EDGEy Conversations with Darrow Woods
EDGE had a meeting of the writers’ minds back in July, when Sarah Levis and author Darrow Woods had an EDGEy conversation about his novel. The Book of Answers, a top five finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada’s Award of Excellence, is a murder mystery set in a fictional Oakville church, based on Walton Memorial Church. Woods borrowed their building, so the folks at his own church wouldn’t think the book was about them.
"The folks who work there were kind enough to give me their church to kill people in," he says. That’s not as jarring as it sounds when you hear his reasoning behind it. Woods argues that every community of faith has gone through some sort of difficult time that they’d rather not talk about, even when the shadow of that time lingers for decades. To deal with the body literally found in its walls, the people of St. Mungo’s church must also deal with the generational effect that occurs when a minister crosses a line.
"On a sort of poetic level, every church has a body hidden in the walls," Woods says. As an author interested in both the mysteries of life and the procedural aspects of crime investigation, he tried to construct a story with a compelling lead as a detective character through which he could discuss some of the issues he wanted to. He then added to the story a cast of characters involved with St. Mungo’s, portrayed honestly and sympathetically, that people who attend church would recognize from their own experiences.
The fiction format appeals to people involved with the church, he believes, pointing out that when he visits people, he does not usually see theology books and books of sermons on their shelves and coffee tables, but rather fiction of all genres. He feels that it gives authors and readers both a "way to explore larger issues while having fun on the journey." Clergy friends and other colleagues in the church community have been very supportive of his writing venture, with some making it their "cottage read" for the summer!
Woods intends to publish again, using the insight into his writing process that he gained this time around. A bit of both a "plotter" (needing to have all the details worked out before writing starts) and a "pantser" (letting the story develop as the author writes it), Woods is conscious of his need for both a general structure to keep his writing on track and the flexibility to let his characters "do their own thing" as the story develops. After all, characters tend to be unruly sometimes and don’t always do exactly what the writer wants!
"It’s plotting, but it’s giving some space to what’s going to happen." Woods says.
The Book of Answers is available in several formats on Amazon. Over the summer, Woods donated half the proceeds from his book to the parish in which he currently serves and will continue these donations through the fall: To Walton Memorial Church in August and the School for Contemplative Living in September.
Watch Sarah Levis’ full EDGEy Conversation with Darrow Woods on EDGE’s YouTube channel.
[Image credit: Canva]
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