Skip to content

Author brings sequel to town

Patricia Donahue, an award-winning Vernon author and past workshop presenter at the Shuswap Writers Festival, ‘baptized’ her sequel novel
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Patricia Donahue

Patricia Donahue, an award-winning Vernon author and past workshop presenter at the Shuswap Writers Festival, ‘baptized’ her sequel novel, Mighty Orion – Secrets in the Atlantic salt-chuck this summer in Dalhousie, NB, the story’s setting.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, Donahue will talk about her novels and sign them from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bookingham Palace in the Mall at Piccadilly.

Mighty Orion – Secrets picks up where Mighty Orion – Fate (2010) left off. With crusty old sailor, Percy, at the helm, the Kilkenny family saga continues, spanning four generations.

The story weaves in, and out, as personal disclosure spurs further disclosure, and understanding leads to emotional healing.

With the sympathetic ear of his son Joe, a salmon fisherman from the B.C. coast, and the love of his wife, Clara, Percy opens up about the hardships of his life; his running away to sea at age 13, and the harshness and adventures that followed.

Having run his household with a sea captain’s firm hand, Percy has bridges to mend with his now-adult children who show up with problems of their own.

The stories, within stories, harken back to Canada’s early history when tall ships were used in commercial trade on East and West coasts. Merchant sailors hailed in large numbers from Atlantic Canada where ship building was prolific.

“In those days, 45 per cent of the ships on the Seven Seas were constructed in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” says Donahue.

“The Bank of Canada, and our economic development, was founded on this industry.”

Donahue’s novels are set in the 1970s touch on the issue of nursing home placement of our elderly. Adjustments by family members and societal attitudes are examined.

Donahue comes from a bilingual New Brunswick family of mariners.

“We never owned a car, but always there was a boat to take our family of nine on the Bay de Chaleur,” she says. “My father was ‘our Captain’ and he made sure there was always a large cabin to shelter the ‘little ones’ in bad weather.”

Following tradition, Donahue earned her Level 1 Seamanship in 2004, aboard a 180-ft. tall ship, Bark Europa, registered in the Netherlands.

She is a registered nurse, educator and counselling psychologist with a masters from UBC, who has taught writing at UBC Okanagan for four years, including summer writing camps.

The winner of the 2012 Okanagan Literary Arts Award, Donahue has presented at writers’ fairs, edited and participated on writing panels. Her short stories have appeared in a Kelowna magazine and in several anthologies.

A recent contributor to the new, Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada, The Wonders of Winter (the hair-raising story, Bruno’s Bruin), Donahue will be happy to sign copies of this Chicken Soup edition at Bookingham Palace on Saturday, as well.

This edition is devoted to Canada and the Canadian lifestyle.

“Twelve years ago, the first, Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul, hit the New York Times Best Seller List in a flash,” Donahue says.

Donahue leads inspirational presentations, professional development workshops, and educational assignments.