Tag Archives: Canadian authors

Interview: Canadian author Violet Nesdoly, part 2

Welcome back to part 2 of an interview with Violet Nesdoly, multi-talented writer from British Columbia, Canada. (Click for part 1 of the interview.)

Janet: Violet, last week we talked about the varieties of writing that you do. That’s a lot of work! What would be the perfect writer’s lair for you?

Violet: Janet, I have it! When we bought our townhouse in 2007, I laid claim to the largest extra bedroom as my office. I have two desks (one for the computer, one for longhand writing), lots of shelves, a file cabinet. All I need is a lair-fairy to clean it up for me, and to go through and shred all the paper I no longer need to keep.

Janet: A lair-fairy—ooh, I could use one of those too. How does it feel when someone tells you they’ve changed because they connected with something you’ve written?

Violet: As you can imagine, this is huge! One of the reasons I chose to spend my days writing is because the writing of others has made a big impact on my life. I can think of many times a book has brought me to tears with the sense that God is in the room right beside me. The thought that God the Holy Spirit can inhabit words so that they communicate across time and distance is one of the mysteries of life.

When someone tells me that my words have helped them connect with God in some way, I feel a snap of rightness (like when puzzle pieces fit together) and am immensely grateful that I can do this thing that has the potential to impact people for eternity.

Janet: I like that “snap of rightness” illustration. Those are the satisfying moments that make a writer’s work worthwhile. What do you like best about the writing life?

Violet: The variety. The independence (being my own boss). The challenge to always become a better writer. The vast opportunities because of advances in technology. The fact that I can connect with people all over the world at minimal cost.

Janet: What do you like least?

Violet: Marketing and publicity. Building a ‘platform’ via the social networks. Blowing my own horn. Knowing that I’m responsible for selling a lot of books. Want to really know? I wrote about it here.

Janet: What do your family think of your writing?

Violet: My family has been so supportive. My husband is the best! He subscribes to my devotions, and gets my back when he finds typos. In all the years I’ve been freelancing, my career has never been a substantial money-maker. But he lets me muddle on, not begrudging me the time or shekels. He even cooks!

Janet: You have a keeper! Let’s step back and meet your non-writing side. What’s the rest of life like?

Violet: My husband and I attend a wonderful church (Christian Life Assembly), and I also attend and have taught at our women’s Wednesday morning program, Women By Design.

Visiting our daughter, son-in-law and grandkids (a three-hour drive away) is always a treat, as is driving into the big city to dine with our adult son in restaurants of his choosing.

Not to be missed, of course, is the daily hour-long walk hubby and I go for each morning that it isn’t pouring rain.

Janet: What are some of your favourite things?

Violet: Our grandkids (three beautiful pre-schoolers). Walks in the beautiful outdoors. Bird watching. Identifying wildflowers. My camera. My Kindle e-reader. Scrivener. My New Spirit-Filled Life Bible.

Janet: Is there a particular song or Scripture verse that’s made a big difference for you?

Violet: My life passage is Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

A song that has impacted me hugely is “You and Me Alone” by Norm Strauss. Norm is a Canadian singer-songwriter (roots style) and there’s not a lot of his stuff on YouTube. I did write about this particular song on my personal blog way back in 2005. If you’re interested in reading the lyrics and a bit about how the song has impacted me, the article is “marker stone – part 1.”

Janet: That’s a powerful story (I had to read “marker stone – part 2” as well.) I’m glad God has kept you writing! What are you reading these days?

Violet: Since I got my Kindle e-reader, I have more books on the go at one time than ever! The last piece of fiction I read was August Gamble by Linda Hall (downloaded from Smashwords). I also recently finished With Burning Hearts by Henri J. M. Nouwen (that was in hard copy), Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo, Collections From a Forest – Volume 1, a book of poems by Charlie Van Gorkom, and Journey on the Hard Side of Miracles by Steven Stiles. I’m somewhere in the middle of The Transforming Power of the Gospel by Jerry Bridges and Rumours of Water by L. L. Barkat.

Janet: What are you listening to?

Violet: I got my husband a Jason Crabb CD for Christmas (Jason Crabb: The Song Lives On – Southern Gospel). I discovered I love it too. Other favourites are The Journey, a project by Stuart Townend, A Way to see in the Dark by Jason Gray, and whenever I’m doing our household’s number crunching, I tune in to Grooveshark Radio, search Andrew Peterson and line up a list of songs by him.

Janet: A number-crunching playlist. That’s a new one. As long as you’re not playing “Mission Impossible” I won’t worry! What do you like to do to get away from it all?

Violet: Hawaii!! We went this January. What fun! We also love to travel in British Columbia and explore out-of-the-way places. I’m always scouting for more murals and funky public art.

Janet: There are murals in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia too (hint, hint). Thanks so much for taking time to let us get to know you a bit, Violet. May the Lord continue to bless you and make you a blessing to others—in every area of your life.

===

Destiny's Hands cover art

Destiny’s Hands is available now in print and e-book. You can read the opening chapters of Destiny’s Hands (Kindle version).

You can also find Violet Nesdoly via her main website (previous link) and at the following blogs:

Interview: Canadian author Violet Nesdoly

Today’s visitor is Violet Nesdoly, from British Columbia, Canada. Violet, I often include links to your Other Food: daily devo’s blog, and I realized that’s giving my readers a limited view of who you are. Yes, you write insightful devotionals for adults (and for kids at Bible Drive-thru). But that’s only part of what you do.

I first heard of you as a poet. Care to give us a peek at that part of your life?

Violet: First, thanks, so much, Janet, for your support of Other Food: daily devos, and your interest in general.

As you mention the bits and pieces of my writing life, I’m more aware than ever that I’ve built my career the wrong way. Common wisdom is that you choose a subject or genre and become an expert in it. However, it seems I’ve become more of 21^st century Renaissance woman, with fingers in lots of pies.

Now, to your question about poetry—I’ve always viewed it as a sideline. But what a fun sideline! My poetry-writing time is my time to play and experiment. Poetry provides the perfect outlet for my love of words and my philosophical bent. It gives me a way to express my enjoyment of nature and dovetails with my hobby of photography.

I’ve put together two poetry collections (available as books) and currently post original poems once or twice a week on my poetry blog Violet Nesdoly/poems. In addition, I’ve had the satisfaction of seeing my poems published in a few other print and online publications (e.g. Prairie Messenger, Rejoice, Good Times, Your Daily Poem, Utmost Christian Writers, qarrtsiluni).

I’m also part of a local poets’ group, the Matsqui, Sumas, Abbotsford Poets Potpourri Society (MSA PPS). I am the society’s website administrator and take part in regular readings, open mics and club projects. (Actually, keeps me pretty busy. Maybe it isn’t as much a of sideline as I thought!)

Janet: As well as your own poetry, you’ve written columns on the subject and served as Utmost Christian Writers International Poetry Laureate (2006-2008). And one of your blogs, Line upon line, is writing-related. Teaching seems to be part of your focus too.

Violet: The experience of being Utmost Christian Writers’ Poet Laureate was a huge honour and the wherefore of my second book.

Writing poetry how-to columns has motivated me to study the craft. I still write a regular (four-times-a-year) poetry column for FellowScript. Writing it forces me to think about how the process of writing poetry works and how I keep motivated so I can pass these things on to others.

As for teaching in general, I guess I have a little of that in my DNA. I have a degree in elementary education and taught in the public school system for a total of five years. Actually, my writing for children has been largely educational too.

Janet: You also review books at Blogcritics, write a personal blog promptings, and run another blog Murals and More, where you post photographs of murals and public art. Have I left anything out?

Violet: One more thing comes to mind: a little storefront at Constant Content. That’s where I sell content for the web.

Janet: What got you started writing in the first place?

Violet: I started writing when I was in high school. A paper that we got when I was a kid (The Western Producer) had a section called the Young Cooperators Club that published the creative writing of children and teens. To join you gave yourself a pseudonym and submitted writing to the editor of your age group. I got my first taste of publication there as “Nell.”

I didn’t write much for public consumption during my early adult years but the dream of becoming a writer never died completely. After my children were in school, I decided to revive it. At the end of 1995 I enrolled in the “Writing for Children and Teens” course at the Institute for Children’s Literature and sold my first piece of writing—a Keys for Kids devotion—in March of 1997. I’ve been freelancing ever since.

Janet: And what are you working on now?

Violet: Around 2002 I got an idea for a Bible fiction story (book-length). Over the years I’ve worked on that project, mostly doing research. In 2009 I spent the month of November (NaNoWriMo) writing the story that was in my head. Last spring I worked on it some more and entered it in the Word Alive Press (WAP) free publishing contest.

I was surprised when it made the list of finalists (released in September 2011). I have decided to self-publish that book (called Destiny’s Hands, a fictional rendering of the story of Bezalel, the head craftsman of the tabernacle and its accessories—Exodus). I have just finished doing a six-week edit of that manuscript and got it off my desk and into the hands of my editor at WAP mid-March.

Janet: Congratulations on reaching the publishing stage! Destiny’s Hands is now available, and I’m looking forward to reading it. The cover is beautiful.

Here’s the link to part 2 of this interview with Violet Nesdoly.

Review: Death of a Highland Heavyweight, by Jayne E. Self

Death of a Highland Heavyweight, by Jayne E. Self (Harbourlight Books, 2012)

Gailynn MacDonald designs artisan jewellery and works as a medical receptionist in the small seaside town of Hum Harbour, Nova Scotia. She’s perky, impulsive, and afraid of the ocean. And she can’t seem to stop getting involved in murder investigations.

She doesn’t go looking for them, but she does walk the beach each day looking for bits of seaglass to use in her jewellery. That’s how she found the first body (Mystery in Hum Harbour), and it’s what now brings her within earshot of screams from Hunter Hall.

Heavyweight champion Claude Oui (affectionately dubbed “Wee Claude” because of his large size) lies dead in the Hall, his wife Carrie Hunter-Oui helplessly trying CPR.

Claude suffered from post-concussion syndrome, and Gailynn’s fiancé Geoff, the town’s doctor, is afraid he missed a clue that could have saved the gentle giant’s life. Or did Claude trip on the stairs? Or fall victim to the burglar who stole some of Carrie’s collection of frog ornaments?

This last frightens Gailynn most of all, since her young cousin Ashleigh’s boyfriend has been stealing other frog ornaments as gifts. Josh seems like such a nice guy. But what if he’s a murderer?

Gailynn tries to leave the murder investigation to her police officer brother and his team, but she can’t help her suspicions. And she can’t stop asking questions, even though she’s supporting the grieving Carrie (including chairing the Hum Harbour Daze committee) and trying to plan her own wedding.

Death of a Highland Heavyweight is a cozy mystery with a strong sense of place and with characters who could be ordinary people like you or me. Well, not the athletes, but Gailynn, Geoff, Ashleigh and their families are everyday people.

I like Gailynn, with her kind heart, gentle spirit and overactive imagination. I like Geoff, too. He’s a decent man. And I like reading stories set in my home province. Locals like me can hear little things in the dialogue that authenticate Jayne Self’s right to write about us. This was true in Murder in Hum Harbour too. She knows this setting, despite living “away”, and that knowledge adds depth.

I also like the humour. It’s dry, understated, and slips in when you least expect it, adding yet another thread of pleasure to the story. I hope there’ll be a Seaglass Mysteries #3 in the works soon.

Visit Jayne E. Self’s website for more information on the author and her books. You can also find her on Facebook and at Canadian Christians Who Write, where she does regular interviews (including one with me).

[Review copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair review.]

Review: A Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock

A Tumbled Stone, by Marcia Lee Laycock (Word Alive Press, 2012)

Andrea Calvert grew up on the Canadian prairies with foster parents who provided for her but were never able to show their love. Now 19 and pregnant, Andrea would rather take her chances alone than live with their silent reproach.

She finds a job and caring friends at Evie’s Diner. Evie, the owner, is a Christian who welcomes the strays she says God sends her. At the moment, that includes Andrea and a young mentally challenged man named Benny, who makes it his mission to protect Andrea’s unborn baby.

Author Marcia Lee Laycock writes with a contagious compassion for her characters. Andrea feels real, as do her foster parents. Edna and Earl aren’t cardboard, rigid people. They’re silent because they’re trapped behind walls of hurt from the past. As Andrea tries to find her own way and the brother she doesn’t know exists tries to find her, this wounded couple move toward finding one another.

The first book in the series, One Smooth Stone, tells the story of Alex Donnolly, Andrea’s older brother, whose experience in foster care was horrific. In A Tumbled Stone it’s good to see how far Alex has come in recovery and in his new Christian faith. He’s a work in progress, and the urgency he feels to find Andrea brings more pressure to bear.

The characters in A Tumbled Stone drew me in. The word “tumble” in the title refers to rock tumbling, which smoothes a stone’s rough edges and texture. Evie makes jewellery from stones, and she tells Andrea “God is always doing things in our lives, but it takes time. He knows exactly when to take the pressure off or to increase it. He knows just how much tumbling we need.” (p. 76)

Andrea faces more “tumbling” before the book is done.

A Tumbled Stone is a good read that kept calling me back to finish. Marcia Lee Laycock is a gifted writer, and I hope we’ll see more fiction from her. She’s also the author of the non-fiction books Abundant Rain, Spur of the Moment and Focused Reflections. You can learn more about Marcia Lee Laycock and her books at her website.

Fiction by Marcia Lee Laycock

One Smooth Stone was the best Christian fiction I read in 2007. After a long wait, the sequel is finally out: A Tumbled Stone.

Here’s a refresher on One Smooth Stone, and a link to a review of A Tumbled Stone.

One Smooth Stone is a compelling read about hurt people fumbling toward healing, and about a God who won’t let go.

Marcia Laycock’s writing style is vivid and rich with sensory detail. She draws on her time in the North to evoke a strong sense of place. It would be worth reading just to experience the Yukon setting from our warm living rooms, but she also gives us lifelike characters to root for, suspense, and a puzzle to unravel.

Protagonist Alex Donnelly is a man with secrets, and Marcia Laycock brings them to light slowly, compassionately, and with a defter touch than a debut novelist should have. Alex’s and the other characters’ pain is neither minimized nor exploited, and it’s brought to light in a way that didn’t traumatize this chicken reader.

Hard questions and spiritual issues are treated naturally, with none of the heavy-handed preaching or pat answers found in some Christian novels. The story feels real, and it offers hope.

This is a story for adults, male or female, wounded or whole. You can read the opening chapter of One Smooth Stone here. [Review copy from my personal library.]

Marcia Lee Laycock is a Canadian writer, speaker and pastor’s wife who lives in Alberta. You can learn more about Marcia and her books (novels and non-fiction) at her website, Vinemarc Communications, and read an interview on the Hot Apple Cider site.

Laura Davis’ review of A Tumbled Stone at Maranatha News begins like this:

A Tumbled Stone by Marcia Lee Laycock is the much anticipated sequel to One Smooth Stone and it doesn’t disappoint. Laycock is a gifted writer and has written a flawless story that tackles many issues such as teenage pregnancy, abortion, forgiveness and even autism. [Read the full review.]

I haven’t read the novel yet but I’m looking forward to it! Marcia’s books can be ordered through her website or through your regular bookstore.

Meet Marcia Lacock, author of newly-released novel “A Tumbled Stone” (bookshelfontilt.wordpress.com)
A Tumbled Stone by Marcia Laycock (www.booksbyamanda.com)

Interview: Sandra Orchard

Sandra Orchard is a Canadian author of romantic suspense. She visited my blog last year to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Deep Cover (interview here), and she’s back to tell us about the next in the series. Welcome, Sandra!

Janet: Shades of Truth is the second in your Undercover Cops series, and although there’s a new hero and heroine, the story is set in the same small town. How is writing a series different than a stand-alone title? Did you know when writing Deep Cover that it would be part of a series?

Sandra: From the beginning, I’d hoped it would be picked up as a series. I deliberately created secondary characters that could move into the roles of hero or heroine in future books. I also introduced locations that I imagined future characters frequenting. The main difference in writing a series versus a stand-alone is that you need to anticipate people or things that you’ll want in place for the next novel. The challenge is keeping facts straight from one book to the next. I don’t want my sidekick with brown hair and eyes showing up in the next book with green eyes and red hair…unless of course she’s working undercover!

Janet: I notice that many Love Inspired authors produce two or three books in a year. Does working on a series make this easier, perhaps in terms of character or setting creation?

Sandra: I find it easier, because I’m already familiar with the locale and many of the characters, and the editor’s expectations.

Janet: One of the secondary characters in Deep Cover is a special needs adult. Shades of Truth is set in a young offenders’ detention centre. Do you have a personal interest in groups who tend to be marginalized?

Sandra: I have several friends with special needs children so, yes, they are definitely a group that is close to my heart. I became more compassionate to the plight of young offenders after listening to our pastor’s daughter share about her experiences working with the youth at a detention centre.

Janet: By writing these elements as an organic part of your stories, you give readers the chance to understand. Is there another personal connection in the series’ next instalment, Critical Condition?

Sandra: Yes, I suppose there is. Experimental and alternative cancer treatments play a role in the investigation. My mom had tried a number of experimental treatments and my critique partner who fought the disease for over twenty years had tried many alternatives as well as experimental treatments. I also have a friend whose mom travelled to Mexico to seek alternative treatment unavailable here. She died there alone.

Janet: Those experiences leave a person sensitive to the needs of cancer patients and their families. I think it’s your inclusion of these heart-connections that make your stories so strong. Was it hard to convince your US publisher to accept a Canadian setting?

Sandra: No, Love Inspired (an imprint of Harlequin owned by Torstar) is actually a Canadian company, only its editorial offices are in New York. They are open to Canadian settings.

Janet: Very cool! I did not know that. Thanks for joining us today, Sandra, and all the best as you keep writing.

===

Back cover summary:

Big-city detective Ethan Reed is working deep undercover at a Christian youth detention center. The kind of place he spent some harrowing time in as a kid. Ethan’s mission: ferret out who’s recruiting resident teens for a drug ring. He expects help from the lovely, devoted director of Hope Manor. But Kim Corbett won’t tell Ethan anything—even when she’s threatened and attacked. When Ethan discovers what Kim is protecting, his guarded heart opens just a bit wider. Enough to make this the most dangerous assignment of his career.

Review: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley (Doubleday, 2011)

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is the latest instalment in the life of 11-year-old chemical mastermind Flavia de Luce and her somewhat dysfunctional family in 1950’s England. Where Flavia is, death seems bound to follow, and her detective skills both aid and irritate the local police.

This time, a film crew leases the de Luce ancestral home and the family will be celebrating a quiet Christmas sequestered in their rooms. At least the intrusion shouldn’t interfere with Flavia’s plan to prove (or disprove) the existence of St. Nick.

The equipment and cast arrive in the middle of an escalating snow storm. Add in an impromptu performance for the local community which brings in half the town, turn the storm into a blizzard that traps everyone in the mansion, let Flavia discover a dead body, and you have a delicious murder mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie’s house-party type murders.

Oh, I think Dame Agatha would have liked Flavia! Hercule Poirot definitely would have enjoyed making her acquaintance.

This is book four in the series and although each title stands alone, there are ongoing relational threads. Flavia and her widowed father may be becoming a bit closer. She thinks her older sisters hate her, but one admits that’s not the problem – so what is?

Flavia makes a delightful narrator, with her child’s perspective and her propensity to view everything in terms of chemical compounds and poison. At one point she’s commiserating with her father’s faithful manservant-cum-gardener, Dogger, about forgetting things, and she says:

“Why, just yesterday I had a thimbleful of arsenic in my hand, and I put it down somewhere. I can’t for the life of me think what I could have done with it.”

“I found it in the butter dish,” Dogger said. “I took the liberty of setting it out for the mice in the coach house.” [p. 81, Doubleday Canada hardcover edition]

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows is a delightful addition to the series, every bit as enjoyable as the book that started it all, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Expect a good ‘Golden Age’ mystery, but also expect intriguing and understated relationships where all is not as it seems. And expect Flavia to make you smile.

For more about internationally bestselling Canadian author Alan Bradley and his novels, see the official Flavia de Luce website. I’m pleased to see there’ll be another Flavia novel in early 2013. You can read an excerpt of I Am Half-Sick of Shadows on the Doubleday Canada site.

[Review copy borrowed from the public library.]

Write! Canada 2012

I look forward to the Write! Canada conference every year. It’s professional development, spiritual renewal and going home all in one, even though I’ve never lived in Guelph. The conference feels like home because among this eclectic mix of writers from beginners to professionals, I belong.

Have I published a novel yet by going? No. Have I improved the quality of said novel(s)? Significantly. Written other things? Yes. Found an agent? Yes. Been encouraged? Encouraged others? Yes to both. Made good friends? Definitely. Eaten well, slept little, laughed? Check, check, check.

Up to 250 Canadian writers and editors who are Christian will gather in Guelph, Ontario from June 14 to 16, 2012 for the 28th annual Write! Canada conference. Sponsored by The Word Guild, the conference features engaging keynote speakers, in-depth continuing classes, wide-ranging workshops, and a host of other learning and promotional opportunities.

Check out the faculty interviews and regular updates on the Write! Canada page. Registration is now open!

Interviewed at Canadian Christians Who Write

We are as dynamic and varied as our country. And like snowflakes, no two of us are alike.

Our views, be they denominational, theological, ideological, political, social or personal, are uniquely our own.

Yet we share a common belief that Jesus is Lord, and a common passion for writing.

So says the home page of Canadian Christians Who Write. The blog’s host, Jayne Self, posts weekly interviews, and I was pleased to be invited to visit. You can find our conversations at Janet Sketchley part 1 and Janet Sketchley part 2. And be sure to check out the “recent posts” list on the right-hand side of the blog to see who else has been featured. It’s a great way to get to know some new-to-you writers, or maybe get to know a favourite a bit better.

Interview: The Editors of A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider (part 2)

Last Friday we began an interview with N.J. Lindquist and Wendy Elaine Nelles, the co-editors of A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider. [If you missed it, here’s part one.] Here’s where we left off:

Janet: I’m not sure where you found time to write, but you each contributed a piece for the anthology as well. Was it difficult editing one another’s work without that second, impartial editor?

NJL: We tried to get at least a first draft done before the submissions deadline because we knew how swamped we’d be after that. I actually tried writing about four other short stories before I hit on the one that we used in the book.

I have two terrific concept/substantive editors who live close-by, so they always read my work first anyway. (My #2 son and my husband, in case you’re wondering.) They give me very honest and often annoying feedback. So I don’t think editing our own pieces was a huge problem. I think I was as tough on Wendy as I’d been on everyone else.

The real problem was that we kept leaving our own pieces to the last to edit, which wasn’t good.

WEN: Yes, we were tough on each other’s pieces too, and we went through a number of revisions just like everyone else. But it was hard slogging because we were completely exhausted by the time we focused on finishing our own pieces at the end.

I deliberately chose to write someone else’s story, because I think too often writers who are Christian focus only on their own experiences when many other people have wonderful stories others would benefit by reading. But writing a 3,500 word human interest profile is a huge amount of work, because you have to get to know the people, do lengthy interviews, ask the right questions, transcribe everything that was said, organize the material, condense it all, focus on the story aspects, get the answers to any missing details, retain the other persons’ voices… and make sure that you have represented them fairly, accurately and compellingly.

Janet: Contributors had to be Canadian who are Christian (as defined by their acceptance of the Apostles’ Creed). They also had to be members of The Word Guild. What collective benefit does this bring to contributors and to TWG?

NJL: If I’m going to invest my time in someone, I want it to be for a person who understands the value of being part of a team. So working only with members of The Word Guild seemed logical to me. No, just becoming a member by paying one’s dues doesn’t guarantee the person won’t just get what he or she wants and then leave, but it’s a start.

Also, The Word Guild is promoting the book, so it’s only logical to prefer that the writers in the book be members.

WEN: I think that people don’t always understand that both the Hot Apple Cider books were created to benefit ALL members of The Word Guild, whether or not they were chosen to be in the books. We’re modeling what it means—and the amount of work it takes—to produce an excellent product that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any other book on the market. We’re modeling working together as a team, to the benefit of enhancing everyone’s career. We’re increasing the public profile of all Canadian writers who are Christian, and everyone who’s in The Word Guild.

I like using the analogy “a rising tide lifts all boats.” We are working hard to enlarge the market and strengthen the publishing community for all Canadian writers who are Christian.

Janet: The Word Guild raised the money to pre-purchase 30,000 copies of A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider to donate to World Vision for their Girls’ Night Out and Couples’ Night Out programs. This happened with the first book too, so obviously it’s considered a win-win deal. What are the key benefits to TWG?

NJL: When we began The Word Guild, there were certain “givens” in terms of the book publishing industry in Canada.

A. Few people (including staff in Christian bookstores) were even aware there were Canadian writers who were Christian.

B. Since there was virtually no publishing in Canada, you pretty well had to get published in the United States, and the fact that you were Canadian was rarely mentioned, even in Canada.

C. There was a stigma that Christian books published in Canada weren’t very good, since most of them were self-published.

So the benefits to The Word Guild are the ability to get a lot of Canadian writers’ work in one book, you have clearly Canadian content, and you have a terrific book published in Canada. And an extra 30,000 copies are being given out across the country.

WEN: To this day, many people—including staff in Christian bookstores or church librarians—may be surprised to hear that authors published in the U.S. such as Janette Oke or Mark Buchanan are Canadians. Yet today, I’d estimate at least 95% of the product in Canadian Christian bookstores is American. The Word Guild has done a lot in the last 10 years to change public perceptions, but we’ve to a lot more to do.

Yes, the Hot Apple Cider books are a win/win situation for everyone. The writers help the humanitarian ministry of World Vision. World Vision gets a valuable gift to distribute at its events. The writers get their work directly into the hands of 30,000 potential buyers. Attendees are excited to receive a gift, and become aware that Canadian writers are worth reading. They hopefully become more interested in seeking out Canadian writers, so they can read stories relating to their own country, their own culture, their own history, their own neighbours.

Janet: The quieter member of the That’s Life Communications publishing team is Les Lindquist, who’s been assessing the changing trends of publishing and handling contracts and other details.

NJL: Without Les, there would be no organization called The Word Guild, no publishing of Hot Apple Cider, nada.

Janet: I’m thankful to be a contributor to A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider, and have enjoyed reading everyone else’s stories. The anthology has the same restful artwork as the first volume, and it’s a delightful gift book as well as one to keep at home. Dare I ask if there’ll be a volume three?

NJL: We hope so.

WEN: Some experts say that writing a good book is just 10 percent of the work, promoting it effectively is the other 90%. So although we’ve made history by holding over 150 promotional events in seven provinces since the book was released, we’ve only scratched the surface of what could be done to make more people aware of this great book. Helping A Second Cup reach its potential and its audience is the focus for now. But building on everything we’ve done to expand the series would be great.

Janet: With the intensive editing behind you, what projects are you working on now?

NJL: I basically stopped writing close to ten years ago when I began the process that ended up in the founding of The Word Guild. I feel that A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider is a fitting finale for my years of involvement in virtually every aspect of The Word Guild. It meets our initial mandate of having a team of people working together, helping people develop their skills, and working together in marketing and promotion.

I have about 24 books I’ve begun in the past, and I want to get busy on finishing some of them. High on my priority list is the third of my Manziuk and Ryan mysteries, and then I have a fantasy I need to figure out what to do with, and some other novels and non-fiction, including a memoir. I have lots to keep me busy.

WEN: I have lots to keep me busy too. Like N. J., my energies were completely used in writing and editing related to The Word Guild or Hot Apple Cider books in recent years, with time for just a few freelance articles. I’m working on developing several non-fiction books I’ve envisioned, as well as using my experience to produce some e-books and webinars geared to teaching writing.

Janet: I look forward to what we’ll see from you both in the future. The Lord continue to equip and bless you, and to accomplish great things through you.

Here’s the link to part 2 of this interview with Violet Nesdoly.

[Review copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair review.]

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[Review copy borrowed from the public library.]