Teale Blog
Journey of a novel: How did “Shades of Teale” come to be?
I began writing this story over a sense of dismay over the many stories of domestic abuse I noticed in the media. Initially I would experience some passing sadness over “how awful that would be,” and then move on with my day, perhaps feeling glad that being bludgeoned or belittled were not issues with which I actually had to concern myself. But the steady current of news stories about women whose partners beat them and left them for dead, or broke their bones and gutted their enthusiasm for life, continued. Eventually I volunteered my services to a local women’s shelter. I learned that abuse, death and shattered lives are more common than we imagine. The picture is bleak. Statistics from the Canadian Women’s Foundation show that: One woman is murdered every six days by her intimate partner for a shocking total of nearly 70 deaths per year; At any one time in Canada, more than 3,000 women and 2,500 children live in emergency shelters because of domestic violence incidents; Domestic abuse accounts for more than 40,000 arrests and $4.2 billion in social/judicial services and lost productivity costs annually. Why ever would a woman choose to involve herself with a man capable of delivering so much pain? I read everything I could find about the issue and I met some amazing women who shared their stories with me. It was heart-breaking. But out of all those dramatic and simple stories I began to weave the story of a woman named Teale who crept down the path that runs through the world of domestic abuse and crawled through the tunnel leading out of it to a brighter life. Many women stay in abusive situations because they don’t identify themselves as “victims.” They believe things will get better and they are afraid of the consequences of leaving. They are trapped by the lethal emotional cocktail that combines love for their abuser with fear of his anger. And they’re scared to bits by the dread of what’s on the other side of the door marked “Out.” If you are in a relationship where you find yourself making excuses for your partner’s behaviour, if you feel sad more than you feel joyful, if you find yourself focusing more on getting through your day one small little patch at a time rather than working towards the big dreams beckoning onward from beyond Tomorrow, then I invite you to consider whether the relationship you’re in is leading you to the future you want. If the answer is “no,” I further invite you to read “Shades of Teale.” If Teale’s behaviour resonates with you, then maybe you would consider taking one more step: finding a counsellor who can help you examine your place in your relationship and your place in your own life. Many women have successfully navigated their way out of a damaging relationship. They lead fulfilling lives and become every day a little more removed from the trauma they lived. These women are no more capable or accomplished than you are. They just made a decision that changed their lives for the better. If you are in physical danger, please contact the women’s shelter closest to you and get to safety. Don’t waste a minute! Life doesn’t have to be painful to be real. It doesn’t have to...
Read More“Shades of Teale” meets the Oprah Winfrey Network
Although I am a fairly linear person by nature I’ve been blessed with the ability to also let my imagination unhinge itself from reality and fly around by itself every now and then. This duality lets me straddle the border between professional business writer and novelist, and it means I can joyfully feed my family on the one hand and gratefully feed my soul on the other. Part of living this dreamy life requires me to stay open to possibility and opportunity, and when the Universe invites me to dance, I’m on my feet with a smile. That’s exactly how I became part of Oprah’s Project Truth series for the Oprah Winfrey Network. A few weeks ago I arrived in downtown Toronto 40 minutes early for a dinner engagement. I decided to go for a walk and within a few minutes a man with a clipboard came up to me and asked if I had five minutes to talk about “Love and Regret.” I said, “Sure!” The man – whose name was Colt — led me across the street to a concrete plaza where two purple couches sat in front of a camera. People were milling around and I was asked to sign a release form. “What’s this for?” I asked. “Oprah’s Truth Project,” the man replied. “We’re auditioning interviewers for the show.” I sat down and the cameras whirred into action. I told the interviewer about my love for my husband, a man who had been my high school sweetheart; his stomach cancer death at age 49 had left me and five children shattered and crying. I talked about the tragedy of saying good-bye. I also talked about the blessings inherent in the struggle to rebuild my life as a widow and how gracious the experience has been, despite the pain. At the end of half an hour, the crew thanked me and I left. Two weeks later I was asked to return for the taping of the real series. Oprah’s team had cast the interviewers and they were ready to roll. I was thrilled beyond belief and I went back in front of the cameras once again, telling a part of my story for the Oprah Winfrey Network audience. I talked about how my joy at the publication of “Shades of Teale” had been overshadowed by the fact that my husband – my greatest supporter – had died before he could hold the finished book in his hands. Steve had always been there to cheer me on, tell me I was brilliant or pour me a glass of wine to distract me from a day of rewrites and writer’s block. He had believed in me. If I wrote my OWN story in a novel, no-one would ever believe it — but here I am, writing press releases and novels and somehow managing to dance with what the Universe presents. As soon as I hear when my segment in the Oprah’s Truth Project series is going to air, I’ll be sure to leave a note in this space. In the meantime, I invite you to join the...
Read More“Shades of Teale”: How did I research the story?
I’m sometimes asked how I came up with the storyline of “Shades of Teale” and I’ve been flattered to hear people suggest I myself was a victim of domestic abuse. Fortunately, I am not Teale and have not been married to a man like David. I’ve been married twice with varying levels of success in the project and I’ve been fortunate to have some nice male friends as well who have confirmed my belief in the goodness of the male of the species. But I am an avid reader and writer and I do twig to the stories each of us tell ourselves and others about our life, our world, our motivation and our struggles. In my model of the world, absolutely everything is a story. So it is with “Shades of Teale” and Teale Covey’s story of marriage, illusion, survival and triumph. As a willing and sympathetic listener, I’ve absorbed the amazing experiences – some happy, some terribly sad – of people who struggled and strove for a better life despite a world that seemed stacked against them at every turn. There are many heroes among us and not surprisingly, some of them found their strength in leaving a miserable, at times dangerous, marriage to build themselves a new life. I don’t mean to romanticize the effort because I think there is more heartbreak involved than any outsider can ever imagine. But the courage I have seen and heard about in the stories of the women and men who have shared their stories with me has been inspiring and humbling. Many of the stories I have heard from the women I have met over the years have shown up in “Shades of Teale,” with pertinent details changed to preserve the anonymity of the person who shared them with me. In developing Teale’s story I also did a lot of reading. I read everything I could get my hands on about the topic of domestic abuse and abuse in general. I learned as much as I could possibly learn about the dynamics of abuse, the mindset that allows a woman (or a man) to sink into that kind of walking-on-eggshells anxiety, fear and despair. And then I wrote. The book might seem dark to some folks – in fact it is tough reading for many. But there are lighter aspects to the story and I’m told I’ve found the right balance between psychology and practicality. Not all people believe they are abused while they are in an abusive marriage. And I think that this is one of the things that makes the problem so tough to fix. If you are someone – male or female – who believes the domestic situation you are in is unhealthy for you or even possibly dangerous, I urge you to reach out and find a bridge to a safer life. Ask your medical professional, call a women’s shelter, find a therapist or talk to a friend. I don’t believe life was meant to quench the joy we were born to experience. I believe life is supposed to be about embracing joy. Are you embracing your own joy right...
Read MoreOvercoming an author’s self-doubt
Teale is not the only one who experienced a dose of self-doubt in the writing of “Shades of Teale” – I suffered too! I began writing “Shades of Teale” in 1998 while I was pregnant with my second child and it was a very romantic beginning for a novel. I was living at the time with my husband, 11-year-old daughter, and two large dogs in a beautiful beachfront house in Port Stanley, Ontario. My husband and I fell asleep every night listening to the soothing sounds of waves lapping against the shoreline and we awoke every morning to the sun glinting into our bedroom window as it rose. After putting my daughter on the bus to get to school every morning, I would take my dogs out onto the beach and amble up and down breathing in the fish-tanged scent of the air and delighting in the treasures the waves had brought in overnight. It was heavenly! In due course, I would return home and retreat to my second floor writing room and get to work. I was a freelance corporate communications copywriter then as now, but I had managed to organize my workload around a niggling desire to write a novel. I had my husband’s full support. After 10 years of struggling to balance work and family, care-giving and business writing, I was losing faith. Who was I to think I could become a novelist? Who was I to attempt to make this dream come true? The positive energy that had accompanied my first hopeful crack at a novel had evaporated. This was never going to work. Not every writer has quite as much disruption as I have enjoyed in life but I’ve certainly heard others talk about how hard it is to stay focused long enough to complete a manuscript, and harder still to bring the project to publication. When I began writing “Shades of Teale” I truly believed I would have a first draft finished by the time my baby was born and that I would have a finished manuscript within a year. In actual fact, I held the first copy of my novel in my hands a little more than 13 years after I typed the first sentence. The secret to success? I simply didn’t give up. I may not live on a beach anymore but I have a vibrant life and plenty more dreams for the future. My novel lives! If you’re in that situation today, I totally get that self-doubt piece. But stick with it! If I can do it, you can too! Have a comment? I’d love to hear your thoughts!...
Read MoreWhat’s with Teale’s Self-Doubt?
A number of readers have zeroed in on the issue of Teale’s self-doubt and although it is certainly disturbing at times, I think it’s important to shine a light on the topic and see what crawls out to meet us. While most of us maintain a healthy sense of our own self-worth most of the time, I know more than a few highly successful people who have struggled at one time or another with the niggling question of their value in the world. And while these amazing folks may feel quite secure about their professional capabilities, when it comes to those cold nights alone with their own company, they are sometimes adrift in the neurosis of self-examination. The moment passes, however, and at the next exhilarating workplace experience, they are back on track and ready for the next adventure.
Read MoreShades of Teale in Revelstoke BC
We all need a holiday every now and it was just my great luck that the need for a recharge coincided this year with my sister’s insistence that I go skiing with her in British Columbia. What a gift! My sister owns a log cabin in Revelstoke, BC, which lays claim to the highest lift-serviced vertical in North America (1,713 metres or 5,620 feet). I cheerfully packed up my ski gear, folded up my laptop, and flew off for an amazing week of powdery exertion in the mountains. It was beautiful! (See my Shades of Teale Facebook Page for a photo. (If you would Like the page while you’re there, that would be nice too!) Revelstoke is a town of just over 7,000 people located in southeastern BC about 640 kilometers east of Vancouver and roughly 400 kilometers west of Calgary. The Columbia River flows through the city and it’s nestled in amongst the Selkirk and Monashee Mouintain ranges. The town was named in appreciation of Lord Revelstoke, head of the UK investment bank that helped save the Canadian Pacific Railway from bankruptcy in 1885. A little south of Revelstoke is the whistle stop of Craigellachie, which some folks may recall was where the last spike was hammered into the ground marking the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway. (There’s another photo waiting for you on my Shades of Teale Facebook Page). I’ve been to BC a couple of times and although gorgeous terrain is common throughout Canada, I find the BC mountains represent a spectacular feast for the eyes. And the skiing is a demanding workout! While in Revelstoke I was pleased to appear with fellow Manor House author Jane Eamon at two booksigning events hosted by local bookstores. Castle Joe Books at 103 Second Street West, is a very charming store that focuses primarily on second hand books and art supplies. (feel free to Like Castle Joe’s as well.) Owner Gwen Lipps gives a very warm welcome and her engaging appreciation of books and business added a very bright note to the visit. I’ve left some copies of “Shades of Teale” with Gwen so if you’re in Revelstoke and you’d like a copy, you can pick one up there. I also dropped in on Grizzly Books, at 208 Mackenzie Street in Revelstoke for another enjoyable few hours in the company of books and book lovers. Vanessa Smith is the owner of Grizzly’s and the store features an impressive selection of reading material. Needless to say, it’s been tough to get back to work! If you’d like me to appear at a speaking or booksigning event for your store, group or organization, please get in touch. I enjoy opportunities to talk about the book world and I love meeting other folks who are book lovers too. We’re everywhere! ...
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