ZOOM | New Year 2019

Handling shares the myriad considerations, even when the
author is happy to give a fairly free rein.
“PJ pretty well left me to explore my own direction after an
initial discussion to confirm mood and content. We agreed the
location needed to be identifiably Lower Mainland BC, having a
ferry included was preferable, and it begged for a bit an ominous
tone. The rest emerged as I played with ideas and images.
Finding the right perspective for the ferry shot was crucial, as it
had to allow me to work with the split under-water/above-water
view.”
Absurdity is tricky. It takes a light touch to avoid ghoulishness,
or cloying silliness. Handling continues:
“We didn’t want it to look like someone was drowning, rather
just swimming, so I veered away from a completely submerged
figure. I felt that hiding the lady’s face would remove potential
confusion as to her thoughts . . . which is where the floating
luggage idea came from. Plus the idea of not just throwing your
mama from the ferry but her luggage too was rather amusing.
And finally the seagull added that touch of humour.”
Handcrafted on the Sunshine Coast
4-626 Shaw Rd, Gibsons (down the lane way) 604-886-2079 www.lapetitesouris.ca
Reece has written several books on story structure and has given
a lot of thought to the psychological considerations of successful
storytelling.
“More importantly, the cover promises the reader they’ll get their
money’s worth—because all good fiction includes the threat
of non-existence. From William Faulkner’s When I Lay Dying to
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to Chinua Achebe’s Things
Fall Apart, we want stories that take us down to where a radical
change of heart is non-negotiable. We have to be a little afraid of
what’s between the covers. And just like that, the book browser
picks up the book to look inside to see how deeply into the dark
this book dives. There’s a book cover that’s done its job. Thank
you, Roger Handling.”
BOOKS FEATURED WITH PERMISSION FROM HARBOUR PUBLISHING (FISHING FOR
A LIVING, THE SEA AMONG US, FORESTOPIA) AND ROLLING WEST PRODUCTIONS
(THROW MAMA FROM THE BOAT AND OTHER FERRY TALES). SPECIAL THANKS TO
EARTHFAIR STORE (MADEIRA PARK) AND TERRA FIRMA DIGITAL ARTS (TERRAFDA.COM).
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new year 2019 19