Andrea Conway, a former Hospice PEI employee of 22 years, stopped by our office to chat about her first published book and her time with Hospice PEI. Here’s what we chatted about:
Q: When did you start working with Hospice PEI?
A: “I started working with Hospice PEI way back in 1997. I was kind of introduced to the idea of it by a neighbour of mine, who we both had sons playing hockey and we would talk at the rink. We talked about it and the more I thought about it I felt like it was for me. I went to apply as a volunteer first. The Executive Director then that was interviewing me asked if I would be interested in the position. I asked what position, and they mentioned it was for a coordinator of volunteers. They asked if I would put in a resume. It was more than I was expecting but I was happy to do it. And that’s how I got in!”
Q: What was the most rewarding part of the job or your favourite aspect of the position?
A: “What I loved about it was that it was about people and the wellbeing of people. I love the volunteers and they are of a really high caliber doing the work they do. I was working with the best of the best and I got to know them so well in the 22 years I was here. They became my very dear people. Then on the other side of the coin I was dealing with the families, and I loved that part. I found that lots of people would ask if I got sad or burnt out, but it fed me. It was so wonderful. I loved the combination of volunteers and families. I was least interested in the admin, but we got through that part.
Q: You’ve written a book, tell us about the journey.
A: “I have been a hobby writer for as long as I can remember from school onwards. I always loved to write stories. But life sweeps you up and you do other things. Anyway, my husband and I are avid sailors. We used to do a lot of weekends sailing and camping on beaches. We had fantastic adventures, so I started writing about some of them. I would send them in to magazines for fun and then they started to get published. I realized that this is fun, and I was getting paid for something that I absolutely loved to do. I was living a busy life so that took up most of my time. I was starting to do writing classes and one I took in 2012 with Richard Lamb. A project was to start a story so that’s when I began writing the book. I got about 30 pages in, and the class finished so I shelved it. My daughter came home from BC to visit. We were cleaning out our office and she happened to come across the story. She told me that it was really good and that I should finish it. I was thinking that I wasn’t sure if I could because I was not sure if I could find the mojo to keep writing. When Covid happened, we had nothing to do so I thought I would pull it out and see what happened. I got right back into it and started to have fun in a darker time when everyone was scared and worried. I finished it and when people ask how long it took, I tell them from 2012 up until recently. It finished up about a year ago.
Q: Who would your book be for?
A: “I did not think about an age group when I wrote it. My inner child came out when writing and when I had to characterize it during publishing, I thought probably tweens and early teens. I have had a lot of my adult friends read it and loved it. I think it appeals to anyone with an inner child within themselves.
Q: What is the book about?
A: “I’ll read the back!
“Lumar: a magical little stone with a love of travel and a destiny that launches him on a grand journey of high adventure but also of great peril. Malicia: beautiful, mercurial, evil. A powerful young sorceress from the village of Kindi who is obsessed with darkness and her own sinister ambitions. Trapper: Malicia’s cat and unwilling companion. He is privy to her dark intentions and knows all her secrets. The destinies of these three entwine in unexpected ways and weave a web of intrigue and struggle that enmeshes them all. As the struggle intensifies and becomes more menacing, the fate of each and that of Kindi and all its inhabitants hangs in the balance.”
It has a little bit of magic in it and is quite exciting in lots of places. It’s a lot of fun.”
Q: Are you planning on writing any more books?
A: “A sequel to this book is in the works. I am about 13 pages in and probably won’t get much more finished with how busy summer is. It is a winter project of mine. The ideas are there, and I am getting back into the same fun zone. You are never sure when writing if you’ll get that mojo that you had for the first book. I guess they call it writer’s block. Once I have fun, I am ready to write.”
Q: Where can the book be purchased?
A: “It is going to be in short supply with a shipment waiting at Bookmark, Indigo, and if you don’t get one of those copies you can get it online from Amazon.”
CLICK HERE to purchase.