Jennie Marsland's Blog, page 7

Art is Art

A writer friend of mine, Janet Corcoran, just posted on her blog Janet's Journal about a talk she recently attended, given by three women who were artists in residence for the past year in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia . Janet's post got me thinking about the connections between different art forms, including writing. It's a topic that fascinates me, so I thought I'd run with it.

My DH writes with sound instead of words, but it's uncanny how similar our processes are. First, there's inspiration. For ...

Folk Friday #7

Here's another Mary Chapin Carpenter tune, one I used to play at Harbour folk society coffee house evenings. To my mind, it's a beautiful little piece of craft, a story told with an old shirt as the focal point. She really had a gift for making the ordinary magical.

I missed FF again last week – company arrived and I've been on the go ever since. I can't believe how fast the summer's flown. I'm working away on Shattered, and it's going quickly at this point. Right now, Liam and Carl O'Neill, A...

Some Thoughts on Dialogue

A few months ago, I got some feedback from an RWA contest which puzzled me. I'd sent in the first twenty pages of McShannon's Heart, and one judge commented "It's almost as if two different people wrote this." I was honestly befuddled, but now, I think I understand what she meant.

When I write dialogue, I try to write it the way I think that character would actually speak, but it seems that isn't always the best option. Dialogue has to match the writer's descriptive style. I read the passages ...

Folk Friday #6

This tune, the Dixie Chicks' cover of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide, is another one that I think suits a soft summer evening on the porch with a beer in hand. I love the harmonies, and the country feel of this version. Another one of those reflective pieces that always seem to tug at my heartstrings. Enjoy!

Folk Friday #5

This week's tune, 'The Presence', is another old one by Archie Fisher, the legendary Scottish folk singer who crafted 'Dark-eyed Molly' and 'Witch of the Westmoreland', songs that most of us on this side of the pond became familiar with through Stan Rogers' artful interpretations.

I've seen Archie perform once, when a friend and I drove from Halifax to Ottawa to take in a concert. Yes, we wanted to hear this man that badly. When Mr. Fisher heard of us, he took a few minutes at the end of the ...

Tragedy in Romance

I'm only on Chapter 3 in Shattered, and I'm already dreading the inevitable: Someone has got to die. But how many, and who?

My characters live in St. Joseph's Parish in Halifax's North End, right in the middle of Richmond, the area hardest hit by the Explosion. St. Joseph's lost 400 parishioners that day, roughly half its membership, not to mention the church itself. It wasn't rebuilt for forty years. Not only would it be unrealistic to have every one of my characters miraculously survive, I'...

Folk Friday #4

I completely missed Folk Friday last week! My brain is in summer mode, and the days just slip by like a broken-down band, as John Prine put it in Angel from Montgomery.

This week's tune is one by James Keelaghan, in my humble opinion the best Canadian male folk singer/songwriter since Stan Rogers. I fell head-over-heels in love with Mr. Keelaghan and his music at the Lunenburg Folk Festival years ago. I already knew one of his songs, Jennie Bryce, from Garnet Rogers' recording, so I was prepar...

A Shattered City

This was the North End of Halifax some time after 9:04 am on December 6, 1917. A day that will never be forgotten in this city. The day when two ships – the Imo, in ballast, and the Mont Blanc, fully loaded with wartime explosives - collided in the narrow channel between the Halifax Harbour and the Bedford Basin, resulting in what is still the most powerful man-made non-atomic explosion in history.

Ninety-three years later, the Explosion is part of the fabric of everyday life in Halifax, espec...

Folk Friday #3

What can I say about this one? Loreena McKennit has the most amazing voice, and an unequalled gift for interpretation. Give her material like Tennyson's 'Lady of Shallot' and the result is going to be stellar.

I read this poem a long time ago, but the first time I heard it spoken was by Megan Followes as Anne of Green Gables. That was when I realized its charm. On paper, I find it a bit too, well, Victorian, but when spoken it comes alive. Here's Loreena's version. Enjoy!

McShannon's Heart Update

I received a nice little giftie to top off the general celebrations last week – my finalized cover for McShannon's Heart! This allowed me to finalize the trailer as well. It's a little longer than I intended, but I just couldn't resist using the lovely images I found.


In honour of the occasion I'm putting up an excerpt, but first a little background. As I've mentioned before, the story's hero, Martin Rainnie, is a talented fiddler. For years, Martin played at all the local dances in his part ...