Author returns to her Ross Ferry roots
Erin Pottie (erin.pottie@cbpost.com)
Published: Mar 20 at 4:09 p.m.
Amy Spurway, who lives in Dartmouth but grew up in Ross Ferry, will return home Saturday, March 30, to unveil her debut novel "Crow" at the Ross Ferry Community Centre at 6 p.m. - Contributed
ROSS FERRY, N.S. —
Amy Spurway's debut novel sprang from fears over her own mortality.
Fifteen years ago, the Ross Ferry woman's life forever changed when she welcomed twin daughters.
She and her husband were in living Toronto, some hundreds of kilometres away from their Nova Scotian families.
Spurway logged onto her computer and told members of an online forum that as a new mother she was struggling.
As the comments of support flowed in, one stood out from all the rest.
A good-hearted stranger told Spurway about a woman she knew who died suddenly, leaving a father to care for his infant twins.
"She told me this story in an attempt to kind of encourage me and (encourage me) to be grateful," said Spurway in a telephone interview from her Dartmouth home.
"I freaked out because all of a sudden my own mortality just kind of clubbed me over the head and I thought I might not live forever," she said.
"I have to figure out a way to make peace with that and deal with that. And I knew I had to do it in writing. And I knew fiction was how I had to do it."
The realization of impermanence has now charted a course for Spurway's 300-page debut novel, "Crow," published by Fredericton, N.B., book company, Goose Lane Editions.
The book's main character, Stacey Fortune, is diagnosed with three highly unpredictable — and inoperable — brain tumours.
Nicknamed Crow, Stacey abandons the crumbling glamour of her life in Toronto for her mother Effie's scruffy trailer in rural Cape Breton.
Back home, everyone suspects Crow's family is cursed.
Despite the character's bleak prognosis, Crow sets out to write a memoir that will raise eyebrows and drop jaws.
She digs into her family tree, including this supposed curse, and uncovers the truth about her mysterious father, who disappeared a month before she was born.
Spurway describes the book as witty, energetic and crackling with sharp Cape Breton humour.
After graduating from Baddeck Academy, Spurway went on to earn degrees in both English and radio and television arts.
She said 13 years ago, she wrote the first sentence of "Crow" and has steadily worked on the project between raising three kids and freelancing.
"It was coming from somewhere really kind of deep inside me and I just needed to get this story out," Spurway said.
"When the main character's voice and story started to emerge — it was relentless. And so, if I stopped, I would have felt like I was letting her down — although there were times where it was 'I can't do this anymore, this isn't going anywhere.'"
Spurway first took an interest in communications and writing during her involvement in 4-H Canada activities in Cape Breton in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning when she was about nine years old.
Club participation led Spurway to provide commentary on CBC regional programs, in addition to a nationally broadcast book review panel with Erika Ritter.
Co-founder of the Celtic Colours International Festival and former broadcaster, Joella Foulds, was Spurway's public speaking coach when she was growing up.
Foulds will now join Spurway at the launch of "Crow", taking place at the Ross Ferry Community Centre on March 30 at 6 p.m.
"It was something that I was just so passionate about from such an earlier age," said Spurway. "I never set out to be a fiction writer. That part kind of surprises me, but I think there are a lot of the same types of skills and interests that transfer back and forth to different types of writing.
"This is a story borne of a real, fierce love of roots and family and the way we make the best of bad situations."
The upcoming book launch will feature a potluck feast and a cash bar. Earlier in the day, Spurway will also be at Indigospirit in the Mayflower Mall for signings.
• Tuesday, March 26 – Book launch at Halifax Central Library at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 30 – Cape Breton's official book launch.
- 1-3 p.m. - Spurway book signing at Indigospirit in the Mayflower Mall.
- 6 p.m. – "Barn Burner of a Book Party" at Ross Ferry Community Centre, including a conversation between Spurway and Joella Foulds.
• Thursday, April 4 – Dartmouth book launch at The Wooden Monkey at 6:30 p.m.
Name: Amy Spurway
Family: Married with three daughters (twins, 15, and an 11-year-old)
Home: Raised in Ross Ferry and now living in Dartmouth, N.S.
High school: Baddeck Academy
Parents: Valerie and Fraser Patterson
erin.pottie@cbpost.com
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