ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS EITHER FROM THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER.
About Katalin Kennedy:
Thank you so much for agreeing to host my new novel “Reconnecting” on your web site.
Katalin (András) Kennedy escaped
from Hungary with her parents on Christmas Eve 1956. She married Duncan
Scott Kennedy in 1972 and graduated from Ottawa’s Carleton University.
In the latter part of her career, she managed major national projects
with Health Canada’s Family Violence Prevention Programs, until her
retirement. Her beloved soul mate, the Rev. D. S. Kennedy passed away
in 2006.
She now resides in Cornwall, Ontario and continues her
involvement in various organizations: Canadian Federation of University
Women, Probus Club of Cornwall and Area, Encore Seniors’ Education
Program and the Cornwall and Regional Writers’ Society.
For ten years
she was a columnist for Seaway News. In 2012, Kennedy launched her first
novel “The Women Gather” and in June 2015 “Reconnecting” was also
released by Baico Publishing.
About Ms. Kennedy's writing:
How author’s get ideas/inspiration? How much time is spent writing daily?
How Ideas and Inspiration come:
I
consider this to be an individual and subjective consideration, likely
unique to each writer. From my perspective, ideas are a bi-product of
curiosity. I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t curious.
In my later
years, the Encyclopedia Britannica attests to that; the volumes are
well-worn. Once the world wide web became a search source for me, more
than thirty years ago, my small world opened into all manner of areas. I
continue to be hungry for knowledge.
My interests include,
humanitarian, cultural, religious, spiritual, literary, historic,
scientific and even political issues; and this is likely not the full
gamut. I don’t think a single day goes by without me searching for some
bit of new knowledge; a quest idea which pops into my brain and which I
must follow-up. I am also one who accumulates insights from everything
around me including books, news clippings, films, theatre and sight
experiences: the look of surprise on a child’s face upon seeing a rabbit
hop away; the grateful gaze of a homeless man when paper money is
placed into his tin cup; the anxiety of peoples migrating in great
masses through war torn countries. All these create lasting images in my
mind which may re-emerge in thoughts and words, at some point.
In
truth, my curiosity leads me to experience too many ideas. I’m not
alone. A friend maintains an ‘ideas book’ in which she scribbles the
thought, and the inspiration from where that came. Perhaps I should do
that. Up to now, I’ve relied on my instinct and memory as to what has
resonated most clearly, or most repeatedly. It is that idea I tend to
pursue. The other point I need to articulate is that the idea might be
the tiniest concept or a most colossal notion. Expanding or distilling
these becomes the challenge. Once a particular idea is accepted, the
need for further inspiration and exploration are required. Both are
critical when reflecting about the creative process.
Writing for
me is not a simple free flow of words. I carry out ongoing research from
the conceptual phase, right through to the end. And in between, as the
storyline evolves my ‘pondering’ never ceases. At the very best, it
takes over my waking and dreaming times. That’s when the magic of
creativity is most fulfilling: a tiny idea takes on a new form, from the
wonderment of one’s own mind. And from that, one transposes it into
tangible written words.
The idea for my first novel “The Women
Gather” came to me as a Utopian concept, wanting to demonstrate that the
world could evolve into a positive future of hope for humanity. With my
new novel “Reconnecting” the outcome of my idea was less lofty and more
immediate: a story of four women, Marlie, Kendra, Vanessa and Iris
whose lives connect as they live together in the same Condo Complex in
2012 Ottawa. My initial idea was inspired by the thought of photo
albums, and what images they might contain. Read my novel to see how
this idea developed further.
Time Spent Writing:
Again
this is an individualistic undertaking. I know of writers who consider
themselves ‘disciplined’ and write daily for specific periods of time,
or until a specific number of words is achieved. I used to think, as
early as last year, that this was a desirable approach and one which I
needed to emulate. I’ve come to the conclusion that this process is not
for me.
When I was writing my monthly column for Cornwall’s
Seaway News, over ten years, I was obliged to employ a routine: first
because I had a deadline and second because it suited my need to
accomplish a required task in a timely period. I would decide upon a
number of topics about which I would writer, over several months. Then
two weeks before the monthly deadline, I would conduct necessary
research and begin writing a draft article. A week before the deadline, I
would review and edit the draft and send it off the same day. That
process worked for me for that particular exercise. On looking back to
that process, however, I have come to conclude, it was like doing
‘homework’ ‒ which to this day gives me a feeling of heebie-jeebies.
I
realize that there are folk who enjoy the discipline of such time
management. Others may need to do that, given their various life
responsibilities. Someone I know writes when her children are safely
tucked into bed. Another friend admits she writes whenever she can grasp
a few stolen hours from her professional work life. The luxury of
retirement means I don’t have to be ‘on a clock’. I used to consider my
best period for writing to be in the morning; it no longer applies as a
commitment. I can write anytime when I am moved by inspiration to sit at
the keyboard.
I came to this insight a short while ago, as I
remembered the reason I took up writing: It is a passion that fulfills
my need. I do not want that passion to be an outcome of an obligation;
it needs to be a desire from within that I cannot help but pursue
instinctively. When my father retired from his book binding business, he
began to paint because he was driven by the joy it gave him. And that
is the way I need to feel about my writing. So my previous thoughts
about wanting to be more ‘disciplined’ as to when and how long I write,
no longer seem relevant. What drives me is the joy of writing itself.
I
can’t sit down at the computer and force myself to create. I need the
screen with the last pages of the storyline to draw me in and let my
fingers fly on the keyboard as fast as the thoughts flow. If that
feeling is not there, then there is no point. And I’m not one to decide
how many words I will produce on a given day. As I said earlier, I do a
lot of in-between thinking and pondering. When I’m ready to convey the
next stream of thoughts to emerge on the screen, I do so. Sometimes the
creativity will take over and carry me further. I stop when my mind has
emptied, generally to the point of being drained emotionally. This may
take only a couple of hours. At other times, I may lose all sense of
myself and the hours I spent writing. And that is one of the rewards of
writing.
When I need to review and edit, I do place a time-line
on the exercise, because that is a tedious process and one needs to be
alert.
In all honesty, the most difficult period in the writing
process is the beginning of a piece of work. Marlie, the main character
in “Reconnecting” is a writer. She discusses various aspects of
writing, throughout the novel. Here are a couple of excerpts to give a
flavor of how she feels about writing, as well as a tweak into the
storyline itself.
*******
“Reconnecting” page 114
Enough
about daydreaming! It was September now, and Marlie acknowledged that
she had hardly written anything. She couldn’t quite grasp why it was so
difficult for her to keep going. She had always written. She remembered
writing from the time she was at least ten. She had written poems in
grade school and throughout her life, in fact. There was one about a
garden which she had recited in grade six; she remembered her teacher
saying she liked it and asked what poet had written it. To Miss Taylor’s
surprise, Marlie had nonchalantly replied, “Oh, I did.” All through
high school and university she had written poems. Then, everything had
been easy. She had switched to short message stories during the first
few years of her marriage. They had become part of an annual tradition
and printed in a newsletter. She had compiled a dozen of these and sent
them off to a publisher. The rejection letter wasn’t a bad one, but
enough of a deterrent. She didn’t try again for some time. She also
remembered that a long ago manager had asked her, “and have you been
published?” to which of course she had to say “No!” She had interpreted
the question as an underhanded put down, meant to impair her. Is that
what had happened? Would she ever be able to communicate her creative
inner perceptions to the visible state?
Why these negative memories
now? Hadn’t she got past all that years ago? Well, there was always the
fear, just out there lurking, scheming, persuading that one was never
quite good enough or worse still that the words would never come again.
******
“Reconnecting”, Pages 204-205:
Marlie
was astonished by her ability to write in this new setting (on a boat
cruise). Perhaps it had something to do with the comfort she felt with
Sam. She hadn’t been with anyone, full time, since Owen died. She had
expected that in itself would require an adjustment. But it hadn’t. The
gentle flow of the river, the fresh air, the lovely scenery and their
long talks all contributed to her creative senses coming to the
foreground; when she took the time to write, the words were there. She
did miss not having Wi-Fi. Her storyline required periodic research to
ensure accuracy about the subjects and situations she discussed.
Internet not being an option, she decided to work on the individual
attributes of her main characters.
Marlie wanted them to be
distinctive but at the same time, she had no plans to turn any of them
into caricatures. While she appreciated the intended portrayal of
certain well known creations, like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or
Miss Jane Marple for example, Marlie needed her characters to be real
people. She didn’t want their idiosyncrasies to be so blatant that these
over shadowed and thus took away from her overall storyline. Her
friends were unique in their own way, with their own turn of phrases and
mannerisms; but as real people their traits were negligible. How to
weave an authentic person, who was recognizable with qualities that were
subtle but distinguishable, was something she needed to work on. And
while she was speculating about her characters, it occurred to Marlie
that she hadn’t thought about her friends at the condo, this entire
week. What is that all about? She wondered. Am I so superficial that I
merely replace one set with another? Marlie decided against that
perception. She had not been presented with the opportunity to escape
into a temporary world for far too long. Might as well revel in it.
*******
Thank you again for hosting my novel “Reconnecting”, published again by Baico Publishing, Ottawa, Ontario.
Both my novels “The Women Gather” and “Reconnecting” are available at “Chapters”:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/contributor/author/katalin-kennedy/
and at
“Baico Publishing”: http://www.baico.ca/index.php/baicobookstore
As well, I have a web site which contains some of my poetry and writings:
http://katalinkennedy.com
About Reconnecting:
RECONNECTING
is an essential novel for our times. Katalin Kennedy expertly weaves a
captivating story about how the bonds that women experience guide their
choices -- and ultimately destiny -- through relationships that can be
as messy and wondrous as life itself.
As we get to know Marlie and her enquiring mind, her pondering of crucial issues and ensuing flashes of
insight reveal how love and friendship, with a good dose of providence,
can guide our lives and lead to wisdom.
This book is as heart-warming
and comforting as a good feast for the soul. We are left wanting to
share more time with Marlie and her distinctive friends.
Social Links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/EmesesDreamProduction
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/emesesdreamprod
Where to Purchase:
Chapters Indigo:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/reconnecting/9781772160307-item.html?ikwid=Katalin+Kennedy&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0
or short link: http://bit.ly/1FX8ccp
Baico Publishing Inc:
http://www.baico.ca/index.php/baicobookstore?route=product/product&product_id=290
or short link: http://bit.ly/1FTtl7x
Author: Katalin Kennedy:
http://katalinkennedy.com/
Email: emesesdream@hotmail.com
Giveaway:
Click on the link below to enter:
First prize: $25 Amazon gift certificate and autographed copy of Reconnecting
Second and third prize: Autographed Copy of Reconnecting
Contest winners will be chosen by the publisher.
