Behind the Story with Kristin Butcher
Behind the Story with Kristin Butcher
Today I welcome award-winning author, Kristin Butcher, to my blog. Kristin and I met in Toronto 20 years ago when we were both touring Ontario for CCBC Canadian Children’s Book Week. Since then, Kristin has been a Book Week presenter twice more and has published 30 books for kids and teens. Her most recent title is Closer to Far Away, a coming of age novel about a 13-year-old girl in rural Saskatchewan during prohibition. It involves a family tragedy, bootlegging, strained relationships, and the power of love.
Kristin, this new novel is historical fiction. Isn’t that a departure for you?
Yes and no. Historical fiction is my favourite genre to read, and it is what I’ve always yearned to write, but there aren’t a lot of children’s publishers willing to take on historical novels. So, when I dipped my toe into the publishing industry waters, I thought it wiser to write stories set in modern times. Being a teacher, I was familiar with the sorts of books kids were reading, and so that’s what I wrote. That didn’t mean I wasn’t also writing historical fiction. I just wasn’t submitting it for publication. I actually wrote the original draft of Closer to Far Away back in 2001. Then I shut it away in a file on the computer and forgot about it for 22 years.
What made you pull it out again?
My love of the genre hasn’t ebbed over the years, and I’m not getting any younger. If I want to pursue my dream of writing historical fiction, it’s now or never. On the bright side, I have established a name for myself in the industry, and my hope is that my reputation might help me find publishers willing to take a chance on the genre. Crwth Press published my historical hockey story, Isobel’s Stanley Cup (2018) and after that a magical realism series of books set in 11th century Ireland called The Seer Trilogy. The hockey book was especially well-received, and that encouraged me to keep pushing, and so I reopened the file on Closer to Far Away.
I see the publisher is Red Deer Press. Why the change?
There are a few reasons. For starters, Crwth Press wasn’t taking submissions at the time, so I couldn’t go back to that well. Over the course of my writing career, I’ve dealt with many publishers. Much as people might think that once a writer finds a publisher, the two are joined at the hip for eternity, that is not the case. The rejections don’t stop. But neither do I. If one door closes, I knock on another. In the past, I have knocked on Red Deer’s door a few times. I greatly admire Peter Carver, who was the editor there for years. Though I came close to acceptance a couple of times, I never actually secured a contract. The editor there now is Beverley Brenna, and the fact that Red Deer has published some very successful historical fiction novels recently was enticement to try there again. And the rest is history. (pun intended.)
Why this story?
I’m not really sure. Ideas fly in and out of my head all day long, so it’s hard to say why I glom onto some and let the others go. This story grew out of a vignette I wrote about a little girl in the early 1900s in Saskatchewan, who witnesses a funeral at the church at the end of her street. It is a freezing cold day in February, and the little girl is filled with questions afterwards. The vignette focuses on her struggle to make sense of what she has seen. Closer to Far Away grew out of that. It became the story of what happens to this girl and her family 8 years later when the mother dies suddenly. The story opens following the mother’s funeral.
What can readers look forward to next?
I seem to be stuck on the Canadian prairies during the early part of the 20th century. I recently finished a novel based on my grandfather’s experience as a Barnardo boy and then a Canadian home child. The story begins in London, England in 1911, where 11-year-old William and his young sister, Lily, become orphaned and find themselves in Dr. Barnardo’s Home for Destitute Children. They become separated when William is sent to Canada as a home child. He ends up with an abusive farmer in Saskatchewan, and realizes that if he is going to survive, he must run away and somehow find his sister. This sort of situation wasn’t unusual at that time, and I think it is a part of Canadian history sadly ignored in literature. The novel is called Finding William and is currently searching for a publisher.
At the moment I am working on another middle-grade novel titled Those Lawler Girls. Set in post-World War l Winnipeg at the time of the Spanish Flu pandemic and the Winnipeg General Strike, it is the story of Jenny Lawler and her family and how they struggle to survive the challenges of the time. It tackles such themes as poverty, frenemies, family, social change, compassion, and determination. The topics may sound heavy, but the characters—particularly Jenny’s little sister, Louisa—ground the book and provide a good deal of humour.
Thank you, Kristin. You are definitely keeping busy.
The launch for Closer to Far Away is coming up on Saturday, November 23rd. If you’re in the Campbell River area, please pop in to Coho Books and join the fun. For more information about Kristin and her books, visit her website at www.kristinbutcher.com.
