Debut novel offers up hellfire, sobriety and a search for salvation
A “speck in limbo,” Earl Qume, the hapless hero of Luke Inglis's debut novel, is deep in the habit of self-medicating with rye whisky.
With his dog Sigmund along for the ride, Earl's stumbling, uncertain path to redemption leads him away from dead ends in Toronto — marriage, job, hallucinations — to Wanderland Adventures, a retreat in the Rockies run by a charismatic “pseudo-hermit” with a fondness for philosophizing. Group therapy in the bush (while the outside world faces a cataclysm) has never looked so stranger or enticing.
A busy Sunshine Coast-based writer, Inglis set aside some time to answer a handful of questions from Postmedia.
Q From first sentence to the last, how many months passed?
A Seventy-two long and arduous months, full of equal parts despair and maniacal laughter.
Q Over those long months, how much did the novel change?
A The story flowed pretty well, and the characters became quickly realized. Overall, it knew what it wanted to be and how it wanted me to write it. The novel evolved over time, each rewrite building off the last. But if you were to compare the first draft to the final one, you would say that they gestated in the same place. And you could clearly see the line where the embryo split.
Q Also, as a first-time novelist what was the biggest writing hurdle you faced?
A Having a day job makes it difficult to tackle creative projects with any kind of scheduled regularity. Something Drastic was largely the product of weekend and late-night binge-writing. It was often a struggle. But there was always a payoff. And I learned what kind of writer I am. I'll never get it right the first time. I like to let fly, and then return later to chisel it down.
Q Manhood and competing visions of it are a dominant idea in your story. Can you say a little more about your exploration of that theme?
A Big male personalities often can dominate the pages of Something Drastic. But in equal measure, they falter under the strain I put them through. In many ways, it's the female lead that is the hero of Something Drastic. Without her, my protagonist would still be lost in the deep woods.
Q A narcissistic shaman with an appetite for LSD, your Wolfgang Yellowbird character is one of a kind. What inspired him?
A Wolfgang Yellowbird was the easiest character to write. I knew exactly who and what I wanted him to be. He is a man in his element, and his exuberance absorbs the intensity of his surroundings. Put simply, he was inspired by the wilderness that he lives in.
Q What's the next assignment on your writing desk?
A I'm working on a new novel about an animal-rights activist who takes on the mob. It's part thriller, part ghost story. I like the way it's coming together, but its destination is still unclear.