The Story Behind the Story with Tanah Haney of Ontario, Canada.

 

We are very happy to have Tanah join us this week as our featured author. 

I had the pleasure to meet Tanah at the 

GMRD Book Fair last April.

She was in attendance with Joe Mahoney of Donovan Street Press, her publisher.

 

She has kindly accepted our invitation to be with us today.

Read on my friends.

 

 

When not writing, Tanah Haney divides her time between playing the Celtic harp, teaching music, gardening and cat wrangling. She is a published poet and is co-author of Where the World Bleeds Through with her husband, photographer and digital artist Mark A. Harrison. The character of Aiden in Tanah’s debut novel, A Peculiar Symmetry, was inspired by Tanah’s own experience with neurodiversity. Late diagnosed with ADHD at age 50 but neurodivergent from day one, Tanah is determined to be a more vocal champion of everyone who has ever felt different, and for the free expression of same in a diverse, inclusive, and compassionate society. Tanah lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband Mark and a small but vocal menagerie.

 

Book Title: A Peculiar Symmetry

 

 

Synopsis: 

Aiden and Minnie. Two of the least ordinary people you’re likely to meet.

Aiden’s missing the first eight years of her life, yet she can play Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto without ever having been taught. Minnie can see people’s emotions, in vivid colour, no less. That doesn’t help much when she meets Aiden, who doesn’t seem to have any.

When British Intelligence sweeps in, along with belligerent spies and a half-brother Aiden never knew existed, Minnie soon discovers that whatever Aiden might lack, she more than makes up for in intrigue. Getting to know one another will have to wait, though; when bullets start to fly, and the bodies begin to pile up, the two young women find themselves caught up in a clandestine war for control over the human psyche…and their own lives.

 

The Story Behind the Story: 

Writing A Peculiar Symmetry was a much longer journey that expected, with countless side quests and dead-end paths taken along the way. The initial spark for it though, was two-fold: the concept of an accidental signal, and a single sentence: “It was too early in the morning for things to go so wrong”. The accidental signal idea was inspired by my own personal experience with OCD, the hypervigilant variety that has you checking things multiple times. I had been stuck in a bit of a loop, triple checking that all the doors were locked before bed, which involved flicking light switches on and off. It had me feeling more than a little foolish and wondering what that must look like from the outside. Which in turn brought to mind Mulder in the X-Files, signalling his desire to talk to the mysterious Mr. X, or rebel factions communicating across a river via shuttered lanterns. What if someone accidentally sent a signal out into the world that they didn’t intend to send, and someone received and acted on that? The rest of the story spun out from there. The idea of a rough start to the day inspired the two opening scenes, where we meet both of our main characters struggling through one of those mornings where nothing goes right, which gave them a kind of shared experience while simultaneously showing how different their lives and personalities were before they met.

  

Website: Please go HERE.

 Buy it HERE.

  

    

Where I like to write: Did a lot of cafe writing for many years, until the Covid lockdowns hit. Then it became a challenge, how to turn safe spaces, at home or outside, into a place I could feel truly inspired, could temporarily step away from all the pressing grown-up responsibilities despite being surrounded by clutter. I've started writing outside the home again, but I'll still often end up in the big room upstairs at my standing desk, with a mix of ambient music and nature sounds, windows wide open, with occasional interruptions from cats, or the birds in the apple tree out back.

 

Favourite beverage: Coffee still ranks at the top for sparking energy and creativity, sometimes black tea. But for long haul sessions and staying hydrated, it's a personal concoction of 2/3 carbonated water (that we carbonate at home), 1/3 spicy ginger beer, and some of those sugar-free flavour drops. My favourite at the moment is the strawberry-watermelon, goes surprisingly well with the ginger.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for being our guest this week Tanah. WE wish you continued success with your writing.

 

And another BIG thank you to all our visitors and readers. Feel free to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.