SACKVILLE: Who knew writing a one-act play about a hypnotist that had performed in a small Newfoundland community would lead award-winning author Alice Walsh to writing a murder mystery novel.
Walsh, who calls Sackville home, penned Death on Darby’s Island, published by Nimbus Publishing. She is also a member of the Elmsdale Writer’s Group which met at the Colchester-East Hants Library in Elmsdale (prior to COVID-19).
Death on Darby’s Island sees a hypnotist come to perform on a small Newfoundland island. He has his subjects believe they are sea gulls. Jake Pickford leaves the building while still hypnotized. Someone is murdered and Jake is found with the murder weapon, a knife used for gutting fish. He has no idea what happened or why he has the knife.
A storm prevents detectives from getting to the island. Blanche Ste Croix, a rookie RCMP officer who is visiting the island, is left in charge of the investigation. Because Jake is not able to explain how he got the murder weapon, he becomes the number one suspect.
In an interview with The Laker News, Walsh explained where she got the inspiration for the book. It came from an experience she had when she was just a kid.
“While I was a child, a hypnotist came to perform in the small Newfoundland out-port I grew up in. I was fascinated by how much control he had over his subjects,” she recalled. “People who were otherwise shy and reserved, took to the stage as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“The hypnotist had one person believing the building was on fire. He got down on his knees, begging people to leave. I had wondered what would happen to these people if the hypnotist left before they had a chance to be ‘unhypnotized.’”
Years later while taking a creative writing class at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, she wrote a one-act play about the hypnotist. That’s where Death on Darby’s Island was born.
In Death on Darby’s Island, Walsh wanted Blanche, the protagonist, to be a strong capable woman.
“She is one of the first females to join the RCMP, and although a rookie, she is very good at what she does,” said Walsh. “Blanche however is burdened with a dark secret.”
Walsh, who has written 10 children books and four adult ones, is often asked why she sets her stories in Newfoundland.
“I think Newfoundland has a rich history. The dialect is unique and colorful,” said Walsh. “The people there have a fierce loyalty to the place of their birth. Most will tell you they are Newfoundlanders first and Canadians second.”
Death on Darby’s Island is Walsh’s third mystery novel.
Because Walsh is known mainly as a children’s writer, she’s queried on what the difference between writing for children and adults is. She explained that in response to an answer from us.
“For me, writing for adults is much easier. This is because I don’t always have to be conscious of the audience I am writing for,” she said. “With children I have to be constantly aware of the language.
“In my first children’s novel, I described a character that smelled of the “toilet water she splashed on.” I realized how inappropriate this was for my audience after I got a letter from a sixth-grade student who actually thought the character splashed water on herself from out of a toilet.”
She had some advice for anyone interested in writing to find a writer’s group.
“I joined a group called the Children’s Writer’s Workshop when I first started writing, and the feedback from the group was invaluable,” she said. “I was a member of the Elmsdale group until COVID-19 forced the library to close about a year ago.”
Walsh is now attending meetings virtually with a group in Dartmouth.
Death on Darby’s Island is available at any local bookstore and on Nimbus Publishing website at: https://nimbus.ca/store/death-on-darbys-island.html .
For more information on Walsh, checkout her website at: www.authoralicewalsh.com .
