Tag: Canadian Author

Interviews

Interview with Jack Stilborn

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from Canadian author Jack Stilborn. Check out his bio:

Jack Stilborn lives in Ottawa, Canada, and writes fiction and short stories. The Tyranny of Good Intentions, his debut novel about love, death and a great deal of politics on a condominium board, is now available from Chicken House Press.

Photo Credit: South March Studio, Kanata, ON

He showed early promise with a comic story that made a cousin laugh so hard she threw up. He was then deflected by studies (double major in political science and English literature at the University of Saskatchewan; politics and philosophy B.A. at Oxford University; PhD. with dissertation on the thought of Alexis de Tocqueville at Western University). After that came life as a policy research analyst (Parliament), intergovernmental affairs advisor (Ontario government) and public servant (Ottawa). He also enjoys cycling, kayaking and (recently) cold water swimming; family life (Alex, Jessica, Christine and partner Linda); participating on volunteer boards and lots of reading, especially literary fiction and history.

Jack, tell us how the concept for your debut novel The Tyranny of Good Intentions came about. What helped propel you forward to finish the manuscript?

I have served on several condo boards of directors, as well as other volunteer boards. I started doing this while still working on my long-term day job as a research analyst working for Parliament (federalism and parliamentary governance issues). At a certain point, the light went on and I realized how much of national political life is captured in relations and behavior on these smaller boards. I was propelled forward because writing was a pleasure for me, perhaps an escape. Also by curiosity about how Andrew, the protagonist, would deal with challenges that are part of democratic citizenship.

The novel’s protagonist, Andrew Walmer, suddenly finds himself roped into a microcosm of our own societal landscape. What difficulties did you experience while constructing the plot? Did you have doubts while writing the draft?

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Interviews

Interview with Laura Frost

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from author and writing contest judge Laura Frost. Check out her author bio:

Photo credit: S.L. @2beinthemoment

Laura Frost is an award-winning author of novels and short stories, and her debut novel, Seeking Sasha, will hit bookshelves this fall. Laura has been published in numerous journals and collections, and she is a returning judge for an international short story competition. An amateur baker and former wildlife biologist from northern Canada, Laura explores the world with her family, seeking out adventure to both calm and stir her writing muse. 

Laura, you’ve been practicing creative writing since childhood but only recently began submitting work for publication consideration. What drove your decision to begin sending manuscripts out? Has getting published changed how you view your own writing?

Although I’ve dabbled in writing my whole life, completing my first novel was the turning point in my writing journey. I hadn’t written my novel with the intent to publish, but both my cousin and my husband read my draft and enjoyed it so much, they begged me to get it published so they could share it with others.

As I quickly learned, getting a book published is no easy feat. Because the publishing industry is so competitive, I decided to write short stories and submit them to literary magazines as a way to build my author portfolio and grow my audience, and I continued to write novels as I worked through the process of submissions. I have now been published in ten different magazines and collections, an accomplishment which has been an important part of my journey towards finding a publisher for my debut novel. 

Having numerous short stories published has allowed me to trust in myself more as a writer, and to not get as discouraged when rejections land in my inbox. I have learned just how subjective the publishing industry is. If one of my stories doesn’t work for a particular publisher, it doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just not the right fit for them. Rejections and acceptances have helped me hone my skills as a writer, and they have helped build confidence in myself while also keeping me grounded.

Tell us how your book idea for Seeking Sasha came about. Did you have doubts while working on the draft? Laura, what helped propel you forward to finish the manuscript?

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Interviews

Interview with Roz Nay

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from author Roz Nay. I hope you are as thrilled as I am about this interview! (See what I did there?) Check out her author bio:

Photo Credit: Lisa Seyfried Photography

ROZ NAY’s debut novel, Our Little Secret, was a national bestseller, won the Douglas Kennedy Prize for best foreign thriller in France, and was nominated for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Mystery and the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel Award. Her second bestselling novel, Hurry Home, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime Novel award and The Hunted, her third, was nominated for Best Crime Novel in 2022. The Offing is her fourth novel. Roz has lived and worked in Africa, Australia, the US, and the UK. She now lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two children.

More details about Roz and The Offing can be found here.

Roz, your first novel, Our Little Secret, began as a creative writing assignment and grew into a full-length manuscript. Tell us about that process. At what point did you decide to pursue novel writing and what did you learn at those early stages of your writing-for-publication journey?

I only kept going with my first-ever manuscript because I missed writing class, and needed to hang onto some part of it. I just patchworked together a narrative around a voice I’d created in class, and wrote it over a year while my two little toddlers napped. I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing, other than that I’d built a world I was enjoying writing. When I look back now, that time was fairly chaotic but what I learned most was that, when you have a story you want to tell, one way or another you get it done.

Image courtesy of Penguin Random House; Cover design: Emma Dolan

Beginning writers are often told, “write what you know.” For your thriller Hurry Home, the inspiration stemmed from your career in child services. Your newest book, The Offing, draws on your experiences while traveling in Australia. Roz, what does your writing process look like? How much preliminary research is required and at what point do you forge ahead with writing a draft?

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Interviews

Interview with Alanna Rusnak

Pauline Shen

In this post, we’ll be hearing from Alanna Rusnak, Author of The Church in the Wildwood, Owner & Operator of Chicken House Press, and Founder & Managing Editor of Blank Spaces Magazine. Curious in knowing the origins of the beautiful Blank Spaces Magazine? Want some insight into what it takes to branch out on your own in the publishing industry? In this interview, Alanna tells us all about these things plus talks about her current work-in-progress and more!

So, you wear a lot of hats, Alanna. Tell us a bit about your average day or work week.

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