for dinner is very odd and a huge adjustment. This is something I will appreciate even more once this is all over.

– Questions by Marilyn Smulders

Janice Landry is a regionally and nationally award-winning writer and journalist whose non-fiction work primarily focuses on mental health and wellness. Her latest book, Silver Linings, focuses on gratitude and resiliency, two key cornerstones in the field of mental health and wellness. Dedicated to her late mother, Theresa Landry, and friend, Audrey J. Parker, who both died while Landry was working on the project, the book includes a rare interview with Dr. Robert Emmons, considered to be the world’s preeminent scientific expert and researcher in the field of gratitude. Dr. Emmons is based out of the University of California – Davis.   

Pictou Antigonish Regional Library has arranged for Janice to do a reading from Silver Linings online on Tuesday, May 26. (Check out the details here.) Through the Read Atlantic program, her book is also available for a free download. 

First, where does the name Groundhog Productions come from?

 I immediately knew the name of my freelance business would be “Groundhog Productions.” I was born on Groundhog Day; February 2. It’s the kind of name that you don’t easily forget, and it usually brings a smile to a person’s face when I explain the connection. I am Groundhog Productions. It reflects who I am; I also love humour. I grew up watching British comedies. For me, silly is always in style. My company name is a tad silly, and that’s okay by me.

You were a long-time employee at ATV (now CTV Atlantic) — a reporter, editor, producer, anchor. Why did you make a career change to author?

I left television news in 1999 after the birth of our daughter, Laura. I wanted more control over my time as a mother, and over the work that I produced and created. I have always loved documentaries, series, and in-depth stories. I actually stayed with CTV Atlantic for about seven years, after 1999, as the producer and writer of all the patient stories for the IWK Telethon. Both jobs allowed me to work with some of the best people in broadcasting. I also started freelancing, in 2001, and, as part of that, began magazine writing, which I have always loved. The magazine writing acted as a bridge between writing for broadcast and starting to write in different formats. I took a lot of work for me to branch away from a script style, which I had solely done for 19 years. I eventually started writing long form non-fiction as a way to honour my late father, who died in 2006. Dad was a veteran Halifax firefighter. My book, The Sixty Second Story, (Pottersfield Press, 2013), honours Capt. Baz Landry, M.B., his Halifax Fire peers, as well as the nine firefighters who died as a result of the Halifax Explosion. The latter are solemnly and collectively referred to, in Canadian firefighting history, as “The Fallen Nine.” I started writing books to honour my dad. It started out of love and respect.

What do you miss about daily journalism? 

 Hands down, the people I worked with; the people are the best part of any job. There are a handful of  people from that era that I regularly socialize with, and a great number of them that I connect with via social media, and also at events around the city and province. I am deeply grateful for my time with each of them. They were like a second family to me. They also continue to teach me a lot. There are a few of them who are still like family now.

Did you have stories that needed to get out?

Yes, and I still do. There are always ideas floating around in my head. I purposely place some of them on the backburner to stew and allow others to come to the forefront. It is important for me, as a writer, to give an idea time to percolate before I start any research or writing. This can take months, or years.

Who are some of your mentors, who perhaps took a similar path?

My first mentor was/is my late father. Everything I know about work ethic, and strive for, came from him. Baz’s work ethic was off-the-charts. In his opinion and approach, you only did something to the best of your ability. Later in life, two of my other biggest mentors are the late Ian Wiseman and the late Bill Jessome. Ian was one of my professors in the journalism department at the University of King’s College, Halifax. Ian was a respected former broadcaster, who worked at the CBC. From Newfoundland, he was an empathetic and funny person, who truly cared about his students. A great poet, Ian was incredibly multi-talented. I credit him as the person who helped me choose broadcasting as my initial career path. I met my third main mentor, Bill Jessome, while working in broadcasting at CTV Atlantic. Bill remains one of the best storytellers I have had the great pleasure of knowing. He was a master in video production and also using the pen. I, and a circle of other fortunate people, became very close friends with Bill. He was family. Bill was funny, dapper, and immensely generous with his time. Bill is the reason I faced my fear and started writing books. A conversation with Bill in his Halifax home was the tipping point for me to branch out into longform non-fiction.

I feel your writing is unique in that you’ve focused on themes including gratitude and resilience. Why do you keep returning to those themes in your writing?

Most of my work comes to me, I don’t go looking for it. The story ideas percolate until they are ready to be told. This may sound odd to readers, but I feel like I am a kind of vehicle for them, to be honest. Many of the interviews I do are somehow placed in front of me on my creative journey, either through people I know, events I attend, or other happenstances. It’s actually quite uplifting. I don’t believe in coincidences. I think things happen for a reason. I allow time in my process for a work to evolve naturally. A lot of my writing includes first responders as a main theme and focus. Because I grew up as the proud child of a firefighter, I have the utmost respect for emergency personnel and their families. This is a primary theme that will always be close to my heart. Gratitude and resilience have also become important topics since I am now living with the loss of both of my parents. Their deaths have been traumatic and difficult. Grief is a journey. I write to help people work through trauma. Researching and writing is also a cathartic and healing experience for me.  

You are also seen as an advocate for first responders – how did that arise?

It wasn’t a strategic decision but evolved over time. I have written five books, as of 2020, and have  attended and spoken at many conferences and events, across Canada, over the past seven to 10 years. The whole process has allowed me to meet, and get to know, dozens of responders, fellow advocates, and medical professionals, from the United States and Canada. I try to do what I can to get the word out that – we fundamentally owe our first responders our ultimate respect, support, and funding, across all levels of government, for training and support services, right now.

What kind of research do you do in writing your books?

The research is one of my favourite parts of writing. It takes a long time, many months, or years. It will involve attending multiple conferences on the latest mental health and wellness information, article and book reading, online research, and many interviews with people, to name a few research tools. Most of my books contain 15 to 20 interviews. Some people are interviewed multiple times. I learned how to do in depth research at King’s. But that learning never stops. I am also an advocate of lifelong learning. Research is a major part of writing, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. You need a good base layer before you can ice your cake.

Where do you write?

I write at home, on a desktop. I also have a laptop, but I am faster at my desk. I always sit facing a window for inspiration. I love to watch the birds and people go by. On my desk, there is a vase from Barcelona that our daughter bought for me, a pen holder from a friend that says, “Be as bold as your lipstick,” a small picture of my late parents on their wedding day, and a handmade paper maché dish made by the late Canadian artist, Bernard Bowles. It was a gift from one of my dearest friends, who is like a sister. Inside the small dish is a tiny, printed quote that says, “Always believe something wonderful is about to happen.” I don’t like a lot of clutter around me when I work. I usually write for three to six hours in one sitting, and begin about 9am. I am not a coffee shop writer. I find it distracting. I also don’t focus well after dinner time, so late-night writing sessions do not work for me. I am focused when I start a project. A day can go by quickly. I will often stand at the kitchen counter to eat a snack and go right back to the work. I will also re-heat my tea multiple times, as the mug will sit in front of me and go cold. I forget it’s there. Tea is a must.

What project are you working on now?

I am working on a video script for a client. It’s about a 15-minute video, so it’s an in-depth script that is very technical and requires a lot of research. I am also editing a magazine-style brochure for another client. The second client is a former student of mine. I taught part-time in the Department of Communication Studies, at Mount Saint Vincent University, (MSVU), for nearly 17 years. I am humbled to be working for a former student. All of the people I taught are a major gift in my life. I miss them. I left campus life in 2017, but they will always be ‘my students.’ 

What do you see as the “silver lining” of the pandemic? What aspects do you hope to carry through into the future?

I am inspired by the stories of empathy and support I am reading across social media platforms. People have really stepped up to help one another, in small and large ways. I find this soothing. I also love seeing families spending more time together. People are doing hobbies, creating art, baking, or just leaving time ‘to simply be.’ We were all rushing around so much that I am not sure we knew exactly what we were rushing about for; our people must come first. And now, we realize that lost connections with people are taking a toll. As we move forward, I hope we appreciate people, and even the smallest experiences, more deeply. Going for a coffee or having a sandwich on a patio downtown will have new meaning. I also hope employers will allow people to continue to work from home if this suits and supports their lifestyle. Working from home is challenging for some people, but I love it.

Have you been putting on lipstick during this time?

I laughed out loud when I read this question. I don’t always wear lipstick at home, but as my friends and family know, it is my favourite go-to accessory. Pink lipstick is kind of a signature item for me. My students in my final 2017 MSVU class bought me a tube of Mac lipstick as one of my parting gifts. I continue to buy the bright pink colour they chose for me. This fascination with lipstick likely started because my late mother, Theresa, always applied it before she went out. She never wore it at home. Working from home today, I am wearing a sweatshirt, pink pyjama bottoms, slippers, my hair is in a bun, and I am wearing zero makeup/no lipstick. I rarely wear much makeup outside of socializing. Since you have asked, I feel compelled to now leave you, spruce myself up, and put on a coat, of lipstick. Great final question.  

 – Questions by Marilyn Smulders

John (or Jay) Johnston is the author or co-author of 20 books: 15 on different aspects of the history of Atlantic Canada and five novels. The Canadian Historical Association awarded a Clio prize to his Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory and the Despair of Louisbourg’s Last Decade, while Ni’n na L’nu: The Mi’kmaq of Prince Edward Island was selected in 2014 as the best published Atlantic book. John was made a chevalier of France’s Ordre des Palmes académiques in recognition of his many publications on the French presence in Atlantic Canada. He lives in Halifax with his wife Mary. For more information, please visit ajbjohnston.com.

Author photo by Nicola Davison, Snickerdoodle Photography.

A.J.B. Johnston is the name on your books. What do the A, J, and B stand for? What name did your mom call you?

The names behind the initials are Andrew John Bayly. When I first started to publish I used just my initials (like a lot of well-known authors at the time) and now I feel locked into that style. My mom called me Johnny, and everyone else either Jay or John.

As a writer, you seem to do it all, writing fiction and non-fiction. How come you didn’t just settle on one thing or another? 

For many years, I wrote mainly history (for my longtime employer, Parks Canada, and for my own personal research interests), with occasional freelance non-fiction pieces in magazines or newspapers. I turned to fiction because I came to feel that there were stories I wanted to tell (and themes to explore) that went well beyond any historical evidence. It was an odd sensation in the beginning to invent characters, settings and dialogue. Historians don’t do that! So far, I’ve been able to keep the two crafts separate. I believe that after I moved into fiction, my non-fiction writing for museum exhibits became much more creative.

From your website, I see that you are a chevalier of the Ordres des Palmes Academiques. That’s incredible! How did that come about? 

I had a champion — the late Robert Pichette, who among many other accomplishments, designed the flag of New Brunswick — who put together a dossier of all my work on the French presence in the history of Atlantic Canada, especially in connection with 18^th-century Louisbourg. The powers that be in France accepted the case that Robert put forward and gave me the honour. There was a touching ceremony at the French Consulate in Moncton.

As well as a writer of books, you are an interpretative writer. What does that mean? And what are some of your favourite projects?

I have written a great many exhibits over the years, beginning with when I was with Parks Canada and then later as an independent writer. It is challenging to write short rather than long, a challenge I like. Not everyone is inclined to do that kind of work. I feel especially fortunate and honored to have written the ground floor exhibit at the Black Cultural Centre, the permanent installation at Truro’s Colchester Historeum, the Ni’n na L’nu travelling exhibit and the recent “Vanguard” exhibit for the Nova Scotia Museum. 

Tell me about your latest book, Kings of Friday Night. What is it like to release a book during a pandemic?

I hope Kings reaches different audiences, beginning with those who remember The Lincolns but extending to those who do not, but who are nonetheless interested in a touching, sometimes funny, sometimes sad story that is ultimately a universal tale. It’s a book that is also a partial memoir, with some 1950s and 1960s social and cultural history of Nova Scotia thrown in. The pandemic closures eliminated the usual book launch events, which was a drag, especially the postponement of the Marigold Centre event that was going to include performances by the legendary Lincolns themselves, with Charlie A’Court taking over as the singer after the passing of Frank MacKay last year..

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I found lots of good material, especially images and even a forgotten TV show, in various archives. Decades of experience as an historian really paid off. Even more important than the visuals were all the stories the guys in the band and the legion of fans were willing and eager to share. Those recollections make the story come alive.

I also notice that some of your books are self-published and others are conventionally published. Why did you decide to go the self publishing route? What are the advantages/disadvantages? 

I was curious about self-publishing, and gave it a try with The Hat and Something True. They were stories I wanted to get out there, but I can now say that, for me, I much prefer going the traditional route with a publisher. I was especially disappointed that the books were initially only available on Amazon.com not Amazon.ca.  

If you didn’t write, what do you think you’d do for a living?

I don’t think I would ever not write. I can’t imagine it. Words are everything. But I have to say that I was lucky to find work (and leisure time) to write history, fiction and museum exhibits, rather than memos about who knows what. Truth be told, I did also write tons of memos, minutes and other things back when I was a public servant. They paid the rent etc. The immense variety of writing over the years gave me the feeling that I could write about anything, because I already had. I’ve never suffered any kind of “block.” If I am not sure what to write next on some project, I’ll go for a walk, and allow the way ahead to raise its hand.  

What’s the best book you’ve read lately?

I really like Nicola Davison’s In The Wake. It’s persuasive, moving and thoughtful.

What are you working on now?

I have two projects. One is the fourth and final novel in my Thomas Pichon series. My working title is World Undone. The other is a second book about PEI history with Jesse Francis. That one is entitled Ancient Land, New Land. It was to be launched in the summer of 2020 but complications arising from Covid 19 has pushed it back a year.

– Questions by Marilyn Smulders.

Writer Melanie Mosher grew up in Amherst, Nova Scotia and now lives on the eastern shore of the province with her husband in a little green house with a bright orange door. Always an avid reader, her love of writing began in Grade 2 when she won an essay contest. Her two daughters make me proud and her granddaughter, Emma, reminds her of the joy of childhood.

I love the little bit of info about yourself on your website. What was it like to grow up in a funeral home?

My Dad was a funeral director and licensed embalmer and my family lived in the upstairs apartment over the funeral home. I really didn’t consider it much different than anyone else’s home. We did have to be quiet sometimes as the noise we made upstairs traveled through the floor and could disturb the mourners below and my parents worked odd hours compared to other families. I can remember kids at school teasing me and telling me spooky stories, trying to scare me. I told my dad, and he quickly replied, “It’s not the dead you need to fear.” I never thought much more about it. It was my home. No, we didn’t get many trick or treaters at Halloween, but I did have plenty of friends who came to visit.  

Your latest book is called A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye. What is it about? What is it like to have a new book come out during a pandemic?

A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye is a story of loss. Ten-year-old Laney has lost her sister in a tragic accident and we see her and her family grieve. They travel to their cottage on the Northumberland Strait of Nova Scotia for the first time since Jenny’s death but Laney is worried her favourtie place may not be the same. It is a gentle story about a tough subject written for a young audience although suitable for all readers including adults. It is meant to provide comfort for those who have lost, and encourage empathy for those around them. It is meant to provide hope and spark difficult, yet necessary, conversations. 

It is a story that seems a bit “too” relevant right now. My sincere hope is that is may resonate with readers and provide comfort.

What do you like about writing for children and teens? 

For the younger readers, I love their honesty and their imagination. And I can always learn from them. For example, in my picture book, Fire Pie Trout, young Grace will not put the worm on the hook. For me, as the writer of a certain age, this was simply because it was gross and about her fear of trying new things. But when I went into the classroom and asked students in Grade 2 why this happened, they immediately told me it was because Grace didn’t want to harm another living creature. “Okay, but what about the fish?” someone else asked. It started a wonderful conversation about nature and the circle of life. A conversation I hadn’t expected.

What were some of your favourite books growing up?

This is a hard question to answer. I was fortunate to live a house filled with books and readers. My parents were generous when it came to the Scholastic book orders and my siblings and I spent much of our allowance at the local comic book store. I also frequented the local library. To name a few: Charlotte’s Web, Where the Wild Things Are, Winnie-the Pooh, Clifford, the Big Red Dog, Pippi Longstocking, Baked Beans for Breakfast, The Pigman, and anything by Beverley Cleary, Judy Blume, Mark Twain, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I would have to say money on workshops and courses about writing. Because, writing is a solitary endeavor, it is important to come together with other writers to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I still look back on the workshops I took at the WFNS in 1999-2001 (dates may be off as that’s a long time ago) with Norene Smiley and Carol MacDougall as the ones that set me on the path to becoming a published author. The encouragement of the instructors and fellow writers was/is a priceless thing.

Does your corner of the world — Gaetz Brook — figure into your fiction?

Not specifically, but my love of a rural setting and the importance of nature is part of my stories. My characters often know their neighbours, walk through paths, and climb trees. And can go fishing. When I give a presentation here in Nova Scotia and ask grade one students to tell me a “fishing story,” every hand flies into the air. Once, when I was in Toronto, I asked a group of kids to raise their hand if they’d been fishing. No one raised their hand. Up to that point, I had taken for granted how influenced I was by my beautiful province of Nova Scotia.

What has it been like for you during this strange time? Have you discovered anything about yourself that you didn’t know previously? What have you found to be difficult?

I’m an introvert, so staying home has been okay. I write, I read, I cook, I rake, I garden, I play solitaire. Again, I am grateful for my rural surroundings and my yard. Being able to get outside and be in nature is very important. Also, I am very grateful for technology. Having email, messenger, Facebook, Zoom, and twitter make it possible to stay connected with my family, friends, and other writers. Some of these I found overwhelming before, now they are necessary.

I used to say “If I had more time…”

Now, I have the time, but I find it hard to settle down and focus. Perhaps it was an excuse all along!

I am recognizing what’s important by recognizing what I miss most: hugging my family and friends, the freedom to come and go, and the sense of purpose that going to my day job gave me. But I also have immense gratitude for my government and our medical system and all those essential workers still going to their job each day.

Do you have any writing rituals?

I prefer to write early in the day.  I love to write by hand using pen and paper, my favourite being Hilroy scribblers. My computer is great for editing, rewriting, and sharing words, but the creative part, for me, is still with paper.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Criticism can be devastating if it comes too early in my writing process, so I have become very protective of first drafts. I do seek advice from others, and I think it’s important, and I do want and get feedback, both positive and negative. But if I’m still in the stages of developing an idea, negativity can squash it and the story fades away. Once the draft is complete, I’m not as vulnerable and I can welcome the input of others. And I do welcome the input. None of my writing is complete without the others. Writing is solitary, but it’s also collaborative.

What does literary success look like to you?

If I can help one person, make a difference in their world, have them recognize themselves in my story, then I have success. 

What are you working on right now?

My ideas seem to pick me, and don’t go away until I listen. When Vic Markham, the protagonist, in Goth Girl, first appeared in my imagination she intimidated me and I didn’t want to write a young adult novel about a girl dressed in black who was breaking the law and mouthing off to police. She was relentless and eventually I sat and let her speak. I’m glad I did.

I usually have more than one project on the go at a time. I am currently working on a non-fiction piece for adults, which is a completely new genre for me. It’s a memoir that details my journey with depression, not one that I would have volunteered to write, but as I’ve said, it is persistent.  Because it can get “heavy” at times, I am also working on an early chapter book about a young boy named Jackson. Jackson finds himself suspended from school for three days and must spend them with his cranky old neighbour, George. Discovering how these two unlikely characters become friends due to circumstance provides me balance.

– Questions by Marilyn Smulders