Two Crows Sorrow: A behind the scenes look at Laura Churchill Duke’s novel

I’m having a book published! Two Crows Sorrow by Laura Churchill Duke will officially be on the shelves this October 2019!

The fact that I was writing this book has been a secret close to my heart for the past five years. Writing this novel became a passion of mine, and I was never sure if it was going to go anywhere. Because my life is so much on social media and on this blog, I wanted to have a piece of me that was just for me! For these reasons, I haven’t spoken about the book… until now!

Two Crows Sorrow will be published this October 2019!

What is Two Crows Sorrow about?

Two Crows Sorrow is about the life of Theresa McAuley Robinson, a woman who lived on Nova Scotia’s North Mountain at the turn of the century. This is the true story of Theresa’s love and devotion to her children and her farmland, which ultimately led to her demise. In May 1904, Theresa was found murdered and her farm burnt to the ground. Her second husband William Robinson was accused of the murder. Two Crows Sorrow follows Theresa’s life to her death, then William’s court trial to its dramatic conclusion.

How did I find the story of Theresa McAuley Robinson?

Several years ago I wrote the scripts for the Kentville Ghost Walks, part of Valley Ghost Walks. I came across this murder story, and the more I researched it, the more I got pulled in and needed to learn more!

Two Crows Sorrow: A behind the scenes look at Laura Churchill Duke's novel

Candy O’Brien plays Theresa in Valley Ghost Walks: Photo Credit Heather Rushton

Eventually, I took the leap and decided to write the story of Theresa Balsor McAuley Robinson in a creative non-fiction format. This means that everything that happens in the book is true. I have used my imagination to fill in some of the gaps, flush out some of the characters, and to set the scene.

I have spent hours in the archives looking at old newspapers, microfiche, trial transcripts and personal letters.

I pieced all of this information together into the manuscript that is being published!

The Process

After completing the manuscript, I submitted it to Nova Writes, a competition for unpublished manuscripts, where I was runner up in the creative non-fiction category!

See announcement here.

After letting the manuscript sit for awhile, because let’s face it, life gets busy, I dusted it off and started work on editing it once again!

I have so many friends and family members who offered to read it for me, to help fine tune it before publication.

I could not believe when people offered to read it. Who wants to read that many pages of a Word Document? I was truly blessed with such a great support team!

Publication

I am so excited to be working with Moose House Publications based out of Annapolis Royal.

They took great faith in me and my story and have been such a support along the way! It has been a joy to work with them! Please check out the other books in their catalogue!

Writing a Living History

The story of Theresa McAuley Robinson is true. Everything in the book actually happened. The truth is often more outrageous than fiction!

Many descendants of these family members are still alive, so it is not my intention to cause offence. I have imagined several of the character’s personalities and used creative license to make the story read as a novel.

Heaps of Support

To get to this point of becoming published, I’ve had so much support that it has really been overwhelming.

As a strong, independent woman, I don’t often ask for help, like getting it, or am offered it, so when the support for my book has come pouring in, I am completely overwhelmed!

I am blessed with so many friends and family members who have helped me by encouraging me, asking how it was going, reading drafts, hiking to the site, designing covers, websites and trailers… you are all too numerous to name but have a mention in my THANKS page in the book!