FEATURE
first being a doctor. This is the best type of research. Talking and getting the whole scoop on whatever you need to know. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? I work early in the morning hours when it’s quiet and there’s less distractions. Also, the quirkiest times I had writing was with the Doctor/Surgeon I selected to assist me. As I wrote, I realized that over that span of time people had to get sick, die, be born, murder, etc. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? The plot of the trilogy is a fictitious story based upon historical events in the United States and Canada. The African and Scotland storylines were based on research and history. When did you write your first book and how old were you? I wrote my first book in 2013 at age 47. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Indulge in old black and white movies. Mostly. Film noir. What does your family think of your writing? My family has always been supportive, proud and excited over what I’ve done. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in writing a book? The time and the marketing that goes into a finished product. Do you have any suggestions to help other writers to become a better? If so, what are they? Stick to your initial idea and don’t let others persuade you to lose direction. What do you think makes a good story? Anything that’s past, present or future. There’s no single set of rules for a good idea. EC
this silly little play for our entire school, just 2 girls and a stage, and even you youngest children seemed find the humor and laugh at the appropriate times. The whole gymnasium filled with the loudest applause ever and as we held hands, we walk to the front of the stage, bowed and curtsied and all the kids stood up, still applauding. The teacher closed the curtains as we hugged behind them, friends just having fun and teaching ourselves to put on a play, 1974 age 12. So, I suppose that is when and how I really got the writing bug. How long does it take you to write a book? And what is your work schedule when you’re writing? The trilogy took me three years of on and
We were ready! Although we did not hear roaring laughter, we heard them laugh behind their hands, and that in a sense, cheered us on. They came to us and they said that they would be happy for us to present it to our class the next day. Since we kept this secret from our classmates, they were very surprised when after lunch they were told to go to the gym and they all sat back so they could see the stage and the teacher pulled the curtain so the children could watch a 1 act play written by me and performed by myself and friend. I named it “Spaghetti Mix- ups”. The laughter and applause was something I hadn’t really felt before, while we were doing Christmas Plays. This was something we did together... we were proud of ourselves! We were
“Stick to your initial idea and don’t let others persuade you to lose direction. ”
off writing while doing volunteer work and dealing with health issues. I never worked to a fixed schedule, ‘that is except for the structure I had when I was a volunteer at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie. I was quite healthy and losing weight and feeling good during several years, then. I woke about 4:00am and got ready for my job at the hospital, then made a coffee and set an alarm on the stove, then wrote until the alarm, then went to work. Since I was writing a span over 150 years, I realized that people had to get sick, die, be born, have diseases that were known and some not yet, murder, and all other kinds of things involving specialists and so many professionals to question, the
on such a cloud after we finished. Back in class after, the teacher could hardly get the class to do any work. After cleaning up and changing, we walked into the classroom to another applause! We were surprised. All the class wanted to do was talk about the play, so the teacher asked if we would do a question-and-answer period. We agreed and for an hour, she let the class talk and asked questions, which we had the answers for. The next morning the principal stopped us in the hall and asked if we could perform our play again to the whole school, after second recess. What could we say, but “Yes sir, of course we can!” You could not wipe the smiles off our face. The whole school!! So, we performed
52 EC Magazines | Fall Edition 2021
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