In Dialogue: Brenda J Thompson and Jeremy Akerman

Brenda J. Thompson Interviews Author Jeremy Akerman

Jeremy Akerman is an adoptive Nova Scotian who has lived in the province since 1964. In that time he has been an archaeologist, a radio announcer, a politician, a senior civil servant, a newspaper editor and a film actor.

He is a painter of landscapes and portraits, a singer of Irish folk songs, a lover of wine, and a devotee of history, especially of the British Labour Party.

Jeremy’s first novel, Black Around the Eyes, was published in 1981. Other projects required his attention until recently, when he was able to take up fiction again. From 2023 to early 2025, he has written and published ten novels. You can find links to his books here: Jeremy Akerman | Moose House Publications

---

Jeremy, you are most definitely a Renaissance man with all your various careers. Can you give us a brief outline of your life?

I came to Canada when I was 21 to work at the Fortress of Louisbourg. While I was there I became involved in politics, and was eventually elected to the N.S. Legislature.

When did you start writing books?

When I was a politician. The first book, in 1977, was about the nuts and bolts of politics.

Why do you write the kind of books you write?

Because I like to tell stories. Sometimes, such as in “Unspeakable Evil” I deal with matters about which I feel strongly. In that case, it was the grossly unfair way Israel is treated by the world.

Are any of your stories based on your real life experiences?

All of them to one extent or another. The degree varies.

I understand that you usually work out the plot of each novel in great detail before starting to write it. But for a recent one, Decline and Fall, you decided to try just jumping into the story and writing by the seat of your pants. Does the different approach lead to a different writing experience?

It didn’t entirely work out as intended because, as always, I had to know the ending before I could write the rest.

The conclusion of Decline and Fall resolves something we first read about in a much earlier novel, The Premier’s Daughter. When did you realize that you could use that earlier event as part of the climax of the newer book?

LeBlanc had five detective stories. I thought it was time for a change, so I sent him into politics. A number of my characters reappear in other books. They are like old friends.

Many of your books feature private investigator Marc LeBlanc, who has a well-stocked wine cellar and takes delight in preparing remarkable meals for guests. We get details of the selection and preparation of the ingredients, choosing the right wine to go with each course, and how the guests react. How many of these amazing feasts have you actually prepared yourself?

Almost all the food, but, alas, none of the wine. It would be prohibitively expensive.

In several of the mystery novels, Marc LeBlanc draws on insights from a retired archaeologist who happens to be named…Jeremy Akerman. What is it like to insert a version of yourself into your stories?

I did it for fun. Like Alfred Hitchcock who briefly appears in his movies.

Your first novel, Black Around the Eyes, made it to publication by a slightly tricky route. The story is in your memoir, Outsider, but could you share it here?

When it was originally submitted, I pretended it had been written by a retired coal miner. The publisher was infinitely more excited by that prospect than by the real authorship. They published it and then forgot about it.

Many of your books involve travel, from a search across Nova Scotia for an ancient relic to vacations in Wales and research trips to England. Did you travel to all the places you mention in the course of planning and writing the books, or did you already know of them?

They are all from memory because I can no longer afford to travel abroad.

You have painted the cover art for many of your books. How do you decide what elements in a story should appear on its cover? What medium do you create the covers in?

I try to show some scenes contained in each book. I use acrylic. Some covers are alright. Others are stinkers.

In the acknowledgements in Decline and Fall, you mention advice you got from British novelist C. P. Snow. What did he tell you? What guidance have you gained, directly or indirectly, from other writers?

He said to make sure my characters were as close as possible to people I had actually known. I greatly admire his work; I think it is much underrated.

What guidance would you give to a Nova Scotian who would like to write books?

Know what you are going to write before you write it. Sitting in front of the keyboard waiting for “inspiration” is a soul-destroying waste of time.

Most of your novels exist in what we might call the Akerman Universe, which has many recurring characters. How do you keep track of them–not just their names and physical attributes, but their attitudes, backstories, goals, and manners of speaking?

I have a good memory. That, together with my editor’s work, keeps track of everything. Mostly, I think we succeed.

Your novel The Affair at Lime Hill established an engaging character, Toronto police detective Roberta Gillis, who hails from Cape Breton. Will we meet her again in a future book?

Maybe. We might see her again if I live long enough.

Explosion, your novel about the Halifax Explosion in 1918, differs from many of your other novels in that the action takes place during a historical event. What drew you to write it? Did you encounter limitations that you might not have met if you were making up all the events of the story

I thought the pilot, Francis Mackie, was grossly ill-treated in being blamed for the disaster. The establishment used him as a scapegoat and he never worked again. I wanted to set the record straight.

What is your writing routine? Do you wait for inspiration, set yourself a daily production goal, or follow some other pattern?

My aim is to do a chapter a day. I work out what to say the night before when I am in bed.

Since early 2023 you have written and published ten novels. When do you have time to sleep? I don’t spend that long writing, Usually it is 2–3 hours. What are you writing right now? When can we hope to read it?

I hope it will be out in the fall. It is a companion piece to “Black Around the Eyes”, but set in 1970 when the coal industry was in decline. Most of the characters will be real people who actually lived, but who, alas, are now dead. I hope it will be a work of love and a song of praise.

---