The first novel for Estevan resident Brenda Whittaker is not only a testament to her lifelong love of reading and writing, but it reflects her work ethic and her commitment to see the book published.
And it incorporates the faith that she holds so dearly.
Whittaker released her self-published novel, The Arc of God, late last year. And while the process in getting it published proved to be lengthy, it’s one that she is glad she experienced.
The idea for The Arc of God came to her in 2008, when she was going through some difficult times. Whittaker was a flight nurse who was injured on the job, and couldn’t return to work. She was battling chronic pain and fibromyalgia, as well as the anxiety of not knowing if she could resume her career.
“When I started writing this, it was just a therapeutic thing,” said Whittaker. “I didn’t know why I was supposed to write it, but it was in my mind, and I just started writing it, and it was something that I was doing during my time on disability.”
A devoted Christian, Whittaker prayed about the novel, and the story kept returning to her mind. She felt God was telling her to proceed with the book.
Whittaker also had the encouragement of her husband, John, and friends, who told her to pursue the novel.
“I started reading the book to John, and then he started talking to me about how I should get it published,” said Whittaker.
The Arc of God tells the story of a 15-year-old girl, Karen, who leaves her home in a big city after the suicide of her mother, and moves to the fictitious northern mining community of Gardner Pass to live with her grandfather. Even though she is a teenager, Karen has already had some brushes with the law.
“He’s basically the first one who shows her a lot of love,” said Whittaker.
But Karen’s grandfather is murdered, and she is blamed for the crime. Karen not only wants to find the real killer, but to clear her name.
The name of the book is based on a legend in Gardner Pass, stemming from its gold mining days. Karen’s ancestors were pioneers in the community, and among the early gold miners.
“There was a legend that on their property, there was a big gold deposit in the mountain, and this is what was called The Arc of God,” said Whittaker.
While it’s a work of fiction, some of the experiences in the book are based on what Whittaker and her husband have encountered in real life, particularly when it comes to wildlife and the outdoors.
Whittaker has been an avid reader since she was a child, and she has always loved adventure and mystery novels. She dabbled in writing, but never tried a novel until working on The Arc of God.
She isn’t looking to make money off of her novel. Rather, she wrote it because of her interest in the genre, and her belief that this is what she is supposed to do.
The publication process was a challenge, from the proofreading to the editing to the overall appearance of the novel. Her husband was heavily involved through the process, as he spent about six months finding the right publisher. The Whittakers eventually went with a company named Create Space.
John Whittaker said they had to do all of their document setup, graphic design, file formatting and corrections.
“They show you on-screen what your document is going to print and look like,” he said. “You must go through your whole book one line at a time, and read the whole thing online.”
He has also been responsible for the marketing the novel.
“It took about two years from the start of the process to the point where we are here now, with print copies coming off for sale,” he said.
He also stressed that most people who opt for self-publishing are printing books between 250 and 300 pages, not 483-page novels. And The Arc of God was close to the maximum size that the printer could handle.
Brenda Whittaker noted that the encouragement they have received thus far has been encouraging. A friend who works with a publishing company read the book and was surprised by the ending.
“She said to me ‘The only thing that bothered me about is I could not figure out the ending of the book until I got to the end,’” said Whittaker. “And she said ‘Normally I can get halfway through a book, and I can already tell you what the ending is going to be for a mystery.’”
Another friend told her that it’s a very well-written book, and he’s looking forward to getting a copy of his own. He was particularly impressed with the strength of her characters.
“I was really surprised by that, because I think that’s one of my weaknesses, is getting my characters distinguished, and getting good character descriptions,” said Whittaker.
Whittaker has already started working on a sequel for the Karen character. Obviously, Whittaker won’t divulge too many details involving the plot, since it would give away too much information regarding the conclusion of The Arc of God, but the writing process is going well.
“I’m only a few chapters in, but I’ve got a lot of it in my mind already,” said Whittaker. “The sequel is prompted by the epilogue of the book.”
They suspect they will likely go through the self-publishing route once again.
The Arc of God can be purchased at Henders Drugs in Estevan, and is available at local libraries. A book launch will be held at the Estevan Public Library on Feb. 4, and Whittaker is looking forward to reading excerpts of the book for the public.
