Fans of local author Rhonda Stock got a narrated tour of Depression-era Canada as depicted in聽 Rhonda Stock鈥檚 latest novel, at the Estevan Public Library. Stock read snippets of her second work in the historical Dust and Devils series, to fans. In addition to reading chapters from her newest book, Sin and Salvation, Stock signed fans鈥� copies of the book.
Sin and Salvationtakes off where the previous instalment, Dust and Devils left off, following the dangerous adventures of Jake Harrow, navigating Western Canada during the 1930s, in the midst of the Great Depression.
鈥淛ake returns home to his family only long enough for the dust from the last adventure to settle. He soon discovers his father鈥檚 enemies know of his existence and are searching for him, because they think it鈥檇 be easier to make him talk than his old man,鈥� said Stock. 鈥淗e鈥檚 unable to go home, because he doesn鈥檛 want to bring harm to his family.鈥�
Stock said that Sin and Salvation takes Jake from the streets of Edmonton to the Vancouver shipyards, with him eventually facing a pivotal life-and-death decision in northern Manitoba, after a chance meeting. The chapter Stock read to fans at the library entailed a precarious freight train ride across the Prairies, establishing the dangerous tone of the story.
鈥淚 like writing historical fiction because I take everyday people and put them into historical events. I think a lot of history books focus on key political figures, kings and queens and people making big decisions,鈥� said Stock. 鈥淚鈥檓 much more interested in how the average person coped with events. I want to write about how a homeless stiff would survive the Great Depression.鈥�
Stock鈥檚 writing is heavily steeped in Depression-era imagery, drawing on intensive research. Stock said her interest in writing about the Depression-era began with her grandfather telling her stories about growing up in the Dust Bowl during that time.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檒l ever see anything like it again. Everything kind of combined: the drought, the stock market collapse, the recession and political climate, the lack of social services 鈥攁ll those things combined to create a windstorm that swept across the nation,鈥� said Stock. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also interesting because it produced such a generation of resourceful, strong people who refused to give up.鈥�
Stock said a great deal her research is hands-on. The Prairie-born author admitted she needed to familiarize herself with northern Manitoba鈥檚 forest before writing scenes that take place in such a region.
鈥淚 once spent hours pasting together a set of railroad maps from the 鈥�30s that I found online, and then another hour calculating how long it would take (Jake) to get to various locations,鈥� said Stock.
The reading brought out a group of eight loyal fans.
鈥淎 lot of the same people turn up to hear me read,鈥� said Stock. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty nice to have some local fans.鈥�
