Customer since: August 2018
Having a website allows me to market my books, blogs and writing events. It also adds credibility to my work and who I am as an author and allows people to get to know me before approaching me on social media or in person.
Audrey Whitson, Writer
Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you are located.
I’m the author of four books (https://audreywhitson.com/): Teaching Places (a memoir about the land), The Glorious Mysteries and Other Stories (short fiction), The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning (a novel) and mostly recently a chapbook short story called The Bachelors and Widows Christmas Party. I’ve also published poetry and essays and am working on my first play. Parallel to my writing career, I have worked as a public policy advisor, project coordinator, editor, independent theologian, social worker, secretary, camp counsellor, and A&W carhop.
I live in Amiskwacîwâskahikan or Beaver Hills House (otherwise known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory, just east of downtown and not far from the North Saskatchewan River where I often go for long walks. You can follow me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/audrey.whitson/ and on X (formerly Twitter) @audreyjwhitson
Tell us about your work and what inspired you to start writing initially, and eventually develop it into a professional career as a writer?
I grew up near Busby, Alberta on a farm. We were a book-loving family; parents and children read a lot. Stories were important. Almost as soon as I learned how to use a pencil, I started to write stories. Mrs. Wood, my grade 3 and 4 teacher, kept a special notebook in her classroom for the best stories. And I remember the thrill I had when I got to copy my first story into her book. I knew I wanted to be a writer. I also joined the Young Co-operators when I was a kid; there was always a full centre spread of the Western Producer dedicated to the work of young writers. (The Producer is a long-standing western Canadian farm paper). They published my first poem when I was 11. And the rest is history!
How do you choose the stories you write about?
They choose me, mostly. Literally. Snippets of conversation overheard. Fragments from dreams. Apparitions of characters I meet standing under a door post or in a court room. And then I sit with them. They tell me about themselves in the most unpredictable ways. Sometimes characters are inspired from real life “characters” too, but they always emerge with their own voice.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
The joy of creating. For me, that is everything. And of course, the community of writers and readers.
What does it take to be successful at what you do?
Very early in my writing career, Caterina Edwards, a more established Edmonton writer, said to me, “Audrey, it’s not the best writers who break through. It’s those who persevere.” You have to be willing to practice, practice, practice. You have to accept obstacles. You have to accept failure as part of the learning. The other thing I would say is it’s essential to stay true to your voice. That’s what makes your writing original.
How does CanSpace solve the objectives you have for your website?
Having a website allows me to market my books, blogs and writing events. It also adds credibility to my work and who I am as an author and allows people to get to know me before approaching me on social media or in person.
