Photo: June E. Hudy at a book signing at Cole's in the Lloyd Mall.
By Katie Ryan
Never give up. That’s the advice one local, self-published author would like to impart.
Those three words have enabled June E. Hudy to achieve her goals, including her most recent – write and publish a full length novel.
The Paradise Hill resident set up shop on Saturday at Cole’s in LloydMall to promote her novel, “Family Lies.” Hudy sat at the front of the bookstore engaging shoppers and fans, selling and signing copies of her book, all while catching the eye of the mall’s passing traffic.
“I sold 11 books there and they asked to keep 10 there, so there will still be some available there,” said Hudy, for anyone who missed the signing and is interested in a good read.
“Family Lies” explores the challenges one woman faces and how she manages to weather them to become the person she wants to be.
“It’s a story of faith and love, and there’s a bit of humour in it and some sadness,” said Hudy of the themes in her novel that are catching the eye of many readers.
“As in real life, things come back to haunt you that happened to you when you were young and can cause trouble in life later. That’s what happened to her (the main character).”
Hudy’s main character, Amy, takes her life in a new direction over the course of the novel and decides working on a sheep ranch is precisely what she needs to do. And sheep ranching is a topic Hudy is all too familiar with.
“They say to write what you know, and my husband and I have raised sheep for years,” she said laughing, “so you get to know that pretty good.”
Other than her nod to sheep ranching, Hudy says the novel is a work of fiction, although concedes that readers often find themselves in the pages of her novel.
“A lot of people have mentioned my characters are very real, that you can really understand what they are going through because loss happens in real life,” added Hudy.
While Hudy has published short stories and poems in a number of publications, has self-published a book of poetry and two novellas based on stories from her life, “Family Lies” is the first full length novel that Hudy has penned.
“I started writing when I was quite young, I wrote my first poem when I think I was 10 years old and got really good marks in school for it. But, I never really got into writing,” said the former newspaper editor, who has taken courses in journalism.
It wasn’t until Hudy and her husband, Henry, retired in 2000 from farming did she sink her teeth into the project.
Over the course of three years, the budding author put pen to paper, bringing her characters to life and her first novel to fruition.
“I thought if I was ever going to do it, I better,” said Hudy. “I did most of my writing down in Macklin. My husband and I go down there every year for harvest and I stay in the trailer. I did most of it by shorthand, just writing and then I would come home and put it on the computer.”
Once complete, “Family Lies” was eventually published with Trafford Publishing. Writing and publishing
comes with their share of challenges admits Hudy, however, holding your own published novel in your hands triumphs all toil.
“My advice to people is to never give up and if you feel you have a product that is worthwhile to publish and if you can afford to do it, go ahead and do it. You never know who might pick it up later,” she said. “I am hoping this will be a start, I have a sequel in mind for this one.”
Sharing her work with others and hearing their feedback is rewarding says Hudy. She’s not writing for any monetary gain, rather for herself and her hard work and dedication is worthwhile when she knows she has connected with her readers.
“I have had really good responses from people who have read it. As a matter of fact a lady just phoned me today (Monday) to tell me how much she enjoyed my book. She started reading it Sunday afternoon and she stayed up till one in the morning to finish it, so that always makes me feel good when I get those calls. It makes it worthwhile doing the writing. It’s not for the money, that’s for sure,” she laughed.
“Family Lies” holds appeal to all age levels and backgrounds says Hudy, although she says she was surprised to learn who was also diving into her novel. According to Hudy men have been picking up her book and have been unable to put it down.
“I always kind of figured a romance type book is kind of for women, but they (men) read it. Actually, one man said he has only read two books in his life, including mine.” Copies of “Family Lies” can be found at Cole’s in Lloydminster, Food Town in Paradise Hill and at True Value in St. Walburg.