Canadian author launching new book at Word on the Street
By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 8, 2022.
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Author Jo Treggiari will make a virtual appearance at the festival with advanced copies of her newest book.Lethbridge’s Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival is coming up on September 17 at the Public Library Main Branch downtown. This year the event celebrates its ninth year, advocating reading, literacy, and Canadian authors.
Author Jo Treggiari, finalist for the Governor General Literary Award, will make a virtual appearance at the festival with advanced copies of her newest book Heartbreak Homes, to be released on Oct. 11. Treggiari is the author of many young adult books like The Grey Sisters, Blood Will Out, and Ashes. Heartbreak Homes is her sixth book and delves into the murder mystery genre.
“It’s my first classic murder mystery in that style and format of ‘whodunit’. I’ve written survival mysteries, adventure and serial killers, small town mysteries, but I’ve never written a classic ‘whodunit’ where you’re introduced to the characters and the setting, then a murder happens. With amateur detectives getting to work on solving it as more murders happen,” said Treggiari.
The book starts off with an illegal party where the audience is introduced to the three protagonists, present at the party for a variety of reasons. When a murder happens, the trio are brought into the fold of solving the mystery for their own reasons, racing against a killer as more bodies begin to pile up. Treggiari says this style was new for her and brought on a different take of how she normally writes stories.
“I’m a huge fan of mysteries, ever since I was young. I thought I’d like to challenge myself as a writer, as I do with every book,” said Treggiari. “They’re very intense. A lot of times when I’m writing something, I have an idea. But with this I almost had to write forwards and then write backwards. Because my murderer changed identity. With ‘whodunit’ murder mysteries you need to make sure that you leave clues throughout the book, so that the reader can try to solve it along with your characters. The reader should be able to pick up all those carefully distributed clues, and it doesn’t come out of nowhere.”
Treggiari says she likes her books to carry forward a theme to the audience while avoiding sounding preachy, hoping her work stands up to what the reader gets through the story.
“In Heartbreak I wanted to talk about people on the periphery, marginalized kids and queer kids. Kids that feel invisible. Using the murder mystery to bring people together in the middle of a conflict. My hope with my books, is to entertain, but also encourage dialogue and conversation, when you read you talk afterwards,” said Treggiari.
Conversations are what got Treggiari into the art of writing. Though her first book was published in 2006, from an early age she was drawn to reading using storytelling to entertain family and alter the tales she was presented at that time.
“I have a younger sister and I started rewriting little stories for her. I would take fairy tales where the princess was pretty inactive, and I would make her the hero of the story. Because that was one thing that bothered me when I was young, that it was always the boys who were the heroes of the story,” said Treggiari. “I started writing for my sister, and then after I had my first kid, I joined a writing group and my first book came out of that.”
Though Treggiari is sad to not be attending Word on the Street in person, she is happy to make a virtual appearance, noting festivals like this are great for authors to connect with an audience and see their influences on the readers.
“Meeting readers, especially teenagers and young adults, who are so excited about books, I love it,” said Treggiari. “At a festival, you’re surrounded by writers, readers, and sellers. It’s everything to do with books. I find that energizing. I want to know my readers. To be able to tell me what they think, what they liked, and what they didn’t like.”
Looking forward to connecting and interacting with audiences, Treggiari will take to the Teen Zone Stage at 11:15 a.m. Sept. 17 to discuss more about Heartbreak Homes. “Festivals are so important. Writing is pretty solitary, so I think for a lot of writers these events are the way to meet people who are like you, enthusiastic about writing and books,” said Treggiari.
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