By: Priya MigneaultThis November 7th, Stonehouse Publishing will release their newest collection of novels via a virtual book launch. The authors included in the launch are Anna Marie Sewell, Danika Stone, Sabrina Uswak, EB Frank, and Robin van Eck, four of whom are Albertan. This week's interviewee was Danika Stone, who talked about her third and final installment to the Waterton series, called ‘Fall of Night’.  Stone is a multi-genre author, mother, teacher, and proud Albertan. She grew up in Waterton, AB and now lives there part-time with her husband and kids. In the past, she has written (Young Adult) YA, contemporary fiction, and mystery novels, all of which feature a strong female lead. Her previous work includes books such as Switchback (Macmillan, 2019), Internet Famous (Macmillan, 2017), All the Feels (Macmillan, 2016), The Dark Divide (Stonehouse, 2018) and Edge of Wild (Stonehouse, 2016). The Waterton series is based in Waterton, AB and is about a town of people who will do anything to protect their secrets, including murder. Based in the late ’90s to early 2000’s we meet a community of people who are all in danger of being next on a serial killer’s hit list. As the town tries to discover who the killer is while grieving the continuous loss of their neighbours, they realize that time is running out, and any one of them might be next. In ‘Fall of Night’ we follow Constable Sadie Black Plume as she tries to uncover the killer before they strike again while dealing with the immense and sudden loss of her partner. As the story unfolds, the killings’ start to tie into an organized crime unit and all the relationships between the tight-knit community are tested. As the townspeople attempt to prove their innocence, the killer gets closer and closer, and Sadie realizes she has to act soon, or she may be next on their list. Each novel in the Waterton series has a different main character with multiple perspectives in the narrative; ‘Fall of Night’ is Sadie’s story.  Danika Stone wrote this installment of the series after her younger brother's death, which she says affected how the story went, because while Sadie was dealing with loss, so was Stone. “It would be a different book if my brother had survived,” she says. Stone stated that personal experience and present circumstances will filter into what people are writing. When people die in the series, it brings the community together, or it tears them apart. The main message behind the series is, “How do you keep going forward if you’re the one left behind?” Stone says, “You can’t be alive without the risk of living.” You have to keep going and be open to your feelings to feel alive, which Sadie struggles with throughout the novel. The Waterton series is a thriller, which she claims is quite challenging to write because you must continuously keep the reader guessing and on their toes. In thrillers, authors have to build up the plot without spoiling the end or revealing too much. Stone says that the characters in the series take on a life of their own and go directions that even she did not anticipate. She finds it challenging to switch between genres while writing her novels because she finds it difficult to pick just one. However, she finds that while writing the stories, they slowly reveal what genre they most relate to. Stone has written in various genres, but she frequently writes YA. While writing YA novels, she is careful to think of the age of her readers and include content that is acceptable for them, “That’s not to say that you can’t have incredible and powerful writing in a YA book.” YA novels have to get rid of all the fluff and be crystal clear in their plot; every sentence has to tie into the story's heart. “So, one of the things I do is write and read a chapter at a time (to my kids) and if at the end of that chapter they’re like ‘yeah, okay, that’s nice’ well I’ve failed. But if at the end of the chapter they’re like ‘no, keep going, we can’t go to bed yet’ then I’ve succeeded,” says Stone. In all of Stone's books, there are LGBTQ+ relationships and characters even if it isn't clearly stated; this includes ‘Fall of Night’. When asked why she does this, Stone explains that as an author your job is to reflect truths, values, and different aspects of reality, which includes LGBTQ+ characters. She also ensures that the character's sexuality and sexual orientation are not the main pieces of the story or their entire personality. “I love that we see it (LGBTQ+ relationships) throughout the world, …like why would our stories not reflect that?,” says Stone, “When I’ve heard authors say ‘well that’s not my personal experience, so I could never write it,’ it just makes me wonder why would you ostracize your readers. And also realistically you do know people that fall within those communities.” Because Danika Stone is not a part of the LGBTQ+ community herself, she hires sensitivity readers to ensure her depictions are as authentic as possible. For those interested in becoming published authors, Stone says that you need to be picky about finding an agent; they are what can make or break your career in writing. You are typically tied to them through a contract. She expresses that an agent is worth the time and money as they can open doors you typically couldn’t. The second piece of advice, she has, is that once you have an agent, don’t be afraid to send your manuscript to as many publishers as possible. The more companies who want your novel, the more options you have when making a final decision on the publisher. The third piece of advice is to have a second job. Although Stone has published numerous novels, she still works as a teacher throughout the school year because she finds that the money you make as an author isn’t always stable. Very few authors make a sustainable amount of money for their work. Stone began writing fiction while writing her Master's thesis. She hit a low point while completing the paper and had no motivation to continue writing until she found her passion for fanfiction and fiction writing. “The big defining moment was almost losing my love of writing,” says Stone. Her favourite TV series to write fanfiction for was the ‘The 100’, but that was until she began creating her own characters. She soon discovered that she cared more to write her creations and worlds into books, and with that, she started her career as an author. ‘Fall of Night’ is being launched on November 7th on an online zoom call, which you can attend by purchasing your ticket here on Eventbrite. Stone has set up several small activities for the launch that center around her novel. You can find ‘Fall of Night’ online at Amazon and Indigo. However, she highly recommends trying to find it at your local bookstore first, ordering directly through Stonehouse Publishing, or through her website Danika Stone, which allows you to purchase merchandise for the novel as well.
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By: Priya MigneaultThis November 7th, Stonehouse Publishing will release their newest collection of novels via a virtual book launch. The authors included in the launch are Anna Marie Sewell, Danika Stone, Sabrina Uswak, EB Frank, and Robin van Eck, four of whom are Albertan. As the launch approaches, I will be releasing an interview with one of the authors featured every week and this week, I had the privilege to interview Anna Marie Sewell.  Anna Marie is an award-winning multi-genre artist, who has published two poetry books: Fifth World Drum, Frontenac House, 2009; and 2018’s For the Changing Moon, Thistledown Press. In addition to writing books, she runs a blog at prairiepomes.com which covers various topics. Anna Marie Sewell was born in New Brunswick, to a Polish mother and Anishinaabe/Mi’gmaq father. She was brought up with Indigenous storytelling and philosophy, and incorporates aspects of both into her first novel ‘Humane’. However, as she notes in the after-word, this is a work of fiction, which does not claim to represent the ‘authentic lore’ of any particular people. In ‘Humane’ we meet Hazel, who is a mother working to ensure her daughters are strong and prepared for the world. However, she gets sucked into the unexpected when she agrees to help the August family find the killer of their daughter, Nell. Hazel is unable to find any leads, and she shouts her despair into the night. A vision encounters her and requires her to steal a dog. As the story unfolds and new connections are made, it puts not only Hazel but her family at risk. Now, the case not only becomes a question of ‘Who killed Nell?’ but as the protagonists become more tangled in the mystery and closer to the killer, the question becomes ‘Who will survive?’. The novel is a thrilling mystery from beginning to end, with the unexpected happening at every turn. ‘Humane’ is based in an alternate reality in which Canada has allied with India to receive new technology while accepting more immigrants after a series of crises. The main city the novel is based in is called ‘Amiskwaciy’in a version of history where Edmonton has chosen to change its name to represent Indigenous history, which Sewell says would be interesting to see in real life. The main message of the novel “depends on who’s reading it,” says Anna Marie. “But central to it, is we live every day in a world that is infinitely stranger than we can possibly comprehend and in the face of that anything really is possible. (...) And given that all things are possible, what do you choose to make of the fact that you’re human? What does it mean to be human? What does it matter to be humane?” She named the novel ‘Humane’ because she found it interesting how closely the word ‘human’ and ‘humane’ are to each other. Because although humans claim to be humane, we are the creatures that have been hurting the planet and starting wars since the beginning of time. “Humane is one of the highest ethical qualities we can possess, and what does that mean when we look at humans and the utterly nasty things we get up to?” Sewell questions. A comparison she makes is that dogs, who are loyal, kind, and trustworthy, are more humane than people sometimes, which is a subject she touches on in the novel. “All around the world, we have stories of shapeshifting, in every culture and it’s usually tied to something fearful. There’s a monstrousness in being able to change your form (...), but there are also heroic qualities,” she says. ”I think that it’s fascinating that people everywhere have those stories. Particularly in the stories that I grew up with; a lot of shapeshifters (that were evil) were dogs. They are turning into a creature that pretends to belong to what is domestic and good, that’s where the danger is. If you think about a werewolf it really in some sense is saying that the danger is in wilderness, in the thing you don’t own. In the version where they’re dogs it is really telling you the trouble is close to home.” Shapeshifting and canines are two of the topics central to Humane, and which resonate in Lana Gilday’s‘Bad Dog Blues’, which will debut at the launch. Sewell says that the song was a perfect fit because she feels it is a song Hazel and Spider would sing together as a duet. “The blues is such a thing that people relate to because it comes from a specific history, but it has spread out and touched people all around the world. It’s such a human thing,” she says, “Everyone can relate to this feeling of this burden, and you love, and you hate, and you don’t know what to do, so you just gotta complain about it. You’re just pleading your case.” The song is unique as it is written from the dog Spider’s point of view.  The cover art for ‘Humane’ was created by Anna Marie’s sister, Trish Sewell. “She captured brilliantly that sense of what it is to live in a world of wonders,” Anna Marie says, “And to wake up understanding that you're actually a part of it. You’re a part of the wonder. You’re a part of the working of it, even though you don’t know how to be, you have a part that you have to play.” Sewell says that releasing her first novel has been quite the journey. She has a long career as a poet (and was Edmonton’s 4th Poet Laureate along the way), but writing poetry is very different from writing a mystery novel. “Poetry is sprinting. Novels are endurance racing,” she says. Once she began writing the novel, it took her six to eight months to complete. A lot of Humane was written with the support of the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund. Anna Marie believes there should be more funding put into the arts and that artists and writers should consider looking for artistic funds or grants in their area. As for publishing and finding an agent, she recommends that aspiring writers keep trying and experimenting until a company accepts their work. Sewell claims that there aren’t enough Canadian authors, and she highly recommends people try to write from a Canadian perspective, which includes a beautiful mix of cultures. And she sees writers as servants of potential, who offer visions of what might be. “You might put out 100 visions of how things might work better, and 99 of them might turn out to have some flaw in execution, which means they can’t actually happen. But the 100th one might be the really great next thing, so that’s what a writer is for.” Stonehouse Publishing launches Humane and four other novels on November 7th on an online zoom call, which you can attend by purchasing your ticket here on Eventbrite. Each novel has a recommended food and drink pairing to enjoy with the readings. For Humane, bring maple popcorn to munch on, and an Italian espresso. Popcorn and maple are both traditional Indigenous foods, while Anna Mariechose Italian Espresso to pay respect to ‘Spinelli Bar Italia’ where she spends many hours writing. You can find ‘Humane’ online at Amazon and Indigo. However, she highly recommends trying to find it at your local indie bookstore first, after it is released, or ordering direct through Stonehouse Publishing. |
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