On Day 15 of Cheryl's 'Touring the World' virtual book tour, she completed part two of an interview with Jack Anthony. The entire interview is below.
Jack Anthony (JA): Whale Song seems at first an innocent, sweet and poignant tale with a hint of mystery. But there is a darker side to this novel―the shocking assisted suicide of a key character. What compelled you to tackle such a controversial and emotional topic?
Cheryl Kaye Tardif (CKT): Assisted suicide or assisted dying is one of the most horrifying scenarios a person could imagine. That’s why I tackled it. The morality surrounding assisted dying has been questioned by human rights activists, the legal system, religious organizations and the general public for decades, and it is an issue that has fascinated and saddened me. In countries such as Switzerland and Belgium, assisted dying is legal, while in Canada and the US, it is illegal. Headlines have blasted us with stories of people like Sue Rodriguez, a Canadian who fought for right-to-die laws to be changed but then lost, and the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, an American doctor who invented a self-inflicted lethal injection dubbed ‘the suicide machine’. Kevorkian was released from prison in June 2007 and promises to fight for reform.
The disturbing subject of assisted suicide/dying prompts readers to question their own beliefs. If a person you loved was dying, with no hope for survival, with only a life of pain and agony ahead of them or a lifetime of vegetative coma, could you pull the proverbial plug? Should you help them die with dignity, or shouldn’t you? And if you do, how do you live with yourself afterwards? These are the questions I wanted to explore in Whale Song. I am drawn to writing stories that make us question our beliefs, our laws and our very existence. Whale Song started from one thought: What would happen if someone felt compelled to ‘pull the plug’…?”
JA: There is a mystical element to the story and strong native influences with legends from many West Coast tribes. Why are they essential to the story?
CKT: I have always been fascinated by orca or killer whales, and grew up yearning to visit Skana at the Vancouver Aquarium each summer. Whales exude power, grace and mystery and are both worshipped and feared. Part of the plot for Whale Song originated from old native legends that I had heard while growing up on the Queen Charlotte Islands. It was those legends that started the seed growing, culminating in the setting and mood of the story. But it was a particular native legend, one that said that if a killer whale was seen close to shore, it was a reincarnated soul coming to visit or say goodbye to its family. Whale Song includes legends of other animals, such as wolf and seagull, and each legend parallels the life of the main character, a woman haunted by her past.
JA: Are you native?
CKT: I actually get asked that a lot, especially at book signings and events. But no, I am not native. I lived for many years in Masset, on the Queen Charlotte Islands in BC. I was exposed to native traditions, the culture and folklore. It is from my experiences―both negative and positive―that I was able to draw upon to create a realistic backdrop for Whale Song. You could say I got in touch with my 'native side', the side that loves nature, art and creativity. There is hope in all of that...even in death.
JA: How has Whale Song affected your readers? Does the darkness in it overshadow the story?
I received an email from a 65-year-old man who told me he ‘loved Whale Song’ and cried when he read it and that his ‘lady friend was reduced to tears’. I now tell people that this is the book that makes grown men cry. I want my novels to make people feel something, even if it’s horror or sadness. I want people to wonder, ‘What would I do in this situation?’
There is a powerful message at the end of this novel, one that is full of hope and has already affected some of my readers’ lives, according to emails that I’ve received. This book has brought families together, strengthened relationships between mother and daughter, and father and daughter. Yes, there is darkness in this novel, but you can’t have darkness without the light. There is light at the end of the tunnel. That’s what they should find once they’ve reached the end of Whale Song.
JA: You have stated in the past that Whale Song has attracted readers as young as 7 years old and as old as 96. Why do you think your novel is so multi-generational?
When I first began to market Whale Song, I was targeting a more adult readership or audience. But what amazed me was that I found more and more young readers were drawn to the story. School resource centers in BC and French immersion schools in Edmonton were buying it as well. And tutoring centers in Calgary and Edmonton are using it for their LA program and as recommended reading.
If you look on Amazon or my website, there are numerous reviews that are obviously written by younger readers. Their reaction is that they “loved it”, that it’s their favorite book or that they cried and stayed up all night until they had finished reading it. I am still amazed to hear that some of my readers are as young as seven years old. The great thing is, many of their parents have emailed me after reading the book as well, and they have appreciated how the assisted suicide plot was handled and the other topics that have allowed for conversation with their kids.
Younger readers enjoy the novel because it starts off with a flashback to a woman’s past, back to a time when she was eleven. I think it’s multi-generational because it takes adults back to a time of innocence and youth. Adults enjoy the story of a young woman who has been so confined and torn by her past, by lost memories of a terrifying time in her life, while younger readers identify with the young protagonist and the trials of adolescence, such as bullying and racism. I believe I have written Whale Song in a way that makes it appeal to virtually anyone who can read. It is marketed by Kunati Books as General Fiction.
JA: Regarding assisted suicide, could you do it―assist someone in his or her own death?
CKT: I have never known anyone personally who has wanted an assisted death. I am not sure if I would want the responsibility of making that decision. Can any of us be sure? Given the right circumstances and knowing the suffering that a loved one is enduring, I might consider it, if there was no other alternative and no hope. I am hoping that laws will become more clear, that physician assisted dying will become an option for those who are already dying. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but I can understand how someone may feel it is the only option. If it was your mother and she had a debilitating disease and was begging you to end her misery and pain, would you do it?
JA: Have you experienced the death of a loved one?
CKT: I have experienced death up close before. My first baby died of a brain stem stroke after a perfect pregnancy and four hours of life. It was completely unexpected and the first painful tragedy I had ever endured. More recently, my youngest brother Jason was beaten and left in an alley to die alone.
JA: Whale Song is linked very closely to your brother Jason. Can you tell us why?
CKT: Whale Song is dedicated to my brother Jason Kaye, who was murdered in Edmonton on January 23, 2006. He was Edmonton’s third homicide in 2006. The police had no way to notify his next of kin, except the knowledge that Jason’s sister ‘lived in Edmonton and was a writer who had written a book about whales’. They were able to track me down when a search online led them to Whale Song. Incidentally, it was the only one of my books that my brother had ever read, and it was one of the first things I saw when I went to clean out his room. Whale Song has become Jason’s book, in my mind.
JA: A portion of your own royalties is going to charity. Tell us about that.
After the murder of my brother and finding Whale Song in his room, I decided to dedicate my novel to Jason. Through his friends in the inner city, I came to understand that they are family. They are a community of people who are poverty-stricken, destitute, hungry and often suffering from addictions and mental illness. As a tribute to my brother and to support his other ‘family’, I have pledged a percentage of my royalties from every sale of Whale Song to three Edmonton non-profit organizations: 5% will go to Hope Mission. 5% will go to the Bissell Centre. And 5 % will go to the Mustard Seed Church. I KNOW that money will be put to good use, for a worthy cause. We also donate monthly to Hope Mission’s Friend of the Friendless campaign.
JA: Thank you, Ms. Tardif. I wish you continued success with Whale Song.
To learn more about mystery author Cheryl Kaye Tardif and Whale Song, please visit her websites and her pages on Kunati.com.
For her other novels: http://www.cherylktardif.com/
About Jason Kaye: http://www.jaysporchmonkeys.com/
To order from Amazon, go here.
Jack Anthony is a freelance writer, film and book critic, currently residing in Bermuda with his lovely wife, three young children and a Siamese cat with attitude.
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To order Whale Song, a novel about love, deception and assisted suicide, check out Amazon.com.
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, bestselling author of Whale Song
]]>Please check out the new interview on the Novel Journey blog. I was recently interviewed by Gina Holmes, "an author on a mission". Not only was it a fun interview, her questions were insightful and challenging. Thanks, Gina!
Here's a sneak peek:
Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.
People ask me all the time, “When did you start writing?” I honestly don’t remember NOT writing. As a teen, I wrote for a weekly BC newspaper. I made $5.00/week for my small column on the happenings of my town. When I was 16, I wrote my first...
Read the entire interview.
Mystery author Cheryl Kaye Tardif to guest on ArtistFirst Radio Network on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007, with a re-broadcast on April 3rd. Both dates will air at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Cheryl will be discussing her upcoming new release Whale Song. For more information, please visit: www.whalesongbook.com.
To listen to broadcasts: www.artistfirst.com
Jack Anthony (JA): Whale Song seems at first an innocent, sweet and poignant tale with a hint of mystery. But there is a darker side to this novel―the shocking assisted suicide of a key character. What compelled you to tackle such a controversial and emotional topic?
Cheryl Kaye Tardif (CKT): Assisted suicide is one of the most horrifying scenarios a person could imagine. That’s why I tackled it. The morality surrounding assisted suicide has been questioned by human rights activists, the legal system, religious organizations and the general public for decades, and it is an issue that has fascinated and saddened me. In countries such as Switzerland and Belgium, assisted suicide is legal, while in Canada and the US, it is illegal. Headlines have blasted us with stories of people like Sue Rodriguez, a Canadian who fought for right-to-die laws to be changed but then lost, and the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, an American doctor who invented a self-inflicted lethal injection dubbed ‘the suicide machine’.
The disturbing subject of assisted suicide prompts readers to question their own beliefs. If a person you loved was dying, with no hope for survival, with only a life of pain and agony ahead of them or a lifetime of vegetative coma, could you pull the proverbial plug? Should you help them die with dignity, or shouldn’t you? And if you do, how do you live with yourself afterwards? These are the questions I wanted to explore in Whale Song. I am drawn to writing stories that make us question our beliefs, our laws and our very existence. Whale Song started from one thought: What would happen if someone felt compelled to ‘pull the plug’…?”
JA: There is a mystical element to the story and strong native influences with legends from many West Coast tribes. Why are they essential to the story?
CKT: I have always been fascinated by orca or killer whales, and grew up yearning to visit Skana at the Vancouver Aquarium each summer. Whales exude power, grace and mystery and are both worshipped and feared. Part of the plot for Whale Song originated from old native legends that I had heard while growing up on the Queen Charlotte Islands. It was those legends that started the seed growing, culminating in the setting and mood of the story. But it was a particular native legend, one that said that if a killer whale was seen close to shore, it was a reincarnated soul coming to visit or say goodbye to its family. Whale Song includes legends of other animals, such as wolf and seagull, and each legend parallels the life of the main character, a woman haunted by her past.
JA: Are you native?
CKT: I actually get asked that a lot, especially at book signings and events. But no, I am not native. I lived for many years in Masset, on the Queen Charlotte Islands in BC. I was exposed to native traditions, the culture and folklore. It is from my experiences―both negative and positive―that I was able to draw upon to create a realistic backdrop for Whale Song. You could say I got in touch with my 'native side', the side that loves nature, art and creativity. There is hope in all of that...even in death.
JA: Could you do it, assist someone in his or her own death?
CKT: I have never known anyone personally who has wanted assisted suicide. I am not sure if I could do it. Can any of us be sure? Given the right circumstances and knowing the suffering that a loved one is enduring, I might consider it, if there was no other alternative and no hope. I am not saying I agree or disagree, but I can understand how someone may feel it is the only option. If it was your mother and she was begging you to end her misery and pain, would you do it?
JA: Have you experienced the death of a loved one?
CKT: I have experienced death up close before. My first baby died of a brain stem stroke after a perfect pregnancy and four hours of life. It was completely unexpected and the first painful tragedy I had ever endured. More recently, my youngest brother Jason was beaten and left in an alley to die alone. It is difficult to come to terms with such a violent and senseless act, and I miss my brother terribly.
JA: Whale Song is linked very closely to your brother Jason. Can you tell us why?
CKT: Whale Song is dedicated to my brother Jason Kaye, who was murdered in Edmonton on January 23, 2006. He was Edmonton’s third homicide in 2006. The police had no way to notify his next of kin, except the knowledge that Jason’s sister ‘lived in Edmonton and was a writer who had written a book about whales’. They were able to track me down when a search online led them to Whale Song. Incidentally, it was the only one of my books that my brother had ever read, and it was one of the first things I saw when I went to clean out his room. Whale Song has become Jason’s book, in my mind.
JA: Thank you, Ms. Tardif. I look forward to interviewing you in May.
To learn more about mystery author Cheryl Kaye Tardif and her haunting novel Whale Song, please visit her website and her pages on Kunati.com. Whale Song is now available for pre-orders from your favorite bookstore or online retailer.
Jack Anthony is a freelance writer, film and book critic, currently residing in Bermuda with his lovely wife, three young children and a Siamese cat with attitude.
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