Charming Canucks: Interview and Giveaway with Jane Nickerson

Charming Canucks is a feature I’ve created that will be posted every other month or so in an effort to spotlight more Canadian YA authors and their books. 

Today, I'd like to welcome Jane Nickerson.

 

A bit about Jane (as found on Goodreads): For many years Jane Nickerson and her family lived in a big old house in Aberdeen, Mississippi, where she was also the children’s librarian. She has always loved the South, “the olden days,” gothic tales, houses, kids, writing, and interesting villains. She and her husband now make their home in Ontario, Canada. 

Strands of Bronze and Gold, your debut novel, was released on March 12 by Random House Children’s Books. Give three reasons why everyone should read it. 

First off, Strands of Bronze and Gold is a retelling of a traditional fairytale that is not at all fairy-tale-esque. Really it’s more gothic than magical, so if you’re a fan of Rebecca or Jane Eyre (but without the annoying/boring parts) this is the book for you. Second, Strands has a villain-to-die-for (literally for some), who (like the heroine, Sophie) you alternately fall for, pity, hate, and are creeped-out by. Third, Strands has a valuable modern message – that someone, against all odds, however outwardly helpless, can exercise her agency with integrity, courage, and a pure heart, in order to stand against and defeat evil. 

Strands of Bronze and Gold is a historical fiction with gothic elements based on the folktale of Bluebeard. Is there another genre you’d love to try your hand at someday? Is there a genre you could never see yourself writing? 
I really love high fantasy, and thought that the first book I had published would be full of wizards and mysticism and magic. Eventually I hope to do that. I can’t see myself ever writing contemporary realistic fiction, particularly the kind that involves a lot of brand-name dropping. There’s certainly a place for that, but I can’t get interested in it. 

What is your writing process like? Are you a pantser or a planner? 
For short stories I’m a pantser – I leap into it and just write it into a story. For long books I start out with everything neatly planned and outlined in a notebook with carefully-marked sections. It’s sort of like a skeleton to hang the flesh on. Then, as I go along, the notebook becomes crammed with bits and pieces of paper I’ve scribbled notes on, and I’m allowed to change anything I want to change as the ideas strike me and as the characters demand. 

Describe your writing space. 
My writing space is a messy desk in a study lined with bookshelves. There’s a big window next to it, so I can gaze outside now and then, and there’s space in the middle to jump up and pace when I get fidgety. I need lots of water bottles, cashews, and quiet, haunting music like “Secret Garden” to keep me going.  I also have a few “fiddling” toys (for example, a small slinky), that I fiddle with when I’m thinking hard and not typing at all. 

I know Strands of Bronze and Gold is the first book in a trilogy. Can you give a hint of what to expect in the sequel, The Mirk and the Midnight Hour? 
The Mirk and Midnight Hour (available spring 2014) isn’t really a sequel to Strands - it's more of a companion book. It takes place in the same Mississippi County during the American Civil War, and is based on the “Ballad of Tam Lin.” The knight in the old Scottish story is a captured Union soldier in my retelling, and instead of fairies my story has voodoo practitioners. It has more fantasy/magical elements than Strands.  As for “trilogy,” I’m currently about two-thirds through the first draft of the third book. It’s unsold so far, so wish me luck. A Place of Stone and Shadow (which I think might be the title of this one), returns to Wyndriven Abbey (the house that was the setting for STRANDS), but years later, during Reconstruction after the war. The story is original - not a retelling. The abbey has been turned into a girls’ boarding school, and some of the deceased inhabitants of Wyndriven do not rest easy. As I’m now well into writing it, and I’m realizing that I have lots of good material, there may well be a fourth book. What’s the name of a series of four books? Quad-something? 

Quick Questions: 

You grew up in Mississippi but eventually moved to Canada. What was the biggest adjustment for you? 
I still feel nervous every time we cross the border back and forth, which is silly, but I have this fear, What if they won’t let me get by? 

What's the best thing about living in Bradford? 
A couple minutes from our house is an absolutely glorious nature area, where I can hike several times a week. 

You go on a cross-country trip across Canada. What is the one place you have to visit? 
I’m betting you get this answer a lot – I’m dying to visit L.M. Montgomery’s world at P.E. Island because she makes it sound like a piece of heaven in her descriptions. 

What's your favourite book by a Canadian author and why? 
I love Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt, because of her beautiful writing and because of the fascinating character of Lord Death. 

A huge thank you to Jane for taking the time to answer my questions!

Jane can be found on: [her website] [her blog] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Goodreads]

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Click here to find out more about Strands of Bronze and Gold

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Review: Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

From Goodreads: When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation - on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting - from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi. Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives - all with hair as red as her own - in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Even though Jane Nickerson’s Strands of Bronze and Gold was a retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale, I wish the synopsis hadn’t stated so because let’s face it: if you know what the fairy tale is about, it definitely ruins the climax. Assuming you don’t know the gist of the original fairy tale, let’s just say that Strands of Bronze and Gold is a slow-paced, creepy (beware, it does take some time to become that!) tale with gothic elements, set in the South before the Civil War. Although its secondary characters were forgettable (which is too bad because most of them were POC characters), Strands of Bronze and Gold features a sympathetic protagonist, a well-developed villain, and a realistic depiction of abuse.

Sophie was a character that I found pretty easy to relate to. Having her father die, she leaves her siblings to go live with her godfather who she hopes will provide her with a better life and eventually help her siblings as well. Once at Wyndriven Abbey, Sophie forgets her beliefs for a bit as she adjusts to now living a life of luxury. Fortunately, Sophie is able to see past the glitz later on and realize that perhaps she doesn’t want the exact life that her guardian is living. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sophie’s treatment of the slaves employed by Monsieur Bernard.

Poor Sophie is unable to handle her situation with Monsieur Bernard so easily however. At first, things appear great, with Monsieur Bernard providing her with ample gifts. But, she soon starts feeling slightly uncomfortable as Monsieur Bernard occasionally begins hitting on her. Having developed a minor crush on her godfather, Sophie initially brushes this off and makes excuses for her godfather’s behaviour, but the reader quickly becomes alert to more troublesome signs in their relationship like Monsieur Bernard’s temper and Sophie’s increasing isolation. Luckily, Sophie realizes that her godfather may not be as charming as he appears to be and quickly outgrows her crush, especially once she meets the local preacher, Reverend Gideon Stone.

The romance between Sophie and Gideon was very much insta-love, and I couldn’t buy it because I think Sophie would have fallen for anybody that gave her some attention and treated her decently. As a character, Gideon paled in comparison to Monsieur Bernard, who could be charismatic in one moment and furious, dismissive and manipulative in other. You just never knew which side of his you’d see! 

Strands of Bronze and Gold was released on March 12, 2013 by Random House Children's Books. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s so pretty!

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House) for free via NetGalley.

original image from thegate.ca