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Author Terry Fallis coming to Medicine Hat Public Library on Friday

Nov 19, 2017 | 11:00 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Terry Fallis is hoping to make more memories of Medicine Hat on his next visit.

The award-winning Canadian novelist is coming to Medicine Hat for the grand re-opening of the Medicine Hat Public Library’s newly renovated theatre, and will be hosting an author talk and reading on November 24th.

It’s his first time in Medicine Hat in more than a decade, when he was doing media training at CFB Suffield.

“I went to a Medicine Hat Tigers game, which was a great experience, being the big hockey fan that I am,” said Fallis over the phone from Toronto earlier this month. “I had a great time. It was lots of fun.”

He added, “I didn’t get too much time to get to know the city at all, but I’m hoping that will change, even though I’m only there briefly.”

Fallis’ event in Medicine Hat will see him talking about his sixth novel, One Brother Shy. The event will see Fallis reading a selection from the novel, and answering questions from the crowd.

“The talk is kind of fun,” he said. “I sort of link my own history with the topics covered in the novel, because I am a member in good standing of the ‘write what you know’ school of writing. Though they aren’t autobiographical stories, they’re set in times, areas, or in the middle of issues that I know something about or care something about.”

One Brother Shy tells the story of Alex, who learns he has an identical twin living in England following the death of his mother. He decides to travel across the ocean to meet his brother, and begins a journey to try and find their biological father.

Fallis says like his other novels, it features several autobiographical elements. Most notably, he has an identical twin brother, and found elements of his life as a twin interesting to write about.

“I know what it’s like to walk into a room, see somebody else who has adopted the same mannerisms as you have, looks just like you, and turns their head just the way you do,” he said.

The novel also touches on the impact of public humiliation and cyberbullying. Fallis himself says he was never bullied, but notes he was wanting to write about its impact on young people.

“If you were bullied as a child when I was growing up, the public humiliation was really just seen by your 28 classmates in the schoolyard,” he said. “Now, when bullying is done online, and in this novel, it was captured on YouTube, it’s the gift that just keeps on giving, and never stops giving, because it lasts forever on the internet.”

2017 also marks the 10 year anniversary of the publication of Fallis’ first novel, The Best Laid Plans. Unable to find much interest from publishers for his satirical novel on Canadian politics, Fallis self-published it, and began releasing the novel chapter-by-chapter as a podcast, developing a following. In 2008, The Best Laid Plans won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, which led to Fallis getting a literary agent and a contract with McClelland & Stewart. 

Fallis has released four other novels with McClelland & Stewart  (The High Road, Up and Down, No Relation and Poles Apart), with No Relation winning the Stephen Leacock Medal in 2015 (the other three novels all received nominations). He is currently in the early stages of his seventh novel, tentatively titled If at First You Succeed, which he says he’ll start writing next year.

“It’s been an extraordinary journey,” he said. “I feel like I’ve exhausted my lifetime allocation of good fortune. I think I have been very lucky…I keep waiting for something to happen to end the ride, but so far it carries on, and I’ve been very grateful.”

He notes it is more difficult for authors to be picked up by a major publisher, but there are more channels for aspiring writers to get their work out to readers.

“I think it’s probably more difficult to get a traditional publisher, but it is not more difficult to be published,” he said. “You just have to do it yourself sometimes. The internet, e-books, publishing on Amazon, the whole self-publishing process has become much easier and smoother.”

For aspiring writers, Fallis says it is important for them to find out how they write best, such as outlining your plot before writing (something he does). He adds its easiest for authors to write if they’re doing it with their own voice.

“It doesn’t mean that your character or your narrator is you, it just means that their voice may sound a lot like you,” he said.

Invitations for Friday’s event were sent to those who purchased a donation plaque for the Library’s theatre renovation. Those who still want to attend can do so by making a $125 donation (the same value as a plaque), which gives people two tickets. Donations can be made on the Medicine Hat Public Library’s website. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.