I was the guest author at a couple of book club meetings! Kerri, who owns the amazing Books and Shenanigans, in Victoria, BC, has created such a cozy space and community feel.
The groups had many great questions about my book. They even stumped me a few times. For example, I couldn’t precisely articulate why two women change their names to April and May in the story, but in the second meeting, Louise explained it better than I could! LOL. Kerri said she heard Margaret Atwood say that books and characters take on a life of their own once they are out in the world.
Another woman wanted to know more about Jeremy, Lily’s old boyfriend. As I mentioned in the last blog post, I cut thousands of words out of what became the published manuscript, so I thought I’d share a little more about him from the slash pile. Oh, and Frontier is a made up place, but any guesses what Alberta town I used as a model?
A Room in the Forest Outtake
“At the top of the hill, Lily got the full view of foothills spread out to the west and, of course, her hometown below. She wound down the hill, slowing the car with the gears instead of the brakes, like Jeremy taught her. The engine whined and the tires crunched along the gravel. When she hit black-top, she recognized the turn off that led to the bush party spot. Beer cans had been tossed at fence posts here. Girls had puked out back doors. Boys had run out of gas. Hitchhiking had happened. She turned left and she continued along the same path she’d travelled for much youth.
The street before the main drag was stacked with low bungalows, one after another. She drove past the one her best friend Janie once lived in. Janie had gone too, ditching Lily for all of Gr. 12, for all that happened with Jeremy. And it had been Janie’s fault she’d ever met the guy.
Lily entered the alley behind her father’s furniture store. She parked at the back by the dumpsters where she’d hidden her first boot-legged beer. This was where Jeremy had tried to kiss her after that night of playing pool at the bar in the hotel. She’d never dared to go in before, but Janie had said they never check I.D. She couldn’t believe they’d let a couple of 17 year-olds in. Jeremy had watched her pocket six solids in a row and then he’d followed her out the back door for a smoke. She’d stood behind her father’s store wishing he’d go away, but at the same time desperately wanting him to stay.
Lily hadn’t seen Jeremy since last June. She heard he’d gotten a job in the oil patch, but it was like he’d just disappeared.“
Invite me to your book club
More and more friends/readers are getting their book clubs to read A Room in the Forest. I am open to attending meetings in person or by Zoom when possible so just connect with me. Also if you have any book club type questions, just drop them here and I’ll try and answer. Maybe even make another blog post!