Writing outside of my comfort zone

 BWL Publishing approached me about completing a Canadian Historical Mystery, envisioned by John Wisdomkeeper, I balked. Being deeply entrenched in my current three series, I was reluctant to leave my comfort zone to take on something completely new and, well, foreign. I was unfamiliar with the Nunavut setting, and I knew almost nothing about Inuit culture or history.

Being reassured that the story would be mine, only restricted by the setting, timeframe, and two characters, all previously chosen by John, I considered the project. Little did I suspect I would start what would be a journey. 

I dug into researching the topic of Nunavut and Inuit culture. While somewhat familiar with Anishinaabe (Chippewa), Lakota (Sioux), and Navajo cultures, I found Inuit culture totally foreign to me. I told a friend it felt like I was writing in a foreign language about a place far beyond my travel experience. 

The deeper I dug, I realized that the Inuit had been nomadic, hunting caribou and seal, and fishing when possible. Even today, their life is challenging, living in far northern Canada near the Arctic Circle with a culture and lifestyle far different from southern Canada or the U.S. Issues I wove into the story.

While Inuit life is often austere, the time chosen by John, 1999, was a period of hopefulness. Nunavut had just been created from Northwest Territories. At that time, the Inuit had a new homeland, governed by themselves, and with leaders prepared to deal with uniquely Inuit issues.

Armed with that background, I forged ahead, writing a mystery around a young Inuit college student returning to Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay, a city established as a U.S. air base during WW2), the Nunavut capital city, at the request of the grandfather who'd raised him since childhood. Christopher Pokaik led me through an adventure of discovery, both of his life, and of the place where a young man of mixed blood tries to determine where he will be happy. One reviewer told me he found it an interesting, insightful, and engaging "coming of age" story. While learning about Inuit culture, the reviewer was drawn into the story of Christopher trying to find himself and his future, while coming to grips with the murder of his grandfather.

It was a journey of discovery for me as well. It took a few weeks of writing before Christopher began speaking to me. I think that's an Inuit trait, warming slowly to strangers. Once we were speaking, he told me his story. He felt frustration, ambition, uncertainty, and emptiness. I felt them all with him as together we traveled across Baffin Island and time.

I hope you enjoy Christopher's story as much as the reviewers have.

Hovey, Dean - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net)