An Interview With Paula Todd
I was very fortunate to interview Paula Todd recently, and meet the lady behind the book, A Quiet Courage.It was a most memorable interview with a most incredible lady. Here are excerpts from the interview.
Shelf Life: How did this book come about?
Todd: I started a biography program five years ago at TVOntario and the idea was to track down successful people, not celebrities but people successful in their communities and try to get underneath their success, to find out their tips and strategies. We sifted through hundreds of names. I have interviewed more than 100 people for Person 2 Person and with astonishing frequency, when I asked about what they had done, they told me what they had done badly, and it took me a while to realize that although no one talks about it there is a significant connection between succeeding and failing, but we live in a world where if there is something wrong with you, you are supposed to hide it. If you make a mistake you are supposed to bury it. If you have an illness or addiction or suffered abuse you are supposed to deny it.
So I carried that realizeation around me for about five years. I did a lot of research and read just about every book I could put my hands on about survival and grief and recovery and I talked to a lot of experts. I met Patrick Crean from Thomas Allen. He liked the show and I was asked if I had ever through about writing a book. I sid if you asked me at any other time I would haver said I was busy, but I had something inside my head and it made my life so much easier knowing what theyse people have told me and I felt very selfish hanging onto the information. So I had it in my head and I have a lot of people walking around in there, and it would really be great if you would let me let them out.
Shelf Life: If someone was going to pick up this book for the first time, how would you describe it?
Todd: This is a book about something entirely new. This is a book about how we can understand that the worst of life can also be the msot valuable gift we ever have. It is a book that you can take anywhere with you and you know you have a friend to listen to. You don't have to be in distress to find value in it. I wrote it in a way that I am hoping you can learn all the life lessons from these people, without actually having to be in a terrible car accident or face alcoholism or suffer sexual abuse.
These are people who have endured the worst and come out stronger. If you can figure out how they have done it, it can make your life easier.
An Interview With Cathy Vasas-Brown
Shelf Life: I guess the most commonly asked question is, how does a nice elementary school teacher by day turn into a serial killer author by night?
Vasas-Brown: I don't really know. The two are quite different. I can go into my nurturing thing by day, and be helpful Mrs. Vasas-Brown, and then come home at night and get the evil out of the closet. I think you can have two separare lifestyles. It has worked out all right.
Shelf Life: When do you do most of your writing.
Vasas-Brown: I generally try to get on my computer as soon as I come home in the evening. During the school year, I work a sort of 4 to 6 shift and during the summer I put in an 8:30 to 4:30 day every day. That is when I get the momentum going. This fall I am taking a leave of absence for a year so I can concentrate on my writing, I have no idea what it feels like to hit my stride because I have never had uninterrupted time to see how quickly I can go and how effectively I can use that time.
Shelf Life: When did you take the Humber College Writing Program in Creative Writing?
Vasas-Brown: It was about 3 years ago. I had specifically asked for an instructor by the name of Eric Wright simply because I knew he was a good mystery writer and I wanted someone who shared my passion for that genere. He turned out to be a marvelous instructor who has given me a lot of guidance. He basically corresponded with me and I would send him chapters through the mail that he would critique and send back to me. At the end of that time, he recommended the book for publication and as they say the rest is history. It worked out quite nicely that way.
Shelf Life: What made you decide to write a serial killer thriller?
Vasas-Brown: I find that is what I like to read. I am fascinated by evil. I am fascinated by these people who look like your next door neighbour. I am fascinated by what makes a person become so haunted they could do such hideous things. I have done a lot of research on serial killers and find it fascinating in a dark, macabre sort of way.
Shelf Life: Was there ever a time while writing all those drafts you thought you might as well give up, knowing first time novelists have a tough time getting published?
Vasas-Brown: I have always had that uncanny faith in myself, that if I stuck to something long enough, it is bound to happen. I do get to the point of no returnn when I thought I had invested too much in this just to be a hobby. I always thought I had to plunge ahead and keep going.
Shelf Life: So you had great faith a small town gal could accomplish this?
Vasas-Brown: I think so. I was persistent, There is talent out there by the bundle. There are so many talented people out there walking around, that will never write. They may dance or sing. I think we have to find where we belong and make the most of our skills and talents. For me, I think this is it. I know I can sit at the computer and work long-hand and be completely exhausted by the end of the day, but it is a blissful exhaustion. It is a feeling of great accomplishment even in writing something mediocre, and knowing you are still doing soemthing more than someone else ever dreamed they could do. There are people out there who say, "I can write, I have always wanted to write," but to actually do it and have it go somewhere is mind boggling. It doesn't make me pat myself on the back. It is mind boggling that happened to me and I take it as a blessing.
