I was in Grand
Rapids on the weekend and met a bunch of fun readers and signed some books and
a question I often get asked is “What is your favourite of the Herringford and
Watts books?”
All authors
know this is a tough question--- as there is a lot of me in each of the three
novels and three novellas and there are reasons I love each and every one of
them. But, when it comes to a personal
favourite, I have to say Lesson in Love and Murder. I really enjoyed writing the book and
researching it ( what is more fun than spending some time in historic Chicago?). Chicago is a city in which I have had some amazing
times with friends, seen some amazing theatre ( Hamilton!) and stumbled upon
amazing moments of history. As a stand
in for the usual character of Toronto, it was so much fun to play with
Edwardian Chicago …. A city that is probably most like Toronto.
I loved the
history and weaving in historical figures like Emma Goldman and Theodore
Roosevelt. Spending hours reading the transcripts
of Roosevelt’s words to the convention at the Coliseum as well as learning the
ins and outs of this long ago building were just so exciting to me. I loved having the idea of anarchy and
submission underscore the mystery and adventure Jem, Merinda, Jasper and Ray
find themselves in.
I was able
to draw on a lot of my family history for this book. My dad is a chaplain with the RCMP (then, the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police) and mounties—thanks to my dad – and his cousin
Jonathan (Johnny) who died in the line of duty --- were a major influence on
the story. As was dad’s stories from the Icelandic settlement in Riverton,
spending time with his grandmother and grandpa at the farm. Tying in my Icelandic heritage was a lot of
fun----
The
epigraphs: I wrote all of the epigraphs
and footnotes for the Herringford and Watts series and while I loved creating
the guidebooks penned by fictional M C Wheaton and Flora Merriweather, etc.,.
there was something about creating Benny and Jonathan’s Guide to the Canadian
Wilderness which made me laugh and was a cross between Due South, an actual Mountie handbook from 1909, memoirs from a new
Mountie recruit and Robert Service. I
had a lot of fun penning these.
The
characters: Jem, Merinda, Jasper and Ray
remain some of my dearest friends even as I take a break from their world to
pursue Hamish DeLuca’s story in 1930s Boston.
I loved the interaction between all of them here--- and throwing Benny
Citrone in the mix as the perfect counterpart to Merinda—and to keep Jasper on
his toes. The main quartet is faced with trauma and
uncertainty that ripples for years and years after and each deepens a little. I love the look at the early days of Jem and
Ray’s marriage--- after their whirlwind courtship and their reckless idea to
get married so soon. There is a lot of
romance in their story and as a hopeless romantic, I love any scenes with Jem
and Ray. It is the time when we see Jem’s role changing
most pronouncedly: learning she is to
become a mother, losing her one strand of independence as a shopgirl at Spenser’s
--- she is once and for all transposed into the domestic sphere no matter how
she wants to break away and run off from Merinda. At one moment, she runs off from Merinda for
Ray and that was a challenging shift in their central relationship.
Jasper and
Merinda also experience some friction. They quarrel and Merinda is forced to –more
than before—decide what her relationship with Jasper is meant to be.
Benny
Citrone—first off, I love the close brotherly relationship between Benny and Jonathan
--- it is a story of sacrifice and loyalty and I really enjoyed working it
out--- But then Benny and Merinda! They’re
perfect for each other in one way but from two totally different worlds. You
can love something and let it go…
Finally, Ray
and Viola. Viola is Ray’s homeland---
the DeLuca siblings stayed so close together due to the loss they experienced
re-routing their lives from Italy to Canada and Viola is very much Ray’s north
star. A tragedy at the end of Lesson in
Love and Murder not only shifts the relationship between the two siblings but
has a long after-effect--- an effect so long cast out that it influences the
generation after --- Luca Valari ( Ray’s nephew ) and Hamish (Ray and Jem’s son)
still feel the brunt of this action and tragedy in their stories decades later.
There are a million and one reasons why I
loved writing the Herringford and Watts series--- some of the most fun I have ever had--- but Lesson in Love is just that
extra special mélange of every ingredient that I so loved about playing in this
world.
1 comment:
<3 I love this!
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