Different Drummer books in collaboration with East Plains Church, in Burlington, hosted a trio of authors on Tuesday evening.  Many eager readers enjoyed the presentations of three authors with diverse books.  Jamie Tennant, author of The Captain of Kinnoull Hill, presented first.  He is also the program director of the McMaster University Radio and a journalist who is responsible for the program called Get Lit.

It was interesting to learn that this story idea had been gestating within him since he was a pre-teen.  He was inspired by a photograph of Kinnoull Hill,  a beautiful place that had been his father’s home in Scotland.  After his father passed away, he visited his birthplace, climbed the hill and took many pictures.  He knew the setting well and it became real, a central feature of the book.  He started to write blindly but stopped when he only had a vague idea where to go.  Years later, he pulled pieces from this project to write this book.

He described his book as the redemption story of Dennis who was “not the world’s nicest guy” and was in the midst of a divorce.  His one passion was music, leading to many musical references as he discusses music with his friend Paul, a “music nerd” who was interested in very diverse music.  He ends up in Scotland where he takes a job as a watchman on Kinnoull Hill.  While investigating some vandalism he ends up involved with a Red Cap, which is was known as a murderous mythical creature.  This Red Cap was was eating rabbits instead of killing people and led Dennis to having heightened senses as he tries to change himself.

When asked about the hardest thing about writing his novel, he admitted that it was finding the time.  He had started writing this book by taking a half hour, every day, during his lunch hour to write.  He shared that he is in the process of writing a new model which is from the perspective of a female character and laughed that he will be getting some advice from his wife.

Jamie kept the audience interested and I will be downloading the podcasts for his program, Get Lit on CFMU radio.