Character Interview: Janine McCaw & Helena LaRose from “Helens-of-Troy”
Please welcome today, Janine McCaw and Helena LaRose from Helens-of-Troy!
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Mia: What is the name of the book where we’ll find you? Can you tell us a little about it?
Helena: The book I’m featured in is called “Helens-of-Troy”. It’s an eBook, and it can be found at all the usual places, like Amazon, Kobo, Sony, iTunes and more. Sure, there’s a bit of an issue with a vampire murdering the children in town, but it’s really a story about relationships.
Mia: Tell us a little about yourself. Where do you fit into the story? What should we know about you?
Helena: My name is Helena LaRose. I am a Naturopath in the town of Troy. At least that’s what the sign in my office says. I’m really a demon fighter. I get that from my own mother. That’s the secret we LaRose women share from generation to generation. My own daughter, Helen, she’s not too big on it. We don’t really get along, Helen and I. Sometimes that happens in families. We managed to keep our distance until my granddaughter Ellie started having visions, and Helen got divorced for the umpteenth time. Now they’re both living under my roof. It’s fun having teenage Ellie around, but Helen…not so much. It probably didn’t help that there was a dead body on the porch the night they arrived.
Mia: What do you think of the author? Be honest. We won’t tell.
Helena: She spends way too much time on Twitter (@mc_janine). I’ve been trying to tell her about this problem that’s occurring on Ellie’s friend Jacey’s street, but she’s not paying much attention right now. I’m going to have to slap her silly. She’s a lot like Helen. Scorpios can be so stubborn. She does let me wear whatever I want though, so I guess I should give her some credit for that. Other people don’t always get my fashion sense. If I want to wear Victoria’s Secret to mow the lawn, well that’s just what I’ll do.
Mia: How do you feel about the story you’re in?
Helena: I never get bored, that’s for sure. One minute I’m cleaning my house for the arrival of my girls, and the next thing I know my neighbor’s son is arrested for murder. I get the sense Ellie knows a lot more than she’s letting on, but then again so does Helen. This isn’t going over very well with my boyfriend Roy, who happens to be the Chief of Police. I don’t know how to tell any of them about the vampire I just kicked out of the house. You know that dead spot in the back lawn? Fertilizer’s not going to help much.
Mia: Do you like being a character in the book?
Helena: Hellsbells, yes! I probably wouldn’t like it much if I was a minor character, but I’m the KICK-ASS DEMON KILLER! Seriously, can it get any better than that for a woman of my age? (And we’re not going to talk about my real age, okay?) You can email me if you like, Helena@helens-of-troy.com . We can chat more there.
Mia: How do you see your future? Without giving anything away about the story, naturally.
Helena: Have I told you how much I hate the holidays? This whole business with the murders started on Halloween. I’m going to have to deal with the “Nightmare on Jacey Street” right in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner, and then I have to go visit my own mother for Christmas. It’s not like I’ve been invited. I’ve been summoned. That’s never good.
Mia: What do you know about your author’s plans? Can we expect to see you in any future stories?
Helena: If I survive until the New Year, you will. I don’t even want to think about Valentine’s Day. Roy and I aren’t getting along too well at the moment. And then there’s that whole massacre thing to worry about.
Mia: Let’s say they make a movie about this book. Who do you want to play you, and why?
Helena: A movie? Really? About the Helens? I’ve never given it much thought. (I am SUCH a liar). I see a brunette Dolly Parton playing me, but my friend thinks Susan Sarandon. Then again there’s this goth’d up picture of Roseanne Barr on the web, and I do have quite the mouth at times. Whoever it is would have to be able to handle comedy, because that’s what gets me through it all. We’d need a cute little “Goth-Chic” to play Ellie (someone like Kenzi on Lost Girl) and you could just head on over to STUCK-UPS-R-US to cast Helen. Problem solved.
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Author Bio: HELENS-OF-TROY is the second novel completed by Janine McCaw. For the Vancouver-based novelist it is the continuation of a dream, and the fruit of years of working in a different creative realm.
McCaw’s deep understanding of compelling plots, widely appealing characters, natural dialogue and strong story arcs comes directly out of her early career in the film and television industry. McCaw’s skills as an observer started early when her family uprooted from the City to small town Ontario – and she became the classic fish out of water. Writing down her thoughts became an outlet as she scribbled her way through childhood, while she also developed her observational skills and visual eye with photography. A die-hard hockey fan, McCaw studied Cinematography at Humber College, and was headed for a career as a cameraperson covering professional sports when she landed an internship in a broadcasting services company.
McCaw excelled in the television distribution arena. She joined Thomas Howe & Associates and moved with that company to Vancouver, where she distinguished herself with her talent for identifying the right product for the right market, and her people-skills in negotiating contracts. After furthering her professional development with several high-profile Canadian entertainment companies, she parlayed her reputation as a leading Cable Programming specialist into her own boutique firm. Formed with a partner, Dark Horse Ent. specialized in finding, and selling, niche Canadian television series – entertainment, information and variety – around the Globe. McCaw also acted as an independent executive producer on award-winning television Classic Car series, CHROME DREAMS, and as a distributor for series including ENTRÉE TO ASIA, and AT HOME WITH HERBS.
In high demand as an insightful, humorous and engaging guest speaker, juror and analyst for festivals and trade forums around the country, McCaw also spent large amounts of time traveling abroad to television markets. Writing relieved the stress of constantly being on the road. Increasingly, she turned her main hobby into outlines for novels, and finished fleshing out the characters, plot and dialogue for OLIVIA’S MINE, a fictional account of a young bride’s struggle to make a life for herself against the backdrop of the disasters that hit Britannia Beach, British Columbia in the early 1900s. The book was released in 2006 and continues to be sold at the British Columbia Museum of Mining.
HELENS-OF-TROY was released early in 2012. McCaw is also currently developing eight other stories for novel form. All set on the Pacific North West and in Canada’s North, they include the murder mystery A LITTLE FIRST DEGREE, a feel-good trilogy THE INN AT HAZY WATERS (Northern Exposure meets Fantasy Island), and PUMPER an action romance that has already garnered interest as the basis for a feature film.
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