We’re delighted to host Crime Writers of Canada Award-winning author Joanne Jackson on our blog. Her thrilling new novel, Sunset Lake Resort (Stonehouse Publishing, June 1, 2024), is a captivating narrative full of thrilling twists, exciting reveals, and gorgeously drawn characters. It is inspired in part by Joanne's own life. leaving the city to go to the lake, and her observations about the importance of community, and the cost of technological progress to our peace of mind.
This book is a perfect pick for an exciting and poignant summer read, and on this Power Q & A, we’re asking Joanne about one of our favourite parts of the book: namely, the championing of an older woman as a protagonist.
Welcome, Joanne!
Bring home Sunset Lake Resort by Joanne Jackson.
Q: It’s refreshing to read a book with a protagonist who is an older woman coming into her own; it shows what we feel is an undersold reality. Namely, that we are never truly done growing up. It’s a perspective that pushes back against the ageism hurled at women in particular. Would you tell us about how Ruby came to you as a character, and what you felt was important to convey through her development?
A: Being an older woman myself, who has experienced both sexism and ageism, and who was born into a generation where many women still stayed at home to raise their children, (and were financially able to stay home) I suppose Ruby is part of me. I decided to create her; a woman who, out of no fault of her own, was afraid to make her own way in the world. When independence is thrust upon her, she sees it as the difficult path but one she now has no choice but to navigate, discovering that it’s never too late to live your life.
Joanne Jackson!
More about Joanne Jackson:
Joanne Jackson is an award-winning author of three novels. Her most recent, A Snake in the Raspberry Patch, was the winner of Best Crime Novel set in Canada for 2023, and short-listed for Saskatchewan Book Awards 2023. Her first novel, The Wheaton, was released in 2019. Joanne lives in Saskatoon with her husband, Tom, and an old border collie named Mick. If you keep your eyes peeled you will see Joanne and her dog walking come rain, shine, snow, or whatever weather Saskatchewan throws at them.