ELORA – Longtime Elora resident and author Donna McCaw has released her newest book and first novel, Across the Great Divide.
DONNA MCCAW
“It’s about second chances,” said McCaw.
Set in Victoria, B.C in 2016, the book follows a former touring musician turned author who’s looking for a new start in life.
Beyond the main protagonist the novel is about “a great number of characters who want to change their lives, and how they deal with that,” said McCaw.
She noted she typically isn’t one to write novels, having previously written two short story books, two poetry collections and a book on handling retirement.
But in the spring of 2021, after experiencing the isolation of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, McCaw set out to work on her next writing project.
“I decided to write a book of short stories … it didn’t turn out that way,” said McCaw, noting that eventually the collection became one 347-page novel.
After just over a year of writing and developing, Across the Great Divide was released at the end of April.
It is a self-published piece, with McCaw designing its cover art and getting it placed in bookstores.
McCaw says she has long supported creative voices in the community. She hosted Wordfest for 14 years, a bi-annual spoken word event at the Elora Centre for the Arts. McCaw also has produced music shows such as Remembering Leonard.
McCaw said she found the isolation of the pandemic “gives you an opportunity to use your creativity.” She added it also gave her the privacy needed to dive into the story. The novel is available for purchase at The Bookery in Fergus, or in Elora at Cordial Clove Books and Magic Pebble Books. It can also be ordered from volumesdirect.com, or by reaching out to McCaw at dmccaw3@gmail.com.
