We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Karen Emilson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Karen, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
When I was young, I loved to read and the day I realized that books were written by people, I knew that’s what I wanted to do when I grew up. I spent every spare moment writing stories. I wrote my first “book” when I was nine, and tucked away in my office closet is my second attempt, written when I was thirteen. It is a 15,000-word, young adult novel about a young teenager who conceals that she has diabetes so she can attend a summer camp that doesn’t allow kids with health issues. Both manuscripts were unpolished, juvenile, and unpublishable, but my teachers and classmates got a kick out of reading them. I more-or-less quit after that because the truth was, in the 1970s, declaring that you wanted to make a living writing books was like saying you wanted to be an actress or a rock star. In other words: famous. The world was a more insulated place back then and as an average girl with a blue-collar dad and stay-at-home mom, I didn’t know how to dream big.
When I moved west as a young bride, I settled on a cattle ranch in Manitoba’s Interlake region. It’s a hardscrabble place defined by its harsh winters, breath-taking summers, and resilient people. I soon fell into a job as a typist and reporter with our small-town newspaper and that eventually landed me a job with the award-winning regional newspaper, the Interlake Spectator, And while I enjoyed reporting on community events, writing feature stories became my passion.
The day Dennis Pischke came into the office and asked to speak to me changed my life forever. He and his twin brother, David, wanted to expose church members who turned a blind-eye to the suffering they endured at the hands of their abusive stepfather when they were children in the 1950s. The story ran in two parts and sent shockwaves throughout the region and investigative reporter with CJOB radio in Winnipeg, Peter Warren, invited the twins to be on his show. While on-air, it was suggested that the twins write a book and I was the one who should write it.
“Where Children Run” was released in November 1996 and became one of the first, tell-all abuse books alongside Dave Pelzer’s “A Child Called It” in the U.S. Weeks after its release, professional hockey player, Sheldon Kennedy, came forward to share the devastating effect abuse had on him after he was preyed on by his former junior hockey coach. It was the start of a trend whereby adult survivors of child abuse bravely came forward to say it happened to me, too.
“Where Children Run” became a Canadian bestseller within six weeks of its release and is still in print today. My dream of writing a book came true and it reignited in me the desire to write books for a living. But then came the most difficult challenge of my career.
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How do you follow-up a bestselling book? The next logical step in my career was to start writing true crime/suspense. Those books would have partnered well with Where Children Run, and unfortunately, there are plenty of stories out there. Authors of this genre in both non-fiction and fiction have done very well, but quite honestly, I don’t have the stomach for it.
I wrote a second book about the twins to satisfy our readers’ need to know more about their lives. Sadly, three years after “When Memories Remain” was released, David Pischke died of a heart attack. This was devastating for me as I’d grown quite close to both brothers and their families.
A few years later I ghost-wrote Anna Maynard’s inspiring story, then pivoted toward fiction. While balancing a full-time career, I wrote a million unpublished words until I finally found my stride. It took more than a decade of rejection, and there were times I almost gave up, but then finally in 2016, my first novel “Be Still the Water” was published. It was shortlisted for a Manitoba writing award and the Canadian Book Club Awards. Readers have been gracious in their reviews and I’m always humbled when I meet with book clubs and readers say how much they enjoyed it.
What I forgot to mention earlier, is that I grew up in southern Ontario and most of my friends were children of immigrants so I’ve always found different cultures fascinating. After moving to Manitoba I lived in a region heavily influenced by Icelandic culture. “Be Still the Water” is a fictionalized version of true events experienced by those early immigrants who settled along Lake Manitoba. It’s a beautiful, often awe-inspiring place. I’ve recently finished a companion book to it, but can’t yet share the title or release date until I secure a publisher. Hopefully, that will happen soon and in the meantime, I’m working on the next book in the series.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
This is a really hard question to answer. But narrowing it down I have to say that being empathetic and open to hearing differing points of view and accepting people for who they are has served me well as a storyteller.
I like being a small fish in a big pond—that way there’s room to grow and learn. Even after all these years, I crave editorial guidance. Collaborating and having an open mind helps me see the weaknesses in my craft and the areas where I can improve.
And, I believe that life has a way of taking us where we need to go. For me, it’s been a winding path with many twists, turns, and forks in the road. But for you, it might be a straight line and that’s okay, too. Do what you love and help as many people as you can along the way. It won’t necessarily be easy, but you’ll never be bored and in the end, you’ll have a great story to tell.
Can we chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
As children, our mother allowed us try new things and abandon them if it didn’t align with our natural abilities. But we were never allowed to quit because something was difficult. For example, when I was around ten years old, I wanted to play the piano. Mom bought a used upright, put it in the living room, and every Saturday for about a year a young woman we knew who was an accomplished pianist came to the house for my lesson. It didn’t take long for everyone involved to realize that I had no musical talent whatsoever. I could memorize simple songs but could not grasp reading notes, which ended most afternoons with me crying in frustration. My little sisters on the other hand, were natural musicians so I was allowed to quit, and they picked up where I left off. But don’t assume Mom let me off easy. I was the oldest and meticulous by nature, so she sent me outside to paint the fence instead. At first, I hated it and complained, but knowing I had no choice, settled into the rhythm, and after three long, hot, summer days, I was proud of the job I’d done.
Our brother was one year younger than me, big for his age, and strong. Mom taught him to throw and knew he had ‘soft hands.’ He tried out for the high school football team and made it, but came home after the third practice and told Mom he was going to quit because it was too hard. I still remember him sitting at the kitchen table and the hour-long lecture that followed. He went to the following afternoon’s practice, spent the next four years as the team’s quarterback, and at graduation was named Male Athlete of the Year.
And then we had Dad, who never lectured but led by quiet example. He was honest, hardworking, and reliable. Dad taught us to “always carry our end of the plank,” and “if you’re going to do a job, do it right.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karenemilson.com
- Instagram: @karenemilson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karenemilsonwrites
- Twitter: @karenemilson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW2_fNmrmBI
Image Credits
Karen Emilson
