Ed Seaward is the author of the new novel London Gothic. His other work includes the novel Fair. He lives in Georgetown, Ontario.
Q: What inspired you to write London Gothic, and how did you create the Caine family?
A: A few years ago I stumbled across excerpts from an interview of Canadian novelist Timothy Findlay by Graeme Gibson (Margaret Atwood’s late husband), where Gibson said that Findlay’s first novel, Last of the Crazy People, reminded him of “Southern Gothic.” Findlay replied that it was – in fact it was Southern Ontario Gothic.
I had not heard the term before but I ruminated on it, especially since I was born and raised in the heart of Southwestern Ontario — London. When the image of a father and son burying a body late at night in a field came to me (as it does to one), I decided to pursue the image through this genre of Southern Ontario Gothic.
The Caine family evolved as I began to flesh out the story and made notes. I used my family structure as the basis — father, mother, brother and sister who are a decade apart in age — although none of the characters are based on family members.
Once I had the family structure I created characters based as I often do — both out of “whole cloth” and out of observations of people over the years. I assume choosing “Caine” as a surname is understood.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: London Gothic appealed to me because it put “gothic” in the title — the fundamental reference to the seed of the novel, the concept of Southern Ontario Gothic. It is, of course, a double entendre — readers will assume some sort of “traditional gothic” tale in London, England.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: I wrote the ending at the same time as I wrote the opening of the novel. I constructed a detailed outline that laid out every chapter with notes on plot, character and setting.
That said, once I turned the outline into the novel, changes occurred but the ending remained the same. The beginning and ending are — apologies for the pun — “book ends” which will be apparent to readers when they finish the novel.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I have been asked that question a few times now and I find it difficult to answer. I have not written an essay or a long-form nonfiction work that seeks to inform or instruct readers about a topic or topics.
I am a reader first, and a writer second. When I read fiction I want to be engaged in the world the author has created, so as a writer I hope that I engage readers. Engage them with the language, the characters, and the setting.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I have finished a draft of new novel, The Apostate K. After leaving it sit for a few months I am about to go through the draft and polish it.
Here is the synopsis of The Apostate K: At the beginning of summer, a suburban man abandons his wife’s funeral, heads to downtown Toronto for one final bender, and returns home to rescue a runaway boy and help him escape to the freedom of California. On their road trip they discover the comedy in Kafka, happiness in the blues, and what it truly means to be 12 years old.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: London Gothic is published by DarkWinter Press, which is a new independent publisher founded by Suzanne Craig-Whytock. Over the course of a few years she created an online literary magazine, and then DarkWinter Press, and, recently, an imprint —Baxter House Editions — which brings back out-of-print books that she thinks deserve to have circulation.
In our ever-changing world where publishing is a challenge, I thinks it is important to recognize Suzanne for diving in and creating a new creative outlet focused on Canadian literature.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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