Author's Comments # 4

1. First impressions are very important because rightly or wrongly that is often how we are judged. That is why good grammar is so important when we speak or write. That is also why it is important how we treat other people.

Remember Jack's first impression of Elizabeth, and even our first impression; it was OK until she showed her claws. In real life, we also need to give a person a chance to show their true personality and not judge them in the first few minutes. Having said all that, and having seen Elizabeth and Jenny in several situations, I'm with you. "Jack you fool, why are you even looking at Elizabeth, when Jenny is out there someplace".

2. Most of you picked out the multitude of things that took Jack from happiness and threw him into a pit of misery: the filth, the hunger, the cold, no job, no money. These are all things that can take a terrible toll on your mood. Even today, these factors are prominent in many suicides. You are all correct about these things.

A few of you (forgive me if I miss anybody) mentioned one additional thing that is critical in driving someone to truly consider suicide. Trent, you said it most succinctly when you said that Jack was "isolated". Tarajanr, Danielle, Justin, Kayleigh, Kyle B, and Sam, you all mentioned alone or loneliness. Most people can stand terrible hardship if they are part of a group, a team, a family; but when they are isolated they often fall apart very quickly. Jack endured some very tough times but the isolation was his ultimate undoing.

Now a couple of additional comments from me:

Chelsey, you keep referring to Jack as Jake. It's very important in this story that you have Jack's name spelled correctly. The whole story at one point is going to hinge on Jack's name. I'm not going to tell you any more details, but you'll recognize it when it comes. GRIN.

Kyle B, I loved your metaphor, "the awkwardness could be shredded with a cheese grater".

Many times we have heard that "the tension could be cut with a knife". You have found a novel way of describing the same situation without using the same old tired expression. The word "shredded" is a strong verb as well, very important in creative writing.

Stephen, yes the lighthouse (and other lights) is very important and will be in a lot of the action. It's not called Two Island "LIGHT" for nothing.

Clytie, I'm glad to see that you are here for the early parts of the story this time. I remembered.SMILE.

Tiffany H, I'm sorry that you find the story confusing. Continue trying to keep the characters straight, and at each scene try to remember what happened last with those characters. A complex story is often more satisfying in the end when all of the little stories come together.

Remember that when you see the asterisks, * * * in a book, that indicates that time has passed, and maybe the scene or characters have changed. I know that you don't see the words, but maybe your teachers will indicate a scene change whenever they happen.

So Jack has hit rock bottom, and now everything will be great. Right? Maybe not. Sometimes when you think everything is at it's worst, an author can find even nastier things to throw at his hero and heroine. Keep watching.

Post # 4; Chapter's 12 - 15; "Fall to Rock Bottom"

Jack continues his travels on the boat, and finally is able to have a couple of days to visit Grand Manan and meet some of the local people. He is particularily taken with a local girl, Elizabeth.

He then returns to Saint John, where he finds himself without a job or a clean place to stay. He spirals down until he finds himself standing on the Reversing Falls Bridge, ready to jump. Only the idea that Robert might find his body floating in the harbour seems to hold him back.

a) Elizabeth is a local Grand Manan girl whom Jack seems to find interesting. Compare your first impressions of her with Nurse Jenny.

b) Jack seems to be on the right track until he returns to Saint John. Without a job or any real prospects, he spirals towards rock-bottom. What is it that causes Jack's feelings about himself to change so quickly?

Author's Comments # 3

1. Well, you've all figured out that Luther and Freeman are not angels in disguise. They're a couple of bad cats, and Luther seems particularly nasty. Luther is certainly the most obvious choice for "Boat Saboteur of the Year".

2. Most of you also have the right answer when it comes to Jack and how he feels after fixing the boat, and quickly learning some seamanship skills. He feels great, respected, wanted, needed, and part of a team. These are new feelings for Jack, especially lately. The events of these chapters have changed Jack, for the better.

3. Most of you also have the right answer for why Jenny keeps appearing, even if only for a brief moment. Jenny is still part of the story and these vignettes provide an opportunity to keep her in the mind of the reader. It indicates that she is important, and also gives a chance to see what is happening through her eyes. Jenny will see some action soon enough.

Now for some answers to your questions:

Gabrielle M, I'm sure that your teacher says some words a little differently than you, and that is because people often say words differently in various parts of the country. Grand Mananers have a distinctive accent; although to you, it appears that Ms McQuaid and I are the ones with the accents.

Rachel, you asked about similarities between York and Jack. I certainly did not clone York to become Jack, but they do have some similar character traits. Most heroes of action novels are clever, brave, and strong but the fine details of the characters can be very different. You'll see some of these differences as the story progresses. How did York react when the going got the toughest, he just dug in more. Watch and see how Jack reacts when he is very stressed (coming up soon).

Kyle B, you asked about my choice of subject: pandemics understandable, but fishing? You're getting into the mind of the author now. Well, I know lots about fishing as well. When I was your age I spent most of my summers on Grand Manan, fishing, building weir, handlining, playing in boats, building bonfires on the beach, swimming in Miller's pond, etc. I have family connections to Grand Manan, and I still spend time there every year. In the "Acknowledgements" at the start of the book, I give credit to Vera and Jewett Green, and Virginia and Liscombe Greene, who spent hours being interviewed by me before I started writing the book, to get details of life on the boats and on Grand Manan back in the 1940s.

By the way it's good to have lots of interests, and in fact reading books is a great way to develop interests.

Jack has certainly found an interest that he likes; lets just hope that can make his way in this new interest, or will other events intervene?

Author's Comments # 2

Interesting questions. The first two have to do with character motivations. The third has to do with plot development.

1. As many of you mentioned, Jack has nowhere else to go (in his mind). He is penniless, has no training, has no family, no friends, is hungry and cold. The war is on and he feels a certain tug toward it because that is where his best friend went and was killed; but basically he saw this as his best option at the time. It provided for the basics of life as well as some structure.

2. Jenny and Jack have an attraction for each other. I'm sure that there is some gratitude on each other's part, put they genuinely seem to like each other and enjoy each other's company.

3. The submarine: lots of questions here. First of all, whose submarine is it? What was it doing in the Bay of Fundy? And why in the world would a warship surface on multiple occasions just to buy ten lobsters from a small fishing boat?

Submarines were seen many times around Grand Manan during the second world war. Sometimes they were American travelling by, but most of the time they were German U-Boats. Submarines were used to sink ships, but they were also used to gather information, conduct sabotage missions, and land spies on North American soil. There were actually spies captured in eastern Canada that had been landed by a U-Boat near St Martins, New Brunswick.

Did you remember that when the lobsters were handed over to the submarine that the "fishermen" also handed over some papers (supposedly to wrap the lobsters). Do we really believe that was the reason for the papers? What might the papers have been? There is more to come that I'll not give away at this time.

Flu Shot was pure adventure but Two Island Light has a bit of a mystery to it. Think sneaky and suspicious sometimes.

Keep up the good work.

Post # 3; Chapters 9, 10, 11 - "Smell of Danger"

After stumbling upon an opportunity to work his way to Grand Manan upon a small freighter, and enduring his first case of seasickness, Jack finally sees Grand Manan. He impresses Robert, his new boss, with how quick he picks up some basic seamanship.

Just when all appears to be settling down for him, he saves the day after their boat is sabotaged.

a) Jack and Robert had a close call when their boat was tampered with. Who might have done this? Why do you think someone would want to disable their boat and endanger their lives?

b) Jacks heroics have put him in good standing with Robert. After all he has been through, what do you think Robert's trust and respect does for Jack?

c) Two chapters have ended with snapshots of Jenny back in Saint John. What do you think Dr. Lacey (the author) is trying to do by giving us these quick flashes back to her.

Post # 2; Chapters 5,6,7,8; "Released"

Jack is released from prison and immediately returns to the familiar turf of the Miramichi, but it turns out to be not so familiar or welcoming. He heads south to Saint John, looking to join the war effort (in 1940 the world is in the midst of WW II).

Meantime, Nurse Jenny reappears. There seems to be some chemistry between her and Jack, but he chooses the mysterious lure of Grand Manan Island over her. What will he find on Grand Manan?

a) Jack tries to join the army, but is refused because he has a criminal record. Why would Jack want to join up when his best friend was already killed overseas and he might meet the same fate? Was it out of patriotism? Guilt?

b) Nurse Jenny reappears in the story. She genuinely seems to like Jack, even enough to offer to try and help him find a place to stay, but just when there seemed to be a storyline growing between them, Jack heads off to Grand Manan. What qualities does Jack possess that draws her to him, or is she just feeling grateful that he saved her life?

c) Luther and Freeman, the "fishermen" from Grand Manan, meet up with a submarine and sell them some lobster. Is there more to this story? Freeman and Luther are obviously familiar with the people on the sub, but who are they? Why are they in the Bay of Fundy? Why such an interest in lobster?

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS #1

Hi Everybody. Here we go again. I'm glad to be travelling through this story with you.

Jack and York have similarities and differences as many of you have pointed out. Both are sort of outcasts of society, but basically good people, and quite self reliant. Both have been treated poorly, but in York's case it's mostly imagined maltreatment; in Jack's case it's quite real. York is very much at home and comfortable in his surroundings; Jack is very much out of his element.

Travel by sea was much more treacherous back in the 1940s. There was no radar on most boats. GPS had not been invented, nor had LORAN. When the fog closes in, and the wind and tides are pushing you, it's very hard to keep your course or even know exactly where you are without the modern electronics.

The "old salts" who spent their life on the ocean would be able to move around their local area in the fog relying on the lighthouses, the fog horns, bell buoys etc. But when those clues were removed it was very dangerous; and the waters around Grand Manan are littered with wrecks.

For an island the boats are a way of life, and in the 1940s were critical to supply as well as fishing. The WHITE LADY in the book is actually inspired by a boat that carried supplies to Grand Manan in the 1940s, the SNOW MAIDEN.

Some of you have commented on the structure of the book, jumping from the jail to the boat, back to the jail, to some fishermen on another boat. This is the structure of a novel that is written with multiple points of view.

FLU SHOT had just one point of view, that of York. Everything in the book was something that he saw, or did, or watched, or heard. TWO ISLAND LIGHT is a more complex book. We have already seen things from Jack's point of view, and the mate, and the fishermen, and Jenny.

Initially the novel has to present these shifts of Point Of View to establish for the reader what the structure will be. As you read farther, you'll find that you quickly became comfortable seeing the world through different eyes.

As you have guessed, Jack is one of the main characters and you'll see lots from his eyes.

So let's keep going; there are other places to see and people to meet, and maybe some surprises.

Post # 1; Chapters 1-4, Beginnings of a Story

The opening chapters alternate settings between a provincial jail and the southern coast of Grand Manan Island. We meet Jack, who puts his own life in danger to save that of a stranger. We also meet Luther and Freeman, two entrepreneurs from Grand Manan.

a) What is your first impression of Jack? He is in jail, but about to be released, for a crime he claims he did not commit. Compare and contrast your first impressions of Jack to York, the main character from Flu Shot. What is it that leads your first impressions about Jack?

b) The seafarers in the boat couldn't see the light in Southern Head in the thick fog, storm and high seas. The beacon suddenly appears, just before they unexpectedly crash unto the rocks. Sixty years ago, boats did not have the benefit of GPS and electronic navigation and it appears that this is not the first boat aground on the rocks. Do you think it would have been common for them to be so wrong about their location?

c) This was a freighter, not a fishing boat. What would it have been carrying? Were boats more important to life on Grand Manan in the 1940's than they are today? Why?

Welcome

This blog will host the conversations of students at two middle schools and a local author as the students read, assess, respond, debate and dialogue with the author of "Two Island Light".

We start next week!