Ronsdale Authors’ Inspiration Series: Maia Caron

Next up in our new series on Ronsdale authors and what they love to read is Maia Caron.

Maia Caron is the author of Ronsdale publication ‘Song of Batoche’. Her extended Caron, Dumas, and Parenteau family were among the founders of Batoche, Saskatchewan. They fought with Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont during the North-West Resistance of 1885. Maia is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario and lives in Toronto. Song of Batoche is her first novel. For more information, please visit her website at www.maiacaron.com. Or follow her on Twitter @MaiaCaron.

We asked Maia what inspiration her bookshelf has held over the years and influenced her own writing…

I’ve treasured many books over the years, but the following four novels occupy pride of place on my bedroom bookshelf. This is not because they’re fun, uplifting stories, but because they broke my heart with their honesty and vivid characters who fought for love. These stories were revelations. They had me from their first lines, stripping away artifice and laying bare the human spirit. They inspired me to write stories that might move readers the same way.

The first is Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain.

This tragic love story has an Odyssean journey at its heart.

The Diviners by Margaret Laurence is my next choice.

It features the brave, before-its-time honesty of a woman attempting to find her way while laying bare her fears and broken dreams.

Anne-Marie Macdonald’s Fall on Your Knees is third on my list.

I consider this raw epic saga of a dysfunctional Cape Breton family a classic of Canadian literature.

Last but not least is Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

This novel reveals the world’s heartbreaking natural beauty from a dying father’s eyes. It inspires me by how it spoke so keenly of love.

We hope you enjoyed reading about some of Maia’s favourite novels! Follow our social media to keep up with our Authors’ Inspirations Series.

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Buy Song of Batoche here: http://ronsdalepress.com/books/song-of-batoche/

Song of Batoche Description:

Louis Riel arrives at Batoche in 1884 to help the Métis fight for their lands and discovers that the rebellious outsider Josette Lavoie is a granddaughter of the famous chief Big Bear, whom he needs as an ally. But Josette learns of Riel’s hidden agenda — to establish a separate state with his new church at its head — and refuses to help him. Only when the great Gabriel Dumont promises her that he will not let Riel fail does she agree to join the cause.

In this raw wilderness on the brink of change, the lives of seven unforgettable characters converge, each one with secrets: Louis Riel and his tortured wife Marguerite; a duplicitous Catholic priest; Gabriel Dumont and his dying wife Madeleine; a Hudson’s Bay Company spy; and the enigmatic Josette Lavoie. As the Dominion Army marches on Batoche, Josette and Gabriel must manage Riel’s escalating religious fanaticism and a growing attraction to each other. Song of Batoche is a timeless story that traces the borderlines of faith and reason, obsession and madness, betrayal and love.