For my second stop on the Simon & Schuster Canada Timeless Tour, I'm so excited to share a Q&A with Genevieve Graham. She's the author of Promises to Keep which I'll be reviewing next Friday. The book is a great one and focuses on Amélie in 1755 when the British have invaded Acadia. Enjoy!
Amélie’s world is torn apart by war and
infiltrating forces, a reality that unfortunately persists in present day. Did
you find any parallels between Amélie’s world and your own while writing Promises
to Keep?
War and disagreements will always exist—as
will love and understanding, though the latter do not often make the headlines.
The interesting thing to me is how both sides to every battle believe absolutely
they are in the right, whereas those who seek love so often feel themselves to
be undeserving. Parallels? No. Wars over this land were fought centuries ago,
and I feel confident I will never leave my home unless I choose to do so. My family,
my home, my beliefs, and my life are safe.
Why is the Acadian Expulsion an important
part of Canadian history? What about the expulsion inspired you to write about
it?
I grew up in Toronto then spent almost
twenty years in Calgary before I moved to Nova Scotia, and when I arrived here I
had no idea what an Acadian was. Many people around here have Acadian ancestry,
and it seemed like something I should have just known. So my husband and I took
a weekend drive out to the Grand Pré area, hoping to gain a true understanding
of the Acadian culture. After sampling some of the fine wines bottled along that
lovely shore, we toured the Grand Pré Historical Site. I cannot tell you how
much that visit touched us both. The exhibit leads the visitor through the day
to day lives of these “neutral French”, teaches us about dykes and aboiteaux,
then draws back the curtain to reveal the brutal, unconscionable crime
committed by the British. In my mind I could hear them singing and playing
music, see them bringing in the harvest or tending the fish weirs, and when I
visited an actual Acadian house I could practically feel the family inside. How
could I not follow Amélie’s story? How could I not be inspired?
There are a lot of books written about the
Expulsion, but I had not read any. That actually works out well for my writing
technique. As a writer, I use historical facts as a framework to my stories and
do not allow myself to be swayed by anyone else’s interpretation.
In your research for Promises to Keep, what
information was the most surprising to you? Are Amélie and Connor based on
real people?
When I began my research I learned over
10,000 Acadians were forcibly taken from their homes and shipped to points
basically unknown, but I did not know they travelled in the hulls of rickety,
rented ships. I did not know families were torn apart, though I suppose I cannot
say I was surprised by that; war is not kind or humane. I was happily surprised
when I came across the story of one actual ship, the Pembroke, on which 232
Acadians freed themselves from the eight sailors taking them across the sea—and
the greatest surprise was finding the actual Charles Belliveau, mast maker, who
piloted the Pembroke after their liberation. What luck! I even found his exact
dialogue with the defeated British captain!
I suppose my biggest surprise was the
reception I got when I told people the theme of this book. Their anticipation
was stronger than for any book I’ve written before.
Regarding my characters, unless I am
referring to actual people (like Colonel Winslow, who is a known figure whose
1755 journal is published on the internet), I do not base them on real people.
I imagine a people or a place in time, land in their lives like a fly on the
wall, and the individual characters appear in my imagination, complete with
personalities and mannerisms.
Amélie is quite headstrong and outspoken in
contrast to other women in the novel. Were you able to find examples of feisty
women in eighteenth century history? Did you feel you needed to give them a
voice?
I didn’t base Amélie on anyone in
particular, but in every group of people we are bound to find varied
personalities. Amélie was a loving, dutiful daughter, but she was also
intelligent and curious. 18th century etiquette generally required women to be
quiet and modest, but the Acadians were sheltered from the outside world,
oblivious for the most part to those expectations. In addition, the Acadians
lived alongside the Mi’kmaq, and the Mi’kmaq are a matriarchal society. Amélie learned
to speak both Míkmawísimk and French, and knowing those languages gave her
deeper insight into her changing surroundings. She felt protective of her
family and their way of life. Once her world began to turn upside down and the
British appeared to cast aside the rules of decency, she broke out of her shell
to meet the challenge.
Your writing transports readers to a
different time and place. If you could live in any time period anywhere in the
world, where would it be?
I think I would have to choose a time
period that had at least some modern conveniences. While I love the glory of
centuries ago, when we envision the hero on horseback streaming through the
battlefield with sword held high, I do not envy the women of that time. I think
I’d prefer the 1920s-1940s. We were not yet as strong as our male counterparts,
but we were well on our way, thanks to the suffragettes’ hard won victories.
And yet it was still an era when ladies were ladies and gentlemen treated them
as such. Doors were opened, and kisses were by invitation only. I am a
romantic, but I’m a realist as well. And because I’m a romantic, if I were to
choose a location, I think it’d be Paris.
Did you always want to be a writer? If so,
did you always want to write historical fiction?
I had never even considered being a writer
until I was in my forties. Until then I was a reader, a musician, a promoter, a
piano teacher, and above all, a wife and mother. When I was in school, I did
not enjoy history at all. To me, history was merely dates, names, and places to
memorize for exams. Maybe it was the fault of my short memory span. Or perhaps
I simply needed to mature so I could understand that none of today’s stories
would exist without stories from yesterday. Then I began to read good
historical fiction, and I was smitten. History fascinates me now that I can
envision characters within the stories. I have tried to write other genres, but
I always return to historical fiction. I love breathing life back into history
one story at a time.
As a reader, who are some of the
storytellers you find most inspiring, and why?
Diana Gabaldon is the one who inspired me
to write. I read her “Outlander” series seven times before finally sitting down
and trying something myself. I love the writing of Susanna Kearsley, Penelope
Williamson, Sara Donati, Ami McKay, and Jennifer Roberson. And since I love
epic, sweeping historicals, I savour Wilbur Smith’s books and the beautiful
prose of Khaled Hosseini. On the mystery/suspense side I enjoy authors Harlan
Coben and my friend, Pamela Callow.
What can readers expect from you in the
future? What are you currently working on, if anything?
I’m always working on
something! At present I have four books underway, which seems crazy—probably
is—but I find when I run into some kind of writing block I simply need to
refocus on something else for a bit and that gets me back on track. It can get
confusing at times, though. The novel after Promises to Keep will be the
companion to Tides of Honour, returning twenty years later to the Eastern Shore
of Nova Scotia. I have also been researching the British Home Children in
Canada and the beginnings of the RCMP (NWMP) including the Klondike Gold Rush.
And the fourth, well, I think I’ll keep that as a surprise for now!
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