1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
The Art of Getting Lost and Found is the first of my novels to be picked up for publication but it wasn’t the first one I wrote. I finished writing my first novel more than 20 years ago but didn’t understand that all I’d done was create a good first draft. After sending it to two agents and one publisher and having it rejected, I shelved it and pretty much gave up writing fiction for several years. As a single parent with two kids, I had very little spare time, so I stuck to churning out magazine and newspaper articles that would pay the bills, and scribbling a few poems.
Being older and wiser, I worked through several drafts before sending The Art of Getting Lost and Found out into the world and when Breakwater Books confirmed they wanted to publish it, it was like this huge wave of validation washed over me, making me feel like I’m no longer on the outside looking in.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to, say, poetry or non-fiction?
As a child, my grandfather used to whisk me and siblings up to his study so my mom could have time alone with her mother. We often played a game where we’d each have to write the first line of story, like, ‘Once upon a time there was a …” and we’d fill in whatever we wanted, fold the paper so you couldn’t see what was written, and pass it to the person beside us. Then he’d have us write, “They lived in a …” and again, we’d fill it in without knowing what each other had written. He’d carry the story along to a conclusion (or until we ran out of room on the page) and then we’d take turns reading the stories out loud. They were always hilarious, things like, “Once upon a time there was a pickle that lived in a barn, that liked to wear a tutu…” The fun we had making up stories stayed with me. That said, however, I wrote mostly poetry at first, filling up an entire book (a gift from my grandfather) before finishing grade six.
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
When I have an idea, I dive into “the zone” and completely immerse myself to the point of obsession. The characters often come before the storyline and once I can hear their voices and imagine them in my head, I let them loose and follow along, writing things down as fast as I can to see where they go. I wrote the first draft of The Art of Getting Lost and Found in a 3-Day novel writing contest, managing just over 20,000 words that Labour Day weekend. Once I had the bones down, I worked through four more drafts flushing things out—finding recurring themes, metaphors, similes and building on it from there over several years.
The novel I’ve just finish, Coached, took about two months to get through the first draft (a less frenetic pace!) and has taken three years to get it to where I’m ready to start submitting it to publishers.
4 - Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
The novel I’ve just finished, Coached, started as a short story. I realized when I got to the end that it was only the end of the opening chapter. With The Art of Getting Lost and Found, I knew it was going to be a book from the start but had absolutely no idea where it was going to go. I am not someone who sets up an outline and plods from point to point. Instead, I create characters then sit back and watch. They rarely do what I want them to and there are days I find myself downright angry at the mistakes they make.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I think public readings are important because stories are meant to be shared. There is an art to reading aloud, things like pacing and where to add emphasis. Doing it, however, scares the bejesus out of me but when I’m able to pull off a really good reading, it’s an incredible rush. I remember the first time I had to read in front of an audience, I’m not sure what was shaking worse: my hands or my voice! But I’ve discovered that the key, for me, is to practice what I’ll be reading several gazillion times beforehand (not an exaggeration!!!)
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the current questions are?
In my novel, The Art of Getting Lost and Found, I was trying to bring focus on both mental health and domestic abuse, how the two are related, and the long-term effects that result in the cycle of abuse. One of my protagonists has BPD, a disorder not many are familiar with. I wanted to shed light onto it as well.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I think writers have several different roles. One is to create an avenue of escape for readers, which is probably why we’re seeing such a flurry of romantasy books out there. With so much hate and fear in the world right now, the power of story to transport a reader is more important than ever. But that said, I also think writers have a responsibility to provide readers an opportunity to learn. Whether that’s the hardship immigrants face, the effects of residential schools, racism, mental health or what it’s like to be an orphan in India or a bee keeper in Aleppo, I think we need to provide an opportunity to help people see things from a different angle.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I had only ever worked with a few literary magazine editors before and didn’t always agree with the changes they wanted so wasn’t sure what to expect. But I was blessed to be paired up with the amazing Kate Kennedy for substantive edits with The Art of Getting Lost and Found and Kate helped me raise the bar on the novel. She convinced me to re-write the ending for which I am eternally grateful!!! As a writer, you get attached to your characters and scenes and can’t always spot where those darlings need to be cut. I definitely believe working with an outside editor can help a book reach its maximum potential.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
After you finish your first draft of a novel, put it away. Don’t look at it for at least a month—two if you can stand it. Then, when you go back into it, start by reading a printed copy start to finish without editing (only make notes in the margins). As you read, look for recurring themes, symbols, places that need more, places that need less, etc. Then and only then, open the document to begin the second draft.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (short stories to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
As a single parent raising two kids while trying to put myself through school and work at the same time, writing short stories were more manageable as they’re easier to distance myself from. While a short story will occupy a lot of space in the back of my head, it’s not as all-consuming as writing a novel. When I’m working on a novel, I pretty much disappear into that world and have a hard time resurfacing. When I’m in between drafts and trying to let the novel sit and marinate, that’s when I jump back into writing short fiction.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
I’m usually up with the sun and start every day with an early morning hike with the dogs followed by a quick home yoga practice. Then, I’ll write through until about 3PM before I head out for the second hike of the day. I do a lot of my writing while walking. I find that, especially if they’ve stalled out at home, I can find characters’ voices more clearly when I’m walking. I’ll often come home from that afternoon hike and head straight to the computer to add in the solutions that came to me.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Pretty much what I said in question 11. I head outside into the woods where my brain thinks at a different level. Walking in the trees is the best way to figure out most problems in life.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
I’ve always preferred to be outdoors—that’s where I feel the most at home. In winter, the scent of freshly fallen snow blanketing the subtle fragrance of pine, is “home.” In summer, the Ponderosa pines have a scent reminiscent of vanilla that mingles with the woody Aspens and pinesap from the firs that together, I would bottle up if I could and take a whiff of it whenever I needed comfort. That, to me, is home.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Music can be a huge influence in my writing. I have to be extremely careful what I’m listening to—definitely nothing with lyrics! CBC Tempo in the morning is great (with a loop around kitchen for tea during the news breaks) or else I put on a guitar instrumental playlist that I like. Even then, I have to be careful because the emotion of the music I’m listening to can totally sway where my story goes.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I belong to a writers’ group through the Federation of BC Writers called the Mid-Career Writers. They have been like a lifeline for me. We meet online once a month and work to help each other with whatever problems we’re facing.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’ve always wanted to jump out of an airplane.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been a writer?
In addition to writing, I also work as a photographer and a stained glass artist. I enjoy doing all three things and because of my twisted brain, it helps that I can bounce between all three. If I could go back in time and change the course of my life, my dream job would be an aerialist with Cirque du Soleil.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Writing has always been a safe space for me. I think it’s probably the same reason other people play video games or fall into reading novels. When the world around me becomes overwhelming, writing enables me to create a world where I at least have some control (despite my characters not listening when I yell, “no, don’t do that!”). Writing is a place where I can safely be alone and block everything else out.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
The last great book I read was We Must Not Be Afraid of the Sky by Emma Hooper. I loved all three of her novels. She is, to me, Canada’s most exciting writer right now.
As for movies, I’m really not much of a movie person, I rarely ever watch them, but I did enjoy the Wicked movies—I’m a sucker for musicals!
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