NBtM Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: The Tide's End by Meredith Egan @WildGoatCoach @GoddessFish

Tide's End

by Meredith Egan

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction

BLURB:

Taylor Smythe dreams of having a loving family. But first, he has to rescue his little sister Jenny from the gritty underbelly of the child cyberporn industry. Taylor journeys from homelessness in the inner city to a community in the dripping forests of the Pacific Northwest to confront the relentless pounding of his fiercest pain. Can he become the big brother Jenny needs right now, and for the rest of their lives? Tide’s End explores the many faces of sexual assault and human trafficking, and how life can shatter for those most affected – the victims. Because #MeToo is more common than we can imagine. As is #ChildrenToo and even #BoysToo. It tears apart our families and neighbourhoods. And wherever there is suffering, there are guardians and helpers who still the relentless pounding to encourage Tide’s End.

Excerpt:

“Welcome, everyone. I’m Rosie, and I’m honoured to be here today,” she said, and she waved the long stick she was holding, getting us to stand. It had a carving of a big, black bird on the top and was painted bright colours. There was a large crystal in it, and some feathers fluttered from a ribbon. I liked it, I decided.

“Let’s start this evening in a good way, with a prayer,” she said. A prayer? Weird.

“Thank you, Creator, for bringing us together tonight. Thank you for the journeys that brought us here, especially the good bits.” She asked for kindness on our “healing journey,” and open hearts and minds and other stuff. Then she said something I won’t forget.

“Creator, we ask you to remind us to believe each other as much as we want to be believed. And to show us new ways to make sense of what happened to us. Help us find a way to go back into the world with less hurting.” Less hurting. An idea I could get behind.

“Let’s be open to new things, and not be too judgemental.” She just stood there for a bit, and when she finally sat, so did everybody else. People were smiling, even me.

“Tide’s End. I don’t know if you know why this place is named that, so I’ll try to explain.

“Mission – the train bridge, actually – is the place where the folks who regulate fishing have decided the tides end. The water is brackish until here, up the river delta, but First Nations People have been fishing here since time…forever. At least 10,000 years. We fished the salmon, and the sturgeon, and other fish. And we know about tides, and how they pound and beat on a place. Without ending.

“So, we called this place Tide’s End because we hope to help with the relentless pounding.” She adjusted her skirt and looked at us again.

“We’ll talk about Taylor’s participating later, but for now, know that sometimes we are going to push you. Ask you to work hard. But you can always say no, if you need to. We just don’t want you to be disruptive…stopping someone else from getting what they need in the circle.” She smiled and handed the talking stick to Kate.

Interview with Meredith Egan

What was the hardest scene from your book to write?
There are a number of scenes I found hard to write – and they are always the scenes that portray violence. I always want to empathize with all of the parties involved, and clearly show the depth of the impact from the violence – without being gratuitous or overly graphic.

Finding that balance between not minimizing violence and not exploiting the story is difficult.

In Tide’s End it was a scene where a young woman was sexually assaulted. I cried while I wrote it. I cried when I read it to my critique groups…and often they cried, too.

And while it was hard to write, the story would have been much harder to tell without the honesty and brutality of the violence.


Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
I call my genre a mashup of contemporary fiction and hopepunk…and I don’t know if I could write in any other genre.

I have had the privilege of working with crime victims for decades, and working with prisoners as well. I have been aware of the impact of crime and the inequalities in our legal and correctional systems for decades…between victims and offenders, white and blue-collar crimes, affluent and poor people, colonizers/settlers and Indigenous / marginalized and racially profiled people…

In fact, the reason I write is to help myself process many of the stories of hurt and abuse I hear.
It’s a bonus that some people who’ve never had to engage with “the system” will read the novels and understand both its downfalls and its potential for transforming work. 

If you write in more than one genre, how do you balance them?
I don’t…


What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I thoroughly enjoyed the process of discovery – meeting the characters, uncovering their stories, understanding how their nuanced lives intertwine and affect one another…who falls in love? Who hurts their friends, and why? Who rises above their past? Who drives for better understanding?

Then, when I worked the stories/chapters with my colleague and writer friends and introduced them to the Just Living world, and heard their ideas and concerns, that also gets my creative juices flowing. Writing for me is both a solitary work and is also collaborative. It takes a village to write a story!


What book that you have read has most influenced your life?
In terms of fiction, when I was a teenager I read “I Heard the Owl Call my Name,” (by Margaret Craven) and was profoundly affected by so many aspects of that story! The adventure of the colonizing priest, the culture of the Indigenous Peoples he lived with, the philosophical and spiritual challenges experienced by the characters.
I haven’t thought about this book for some time, but now I have to go read it again – because the young white Quebecois teenager who read it many years ago might not read it the same this time around!

In terms of non-fiction, I vividly remember reading a book when I was a young adult called “Legacy of the Heart- the spiritual advantage of a painful childhood” by Wayne Muller, and it helped me re-frame my childhood. It encouraged me to look towards the Light when I thought about how I’d been affected by alcoholism and violence in my youth.

In some ways, these books charted a path for me to heal from some of my own wounds, but also to become someone who accompanies those who’ve been hurt by others, and can help mediate towards a more peaceful and satisfying life.


Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?
A little about myself…hmmm…I live with about 90 other people on an organic farm where we support each other and the farmers to carve out and live a more environmentally sustainable life. We love to share food (although not during the pandemic), garden, and get together to watch movies, or make music. It’s a model called co-housing, which for me is a perfect balance of privacy and community. As an empty nester (hallelujah!), it gives me a great place to live, work and write!

But lots of people know about the Yarrow EcoVillage, so something a little more…unknown?

I have an unhealthy relationship with radishes. I have been known to grocery shop for just coffee and 3 bunches of radishes. They make me smile. If I could influence the farmers around here, there would be many more radishes grown.

And ladybugs.
I love them too.
But I don’t eat them. Ever.


Can you tell us something about your book that is not in the summary?
Baking plays a key role in my books! Scones are a key tasty character…and although I love scones, I have to confess I don’t bake very often. So I live vicariously through the most delicious scones that Beth bakes for the folks at Just Living and Tide’s End.

Because who doesn’t find divine conversations while sharing great baked goods?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meredith Egan is an author of critically acclaimed novels, Just Living: a novel and Tide’s End: A Just Living novel. The stories are shaped from her work with crime victims and violent prisoners over more than thirty years. Meredith is trained in mediation and peacemaking circles., and has been honoured to learn from many First Nations peoples. Meredith coaches writers and other creative folks and offers workshops and training through her Daring Imagination work.

Meredith is the principal at Wild Goat Executive Coaching where her clients include leaders in the automotive, technology, government and small business fields. She lives at the Groundswell Ecovillage in beautiful Yarrow, BC. with her dog Mollie, and rambunctious feline sisters Firefly and Filigree. For fun she dabbles in cooking soup for her neighbours, and soaking in her hot tub with her four adult children when they visit.

You can find Meredith through her website, and on Facebook and Twitter for information about her novels, and her coaching work. Meredith welcomes opportunities to speak with groups about justice, and writing. Her books are available through Amazon and local bookstores.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Buy Link:

Amazon

Giveaway:

$20 Amazon/BN GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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