I knew I wanted to write a novel to share my insights with others, I just didn’t know what shape my story would take until years later.
Lynda Faye Schmidt – 23 April 2021
The Back Flap
Based on true events, The Healing is the story of Cate Henderson who, after twenty-six years in an abusive relationship, sets out on a quest to find healing. Cate packs up everything she owns and leaves Calgary on an odyssey westward, to Vancouver Island, where her ever-present journal and the abundance of nature become the foundation of her self-recovery. She yearns for something deeper and then, when she isn’t looking, she finds love with the solid and virtuous Ethan. Cate thinks his stead-fast love is what she is searching for, but soon realizes she needs to do her own work, that love for herself is the key.
Cate gets thrown off-course when Lyme Disease, an earthquake in Nepal, her daughter’s mental health challenges, and her move with Ethan to the Middle East, cause her to lose her new-found awareness. Her heart calls her to endure the lows and enjoy the highs, to let go of the ties that bind and the fear that controls.
With echoes of Eat, Pray Love, The Healing is a raw and vulnerable exploration of human resilience. At times both painful and uplifting, it’s a story about love, examining motherhood, partnership, grief, expectation and optimism, and the journey inward to self-love.
About the book
What is the book about?
Based on true events, The Healing is the story of Cate Henderson who, after twenty-six years in an abusive relationship, sets out on a quest to find healing. She yearns for something deeper and then, when she isn’t looking, she finds love with the solid and virtuous Ethan.
Cate gets thrown off-course when Lyme Disease, an earthquake in Nepal, her daughter’s mental health challenges, and her move with Ethan to the Middle East, cause her to lose her new-found awareness. Her heart calls her to endure the lows and enjoy the highs, to let go of the ties that bind and the fear that controls.
“The healing isn’t a place you arrive at, but a place you discover deep inside you.”
When did you start writing the book?
In 2012, I scratched out the first five pages of The Healing, then promptly forgot them amongst the distractions of health challenges and my move to the Middle East. I recovered those first pages of The Healing in early 2018 and wrote my first draft, which I completed in the summer of 2019. I shared my accomplishment with my friend Danielle, who gave me Anne O’Connell’s contact information. After a query and exchange, a Covid-19 lockdown and a total re-write, The Healing is launching in April of 2021.
How long did it take you to write it?
It’s difficult to give an accurate answer to that because there were so many starts and stops, times when I worked very part time and others where it was a full-time endeavor. My estimate would be two years of full-time, committed effort.
Where did you get the idea from?
The idea for The Healing was inspired by own real-life healing journey. When I left an abusive relationship to strike out on my own, I started Julie Cameron’s Artist’s Way writing course. I was journaling every day and immersed in deep reflection and mindfulness in a way that I’d never had the opportunity, time, or space to practice before. I felt inundated with ‘aha’ moments that had me living the most authentic, soul-nourishing life I’d ever lived. I knew I wanted to write a novel to share my insights with others, I just didn’t know what shape my story would take until years later.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Many. My first struggle was with the genre. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write The Healing as a memoir or a fiction based on real life. I completed my first draft in first person past tense, then ended up doing a total re-write in third person present tense. I was processing old traumas, which was painful enough, but then fresh traumas came along during the writing process and I didn’t have the gift of time that can soften the edges. As I wrote The Healing it became a therapeutic tool for me that gave me more strength and resilience than I knew I had.
What came easily?
I’m not sure there were any parts that came easily, but I’ve loved the writing process since I was a child. I was always motivated to sit down at my desk to write. I rarely suffered from writer’s block. And there were some points where I went deep into the flow and the ideas seemed to literally pour out of me. My fingers on the keyboard could hardly keep up with the internal dialogue in my mind. That felt very exhilarating.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
I’ve more than borrowed. I’ve been very open that The Healing is based on real life events and people. But although the characters are based on people I know, they are of my creation. Some are interesting amalgamations of several people. Whether they strongly resemble someone or not, the dialogue and thoughts were born in my imagination. I didn’t transcribe real conversations or limit myself by facts. I didn’t represent any point of view except my own, so it’s all written from my perspective and my interpretation.
Do you have a target reader?
I hope The Healing resonates across a broad spectrum of readers, but I suspect that it will appeal more to women than men, and likely to women over the age of thirty as well.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
My writing process has evolved significantly in the last year. When Anne O’Connell from OC Publishing agreed to mentor me, I found the motivation I’d been missing to make a serious commitment to myself as a writer. I started writing regularly, most days for a few hours. Then I read Stephen King’s, On Writing, and was inspired to take it up another notch. King claims to write 365 days a year, even on Christmas. That doesn’t feel like balance for me, but I did write a list of goals that included sitting down at my desk to write five days a week for at least two hours a session and completing a draft of a new novel each year. I’m busy right now working on a prequel to The Healing and I have ideas for the next four novels after that brewing too.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
I definitely outline. I’m a planner and I’m all about being organized. If I don’t have a clear path forward, it’s easy for me to wander off-theme or out-of-character. It all starts with that first idea. Then I sketch out a few pages of possibilities, write a very loose outline, and then fill it in more as the storyline progresses and I get a stronger awareness of where it’s all going. I don’t necessarily use chapter headings, but I map out plot lines, character development, theme and symbolism as guideposts for the creative process.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I write a chapter and do a very basic edit before I write the next. It helps me get into the flow before I move on to the next event or situation. Once I complete the first draft of the entire manuscript, I do a content edit that includes narration, description, dialogue, character development, theme, symbolism and emotion. The last step is a copy edit that includes vocabulary, grammar, transitions, tense, and spelling.
Did you hire a professional editor?
Yes, despite the vigorous editing process I use before sending the manuscript to an editor, there are always still errors that my eyes, that are so familiar with the project, miss. I have an intensely vivid imagination and love the creative process, but grammar, spelling, and paying close attention to the details aren’t my strong points. I feel so fortunate to have had both Anne O’Connell and Marianne Ward edit The Healing because it’s important to me to have a manuscript that is as polished and professional as possible.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Absolutely not! I might have inspiration for a scene of dialogue while listening to music, which is something I do regularly, but when I’m writing it needs to be quiet, no distractions.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I didn’t submit The Healing to an agent. Interestingly, I have sent out hundreds of agent queries for other manuscripts I’ve written over the years, but with The Healing the connection with Anne O’Connell at OC Publishing came along before I’d started down that path. Many, many years ago when I was at a Wordfest event in Calgary featuring Margaret Atwood, I asked her when I approached the table for my signed copy of The Penelopiad if she had any advice for someone wishing to become a published author and she said, “Get an agent.” So that had been my go-to-but-unsuccessful process before this.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I hadn’t made any decisions about how I was going to proceed with the process of trying to get The Healing published when a chance conversation with a friend had me query Anne O’Connell at OC Publishing. I’d only finished the first draft the day before and I was open to whatever possibilities the Universe presented. That said, I knew I didn’t have the skill set to self-publish, so that was never an option I considered.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I’m thrilled that the book cover for The Healing was professionally done. Anne introduced me to Krista Wells, an artist and illustrator that she works with. Krista created the original artwork as well as the cover. I never considered doing it myself, but I also never imagined I would find an artist to work with. I never would have made the connection without Anne, and I just feel so fortunate.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
As I said earlier, I’m a serious planner. Winging it isn’t a part of my vocabulary. That said, I don’t know much about marketing. That’s another benefit I enjoy as part of my partner publishing agreement with Anne. She has a background in public relations and tons of experience to contribute. The marketing plan is a work in progress, but I’m learning.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
With only one book just about to be launched, I don’t think I have the expertise to advise anyone on how to become an author, indie or otherwise. I imagine there are many different paths that suit different personalities. I would encourage aspiring authors not to give up, to follow their intuition and trust their gut feelings when they’re making decisions.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I was born in a very small town in Saskatchewan. My father moved our family many times in his quest to secure new opportunities for employment. A family tragedy had us leave Dawson Creek, BC and move to Calgary in 1980 and I spent most of my adult life there.
Where do you live now?
Currently I live on a compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I’m a very open and honest person. I’m an emotional creature with a strong spiritual practice. I believe that loving and creating are my life purpose. Whether that manifests in building meaningful relationships, writing, or simply preparing gorgeous food, I love to be fully engaged in the process. I’m also an advocate for equality and freedom for all humanity, an optimist and a striver.
What are you working on now?
As I alluded to earlier, I’m already deep into the prequel for The Healing. I felt like there was an interesting back-story that was only hinted at and that readers might be drawn to find out what life circumstances molded Cate Henderson into the strong, feisty and resilient woman who is the at the core of The Healing. My tentative title is The Holding, a symbolic reference to Cate’s relationship with her father. It is also inspired by the real-life poem I wrote for my father’s funeral, back in 2000, My Father’s Hands.
End of Interview:
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