Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.
Rachel: Joining us today is Brit Griffin to talk about her novel, the Haunting of Modesto O’Brien! Brit, tell us about your work!
Brit: A gothic tale from deep within the boreal forest…
Violence and greed have intruded into a wild and remote land. It’s 1907, and silver fever has drawn thousands of men into a fledgling mining camp in the heart of the wilderness. Modesto O’Brien, fortune-teller and detective, is there too – but he isn’t looking for riches. He’s seeking revenge.
O’Brien soon finds himself entangled with the mysterious Nail sisters, Lucy and Lily. On the run from their past and headed for trouble, Lily turns to O’Brien when Lucy goes missing. But what should have been a straightforward case of kidnapping pulls O’Brien into a world of ancient myths, magic, and male violence.
As he searches for Lucy, O’Brien fears that dark forces are emerging from the ravaged landscape. Mesmerized by a nightmarish creature stalking the wilderness, and haunted by his past, O’Brien struggles to maintain his grip on reality as he faces hard choices about loyalty, sacrifice, and revenge.
Rachel: The only thing cooler than a gothic is an eco-gothic. What inspired you to write this book?
Brit: The witnessing of a schoolyard act of violence – it stayed with me, bothered at me, kept me thinking about violence, spectacle, and the ability to stand up to bullies. To be able to finally work through/around this event in The Haunting of Modesto O’Brien was a relief and gave form and structure to something that had been troubling and ever present, but also somewhat hard to decipher in terms of its impact.
Rachel: Is there a visual image—a painting or a photo—that inspired you?
Brit: Yes, it is a series of three photographs of a team of horses, unsettling and powerful. I first saw them as part of the Thomas Wilfred Foster collection (shared by the photographer’s grandson, John Weatherburn). Foster was a young photographer working during an early 20th century silver boom, and he managed to foreground the very creatures that provided the horsepower to drive this propulsive economic and cultural event. The labour that horses provided – pulling loads, carriages, sleighs- was usually rendered invisible, insignificant, but for some reason Foster saw the horses. The three images capture their story of hard labour, suffering and loss. When I engaged with the photos I also found myself stepping into that time and place – and it was there that I found Modesto O’Brien, my main character. So it was with that dapple-grey horse that the story began to stir.
Rachel: We all have influences—what are some of yours?
Brit: I really like the characters of Paul and Martha Cable from Last Stand at Sable River. It is one of Elmore Leonard’s early westerns. I like their mutual trust and respect- like too the way Paul Cable thinks, creating scenarios in his mind and working his way through them; his absolute confidence and comfort in his own skin, the solid way he confronts the ‘villain’; his absolute confidence in Martha’s strength. I think in these two characters Leonard created an ideal thoughtful and heroic pair.
Rachel: If you weren’t a writer, what do you think you’d do instead?
Brit: Think now I might want to hang out more with creatures, study wildlife rehabilitation or something to understand how to be more helpful, maybe be a goat herder.
Rachel: I too often prefer goats to people. But in the meantime, what’s your next writing project?
Brit: I’m just starting to sketch out a novel/novella about changelings, the unknown, and sins against nature. I’ve already met some of the characters and am getting interested in their story.
Rachel: I suspect our readers will be as intrigued about your work as I am! Where can we find it?
Brit: The Haunting of Modesto O’Brien is available through Latitude 46 Publishing.
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