When I wrote Whale Song, I envisioned my audience as mainly adult women--30-60. I've been surprised to see that a younger crowd has found Whale Song. I now have readers as young as 7. And I have many readers older than 60. My oldest reader is 108 and lives in Australia. She's actually Ollie, the world's oldest blogger.

Even more surprising, I've had a number of boys and men read Whale Song and enjoy it. At a signing in Richmond, BC, last summer, I sold more copies to boys between 8-15 than ever before. One of them emails me now and then. :)

Whale Song has a very strong and powerful message of love, forgiveness and hope, and some people who have read my novel have been changed by the message. I have received emails saying that Whale Song has healed broken relationships, mended some and helped some come to terms with a tragedy or death in their lives. I am truly blessed to hear such things!

Sometimes I am asked: "Who should read Whale Song?" So here's my answer.

Whale Song should be read by:

• mothers
• daughters
• sisters
• aunts
• grandmothers
• best friends
• teachers
• librarians
• caregivers
• book clubs (definitely!)
• Oprah :)
• anyone 7-108, male or female, who enjoys an emotional read

Whale Song should also be read by people dealing with:

• abuse
• loss
• grief
• death
• racial discrimination
• bullying
• leaving friends behind
• relationship problems
• lack of faith or hope

And it should be read by those searching for:

• hope
• forgiveness
• faith

Order Whale Song

I wish more people would ask: “How is Whale Song making a difference in the world?”

My answer: There are two main ways Whale Song is making a difference—it has changed the way people view life and death, and a portion of my royalties is going to three nonprofit organizations. I’ll elaborate.

Whale Song has a series of beautiful messages for anyone who ‘gets’ them. Not only does forgiveness set you free, life is something meant to be lived and enjoyed, and those who pass on live in each of us. I have had many emails from people who have lost family or friends and they have said my novel has helped them deal with their loss. I have also had amazing emails from mothers and daughters whose relationships have been healed after reading Whale Song. I never expected that—especially from a work of fiction—but I am truly grateful.

After the murder of my brother Jason in 2006, I not only dedicated Whale Song to him, but I wanted to do more. So I contacted the three organizations that tried their best to help my brother and I’ve made arrangements for 5% of my royalties to go to EACH of these: Hope Mission, the Mustard Seed Church and the Bissell Centre. They help combat social issues like poverty, homelessness and addictions, and I believe they are worth giving up 15% of my royalties.

You can read more about my brother and these organizations at:

http://www.jaysporchmonkeys.com

The most exciting part of writing Whale Song was in watching my characters grow. As an author you get to create them, manipulate them, give them happiness, cause them pain…and even kill them off. Characters are the soul of a story; the plot is just the action that takes them along their journey.

For me, watching Sarah’s growth as the main character was a bit like reliving my own childhood. There are many similarities. I’ve even had people ask if Whale Song is my life story. It isn’t; it’s Sarah’s. Molding a character does often mean using parts of yourself, so Sarah experienced some of the things I experienced—not all good things either. But in the end, it is her journey.

I also enjoyed creating Nana, the wise old native grandmother. Not only is she unusual in appearance, she is unusual in her perceptions and intuitiveness. She’s a likeable character who helps to guide Sarah on her journey of truth and forgiveness by telling her the most fascinating legends.

Sarah’s father, Jack, is another character that really interested me. Here is a father who knows the true meaning of sacrifice and love.

I pride myself on my research. If a writer wants a story to ring true and be believable, it’s vital to check facts and sources. I researched killer whales and myths for close to 2 months. There is so much material out there that I could have read about both subjects for years! I found the information on killer whales to be very enlightening, especially about echolocation and adoption. Since writing Whale Song, I have found some awesome sites, such as: http://www.orcagirl.com. There is just something about killer whales that intrigues and mesmerizes me.

And even though the main Indian or native myth was one I knew, I still believe in researching everything. As I began to delve into native folklore, I discovered so many stories that I had grown up with, and so many more that I had never heard. They all entranced me. And strangely enough, when I needed a story to fulfill a particular ‘duty’ or parallel a certain aspect of Sarah’s life, I always found one that was perfect. The Bridge of the Gods, for instance, was a legend I found fascinating. Of course, I won’t tell you…you’ll have to read Whale Song. J

This will sound strange but writing the novel was easy for me. It flew from my head, onto the keyboard and into a file, mainly because the story had grown for 2 years before I even started writing it. But there was a moment that I found particularly difficult, and that was writing the last two chapters of Whale Song. I knew what would happen in the story and I knew it would be emotional from two perspectives: the story itself and the fact that once I’d written them it meant I was finished.

So I did something that has now become a trend for me. I wrote everything up to the last two chapters. Then I edited and re-edited I don’t know how many times. Once I felt it was extremely tight, I wrote the last 2 chapters…with a box of Kleenex nearby. And I’ll tell you, I used it. My husband came home and found me all teary-eyed and was quite concerned. I blubbered, “I’m finished Whale Song.” In some ways, I mourned. It was as if I had lost a friend. But that went away the second it was published.