We’re coming up to St Patrick’s Day, which by tradition brings Sheila’s Brush; a snowstorm that follows on the heels of the saint’s day, one hopefully the last of the year. There is different lore behind this belief, and happy shamrocks if that’s your thing – but if St Patrick comes to your door and asks for a glass of water, giving him one could head off a blizzard.
So we’ve been talking about your mother, Marian Clemens, and how her life has inspired some of your writing. How is your mom’s story a real Newfoundland story? Because I…
These stories strike me as quite different tonally from your novel The Artificial Newfoundlander – they’re still (broadly) contemporary and full of wit, but the situations often hint at, or veer…
I have not finished sorting the recipes. There are literally thousands of them. As her memory became less sharp she no longer picked out good recipes with a discerning eye. Instead, she indiscriminately saved every recipe she came across. It was as if by losing herself in that old familiar action, she could somehow be back in the day when she would actually use them.