Next big thing: What I’m working on now…

Writers are tagging each other with a questionnaire about what they’re working on now. I was tagged by Gary Barwin.
I would like to tag Anne Grey, Kurtis Scaletta, Ann Ewan, Geraldine Durrant and Gisela Sherman.

What is your working title of your book? 
Not the Slightest Chance

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

 It’s the story of a young Canadian soldier caught up in the doomed defence of Hong Kong in 1941.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
 This is my second book for Scholastic Canada’s I Am Canada series. I have always been fascinated by WWII and there is a personal connection here as my father in law, a doctor in Hong Kong, was called up to serve with the British forces during the invasion and then siege of Hong Kong by Japanese forces. The British commandant of the hospital where he was working sent him and the other Chinese staff away when it became clear that the Japanese were close. He feared that the Chinese staff would be massacred.


What genre does your book fall under?
 Historical fiction.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? 
Gabriel Basso (Super 8) for the young soldier, and that fine Canadian actor Nicholas Campbell for his Sergeant Major.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 
I am represented by Dean Cooke of The Cooke Agency. The novel is already sold to Scholastic Canada.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
I am still researching it!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
I would like to think of it a version for younger readers of novels like James Clavell’s King Rat or Martin Booth’s Hiroshima Joe, both of which show how completely the experience of war can change someone.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? I am a military brat so grew up hearing stories of WWII from my father and his friends so it has always interested me. Hearing my husband’s father’s story fascinated me so I was happy to combine these two strands in researching the story

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? The role of the two Canadian regiments sent to defend Hong Kong is little known these days and it’s a story of great suffering and true heroism. They were deemed “not combat ready,” but the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada were sent to Hong Kong as a matter of political expediency. The Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill knew that the colony could not be defended, so sending the Canadians was a cynical act. The Canadians arrived in mid November; most of their equipment did not. They had scant time to familiarize themselves with the rugged landscape and heat of Hong Kong, as well as learning to use their borrowed equipment. When the Japanese invasion started only two or so weeks after their landing, they fought bravely against insurmountable odds, holding out from December 8th until the Governor of the colony finally surrendered it to the Japanese at 3:00 p.m on Christmas Day. The Canadians were in the worst of the fighting and the Royal Rifles were the last to lay down their weapons. Once captured, they spent three and a half years in the hellish conditions of Japanese Prisoner of War Camps. Many died, and most suffered for the rest of their lives because of their experiences in Hong Kong.