Bonnie Grove
Bonnie Grove's short story, "Stuckville Cafe," is the final story in Hot Apple Cider. The story, which combines humour with difficult real life situations, is told from the viewpoint of a waitress who feel she's stuck in a small town, contributing nothing of importance to the world.
Bonnie Grove is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Talking to the Dead and the soon to be released Time and Time Again.
She is also the author of the non-fiction book, Your Best You: Discovering and developing the strengths God gave you.
Trained in Christian counseling and secular psychology, Bonnie developed and wrote social programs for families at risk while landing articles and stories in anthologies. Then she began work on a novel and a non-fiction book, and ended up having both books published in 2009.
Bonnie and her pastor husband, Steve, have two children. They live in Saskatchewan.
Hot Apple Cider came together in a rather unusual way. What made you want to have your work in it?
A big part of it was the partnership with World Vision—an organization dedicated to bettering the lives of children globally. Pooling my small contribution with other writers helped me see how one person can make a difference.
I served as the project manager for the book and it was exciting to see how the contributions came together to create a whole.
This book is 100% Canadian. Canadian authors, publisher, printer—everything. Is that important to you?
Canadian writers have long been on the world stage as contributors to culture, peace, understanding, tolerance, and entertainment, among other things. It’s wonderful to have a well-done book that speaks love and hope into Canadian culture.
There are times when Canadians need to take their place on the world stage, but it is equally important to stay connected to our culture at home. That is what this book has done and I think it’s terrific.
In her foreword for Hot Apple Cider, Janette Oke mentions that writers are often asked, “Why do you write?” How do you respond to that question?
I must be a writing anomaly—no one asks me that question!
The truth is, I was never trying to be a writer. I was trying to be a psychologist. Three years ago my husband took a job in a new province and I was forced to uproot myself from the work and schooling I was involved in. When I asked God what he had for me in our new home, the surprising answer was, “You’re going to write books.”
We moved, my supportive husband set me up with a home office, and on faith, I wrote two books, a non-fiction and a novel. Both were published the next year.
So, am I a successful writer, or a failed psychologist? Some days I’m not sure!
Has writing always been part of who you are, or did something trigger you to begin?
Ah, good! The proviso question to my answer above. Have I always written? Yes, always. It was three years ago that I began to write with intention to become published, but I’ve always written.
I started as a kid, when my parents bought a fancy new typewriter. I pounded out a very bad romance novel my mother loved, and I’ve been producing improving prose ever since. I’ve written creative works like plays and performance monologues, short stories, a memoir (nope, not going to publish it!), social programming (for jobs), essays and other forms of technical writing.
I’ve spent my adult life sharpening my writing skills, and now that I’m published, I’m finding that I have so much more to learn. Each day is a lesson.
Your short story, “The Stuckville Café,” which appears in Hot Apple Cider, strikes that very delicate balance of tackling very tough issues with humour, and has a powerful impact. How difficult was that story to write?
I approached the story as vignettes about grace, rather than focusing on the difficult issues aspect. By focusing on that facet, how to best describe the giving and receiving of grace, I was able to write the story fairly easily. Grace, it seems to me, overrules the heartache.
Humour is so much a part of how I operate in the world. Even in my darkest moments, I’ve found a laugh can help lighten the load.
You had two books come out in 2009. Since your background is in psychology, counseling, and theology, and you’ve been involved in developing programs for families at risk, plus you are married to a pastor and have a family, how did you manage to fit writing into your life?
It always sounds like an avalanche when all my hats are lined up in one sentence. But it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Life is busy, but my family and I are careful to keep first things first.
Writing is my career. I write daily from nine in the morning, after the kids are off to school, until five at night. I take time off at lunch when my kids are home, and in the afternoon when they arrive home from school. The crunch often comes at the end of the writing, in the editing process when my editor and I can work late nights getting everything perfect.
Can you tell us something about Your Best You. Why did you feel the need to write it, and who should read it?
I wanted to find a self-help book that did more than offer information and tell me to try harder. So, I used my background in strength-based programming to write a book that helps women understand themselves as strong, valuable, purposeful people. It’s an actual “how to” book that walks women through a process of change that is specific and organic to each woman. I don’t offer general advice. It’s a hands-on program that leads, step by step, to a happier life.
It’s for any woman who has looked around her life and thought, “Something needs to change, but I don’t know how to make it happen.”
Starting a book with a death is common in mysteries and thrillers. But your novel, Talking to the Dead, is neither. It begins with a young wife grieving after her husband’s death. Without giving away the plot, where did you get the idea for the book, and who do you think is the perfect reader for it?
In part, the story came out of my experiences as a counselor, sitting with people who were attempting to articulate their pain and distress. It occurred to me that many of the things these people were doing (the behaviors I saw) were an attempt to accomplish something very different that what they were doing—in other words, behavior didn’t match intentions. It caused me to truly see why Jesus commanded us not to judge others. We simply don’t know what’s going on under the surface.
The second inspiration for the novel came from watching how God was always present in the messy lives of these people who were hurting. He mingles with our humanity. And that is the story I wanted to tell; God in the midst of our messy lives.
The novel is written for women who have experience unwanted change or loss.
Your Best You is nonfiction. Talking to the Dead is fiction. How would you compare the two very different types of writing? Was one easier to do than the other? Are there similarities? Differences?
They are completely different. I found non-fiction easy—remember, I’ve been writing essays, articles, social programming for years. So it was nearly second nature to organize and write Your Best You. It’s the sharing of experience and ideas.
Fiction writing is difficult for me. Rewarding, but difficult. I’ve said to many people that the learning curve I’m on is nearly vertical. It’s the sharing of the most intangible, meaningful parts of self poured into story.
Interestingly, it’s the path of the novelist God has set my feet on. Good thing I enjoy a challenge!
Are you working on another book now? And if so, when will it be out?
My novel Time and Time Again (David C. Cook) is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and .ca. It will hit shelves September 2010. Here’s a quick teaser: Time Travel: His curse, her only hope.
My next project will take readers to the salty air of an East Coast fishing village.
I’m assuming you get feedback from a lot of people because of the nature of your books, and feedback is great for the author—you know someone is actually reading your words! But I’m wondering if you’ve learned anything from your readers that you could share with us?
Oh goodness, my readers have taught me everything. I wrote Talking to the Dead alone in my basement. I didn’t know how it would be received in the marketplace. I simply wrote the bare truth as I envisioned the story.
It has been my readers who have helped me understand the elements of my writing that impact them, who have taught me who I am as a writer. They have reached out to me by the hundreds, sharing their stories of loss, or sharing passages that touched them, or even helped them in some way. Every email, every card, every gift that has been sent to me because of Talking to the Dead has been a steady hand at my elbow, a comfort, and a compass to help me understand myself as a writer. I could write volumes about how they have impacted me. I’m head over heels in love with my readers. I think about them all the time.
Aside from your own pieces, is there a particular piece or thought in Hot Apple Cider that stood out for you?
Angelina Fast-Valaar’s opener drew me in from the first sentence. She’s a wonderful writer with a gift of sharing her difficult personal experiences in a way that is universally appealing.
A lot of people want to share their stories in order to help others. What advice do you have for someone who wants to write but doesn’t know how to begin?
Begin by reading widely. Gain a working understanding of how literature has impacted the culture you live in over time. At the same time, read within the genre you want to write in. Read with an eye to structure, plot, characterization, voice, language.
Then, get deeply in touch with your funky creative side and be a storyteller. Do it for love.
What is your prayer for the readers of Hot Apple Cider?
That you will know the immediate, encompassing love of the God who created you.
You always make me laugh. I love your take on writing, and am loving the artist I see emerging. I still think Stuckville needs a novel length book.