Sharon Berg Interviews Lucy E.M. Black

(Now Or Never Publishing, 2025)

Lucy E.M. Black

​Sharon Berg:  Lucy, I’m glad to have this opportunity to interview you about your latest book. Not only are you a prolific author, but reading A Quilting of Scars reminds me of several books I read in my teens. There was Rawling’s The Yearling or Steinbeck’s The Red Pony, and even North’s Rascal. They all seemed to grapple with inner struggles for their main characters in a similar way. There’s a quiet compilation of details around a central character who lives a rural life without luxury. They became touchstones for my future life. Not only is your book an historical novel, but it suggests the reality of people who learn life lessons through overcoming obstacles, simply by quietly aiming to become a better person. My question is, while I understand Larkin’s struggle, given his social surroundings and circumstance, why does he feel compelled to hide so much of his true personhood from everyone, including himself?
 
Lucy Black:  I believe that Larkin is afraid of disappointing the people he loves.  He worries that his parents will be shocked, saddened and/or disappointed in him if they know the truth about some of the secrets he keeps hidden. He is also concerned that he will be condemned by society and that his family will suffer as a result. There’s a great deal of “guilt” involved in Larkin’s hiddenness. He feels guilty about those things he has done and those things he ought to have done. Life is a little confusing for Larkin because he has been raised with a strict and defined moral code that doesn’t always make sense to him in the circumstances. 
 
SB:  That’s an interesting way to put things. I felt I was untying several social knots as I read the book, looking for the truths hidden at the center. Looking at the story from a completely different angle, I was once told by a book editor I should drop a certain story from my book because contemporary young people aren’t interested in reading about dairy cows and rural life. I refused to drop it, thinking the editor misread the contemporary audience. Indeed, I’ve received glowing comments on that same tale from readers. Have you met with a similar response to any of your historical novels, or to A Quilting of Scars? Has an editor ever tried to convince you there isn’t a contemporary audience for something you centered your historical tale on? Was anything similar raised in your discussion of the story with your book editor?
 
LB:  This is an interesting question. My publisher has been very supportive of my historical fiction and has been unstinting in his encouragement. Having said that, several small independent presses turned down the manuscript before Now or Never Publishing accepted it. It may be that those rejections had something to do with the genre and/or subject of the material. I can’t say for certain, as the rejection notes tend to be short and generic—i.e., thank you for your submission… doesn’t fit our list at this time… good luck placing it elsewhere… As an aside, I once had a short story rejected because the editors claimed that “nobody talks like that,” but the vernacular I had used was actually a direct quote from someone who had lived a very sheltered life in rural Ontario. I am very grateful to Now or Never Publishing for believing in the merit of this novel. We are so fortunate in this country to have so many small independent presses that recognize the myriad varieties of lives lived in this place. 
 
SB:  That’s certainly true. On another level, we could read the central secret in A Quilting of Scars--what caused the fire--as something that ruined the lives of both Larkin and Paul. Yet, it seems unclear whether it is the nature of the abuse Paul or his siblings were suffering, or a particular plan to deal with it, or who did what that upsets Paul about what Larkin did; in the end, it all remains essentially a secret. Were you consciously hinting at an even broader problem with parenting, or relations between children and adults, by never addressing so many of the secrets kept due to the social attitudes of the time? In other words, I suppose that making a comment based in contemporary laws or understanding would break the box (so to speak) around your historical fiction.
 
LB:  Paul was discouraged and disheartened by the way the community and his uncle assumed he was solely responsible for the two deaths and the fire and didn’t fully investigate. He was also frustrated by the secretive nature of his feelings for Larkin. Such intimacy between same sex partners was not only frowned upon at the time, it was considered criminal. Additionally, Paul had the emotional burden of having been horribly abused. All of these things contributed to him believing that he needed to change his name, leave the area and marry as a way of staying safe. The social mores at the time included the sense that “nice people didn’t talk about sexuality or abuse,” hence reinforcing the repression and secrecy that shaped Paul’s life.
 
SB:  Every book takes a stance in the midst of the contemporary social and political concerns it presents or is surrounded by. Certainly, you are dealing with ageless secrets and a society’s efforts to deal with them in this book. How would you describe the position of A Quilting of Scars and its areas of concern in today’s world?
 
LB:  The rise of the right, globally, is of concern to many of us.  I feel as though we are going backwards in terms of human rights, diversity, equity and inclusion. Initiatives that were meant to ensure fair treatment for all individuals are being clawed back in so many situations. To me, Larkin and Paul represent vulnerable youth exploring their own sexuality in a time and place where such explorations were forbidden. The secrecy and repression that occurred as a result marked both boys in damaging ways. The church was largely responsible for reinforcing a strict moral code that made it impossible for these young men to have voices. In our current place in history, a political movement is driving such judgement and hatred. The issues I raised in a historical fiction context are once again becoming an issue in our society. I wanted to highlight Larkin’s story as a way of making a statement about the importance of openness, acceptance and unconditional love. 
 
SB:  You’ve written with a clear understanding of the challenges that are faced by rural people at any time. Where do you live? Is it an urban or rural setting? Do you feel anything about the environment surrounding you has impacted upon your writing? Is it open spaces? Or crowds of people? Please explain how the environment around you affects your approach to writing.
 
LB:  I live in a small town on the side of a small lake and wetlands area. We are an hour or so north-east of Toronto but only a five-minute drive away from farm country. I’m surrounded by nature and yet have all of the conveniences of small-town life at our doorstep. Our century home is on a quiet street in the oldest part of town, and our small property is lined with large maple trees. I see trees and gardens out of every window in the house, and can see the lake from the upstairs windows. Our street and neighborhood are very quiet. I desperately need that quiet to read and write. In the summer, I’ll often take my laptop outside to the veranda to write or take a book with me to read on the porch swing. It’s heavenly. My writing room is at one end of the house and is entirely filled with books, research materials and memorabilia that inspire me. I relax in the quiet space and work there every evening until early morning. I can’t write if the background of life is crazy or if there is noise, I need the quiet and calm to work.    
 
SB:  My experience as an author used to be entirely different, in that I had to write at the dining room table while my children watched TV, but I’ve learned to adjust to living in near isolation, overlooking the quiet of Clode Sound in NL. Changing topics now, it seems that titles are often difficult to come up with, though some authors seem to begin there. What was your experience in developing a title for A Quilting of Scars?
 
LB:  The title for the novel came to me fairly early on. When I was a child in elementary school, there was a boy who came to school every morning and put his head on his desk and wept. The teacher never made him stand for the opening exercises. His shirt was often stuck to his back with blood. One day in the playground, his shirt blew up and I saw that his back was criss-crossed with welts. The image of that boy has stayed with me for over sixty years. I referenced this incident and ascribed it to Paul in A Quilting of Scars. Quilts as a metaphor for the piecing together of Larkin’s memories grew from that image.
 
SB:  I understand. Some of our memories of things we saw or experienced in childhood stay with us for our entire lives. You couldn’t help that boy, but perhaps your portrait of Paul will help some boy with a similar circumstance, either today or tomorrow. I wonder, is this a book that seemed to fall onto the page quickly for you, as if you were channelling it? Or did you need to put a lot of effort into its structure? Was there a developmental process? Please elaborate.
 
LB:  The seed for the story came when I saw an 1874 poster in an antique store, advertising “The Splendid Horse—Young Netherby—will stand for mares this season.” I fell in love with the poster, and after going back to the antique store several times, finally convinced my partner that we had to purchase it. The poster led me to wonder about the type of farmer in that time period who would advertise having a stud horse. Larkin suddenly came to me, and his story unspooled for there. The entire book suddenly came to me as though it were a movie and I was simply the scribe. In subsequent drafts, I did deep research dives on various aspects of farming in the period, early cancer treatments, and horse breeding in order to create (I hope) a sense of verisimilitude.

SB:  Some books require intensive research of a particular topic, historical era, or some other aspect of the story. You consistently write historical novels. Please describe the most intensive research you did for A Quilting of Scars. How far would you travel to conduct research? Do you perform most of your research through interviews, on the internet, or through books and printed documents?

LB:  Each of my writing projects determines the type of research required. For The Brickworks, for instance, I travelled to Scotland and Saskatchewan on research trips to learn about brickmaking, jute mills and the Tay Bridge. For Eleanor Courtown, I travelled to Ireland on a research trip to learn more about the Great Famine. For A Quilting of Scars, I was able to work closer to home. Farming and medical practices in the period required some deep research dives for me. I sourced a number of books which were helpful, interviewed several people whose lives held key information, and watched a lot of videos on breeding and caring for horses. When my draft was completed, I had a local historian read it for accuracy and had a horse breeder review my pages on breeding.    

SB:  Was there a collection of works or literary movement that inspired you to map out A Quilting of Scars? Or did you begin with questions about the particular topics the book covers and a timeframe that you wanted to explore? What was your initial inspiration for A Quilting of Scars, even if it’s something counterintuitive?

LB:  As you know, I was a career educator. I worked with a number of young people over the years who had questions about their sexuality or felt that they were born in the wrong body. Sadly, many of these beautiful young people were cast off by their families when they shared their true identities. They ended up couch-surfing with friends and sleeping in a nearby park until we could assist them with more permanent solutions. It broke my heart to see vulnerable young people turned away by the very people who should have loved them unconditionally. In A Quilting of Scars, I wanted to expose the inner turmoil and conflict that many young people experience and stress the importance of open communication and loving acceptance. By placing the story in the past, I hoped to highlight that such issues and needs have not changed greatly and that many individuals are still frightened of exposure. 

SB:  This may simply be a question about sequels, but if A Quilting of Scars was burning and you could only rescue one character from that inferno, who do you think deserves the effort for a second chance at life? Please explain your choice.

LB:  I would love for Larkin to have a second chance at life. He is a gentle soul who wants to do the right thing. He is also a loyal friend, generous and compassionate. I would dearly love for him to be free of his burdensome secrets and to see him fall in love. Sadly, that’s not the story that wanted to be told. But Larkin is definitely a character that I wish I could spend more time with. 

SB:  Thank you, Lucy for spending time on this interview. I sincerely hope that your answers to my questions will inspire people to open the pages on Larkin’s story.
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​LB:  Thank you so much for this interview opportunity. I am grateful for your support.

​Lucy E.M. Black (she/her/hers) is the author of The Marzipan Fruit Basket, Eleanor Courtown, Stella’s Carpet, The Brickworks, Class Lessons: Stories of Vulnerable Youth and A Quilting of Scars. The Mural is forthcoming in the Spring of 2027. Her short stories have been published in Britain, Ireland, USA and Canada in literary journals and magazines, including Cyphers Magazine, the Hawai’i Review, The Antigonish Review, the Queen’s Quarterly and others. She co-ordinates Heart of the Story, an author reading series in Port Perry, writes book reviews for The Miramichi Reader, serves as literary chair for Scugog Arts, and is a dynamic workshop presenter, experienced interviewer and freelance writer.  She lives with her partner in the small lakeside town of Port Perry, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, First Nations. 

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​Sharon Berg attended the Banff School of Fine Arts Writing Studio in 1982 and was accepted to Banff’s Leighton Artist Colony in 1987. She taught in Ontario after studying to become a teacher with a focus on First Nations Education: B.A./Laurentian U.; B.Ed/U of T; M.Ed/York U; and D.Ed/UBC. She received a Certificate in Magazine Journalism from Ryerson U and is an alumni of Humber College’s Writing Program. Sharon founded and operated the international literary E-Zine Big Pond Rumours (2006-2019) and its associated press, releasing chapbooks of Canadian poets as prizes for the magazine’s contests. Her poetry appears as full books with Borealis, Coach House, and Cyberwit, and she has four chapbooks with BPR Press. Sharon’s short fiction is with Porcupine’s Quill, and her nonfiction appears with BPR Press. Her writing appears across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Chile, England, Wales, Netherlands, Germany, Siberia, Romania, India, Persia, Singapore, and Australia. Her 3rd poetry collection Stars in the Junkyard was a Finalist in the 2022 International Book Awards, and her narrative history The Name Unspoken: Wandering Spirit Survival School won a 2020 IPPY Award for Regional Nonfiction. When she retired from teaching, she opened Oceanview Writers Retreat in Charlottetown (Terra Nova National Park) Newfoundland.