The Story Behind the Story with Andrew MacLean of NB, Canada.
Let’s welcome Andrew, anothernew-comer to the Scribbler.
He has kindly accepted our invitation to be the featured guest this week.
His books are flying offthe shelves and garnishing great reviews.
He’s sharing the SBTS withus today.
Read on my friends.
Andrew MacLean is the author of two Backyard History books (with athird coming in November 2024), the writer of the Backyard History newspapercolumn that appears weekly in 19 newspapers), the host of the Backyard HistoryPodcast, and the scriptwriter of the Backyard History TV Show hosted byBellFibe.
His truehistorical writings combine meticulous research with vivid storytelling,captivating anecdotes, and the human touch Atlantic Canadians are known for.
Title: Backyard History: Forgotten Stories From Atlantic Canada’s Past (VolumesOne and Two)
Synopsis:
BackyardHistory unearths the often hilarious, mostly mysterious, always surprising untoldstories of Canada’s East Coast, as only a Maritimer can spin them.
These twoextraordinary collections gather the very best from Andrew MacLean’s popularnewspaper column and podcast now enhanced with fresh insights and discoveries.
The Story behind the Story:
Back inearly 2020 I was travelling everywhere from Nunavut to Miami tracking globalclimate change with airplanes equipped with lasers. Three days before moving toBoston, the border shut down because of a global pandemic, and I along with 87co-workers were mass-fired over a Zoom call.
I movedback home to New Brunswick where I spent my pandemic taking long hikes throughrural areas. I started wondering about obscure tales from the past …specifically, a tall tale of a sea monster nicknamed “Old Ned” from little LakeUtopia, NB.
I do havea background in History—a degree I hadn’t found especially useful until thatpoint—so I dug into old newspaper reports and contemporary eyewitness sightingsof Old Ned from the 1800s. Then I wrote it up as a story, inspired by the waymy grandfather told me stories in Tide Head, NB when I was a kid.
I putwhat I thought of as a rather silly sea monster story up on social media toentertain my friends during pandemic lockdowns, and the damn thing went viral!
It gotshared by some big meme accounts, a huge national podcast asked me for aninterview, and then the newspaper I once delivered on my bicycle as a littleboy called and asked if they could pay me to write stuff like that every week.
Now thatcolumn appears in 19 newspapers every week, I have 2 books (plus a third onecoming out in November!) and my own podcast, all under the Backyard Historyname.
And I oweit all to, of all things, a sea monster!
WEBSITE: Please go HERE.
A question before you go, Andrew:
Andrew: I’mreally not very precious about where I write. I’ve written stories in the car(as a passenger, not while driving!) and on ferries. In fact, I am writing myanswers to this questionnaire as I sit in the Saint John City Market withAmerican cruise ship passengers milling about. (I just had quite the littleargument with one fellow who is absolutely convinced he is in St. John’s,Newfoundland and doesn’t believe me when I tell him we are actually in SaintJohn, New Brunswick!)
Normallythough, my environment would be at home and would be clean: things put away,floors swept, dishes done, etc. … to all the better make a huge mess with mywriting!
When I’mreally going I’ll have photocopies of old newspaper clippings, scrawledremarks, post-it notes, etc. all over my desk, on nearby tables, the floor … toan onlooker it’s got all the hallmarks of a natural disaster rolling through,but to me, I know where everything is!
I’d becaffeinated to the hilt with music —typically Arcade Fire—almost always playingin the background.
EXCERPT:
You’veheard of “Nessie” from Loch Ness, “Ogopogo” in Okanagan Lake but have you heardof New Brunswick’s own lake monster, “Old Ned”?
Read thefull version of the aforementioned article that launched Backyard History “OldNed, The Lake Utopia Monster” Go HERE.
Watch for it!!!
Thankyou for being our guest this week, Andrew. We look forward to book #3 and hopeyou’ll return one day to tell us about it.
Wewish you continued success with your writing.
And aSpecial Thank You to our visitors and readers.
Feelfree to leave a comment.
