Hilda Frances Young: Community connector

1. When did you first publish your writing in book form?

:-> My first book, Never Forget, was published in 2019. Never Far, its stand-alone sequel, was published in 2020. Background: My Publisher, recommended I make a logical break in the story, subdividing the book into a series. More marketable is a book series by a new author, than a large book.  

2. Is your third book a continuation of this story line?

:-> My third book, Kept Safe, is a stand-alone story, running parallel to the story line, continuing along the time line of history. Back stories of characters you meet in Never Forget and Never Far are developed in Kept Safe. I was architecting Kept Safe in parallel to working with my Editors for Never Far and Never Forget. Doing so enabled continuity among the books. The reader who first reads Kept Safe will have an enriched encounter when they first read Never Forget and Never Far.  

3. In your bio notes you mention liking history and trying to live it. How do you combine that with modern life?

:-> This is a provoking question. For me, history cannot be separated from modern life. Our lives are in a continual flow of local, regional, national and global events. We are shaped by past, prevailing and new attitudes plus perspectives. Choices made over 200 years ago, cascade through today’s events: Indigenous reconciliation, land claims, government compensation, natural resource management, systemic racism, gender inequality, social justice, political sovereignty and authentic faith. We can improve our future by learning from our past.

:-> Through historical fiction, I endeavour to bring truth to life. 

:-> An active member, I participate in several historical societies. I research and visit historical sites, on line and in person. I keep current on world events and read relevant non-fiction, for example, authors who record their local history.

4. I note your mailing address is a box number in Carp, Ontario. How long have you lived in rural Carp area?  Have you thought of writing about the start of Carp and the other railway towns in rural Ontario and Quebec that were part of the CN line?

:-> I choose to keep my present address private.

:-> Thank you for your suggestion. I speculate many (new) Canadians are not aware constructing the transcontinental railway was important in Canada’s development and required for the Confederation of Canada.

5. I notice that the cover photos for both books are the same. How did you choose the cover and the photographer?

:-> The book covers are intentionally similar. The books are related. The commissioned photos were selected to illustrate Janet’s world was opening up to possibilities. Like many of us, the life choices Janet faces are neither simple nor easy. Readers join her as she endeavours to live beyond her limits. Book 1, Never Forget, looks out on a dawn. Book 2, Never Far, looks from a rocky foot hold. Both look onto a limitless horizon.

6. How long does it take for you to research and write a book

:-> A long time. I am researching a world, I want to bring to life. Stories emerge to fill in and communicate historical facts as lived out by real and fictional characters. As I write I am continually fact-checking to decorate and tune the story line to be anchored in history. I want the reader to live the character’s life, understand their thoughts and actions, within the context of their world.

:-> Reviewers and readers have told me, they were drawn back in time, into the past world. Many felt they’d become friends with Janet.

7. I appreciate the list of “characters” at the beginning of the book as it gets confusing when so many names are mentioned as I realise they are part of both books. You appear to focus on the people .

:-> I value keeping track of names in the book. I’ll make my own list if the author hasn’t provided it for me. I thought my readers would like that, too. 

:-> People enjoy reading about people. I bring characters to life, to provide a story, which will bring history to life for the reader. Overlaying characters’ hopes, choices and consequences on accurate history, provide a rich tapestry for the reader.

8. Do you think setting is important in your stories?

:-> YES. A period of time, in history provides a natural setting. An existing framework is provided for the story teller to live out their story. 

:-> Reading about choices made 200 years ago, in their context, enhances today’s readers’ understanding of the same topics: Indigenous reconciliation, land claims, government compensation, natural resource management, systemic racism, gender inequality, social justice, political sovereignty and authentic faith. 

:-> Actual and fictional characters of 200 years ago, like today, were confined to geography, station in life and culture. These influence vision and opportunity. Reading about their world view enhances our view of the world. 

9. How did you plan on connecting the two life styles of the colonial and the more staid Regency?

:-> I suggest history records British North America as Conservative and modeled after Britain. The “second son” of an aristocrat would make a life for themselves in the Colony since the “first son” would inherit the family estate. Aristocratic entitled behaviour in the Colony caused economic and social injustice. Within 20 years of these books, Canada faced two rebellions, in both Upper and Lower Canada. 

:-> Based on my research, Regency culture and Colonial life were connected through economic endeavours and turbulent social change. Mass migration occurred with tenants being cleared off their ancestral land in Scotland and England. Indigenous refugees made their north way from the American Wars. The industrial revolution had started and poverty was viewed a punishable crime: work houses were established, and people indentured to pay their debts. Slavery was legal in Canada alongside free Black American land-owning refugees. Under Common Law in Upper Canada, upon marriage, a women ceased to exist as a legal entity, and was considered ‘hidden’ within her husband’s identity. The law forbade a married woman from owning property, earning money or making her own decisions. Surprisingly to many, under Civil Law in Lower Canada, land-owning married women had the right to vote for their Legislative representatives. These inequalities play out through the characters in my stories.

:-> People live, love and strive to follow their dreams. The new world provided a possibility to do this. I want to tell their courageous stories, both fiction and non-fiction.