Q&A with Donna Jones Alward

  

Photo by Snickerdoodle Photography

 

 

Donna Jones Alward is the author of the new novel Ship of Dreams. Her many other books include When the World Fell Silent. She lives in Nova Scotia.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Ship of Dreams, and how did you create your characters Hannah and Louisa?

 

A: I really loved writing my first historical fiction, When the World Fell Silent, which is set during the Halifax Explosion of 1917. There is a surprising amount of crossover with the Titanic tragedy in Halifax, especially since the bodies that were retrieved after the sinking were brought here and many are buried here.

 

In addition, the method of identifying victims and cataloguing their effects (The Barnstead Method) was developed by a local registrar, and sadly that method was used only five years later during the Explosion. I always knew that my second historical fiction would use it as the historical setting.

 

The creation of Hannah and Louisa, however, was a lot more complicated. I originally started the story with two other main characters, and it just wasn’t working. I went back to the drawing board.

 

At the same time, I’d just read Kate Thompson’s The Wartime Book Club, which had two best friends as main characters. These women were very different but utterly devoted to each other.

 

I loved that aspect and used a similar dynamic in creating Hannah and Lou – friends whose differences at times complemented each other but caused a lot of friction in other ways.

Q: How did you research the novel, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: There is a lot of information about the Titanic’s journey and sinking; I read a lot of nonfiction, some fiction titles, some primary source material, and did lots of online searches (including Encyclopedia Titanica).

 

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic here in Halifax has a permanent exhibit on the second floor, and the Titanic Cemetery is here (as well as a huge amount of material at the local archives).

 

I think something that really surprised me, however, was that the first-hand accounts I read told me very little. I had been expecting personal insights, and a glimpse into the emotions of those who boarded the lifeboats. Instead, almost all were very fact-based, short, and offered little new information.

 

It made me wonder if sticking to those very obvious points was their way of talking about it without going too deeply into the collective trauma of that horrible night.

Q: What do you think still fascinates people about the Titanic, more than a century after its sinking?

 

A: I’ve been thinking about this a lot. We tend to both memorialize and glamorize tragedies, and there are so many things about the Titanic that capture and hold our interest, mostly to do with superlatives.

 

It was the biggest ship; the grandest ship. It was unsinkable. On board, some of the richest, most successful people in the world ate the best food and stayed in the finest cabins. There was so much hype leading up to the sailing.

 

Then, to have the unthinkable happen, again in superlatives: the worst nautical disaster, loss of life, etc. including many men of note (most of the first-class women managed to get into boats). All the money in the world could not buy those men’s safety.

 

And then, when we look at second and third-class passengers, we can see ourselves in them, and that makes it personal.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between Hannah and Louisa?

 

A: In a word: Loving. Hannah and Louisa have been best friends since boarding school. And while they are very different, they seem to respect and appreciate their differences – even view them with affection. For the most part, they accept each other for who they are.

 

But no one is perfect; sometimes differences can cause friction or cracks in even the strongest relationship, and it’s when they start keeping secrets from each other that they get into trouble. They have never kept things from each other before, and that wears on them both.

 

Ultimately, though, they navigate this horrible disaster together, and both are left changed. I really loved writing those transformations – letting them grow and exploring how their friendship changes as well.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am working on my next book which is set during WWII and the lead up to D-Day, with a Canadian angle and settings in three countries. Ack!

 

Good news though – if all goes well, readers will see some cameos from Ship of Dreams characters, 30 years later…

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Readers can find me at my website at www.donnajonesalward.com and on FB and Instagram. My website has a downloadable book club kit for both my historical fiction titles, and I’m available for virtual book club visits – just head to my Contact page for all the details.

 

I’m also happy to send signed book plates and bookmarks to book clubs, so please feel free to reach out!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb