I have been chatting with so many people about this month's book, "Losing Faith". Canadian author, Denise Jaden, took on a couple of tough subjects and turned them into a terrific novel. You can read my review of this book in last week's Good Shopper Blog. I also have a book winner to announce at the end of this post!
Denise was born and raised in Canada, where she lived just outside of Vancouver, B.C. with her husband and son.
She has previously written short stories; "Losing Faith" is her first novel and we are looking forward to her upcoming Young Adult, contemporary novel, "Never Enough", out July 10th. I was very happy to have the opportunity to interview Denise about her book, "Losing Faith".
GSB: This book touched on some very difficult topics including death and religion - were you nervous about tackling those topics?
DJ: I was nervous about how the religious aspects would be received, but I’ve been pleased with the reaction from both religious and non-religious readers. So far no one has mentioned finding it preachy or heavy handed, which I’m thrilled about. As for the death, I really enjoyed learning about grief and all of its varied expressions during the writing. Even though it was a difficult subject, I was glad I tackled it!
GSB: This was your first novel and it was published in 2010. How long had you been writing before your novel was published?
Is it something you always knew that you would do?
DJ: I had been writing for about seven years prior to publishing. Unlike many authors I know, I did not always want to be a writer. In fact, during my high school years, I did everything in my power to avoid reading and writing. Thankfully that didn’t last! You’d rarely see me without a book now.
GSB: I love that Brie was hearing Faith singing in her head. Do you have a favourite song that would cause your family to think of you when they heard it?
DJ: I had a specific tune in my head when I was writing about Brie hearing Faith’s humming, but to be honest, I don’t know if it was a real song or just a combination of notes I made up myself. It was always the same note progression.
GSB: I appreciated that we got all the facts and information at the end of the story,. Did you always know the ending and everything that happened that night with Faith?
DJ: No, actually, I spent much of the writing trying to figure out for myself what some of Faith’s secrets were. I had a vague idea about some of them, but the full ending didn’t unfold in my head until I came to the place of writing it. (It’s difficult to answer this one fully without giving away spoilers!)
GSB: Do you have some advice for our Canadian readers who may dream of publishing their own novel some day?
DJ: Yes, something I didn’t do soon enough: read a lot and write a lot. There is no better teacher than practice and learning what you enjoy in published words and why you enjoy it. Also, I highly recommend finding a group of writers you can regularly bounce things off of. As solitary as writing can be, I honestly wouldn’t have publishable work without the help of my critique partners.
I thank Denise so much again for the opportunity to interview her! I cannot wait until July to read "Never Enough".
Time to get ready for our next book, "The Imposter Bride", by Canadian author, Nancy Richler, from HarperCollins Canada.
When a young, enigmatic woman arrives in post-war Montreal, it is immediately clear that she is not who she claims to be.
Sounds interesting already!
For now, congratulations to "Losing Faith" winner, Nikki Robak! You will be receiving a copy of the novel "Losing Faith" Let us know what you think! I would love to discuss it with you!
To win a copy of "The Imposter Bride", please answer the question at the end of our review, which will be published on Monday, April 23, 2012. The winner will be announced the following week. Good luck and thanks so much for participating!
:: images courtesy of Chapters/Indigo and HarperCollins Canada.
