[The following interview is part of the blog
tour for the new science fiction novel The
Women Gather. The tour is being organized by BookMarketing Services. A complete listing
of tour hosts can be found at the tour page.
For giveaway entry and rules,
see the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post.]
Interview By
Jessica Veter
Joining us today is
author Katalin Kennedy, author of THE WOMEN GATHER. Ms. Kennedy’s book is about
a group of women who call themselves the Norean Order; it tells the beginning
of the order and its hope for the future. Thank you, Katalin, for speaking with
us.
![]() |
Katalin Kennedy |
KK: It is indeed my pleasure. Thank
you so much for agreeing to let me tell you about my first novel THE WOMEN
GATHER. I am delighted that you had a chance to read it.
What is your novel about?
KK: It is a story of women who see
a higher calling for the future of humanity. It all begins in the late 1990s
when a small group of women gather in cyberspace and chat about their hopes and
wishes to alleviate the world from chaos, poverty and power-hungry aggression.
Nora and her friend Sarah open a School for Women in a place called Lemuria and
eventually establish The Norean Order.
I was struck by the
title of your book, THE WOMEN GATHER. It works on many different levels,
doesn’t it? What is the significance of the title in terms of your novel?
KK: The title THE WOMEN GATHER came
to me almost immediately. Perhaps it came from my own experience. I have a
fairly soft voice, and I have found that I was often dismissed while others
took over the conversation. When speaking
on behalf of a group, however, I came to realize that people took more notice
and considered my point more significant.
Yes, the term 'gather' has many
meanings, most of which work within the novel. The term is woven through
various aspects of the stories told in the novel: we hear about the first time
the women met face to face which evolved into the establishment of the initial
Sanctuary; they assembled as a group to gather information about women's role
in history. So the term 'gather' and 'gathering' has various nuances. Because
of the increasing number of women’s Sanctuaries and the knowledge they’ve
accumulated over many years, women begin to accept their worth, speak out and
make plans to present to the Outerworld.
Gatherings of women, in
the past as well as today, have often been marginalised. Do you see the title
of your book as a way of reclaiming what society has traditionally ignored?
KK: I think that fear on the part
of mainstream has caused dismissal of women's organizations. When women's
gatherings are large, we are mighty and maybe threatening to the status
quo. Major women's organizations in Canada and
elsewhere have placed significant issues on the political agenda (violence
against women being just one of them). Some organizations struggled to survive,
others were perhaps maligned. Sadly, significant issues continue to be with us,
15, 20 years later.
I don't want to throw the blame
onto society. Perhaps we have lost energy and momentum; I also think that every
generation has to find its own voice. In my novel, it is Aideen who needs to
consider what direction she will take. I would like to throw the torch to her.
But then, the naive best part of me still feels that we (even at my age) can be
heard by gathering together.
In the novel, the Norean Order has cloistered itself in Sanctuaries. Women (past and present) are cloistered for any number of societal and religious reasons. While often seen as a patriarchal imposition, the Noreans see it as beneficial. What are your thoughts?
KK: In the 'real' world, I'm not
comfortable with cloistered groups. We only see these groups through the eyes
of the media, which of course places its own spin on it. And we only hear about
these cloistered groups when there has been some very negative issue raised. I
don't consider polygamist groups as an answer to world harmony; I'm not
convinced that the various monasteries in the western or the eastern religions
are thriving. I believe that some do
more than be simply cloistered; they provide service to the world around them. Mother
Teresa founder of the Missionaries of Charity clearly is an example we can
praise.
As for the Norean Order, it
represents my world of imagination. I cannot help but wonder how absolutely
glorious it would be if all the kind, compassionate, caring, creative,
intelligent women whom I know could live together and invent a new world order.
I am a firm believer in consensus building - which perhaps is not part of the
patriarchal agenda. In the end, the plan is to bring to the Outerworld an order
rooted in communication and consensus building among all areas that would be
affected by any issue. This of course is
the supreme challenge which may only come to fruition in the imagination.
The Noreans have
cloistered themselves in order to study the lessons of the past. What can such
an historical context provide when preparing for the future?
KK: In all the knowledge
accumulated on this planet, there have been profound insights on how to deal
with great issues. When one studies the history of an event 50 years after it
took place, the learned of the past, as well as those now, have perspectives on
how situations should have been handled. We have the most accumulated knowledge
base of all time at our fingertips by means of the internet. Imagine what
knowledge could be gained if schools were established with a focus only on
researching how the world can be saved from repeating horrible histories. But perhaps these schools already exist.
There is one character
in the book, Veryalda, who argues that the Order must be seen as progressive if
they want their message to be heard. This is a sentiment that many modern
religious congregations are faced with today. What is the significance of
Veryalda’s voice and the Order’s fear of hearing her?
KK: When I initially developed
Veryalda's character, I was pretty much following the classical style of
recognizing the need of a strong antagonist. But, like all people, she is three
dimensional. None of us are all good or all bad. In the bigger picture,
Veryalda represents all those whose views are not linked to any ancient beliefs
held by religious institutions.
I don't think the Order will ever
see Veryalda as anything but as a heretic and evil. There is some doubt
expressed both by Nora and later Tunde indicating that they, perhaps, are not
on the right track.
Generally speaking, the Order is
steeped in the 'I believe' tradition, but they are open enough to be promoting
a borderless faith. This is far more progressive than the divisive, diverse,
religious institutions that exist in our communities.
Only Aideen seems to recognize that
perhaps Varyalda is not all dark and evil. And that is where I personally need
to leave the reader.
It could be argued that
the Order, in silencing Veryalde and twisting her words, is guilty of the same
silencing they are trying to correct. This leaves the reader with a sense of
dis-ease. What are your thoughts?
KK: That is precisely the sense
that I hoped the reader would be left with!
Initially, I think I was heading for the Order representing all goodness
but as the writing evolved, I could not help but intersperse some ideas that
imply something else. Of course you realize that now I can potentially be
'excommunicated' from all religious institutions, and equally from the humanist
camps, depending on which perspective was perceived.
The specifics of what
the sisters have learned in seventy years, and their plans for the future of
mankind, is never revealed. Why?
KK: I guess that could be another
book! You are correct. I didn't delve much into what the
women have learned. I did give bits of knowledge through the key note Speakers
during the symposium. The solution offered was to work hand in hand with confidence
as equal partners with their male counterparts; the plan is to bring to the
Outerworld an order rooted in communication and consensus-building among all
areas that would be affected by any issue. Beyond that, I am an ordinary
person, with no other answer to world harmony.
Your own career with
Health Canada
must have exposed you to a number of marginalised person’s stories. How has
that experience informed your writing and your perspective?
KK: I worked with major national,
community based, religious, academic etc. organizations, including women from
all walks of life. What I learned from that experience is echoed throughout the
novel, in various voices.
Women have incredible stories to
tell; they not only survive horrendous life circumstances but thrive and make a
new world for themselves. I have seen it with my own mother, but through
everything she experienced, including raising a baby as a single mom, she
believed that God would take care of us. And in truth He did.
My novel is a praise to women
because we can accomplish great and wonderful things and affect immense change.
And I'm not convinced we do it all alone. I do accept that within us there is a
speck of something that we can only call mystical.
Going beyond the end of
THE WOMEN GATHER, what do you imagine they accomplished? What stories will
Aideen will be telling her grandchildren?
KK: First and foremost, I think
their accomplishment was an understanding and an acceptance of their value,
worth, confidence, strength, stamina, and inner subconscious spark. Using all
these abilities, they in fact can make a difference; in harmony with one another, what they can accomplish is
boundless. What will Aideen be telling her grandchildren? that she was there
just before the Portal opened and that that changed everything.
What do you hope readers
will take from your book?
KK: I hope that some of the messages
resonate with the reader. I know that the world is filled with horror like the
senseless tragedy of the Boston Marathon , but I would rather that the message of the book
is to look for how we can harness the goodness.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity
to respond to these most thought provoking questions. All the best.
Thank you for your time,
Katalin.
If you would like to learn more about Katalin Kennedy or her work, you can visit her at her website, katalinkennedy.com.
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About the Interviewer: Jessica Veter is a novelist raised in rural Ontario . Having escaped to Toronto , she spent the 90’s over-educating herself at York University and then the University of Toronto . Once she accepted that there were never going to be any job listings in The Globe and Mail headed “Medievalist Wanted”, Jessica went to Japan . There, she met her husband and they lived in England before returning to Canada with a son and a greyhound. Now in rural Flamborough, Jessica and her husband raise 3 boys, 6 chickens and are owned by 1 dog. You are welcome to visit her at www.jessicaveter.com.
The Giveaway - Katalin is giving away three signed copies of her novel, The Women Gather. To enter, just sign up using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Hi Jessica, On behalf of Katalin Kennedy and Book Marketing Services, I would like to thank you for hosting and interviewing Katalin, author of The Women Gather, today on I Read A Book Once. Katalin will be by later in the day to respond to any questions and/or comments.
ReplyDeleteTo all readers, please take a moment to enter the giveaway to win an autographed copy of The Women Gather http://katalinkennedy.com/.
Please join us tomorrow when Katalin will be in the author spotlight over at New Age Mama http://newagemama.blogspot.ca/.
Each day of this tour brings the possibility that my novel "The Women Gather" will reach more people and perhaps more readers.
DeleteI am ever so grateful to you Jessica for this interview which had me delving deep into the heart of the message I wanted to convey. Thank you again.
shijun 6.4
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