For me, writing a novel is a holistic endeavour: Ian Thomas Shaw

Ian Thomas Snaw

Ian Thomas Shaw’s second novel Quill of the Dove will be launched in April 2019. It is a blend of literary fiction and a political thriller. Framed by contemporary events in the Middle East, the novel covers two distinct time periods: 2007 mainly in Europe, the Palestinian Territories and Israel and Lebanon from 1975 to 1982.

French journalist Marc Taragon has spent the last thirty years attempting to bring to readers the truth about the wars and political intrigue in the Middle East.

Unsparing in his criticism of extremists in the region, he has earned many enemies. Taragon agrees to be interviewed by a young Canadian journalist, Marie Boivin, not knowing that Marie has a hidden agenda: to discover through Taragon the truth about her childhood.

Before Marie finds the answers she seeks, she is enmeshed in Taragon's plan to broker a private peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. In the isolated Greek village of Arkassa on the island of Karpathos, Taragon succeeds in persuading a dissident Palestinian leader and a left-wing Israeli politician to negotiate a far-reaching agreement that challenges hard-liners on both sides. 

The action moves quickly through Europe and the Middle East as Taragon, Marie and their associates try to stay one step ahead of deadly opponents of their initiative.

Ian was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. For the last 33 years, he has worked as a diplomat and as an international development worker, living in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. He currently lives in Aylmer, Quebec.

In an interview, Ian says, “In writing Quill of the Dove, I wanted to provide a perspective where individuals, not governments, armies, militias or political movements, were at the centre.”

You have worked as a development aid activist and a diplomat in the Middle East. Your latest novel Quill of the Dove is set in the Middle East. It attempts a personal narrative, a path to self-discovery, and a recapitulation of the region’s tortured history.

Why did you choose such a challenging subject?

I have always felt a great affinity for the peoples of the Middle East, whether they be Arabs, Jews, Druze or Kurds and have been dismayed at how the political leaders of the region have put their egos ahead of the welfare of the common people, often egged on by foreign backers. Unfortunately, many novels on the Middle East fall into the trap of catering to one side or the other of these conflicts, which are nurtured by the narcissism of the region’s leaders and serve the strategic interests of bigger countries.  In writing Quill of the Dove, I wanted to provide a perspective where individuals, not governments, armies, militias or political movements, were at the centre.

Are you satisfied with the results?

As a writer, I am, but I will leave it to the readers to decide whether the novel rises to their expectations.

What does the title of the novel mean?

The central character of Quill of the Dove is a journalist who deeply believes in pacifism. The quill is both the quill as an instrument for writing and as the feather of the dove, a symbol for peace. The novel is a eulogy to the courageous work of those journalists who denounce atrocities committed against civilians.

Your debut novel Soldier, Lily, Peace and Pearls was set in South East Asia. The second novel is set in the Middle East. Both have a Canadian connection. Why do you choose foreign locales as settings of your novels?

I belong to that generation of Canadians who in their youth saw the world as their oyster. Our economy was strong. Unionized summer jobs paid well, and after high school and during university, I, and many of my classmates, travelled the world. We didn't stay in fancy hotels or take trains or airplanes to hop around the countries we travelled in.

Instead, we put out our thumbs to hitch rides, slept in cheap youth hostels or sometimes by the side of the road, and mustered our language skills to connect with the people we met along the way. I look around today and don't see many young Canadians able to travel as freely as we did. So, in part, my novels are a way to harvest my own experiences and those of others to share with young Canadians and bridge the divide between them and the incredible world beyond Canada's borders.

You are active in the literary circles in Ottawa, you recently emceed a literary event, you founded the Ottawa Review of Books, you have organised a literary festival Prose in the Park for a few years. What motivates you to get so deeply involved with literary activities?

By nature, I am a strong organizer with a bias for action. After publishing my first novel, I started going to literary events in Ottawa, only to find that attendance was often dismal. I remember attending a reading in a bookstore with three outstanding Ottawa writers a few years back; I was one of three people in the audience. 

Two months later, the bookstore went out of business and these writers haven't experienced any real success in their writing despite their skills. At another event organized by the local literary festival, twenty people sat in the audience for a Governor-General winner.

There were many other examples that convinced me that I could draw on my organizational skills to make a contribution to the literary community in Ottawa and elsewhere. I strongly believe that for literature to prevail against video games and reality TV in Canada, a strong community of writers needs to be built, and I am very motivated to do my part in building that community.

You have done two novels in a decade. How would you describe your writing process?

I love to talk about my plots with people, especially with people who know something about the politics and societies of the regions that I write about. It is surprising how often others who are not writers can offer ideas to build fascinating stories. For example, my first novel drew on a number of anecdotes that a Vietnamese-Canadian friend told me about her “boat-child” experience leaving Vietnam and her integration into Canadian society when she arrived in this country.

As I questioned her about her experiences, I soon realized that through fiction, I could lend a voice to her and many others who had similar experiences. At that time, no Vietnamese-Canadian was writing in English although Kim Thuy was making her debut writing in French so I wrote Soldier, Lily, Peace and Pearls. I am proud to say that through my writing collective, Deux Voiliers Publishing, two Vietnamese-Canadian writers were later able to join the community of Canadian writers with some exciting novels.

I am also a structured writer who first prepares an outline of entire novels with each chapter containing a one-paragraph synopsis. For Quill of the Dove, I sought the views of 25 beta readers on one or more of the three drafts. Every beta reader was able to offer some good insights into what was working and what was not. Of course, you have to have the skin of a rhinoceros to take the collective criticism that comes from so many early readers. Finally, I also write keeping in mind the final product, i.e. the number of pages, number of chapters, dimensions of the novel and imagery that can be used for the cover design. For me, writing a novel is a holistic endeavour.

Are you working on anything right now?

Yes, I am in the process of formulating a novel about the Shining Path guerrilla movement in Peru. I have never been to Peru but my late brother spent fourteen years there and spoke often of his experiences there. I speak Spanish and am familiar with the politics of Latin America. To develop this novel, I plan to travel to Peru relatively soon. The plot I have in mind will centre around a teenage girl with a younger brother. Her parents are teachers in a small town in an area of Peru where the Shining Path guerrillas are receiving support from the local population. I hope to explore how innocent people were caught in the dirty war between the Peruvian government and the revolutionaries.

Title: Quill of the Dove

Trade Paperback

6"x9" 304 pages

Other Formats: E-Book

ISBN 978-1-771833783

Guernica Editions (MiroLand)

Price: $24.95

Publication Date: April 1, 2019

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Interview with Pratap Reddy - author

Pratap Reddy

Pratap, your first novel Ramya’s Treasure has been published recently by Guernica Editions. You have been working at it for a long time. In fact, if I remember it right, you began the novel even before you began your short story collection, Weather Permitting, which was published in 2016. Why has it taken so long to complete the novel?

Looking back, I can say that I did not work on the project for far too long. I did start the novel a few years ago, that’s true. It was when I was encountering obstacles in finding a publisher for my first book “Weather Permitting”, a collection of stories; I was being told time and again that short stories were difficult to sell. But when Guernica Editions picked up my book, I put my fledgeling novel on the back burner. I resumed work on the unfinished book only after my short story collection was published. The novel got completed in the very same year - 2016. Guernica Editions accepted my second book too, and it has come out in 2018. The interval between the publication of the two books is not unduly long. Even then, one must not lose sight of the fact that I have a full-time day job, and there’s only so much free time I can spare for writing.

You have also told me that Ramya’s Treasure is by far the most ambitious thing you’ve attempted. Please explain what exactly you mean by that.

This is a perfect example of a person’s comment made at an unguarded moment coming back to haunt him! First of all, I am not a writer of long standing – just two books old! It was ambitious insofar as it was longer than anything I had written until then. Secondly, the protagonist in the novel is a middle-aged woman, who has been dealt a bad hand by Fate. I wanted to chronicle her journey from a state of despondency and depression to finding a purpose in life. In hindsight, the subject was quite ambitious for a rookie author!

Although I am yet to read the book, I believe you have attempted parallel narratives that trace Ramya’s life in Canada and in India – that is an unusual and I dare say a difficult device to adapt to narrate a story. Why did you choose this form?

Being a first-generation immigrant, I am conscious of being part of two cultures, two nationalities, etc. So I wanted this to be very much a part of the narrative as well as my heroine’s psyche. Notwithstanding the challenges or the benefits of living in an adopted country offers, I believe that our past plays a part in defining our future. More so in the case of immigrants -- people who have transplanted themselves into another environment. I felt a compelling need to include the often untold backstory of an immigrant.

There are many stories about immigration and settlement, and nearly all of them depict a male perspective. You have chosen to narrate a story from a woman’s perspective. How difficult was that process? Are you satisfied with the result?

I am not fully acquainted with the entire landscape of diaspora literature, yet, it doesn’t surprise me that they are written predominantly from the standpoint of men.

As it happens so often in life, especially in old world countries, most of the major decisions are unilaterally taken by men, but it is left for their womenfolk to bear the brunt. Immigration is no exception.  After arriving in Canada, it is the women who need to adjust more, take on more responsibilities, besides going out to work so that the family can lead a more comfortable life. So, when I chose to write about the life of a vulnerable immigrant, my imagination of its own accord conjured up Ramya – a middle-aged down and out single woman who is attempting to take back control of her life.

Writing about a female character certainly posed a creative challenge; and, from my side, I tried to do my best to make her credible and convincing. But I leave it to the readers, the ultimate judges, to decide whether I have succeeded or not. Going by the initial reaction, especially from women-readers, it appears I have not made too bad a job of it.

Are you working on another book? Would you want to talk about it?

Yes, I have started work on another novel. It is about a young immigrant to Canada who returns to India and observes the changing social, political and economic landscape there. At least that is the basic premise of the novel, though I am not sure what shape it will finally take. Sometimes plots and characters have lives of their own, unrelated to the author’s intentions. I also have a small collection of stories in a slow cooker which needs to be increased to a book-length manuscript.

But, Mayank, I am not giving you any timelines! As an individual, I have many demands made on my time – professional, spousal, parental obligations. In the midst of it all (even while my head is teeming with plots and ideas) I must find the time to write…another book.

Buy Pratap's novel, click here: Ramya's Treasure  

Author's website: Pratap Reddy

GAB talks to Pratap Reddy

Pratap Reddy is a Toronto author whose first collection of short stories Weather Permitting and Other Stories (published by Guernica Editions) is being launched at the Supermarket Restaurant & Bar Toronto on Sunday June 5. 

In a interview with GAB, Pratap talks about his stories and himself

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Congratulations on your forthcoming short story collection, Pratap. When and why did you start writing fiction?

I started writing after I immigrated to Canada. All the new experiences, the challenges one had to face as an immigrant gave the kickstart to an urge which was lying dormant. I love to read, and I had always hoped that one day I too would start writing.

What is the short story collection about? Is there an overarching theme that binds the stories together?

These fictional stories use immigration experience as the background – lack of jobs, non-recognition of credentials, absence of affordable daycare – there was a rich vein waiting to be mined. It’s a world as seen through the eyes of people who have recently immigrated to another country.

You have published short stories in several other anthologies; please name the anthologies and the stories that were published in these anthologies.

I’ve been published in magazines like Anokhi and The Maple Tree Literary Supplement. And in anthologies like Canadian Voices, Indian Voices, South Asian Review and, I am most proud to add, ‘Breaking the Bow’, an anthology of speculative fiction brought out by the reputed Indian publisher ‘Zubaan Books’.    

You are working on a novel, please let us know how the creative process is different while writing a novel and working on a short story collection.

This is only my first collection and I’m writing my very first novel – so I would like to be guarded in my response. The first thing is the matter of theme, in short stories most of the action is around an event or an idea, novels can be more ambitious and can encompass many elements. If I could draw a parallel, short fiction is like a snapshot whereas a novel is more like video shoot. Secondly, the treatment. In short stories you cannot range too far out from the plot – everything needs to be absolutely relevant. While writing novels, you have more elbow room, and you can be more discursive.

How significant is your identity to you when you write?

As of now, I write, and I want keep writing, about things I know best. So the matter of identity is not really uppermost in mind. My writing is about an individual’s reaction to the world around him.

How do you describe yourself? As a Canadian, Indian, or a Canadian writer of Indian origin. Please explain your choice.

I would like to be described as person who ‘loves to read and loves to write’. But the fact that I have lived more than half my life in India and that I’m now working in Canada will have bearing on my work, whether I like it or not.

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If you liked the interview, you may be interested in reading another between Pratap and his publisher: Guernica's interview with Pratap Reddy

Weather Permitting & Other Stories - Pratap Reddy

Pratap Reddy

My friend Pratap Reddy will soon have his first collection of short stories (Weather Permitting & Other Stories) published by the prestigious Guernica Editions.

Originally from Hyderabad in India, Pratap has been writing fiction since he came to Canada more than a decade ago. 

His stories have been published in Canada, India and the United States in several anthologies including Diaspora Dialogues’ TOK – Writing the New Toronto series, Canadian Voices, Indian Voices, The Courtneypark Connection, and in literary journals and websites such as the Maple Tree Supplement, among others.

Pratap wrote feature-length newspaper articles in India, and like many others, turned to fiction writing only after coming to Canada.

“I’ve been a voracious reader all my life, and when reading becomes a part of your life, eventually you also want to try your hand at writing,” Pratap says. Describing his collection, he said in some ways all the stories reflect his immigrant experience. 

Pratap has completed the creative writing program at Humber School for Writers and has been a recipient of the Writer’s Reserve Grant from the Ontario Arts Council, and awarded the Best Emerging Literary Artist award by the Mississauga Arts Council.

At present, he is working on his novel and hopes to complete it before the short fiction collection is published. One of the most notable features of Pratap’s personality is his utter modesty and down-to-earth simplicity. It’s a trait that has helped him create magical stories.

Here’s an excerpt from his story In the Dark, published in Canadian Voices Volume I. The story occurs during the blackout that stopped North America in its tracks a decade ago, and is about accidental encounters that surprise a couple and redefine their relationship.

Dev remembered the day he had asked Shalini to buy a box of strawberry pie from the grocery store. Shalini had been working for three months and he had been laid off from his job at the gas station. Shalini returned from her shopping and duped a carton of fresh strawberries on the table in front of him. As he looked up in amazement at her, she said: “You should stop eating those disgusting pies. You’ve put on a lot of weight.” Dev couldn’t think of a reply.

As they stood in the long line, they heard people talking about the blackout.

“I believe that the entire province is without electricity.”

“No. All of North America, in fact.”

“I’m sure it’s the work of terrorists!”

The cash register was not working so the clerk was collecting money and issuing change from a plastic box. They left the store and soon were on the street where Dev lived. The entrance to his basement apartment was in the narrow space between two houses. Dev locked the door and stepped inside.

“Isn’t your wife at home?” asked Anne.

“No,” said Dev, “She’s at work, packing undies.”

It was almost pitch dark inside. Anne started climbing down the steep staircase. The door behind her close by itself. She cried out, “I can’t see anything.”

“Here, grab my hand,” said Dev. “Ouch! That’s not my hand!”

Holding on to each other, they tottered down the steps. When they reached the bottom, Dev bent his head and kissed Anne on her mouth. Anne thought she ought to protest but her lips had a will of their own. Anne felt something hard at her navel. It was the carry-bag containing the box of strawberry pie.”

Image: http://diasporadialogues.com/writers/profiles/2011/07/23/pratap_reddy.png