The M.V. Feehan Interview
An interview with the author of "In the Shadow of Crows".
Earlier this month, I posted my review of In the Shadow of Crows, a collection of interleaved short stories by M.V. Feehan. Regarding it, I said: “I can highly recommend this small but mighty collection of excellent short stories.” It was a strong debut from this Nova Scotia-based author and I wanted to interview her about it, her background, getting published, and her advice to other writers. This was an email-based interview, and I thank Verna for her time and thoughtful responses.
In the Shadow of Crows by M.V. Feehan
As the "Founding Editor" of another book review site, I have built many relationships over the years with large and small presses. One of the smaller ones is Baraka Books out of Quebec. Its president and publisher, Robin Philpot knows what I like when it comes to good literary fiction, and he'll often send me an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of an upcoming…
TSR: Tell us about your background, education, employment, etc.
Born and raised in a small town which meant everything to me as I grew up. The nudge to move on came from parents and teachers as there was no post-secondary education, no jobs, and ‘no future’. Several semesters at Art School taught me that I wasn’t a visual artist. And from there I worked many jobs from waitressing to tree planting and secretarial to paralegal throughout Canada and New England; all the while trying to cobble an academic degree from local universities wherever I lived.
Always a reader, books and stories were a comfort. Whenever I heard the ironically sung line from Simon and Garfunkel: ‘I have my books and my poetry to protect me’1, I was baffled. Truth is, books and poetry did just that for me. I’m laughing a little as I write this—I mean, my husband and I weren’t that transient—-we weren’t ‘ridin the rails’. We lived a fairly organized life, we just moved a lot. But I believe something of a permanent home was provided for me in books. In the nineties, I began to try my hand at writing. I didn’t tell anyone I was taking a stab at it—scared of the ‘ who do you think you are' response. By ‘95 The Fiddlehead had accepted a few poems. That first publication is so important to a writer; the first time you receive a response to a submission that begins ‘We are happy to inform you’. I remember crossing Victoria Park off Commercial Drive in Vancouver—I even smiled at the Bocci boys which, for several reasons, was daring. I remember the dress I wore and how the evening air felt—mostly I remember the lightness in my step as I made my way toward our apartment on Kitchener Street. Landing on the pages of a journal felt like finding a home. I then worked with the magazine, Room, for years—reading, doing production and in my last year there I was the main editor. In 1999, we had a child and moved to Providence, RI, returning to Canada seventeen years later so he could attend Acadia. I then applied and attended Trinity College Dublin and earned an MPhil in Creative Writing where several of the crow stories were written.
TSR: Tell us about some of the books or authors or other people (such as teachers) that influenced you to become a writer.
In grade school, I loved the detective series— Trixie Beldon. A Wrinkle in Time also opened the door to a girl’s world for me. I embraced all the literary offerings that the school delivered but can’t remember if Alice Munro was in the curriculum. Once I discovered Munro, I read everything she wrote. It was relatable and intimate. Of course, Alistair MacLeod’s stories resonated—we were from the same place. He was important to me in that he was someone we knew who managed to do this thing that seemed to be done only by folks from far away—folks unlike us. But he gave us work that described our geography and characters who had names like ours. In my late teens, I found a copy of James Agee’s A Death in the Family. Between Munro’s stories and Agee’s book I began to think that maybe even I had a view that could be shared. Much of what is done by the writers I love is about conveying a sensitivity to life via character or story. Agee was, to my ear, a poet. He brought the world of a young boy in a Tennessee neighbourhood in the early 1900s to a girl like me in a different place and time. Reading is an intimate connection to the writer and they could often ‘feel’ like friends. I grew up with L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Lawrence, Atwood, Ondaatje, and Munro to name a few. The list is long: W.O. Mitchell, Edna O’Brien, William Trevor...I’m still in awe of Under the Volcano.
TSR: Do you have a favourite book, one that you like to revisit from time to time?
I reread Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby often. It is a short, perfect novel. I also think Alias Grace fits the bill as a perfect novel and return to that often. I reread passages from A Hundred Years of Solitude and/or Allende’s books from time to time. I reread Munro a lot.
TSR: In the Shadow of Crows was released in 2023, and I chose it as one of my best reads of 2023. It was a strong debut collection. Are there novels or more short stories to come, I hope?
I was so happy when I read your review—-I danced around my kitchen for a bit. That the writing resonates as you wish it to is a wonderful feeling. I look forward to returning to the process. I have many starts and half stories, a novel that I began and review every so often. I wrote a smaller collection called Skylark at Trinity for my portfolio which I may revisit to pick up a thread there—a lot of that is set on the West Coast of Canada where I lived in my twenties. It’s been exciting to have this first collection out there and it will take me a while to settle down. But I feel myself wanting to return to it. These stories in the Crow Collection needed to be out there first—-many of the characters and landscapes knocked around in my head and heart until they appeared on the page— informed by the stories of my parents and grandmother, the lovely old neighbours that I grew up around filled my head with pictures or pointed out what should be noted. All of the above is a long-winded way of saying— yes, I have work I’d like to get back to.
TSR: Are there therapeutic benefits to modelling a character after someone you know?
A character might start that way for me from a noteworthy experience I’ve had with someone. But I work to break them free of that. It is easier to be creative with them if they crack the shell they were ‘born’ in on the page. With people we know, we are bound to feel protective or vindictive—whatever the relationship has been. The story that wants to be told is restricted by our history with that someone we know. If we set them free to walk in the world we’ve created, then both aspects—-the world and the character, form an exciting and creative way forward. I suppose that is a therapeutic way to process our lives and the characters that might have inspired the fictional people . . . everybody evolves.
TSR: I read recently that it is difficult to get short fiction collections published, as publishers are reluctant to take them on. Has that been your experience with In the Shadow of Crows?
Yes. I had tried a number of publishers; some didn’t read what I submitted when they realized the manuscript was a short story collection. It is easier to get publishers to look at connected stories but there was still a hesitance. By chance, I saw a notice online inviting folks to watch a discussion called, The Giller Panel (I think that’s right). I took a look and was glad to hear what Robin Philpot of Baraka had to say—-he was ‘open’ to short stories and read everything that was sent to him. I think I sent him a portion of the manuscript the next day. Within a short while, he asked for the complete manuscript. I am forever grateful to him for taking on my work.
“Write the truth of what you witness—the emotional and intellectual truth--then rewrite it. Then rewrite it again and again. The story that wants (or needs) to be told will eventually emerge.”
TSR: Robin is great; he knows good writing when he sees it. Now, if you could give one piece of advice to an unpublished author, what would it be?
Don’t get discouraged. What we do (the writing) is really hard and there is not a lot of encouragement to continue at times. Write the truth of what you witness—the emotional and intellectual truth--then rewrite it. Then rewrite it again and again. The story that wants (or needs) to be told will eventually emerge.
TSR: Excellent advice! What is the most difficult part of your writing process?
When nothing’s happening. Or when you return the next morning to something you wrote the previous day and were really excited about but feels flat when you return to it.
TSR: Here’s a question: how do you process and deal with negative book reviews?
Well, I’ve only had one book out and haven’t heard the ‘bad’ reviews. But in the many groups and classes I’ve been in, I have had a lot of negative critiques. I learned to endure it while it was happening. But in that milieu, you can make sure the critic understands the ‘kind’ of story you want to tell. Ask them who their favourite writers are. If they have a similar list to me, I listen without immediate response. Often, after about three days, I actually hear it and use the feedback. Often, I find they were right. But that is different from a bad book review, a book is ‘complete’ and out there. I hope I will let the critique sink in and after I digest it, and if it has merit, learn from it and use that in the next project.
TSR: What books have caught your eye recently?
I just read Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song and was quite blown away by it. It was gripping. Tension and fear build through the telling of this tale. We are pulled into a terrifying world that seems only too believable these days. I thought it was an amazing place to move the craft—-no paragraphs, spare grammar, poetic language. Kind of heartstopping and heartbreaking at the same time.
Currently, there are so many pushing the craft forward; Claire Keegan, Diedre Madden, I thought Sarah Faber’s All Is Beauty Now was wonderful.
Born in Nova Scotia, M.V. Feehan has lived, studied and worked in many cities & towns throughout Canada, America and Ireland. She spent years as a reader and editor for the Vancouver literary journal—Room and was a member and reader for the Providence Writer’s Circle Annual Publication. Her work has appeared in Canadian. American and European journals and in the Anthology, Echoes of Elizabeth Bishop. In past years she has received the Budge Wilson Award, The Hedy Zimra Scholarship and the E.Bishop Centenarian Fiction Award. She completed her MPhil in Creative Writing at Trinity College Dublin in May of 2021 and received the Individual Arts Grant from NSArts in 2022. This year she also received a place in the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program to complete her collection, In The Shadow of Crows. M.V. currently resides on Cape Breton Island with her husband and son.
“I Am a Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel, 1966.