STRANGE QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ABOUT MY BOOK
Over the past three months, I’ve read excerpts and signed copies of Eden’s Daughter at three book launches, a book club meeting, a concert, and a house party. I’ve met readers for coffee and interacted with them online. Many have said they’ve enjoyed the book, which I deeply appreciate. Others have asked rather strange questions. Here’s a sample:
How long did it take to write?
This isn’t really a strange question, but it has a strange answer.
The quick answer is five years, from the first typed paragraph to publication. The strange answer is about fifty years. A few years ago, when we were moving from Calgary to the Foothills, I was sorting through old boxes when I came across some writing of mine from the late 1970s, including a story about a teenage girl living on a ranch with her parents and three older brothers. Sound familiar?
The story was about branding day. The main character was disgruntled because, as a girl, she was left out of the action. Her only job was to stand at a gate and wave the cattle through – a job she almost messes up. If you’ve read Eden’s Daughter, you know that scene from Chapter 12. The remarkable thing is, I wrote that chapter months before I found the long-forgotten, handwritten story from almost fifty years ago. The two writings are uncannily similar. Now, if that’s not strange, I don’t know what is!
How did you pick the names of towns and people in the book?
It was important to me that my character names would not resemble the names of people I’ve known in the past, so I spent a lot of time thinking about this. At first, I called Eden’s daughter Eva, but quickly realized that the two names were so similar that it would be confusing for the reader. Consequently, Eva became Ava. When I was naming Celeste’s family members, I did borrow a few names – such as Gisele, Alain, Hugo, Claude, and Sylvie – from French-Canadians I have known over the years.
Although I used Regina and Prince Albert fictitiously in the story, I invented the names of the smaller communities. It was quite a process. I would come up with what I thought was an original name for a town, only to discover that it already existed in Saskatchewan, either currently or in the past! Everview, Elder Valley, Orsen Bridge, and Bent Lake are the imaginary place names I finally settled on.
Who is your favourite character?
One would think it would be Eden, the impulsive, compassionate defender of the downtrodden who has occupied my thoughts for so long. But I would have to say Celeste, for her endless loyalty and pure heart.
What did you learn about yourself while writing your novel?
I’ve learned that I had it within me to fulfill a lifelong dream. And that pursuing that dream in my sixties was entirely possible! I do hope people enjoy the story I’ve written, but most of all, I hope they feel inspired by my personal journey as a late-blooming author. As Neil Gaiman said, “A book is a dream that you can hold in your hand.”
What is your favourite word in the book?
Well, this one had me stumped. At one time, my manuscript was 113,000 words, much too long for publication according to some of the professional advice I received. So, I wrenched 13,000 words out of it, with great anguish. I wondered if my favourite word ended up on the cutting-room floor.
But then I realized that my favourite two words are The End. Because when I finished my first draft, I entered the fascinating phase of editing, submitting, and eventually publishing Eden’s Daughter. And nothing could be better than that!
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Set in Saskatchewan in the 1970s, Eden’s Daughter is the story of a young woman’s search for the child she was forced to give up for adoption. It is available from Amazon: https://a.co/d/a7kgxcV