How to grow a geographer and a writer

This is the original version of the article I submitted for the TES on November 4th 2011:

The summer of ’76 was hot - hot and dry. Shorts and t-shirt were all we needed to wear each day when we headed out to play. We played from breakfast well into the afternoon with our parents telling us to be back for tea. We clambered over the fence at the back of our friend’s garden, crossed a school playing field then into a hayfield so that we could finally play in the haystacks there. Someone stayed on look-out for the farmer because he didn’t like us moving his haystacks into our castles and if the sentry spotted him we ran as fast as we could across his field ignoring the sharp straw getting into our flip flop straps, returning to the safe haven of the school playing field.

All of this took place in suburban Croydon whose centre had been turned into a concrete jungle during the previous decade. However, places to play were plentiful throughout this London borough and they gave us the opportunity to explore our surroundings, both urban and semi-rural. As a child I had the opportunity to create my own awareness of geographical space, expand the boundaries of my world beyond my home and gain appreciation of how natural environments changed. My development as a geographer therefore started as I played outdoors. Little did I know then but the seeds of a good story were sown over the landscape I explored so that they could be fully developed by the time I returned there in my imagination.

Compare the scene described in the opening paragraph to that of a ten year old today. Computer savvy most likely –experiencing the four corners of the world in her own home through the internet, communicating with his school friends through instant social networks; their experiences, while information rich, are deficit of the immersion that my generation had as we explored our neighbourhood through play. Nothing beats a geographer’s spatial awareness and environmental appreciation than being in and feeling the outdoors. Nothing will foster the development of a writer’s imagination more than laying down memories of places, sights and sounds.

Play and places to play in are an essential part of childhood. The seed of my first novel started to grow from my memories of playing in local parks, playing fields and woods. I began to wonder what it would be like for a child who never experienced school fields and had never seen a green park in a city. As I wondered, three teenagers from the future, Martha, Rudi and Trojan, began to speak to me and together we wrote their story. Children are born storytellers, they love to spin a good yarn. For us as teachers however, in order to nurture this natural ability, we need to take them to places to play in and we need to tick all the boxes on risk assessments to lead field trips that progressively take our class away from the local area. We must give children the experiences upon which they can build their own elements of a story and enable them to be writers. If they turn into geographers too –what a bonus!

Launched!

'A Place to Play' got its international book launch on Saturday 15th October at 'Rory's on Main' here in New Denver and once I could see that a few people were going to turn up I was able to relax and enjoy the occasion. After all I've never been to a book launch before so didn't know what to expect!

As it turned out the event was well received, people laughed in the right places, cooed over the photo of my brother and I from 1978, marvelled at the gall of the sinister scientists and clapped at the end. I'd like to think that the highlight if the evening for them was finally getting this most talked about book into their hands at last but I am humble and recognise that the bangers and mash followed by trifle were the talk of the evening.

I await now the reviews and the reaction to my story. Already I have been told that the plot unfolds in an unexpected fashion - "Surely as a principal you should write a novel in a more linear, compartmentalised way." Of all the comments and opinions to come I really do hope that readers like my characters as much as I do, particularly the plump Martha. I implied to one person who came to the launch that Martha was based partly on myself and her reply was "but you're not plump." True, I replied, and I continued that I suppose it was more that Martha liked learning and was a bit of a swot. Now that threw the Canadian as she did not know what a swot is!

It is proving hard to launch the book back in England as I can't visit the book shops and the time difference between my working day and that in England would mean I need to wake up at 5am which really isn't very easy for me now that the temperature is close to freezing at this time. My bed is too cosy and warm. To get to this stage in publication has been hard work and I feel I need a breather to recharge the promotional batteries.

In the meantime, the next novel awaits critical proof reading from a few friends and family. Inside they will also come across a version of myself- Nyree- who this time isn't a chocolate lover but does like a decent cup of tea!

Book lauch at Rory's on Main, Oct 15th 2011. Photo credit Jan McMurray, Valley Voice

Living in a valley of the literate

The Slocan Valley in which I live is renowned in BC for being a 'little' alternative. Over the decades of the Twentieth Century it has proven to be a safe haven for the Doukhobours from Saskatchewan (or indeed from present day Georgia) who had found that the government of that province did not provide then with the religious freedom that they had hoped for, a place that some Japanese Canadians resolved to start their lives again once their middle-class lifestyles had been taken from them during their internment here in World War Two, and for draft dodgers crossing the US border during the Vietnam War. Even today I find that many people of my generation have chosen to live here to escape the rat race of urban Canada.

The alternative outlook that some in this valley hold concerning our place in society has led to a thriving valley brimming full of talent in art, theatre, craft, music and literary output. Standards are high and with that comes local community halls full of beautiful voices, cafes lined with art in pastels, watercolour and oils, pottery and woodwork workshops advertised along road sides. You could well spend a week in the Slocan experiencing as much high "culture, darling" as you would in any of Canada's cities.

As the publication date of my novel gets ever closer (September 28th) I find myself getting slightly nervous. I suspect that here in the Slocan Valley, I am regarded as the principal of the school who is "not from around here" and of whom little is known. Once my novel is published and my neighbours start to read it they will see through a small window into me. 'A Place to Play' has subtle, yet present opinions that I hold on the role and purpose of schools, on the ever expanding European Union, on immigration control, on government policies on urban development and of course, on the place of play in childhood. In many ways letting my opinions be known is not what makes me nervous as I can easily stand by them and justify these opinions. It is the spot light I am placing myself under as I dare to call myself an author and a writer within this literate and cultural valley. There are better writers than me I am sure in this valley with a greater command of the English language but I hope that the story I have told is one that is listened to and that judgement and critique of the novel is not whether I should be allowed to call myself a writer but whether I can call mysef a storyteller and that my story as it is written, opens up discussion on what experiences our children are having in childhood.

To catch the eye so the browser buys!

What is it about a novel that makes a browser take a book off the shelf in the shop or click to read the synopsis as they search in an online book store for their next purchase? I suppose the answer, as in many things in life that are taste dependent, is that it depends on the likes and the aesthetic appreciation that the beholder has. Some of us like funky covers with a design that is a little abstract and jumps out of the shelf at us. Others, like something a little more traditional that conveys a message of serious literature contained inside.

How important is the cover though in your enjoyment or appreciation of the novel as you read it? Every time you finish a chapter and put a book down the cover looks back up at you. Can you however, without going to look, describe the cover of the book you are reading or the book you have just finished? I suspect that the cover is all important in the persuasion of us to buy the book but that its impact is not long lasting. I'm recently reading a novel that has a snowy scene, some clever overlay of paper that allows there to be a depression of something in the snow on the cover, a person walking away from the scene in the background with a long trenchcoat and a robin in the foreground. I can picture the scene on the cover but maybe that is because it is in my mind as I write and because I am taking an age to read it so it keeps being put down cover up. However, I am a little more hazy over the covers of the other five novels I have read this summer but that doesn't mean my enjoyment of the novel or my recall of the plot is any less.

I was asked to approve the proof of the cover for my novel 'A Place to Play' in August. I'd already supplied some ideas and the graphics designer sent me a mock up of the cover. Although one of the images I'd supplied was used as the main photograph it didn't seem quite right. To what extent did I want the browser to be considering a book that was about a stark place, empty of children? Even though one of the many themes of the plot is a future without places for children to play I wanted the cover to offer some hope as indeed the novel's end offers. Just a few minor changes was all it took to lighten the mood and the finished result is something I am pleased to have my name on the bottom of. Publication date is getting closer- hopefully September - so not long until the book will be on your bedside table, face up, waiting for you to read the next chapter. Of course, you may not be able to put it down and read it in all one go, which is always a good sign of a great story. In this case, just leave it lying around for another browser to have their eye caught by the cover.

What's in a name?

Canada has recently been host to the first official foreign visit of newly weds, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. William and Catherine have impressed the crowds with their grace, compassion and normalcy. Their names, now said in the same sentence, have intrigued me for various reasons. William shares a name with William the Conqueror who took the kingdom for his in 1066 so I have wondered if he has now conquered the hearts of Canadians who are relatively strong monarchists compared to their antipodean cousins. Catherine's middle name is Elizabeth which she shares with her grandmother-in-law and I have also wondered about when her parents chose that name, were they honouring their new daughter's queen?

Naming the characters in a novel is an important step for the writer as these names will stay with the writer forever. The characters take on a form as the novel unfolds and the writer starts to have conversations with their characters, or sees them in their dreams. However even as the story starts the characters have already approached the writer and made their presence known. Likewise, once the book is written and the story told the characters are still alive somewhere in the imagination of the writer.

How did I go about naming characters in 'A Place to Play'? I was firstly looking for English names such as Martha, Dr. Smith and Robert Baker to emphasise the English setting of the book and the 'Federation of English Cities'. By using European names I hoped to allude to a subtle discussion on European integration; I introduced Timea (Hungarian), Ferras (Spanish) and Rudi (German).  I also wanted to suggest that despite the Federation's attempts at cutting off ties to the rest of the world, the ties that existed prior to 2040 could not be erased completely by using global names such as Chen and Trojan (daft name for a girl, I know,  but have a look at North American girls' names and you'll see what I mean).

In 'An Immigrants' Tale' (working title) my two main protagonists are William and Catherine, hence the reason for mentioning the royals' recent visit. William does actually get a mention in 'A Place to Play' as the United Kingdom collapses after he dies but he is not the William of my second novel. There are coincidental similarities with the royal couple: my William and Catherine fall in love and they also come from different social classes. However, my William and Catherine are named after some of my great great grandparents and therefore I will not be changing their names as they are already alive in my imagination. Indeed they have been around for rather a lot longer than I have and even longer that the Duke and Duchess.

Paving the road to success

My book 'A Place to Play' (which had from the outset the working title of 'My World Famous Novel') is off to a promising start as it has a publishing contract. This is obviously the first paving slab in the road to success. There are now going to be lots more slabs laid en route to publication which will involve back and forth communication between the publisher in England and me, the author, in Canada.

It was a satisfying feeling last week when I received the first proof read from England and saw that someone had taken the time, indeed was being paid to find edits needed for consistency in spelling and punctuation. Seeing red corrections (yes, red) gave me a warm glow which brightened when I saw that there were not too many of them needing to be corrected. My manuscript is now flying back to Cambridge for the second round of proof reading.

I have also been asked for cover ideas, press release content, a list of places to publicise my book and an author's photograph. All in all, it is a learning experience to find out what is needed to publish a novel. Perhaps a larger publisher generates some of this information themselves but working with a smaller publisher like Vanguard Press (an imprint of Pegasus) allows me to be more involved and a decision maker. This is good educational practice and I am at the receiving end for a change!

One aspect of this trans-Atlantic jet setting on the part of my novel that I am not so enamoured with is the difference between the cost of sending the same parcel from the UK via Royal Mail and returning it via Canada Post. Now, most of you reading this will be assuming that the cost from the UK is greater as we are led to believe that post-recession UK is still experiencing an inflated cost of living at present. However if you work it out, I wouldn't be grumbling about UK post as that is not what I pay for. From the UK the parcel cost the equivalent of $10 (6.50GBP) but upon return from Canada the same parcel (no additions) cost a whopping great $65 (45GBP). Hmm...perhaps I need to publish 'WFN2' which also has an English theme from within the shores of England or skip a novel and look for a Canadian publisher who wants to publish a novel with a Canadian theme. Fortunately there is more to Canada than bears and Mounties so I think I could find plot inspiration from somewhere in this vast country.

Finding the title

As I bumble along in life I come across little triggers that make me consider a new book's title. Looking out of the living room window today as the weather outside continues to dump snow on us despite being the end of February, I wonder where the squirrels are. 'Snow and Squirrels.' What would that be about I wonder? No, it's not doing anything for me either. On the same theme of winter I have learned recently that at the top of ski hills in the Kootenay Rockies the trees that are encrusted in snow are called 'snow ghosts.' Now that is more like it. 'Snow Ghosts' - I can see the plot unfold. Skier goes missing on ski field, rescue party find no signs of him. Turned into a snow ghost by a wicked wizard of the mountain. Ah, perhaps not! Already it is being influenced by the primary teacher inside of me.

Rather like my first novel's title 'The Last Field in England' that spurred me on to write the tale of Martha, Rudi and Trojan in end of 21st century Newcastle and then became a whole different title altogether, my second novel has a working title that has been bouncing around my brain ever since I came to Canada in 2006. 'An Immigrants' Tale' sounds like it is about one immigrant doesn't it? It is actually about two immigrants and so I am trying to do something clever with an indefinite article or a definite article and use the apostrophe to subtly suggest two people's tales. I don't think it works yet. 'A Tale of Two Immigrants' would be the easy default to Dickens, but I may be accused of taking advantage of a rather more famous novelist's success.

'An Immigrants' Tale' is unfolding and is close to half way through. My great great grandfather emigrated to Canada around 1911 and I emigrated here in 2006, almost a hundred years apart. I have wondered how different our emigration experience was and if we met would we have any common ground. Did I have it easy stepping off a Zoom Airlines compared to him or did he have less bureaucracy to deal with than I did? We both lived on Vancouver Island and he is buried in Duncan, B.C. I regret not finding his grave. I am not one for tracing family history but I am interested in the history of emigration and immigration.

Once this next novel is finished I will continue observing everything around me until the next title comes along. One title at a time I think. I just opened some photos looking for an image of 'Nuts', our resident squirrel when it's not snowing. I found instead a photo folder called 'Bear and Bees.' Probably more of an action novel than 'Birds and Bees' would be, don't you think?