Missing the mark...

A reader reached out via Facebook to share her disgust at how I portrayed the people of Newfoundland in my novel, In the Name of Peace. “I found your take on us to be extremely offensive,” were the exact words.

I have been to Newfoundland. My wife and I went there for our honeymoon, twenty years ago. We had a waterside lodge in Trinity Bay and enjoyed the natural beauty (icebergs, puffins, water) and the wonderful people. One of the highlights of our time there was a visit to the set of Random Passage, a six hour miniseries that was shot in Newfoundland. We purchased a copy and watched it when we returned home. We fell in love with the lead character, Lavinia Andrews. She was kind, strong, and empathetic. We named our daughter after her and it also inspired the name of the main character of In the Name of Peace.

So to be told that I had portrayed Newfoundlanders in a poor light was, as you can imagine, upsetting. That was certainly not my intent.

When you read the book, you see Newfoundland not through the eyes of a local, where you would get a true feel for the place and the people. Instead you get the view from two characters. The first is Lavinia Walsh, a young American FBI agent on her first field assignment, who would have read a brief on the province during her early morning flight on a government jet. The second comes from her father, a former iconic newsman, who sees the world as a series of news reports.

This is the lens through which these two characters view Newfoundland, and by default it is what the reader sees. Technical government briefs and news reports. Is it an accurate depiction of the entire province and its people? No.

Some writers get around this by adding an ancillary character. A “local guide” to educate the protagonist on their journey. However, In the Name of Peace already featured a large cast and the adventures in Newfoundland were relatively short and didn’t require interaction with the local population (given the two main characters were in hiding and trying to escape).

So while I understand her upset, it is my hope that she and other readers take the book for what it is. A piece of fiction meant to take the reader on an adventure. If you are offended, I offer you my sincerest apologies.

If you’re curious, Newfoundland is beautiful. Should you have the opportunity to visit, I encourage you to put it on your bucket list.