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| Katalin Kenedy, Author THE WOMEN GATHER |
Please welcome
Canadian author Katalin Kennedy whose first novel, THE WOMEN GATHER, spans the
late 1990s to 2066 to bring us a story about the journey of women. Written to
entertain, the author believes her primary goal is to influence women to
comprehend how “to acquire an acceptance of their self-worth.” Although she
recognizes that the balance between men and women has grown in some countries,
she proposes that a key issue is that we women still see ourselves as unworthy.
Katalin Kennedy
escaped from Hungary in 1957 at the age of 8 with her parents and landed in
Canada. For 30 years, she worked for Health Canada where she became involved in
women’s issues and organizations. She “re-invented” herself as a writer
following her retirement.
Don’t miss the giveaway opportunity at the end of the interview.
Q: One of your
reviewers said that THE WOMEN GATHER was “Written by a woman, about women, for
women but with men in mind.” Is your book directed only at women? What message
did you want to deliver to women? What role do men play in your message to
women?
Katalin Kennedy: I do hope that men will read the novel. There are a few male characters
in THE WOMEN GATHER: Michael, Desmond, Milosh, Joseph and Liam. They are there on the periphery,
however. As the novel unfolds, we are not quite clear how they each feel about
the approach which the Norean Order has chosen to pursue. But we recognize that
the men represent a necessary aspect to the story line.
I make no
apologies that the quest of the novel is about women ‒ to acquire an acceptance about their self worth. What the women
continue to learn, through their research and journey is that balance is the
key to the future. We need both men and women to achieve harmony for humanity.
Q: Why did you write THE WOMEN GATHER?
Katalin Kennedy: I am an ordinary person who is at the same time an eternal optimist.
My belief is that we can evolve to become our best selves and make a shining
difference in the world.
Whenever women gather, whether in groups of four or
twenty-four, we talk of profound matters that deal with 'involvement': within our family,
within our community and within our world. We share dreams of a future of peace
and understanding that delve deep into universal spiritual truths. Our voices
are significant and we need to be heard. We live in a period of history which has the potential
to be the most enlightened. Yet, it has become almost expected that we adopt a
blaming, pessimistic, dark attitude, both for today and for what lies ahead. Life offers us
choices. I have chosen to be positive. My dream is a future of hope for
humanity. What if all that can become a reality?
Q: Did you
write THE WOMEN GATHER to entertain? To teach? or to influence?
Katalin
Kennedy: I would like to believe I did all
three. I think though the first
point would be 'to influence'.
While we may feel that we have come a long way in the developed
countries concerning how we are valued as women, I'm not convinced. And clearly,
women have miles to go to achieve equality in many developing countries. For
those of us who are fairly comfortable in our lifestyle and in our role as
women, we have a tendency to look the other way and not understand that the
road to balance with our male counterparts is not quite so smooth as we would
like to believe. I have identified that part of the challenge is that we women
do not see ourselves as worthy, owing to various circumstances. We need to acquire our own sense of
confidence. The 'teaching' aspect of the novel is most evident in the presentations
by key note speakers at the 2066 Gathering Symposium. Hopefully, the
characters, the unraveling of the layers of family stories and the history of
the Norean Order, as well as the mysteries and mysticism which permeates the
novel will provide 'entertainment'.
Q: Did you and
your parents’ background as refugees from 1956 Hungary influence your writing?
Katalin
Kennedy: Although I was only 8 years old when my
parents and I escaped, my Hungarian background is very much a part of who I am.
I've never belonged to Hungarian associations etc. because my father was
adamant that we came to Canada to become Canadians. Nevertheless, I can't help
but be influenced by Hungary's rich culture filled with traditions and
mythologies and superstitions -- so I will continue to weave some of that into
my writing. At the same time, I've always had a strong leaning towards peoples
who have been maligned and dismissed by mainstream society throughout the
world; sadly most countries have the downtrodden. The treatment of Roma people,
particularly in Europe throughout centuries, has always bothered me. When
looking for a culture which might lead the way into the future, that is the one
I chose.
Q: Your novel
spans the 1990s to 2066. How do you engage readers to travel to the future with
your characters? How do you make the future believable?
Katalin Kennedy: I never intended for this novel to
be 'futuristic' per se, but rather
Utopian. I wanted the reader to imagine
where the world might be in 70 years rather than me identifying it outright.
The setting takes place in Lemuria, a sheltered community where life has
remained much as it had been at the beginning of the Norean Order. I use bits of technological tools,
because that is one way that the Order has attempted to keep up with progress
in the Outerworld. This of course is also critical as the women continue their
research. The key note speakers at the 2066 Gathering Symposium are the ones
who shed some light as to certain issues the Norean Order will need to face,
once the Portal is opened. I've seen too many representations of the future as
dark and lacking in human control. I'm not convinced of that direction. The
future is a mystery for all of us.
I rather wanted to leave it that way. But I did want to suggest that we could in fact step into a
potentially positive new world order, along with Tunde.
Q: What makes a
hero/heroine? What makes a villain? What roles do heroes and villains play in
THE WOMEN GATHER?
Katalin
Kennedy: As an English literature major, I was very
aware that having heroes/heroines and villains in a novel is a traditional
classic style of writing. I tried to reject that approach at the beginning of
my writing. I wanted the story to be about a journey of discovery to self
worth. I wanted to demonstrate that we all have struggles: intellectually,
spiritually, artistically, economically, ecologically, politically, and in
society as a whole. I didn't want
to write about obvious 'white' shining heroines and 'black' shadowy villains.
But as the writing evolved, with all its mystical aspects, I found it
impossible to dismiss the technique, and so the characters themselves took on a
position. What I hoped in the end to suggest was that 'truth' is not as clear-cut
as all that. I wanted to leave
enough ambiguity that those whom we might have considered to be dark shadow
characters, perhaps they too had some validity.
Q: How do you
help readers care about your characters?
Katalin Kennedy: The characters in my outline began
as 'paper doll cut out' people to whom I gave certain functions; to my amazement,
they became three-dimensional lifelike, likeable figures as the stories
unravel. They have backgrounds, they have personalities, they have quirks and they have a purpose, not only to
fulfill the plan for the novel, but to evolve for themselves. There is a sense
of wisdom among many, which they have gradually acquired through life tragedies
and learnings. They don't
necessarily want the mission that has been placed upon them, but they come to
accept it. They have taught me a
lot, and I rather wish they were real people in my real life. I hope they also
reach the reader in that way. If I were asked which one is my favourite, I
don't believe I could choose. The main characters take on a life of their own.
Personally, that is one of the most delightful aspects of having written THE
WOMEN GATHER.
Q: Before you
start to write, do you have an outline of your story? Or does it write itself?
Katalin
Kennedy: As I said earlier, I am an English
literature major so I have read and analyzed many writings over the years. In
the past, I wrote fairly brief vignettes, but nothing in way of a novel. Therefore, I was extremely methodical:
I prepared a chapter by chapter outline; character names were chosen with care;
histories and story lines for each character were developed; symbolism was
identified; great deliberation went into the various techniques and discussions
involved in producing the diaries, journals, videos and articles which provide
the 'flash back' aspects of the novel; and finally, a huge amount of research
was conducted on the issues addressed by the key note speakers. And yet, with all that planning in
place, once the writing began, the characters and even some aspects of the
story line evolved and took on a life of their own ‒ enriching the
original outline, and my personal experience.
Q: Tell us something about yourself. What
do you do when you’re not writing? Favorite music? Books? If you weren’t a
writer, what would you be?
Katalin
Kennedy: I worked for 30 years in the Canadian
Federal Government in social service programs; this included working with major
women's organizations. THE WOMEN GATHER draws on some of the learnings from
that experience. My husband who died seven years ago was a Protestant Minister,
so that my life also involved the church community. Once I retired, and then
reinvented myself after his death, I joined many groups which focus on learning
(adult education) and service (community involvement). I am also currently
president of the local Cornwall and District chapter of the Canadian Federation
of University Women. I continue to
enjoy writing my monthly 'Kindness Column' for Seaway News, now in my 10th
year.
I've always been a story teller. It is
logical therefore that most of my interests include some aspect of that creative
process: attending theatrical performances, and 'musicals'; listening to some
favourite performers: Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli to name a few. My
favourite writer is Margaret Atwood; I have always been in awe of all the
different 'worlds' she is able to create in each of her novels. I enjoy travel in order to experience
other life styles and cultures.
At this point in my life, I can't think of
anything else I would rather do than become more disciplined about writing
every single day.
About Katalin Kennedy
On Christmas
Eve, 1956, Katalin (Kennedy) and her parents escaped from Hungary, their
homeland. The following April, they arrived as refugees in Saint John, New
Brunswick. She spent most of her adult life in Ottawa, Ontario. Katalin graduated
from Carleton University and joined Health Canada. She managed major national
projects as Program Consultant on Seniors’ and Women’s Issues. Katalin is
involved in various community activities including writing her monthly Kindness
column for Cornwall’s Seaway News. Her first novel THE WOMEN GATHER has been
published by Baico Publishing Inc. http://katalinkennedy.com https://www.facebook.com/EmesesDreamProduction
girl Aideen asks Tunde if she may come to Lemuria,
Ontario and learn about the beginnings of the Norean Order founded in 1998, she
agrees. Tunde’s preoccupation, however, is with the smooth flow of the
‘Gathering’ symposium of 2066. Women from all the Sanctuaries throughout the
world are in attendance and await the momentous event: the opening of the
Portal to the Outerworld. She has little time to spend with Aideen who unravels
layers and layers of stories found in letters, articles, diaries, newspaper
clippings and videos about the struggles and triumphs faced by Nora’s family
and by the Order itself. What Aideen also detects is something she considers to
be mystical—that no one wants to acknowledge.
About THE WOMEN GATHER
Nora’s mission
had been demanding. She wanted to find a way for women to rediscover their true
selves, denied to them throughout the centuries—and to make the world a better
place. When the young
Links
Social Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/emesesdreamprod
Where to Purchase
Baico Publishing Inc. Contact at: baico@bellnet.ca
Chapters Indigo: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/The-Women-Gather-Katalin-Kennedy/9781926945873-item.html?ikwid=the+women+gather&ikwsec=Home
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