Ask the Author: Sandra Cohen-Rose
Answered Questions (5)
Sandra Cohen-Rose
Absorb and feel, and cherish every moment. Delight in the good writing days and accept the difficult days, but always forge on. Writing is a miraculous journey that can take you to undiscovered places. It is a gift one is fortunate to possess.
Sandra Cohen-Rose
To have the opportunity to express your feelings and to share your knowledge, hoping you’ll make some difference in the lives of those who read your work. But most of all, the great pleasure you wish your readers to derive from your work. The indulgence of disappearing into an alternate world, if only for a short time.
Sandra Cohen-Rose
A sequel to “Waskaganish,” – a story of life, love, deceit and infidelity, while the protagonists cope with the coronavirus pandemic in Quebec – Montreal, Eastern Townships, Waskaganish – also Paris and New York.
Sandra Cohen-Rose
The magic of Montreal and the serenity of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, coupled with the contrasting beauty and brutality of Waskaganish, flowed in part from hundreds of poems I have written.
“Waskaganish”, a fantasy and love story, set in places we can explore and relate to, was inspired – like many writers – from my unique experiences over a lifetime of study, successes and disappointments. I’ve been fortunate to have worked as a dietitian-nutritionist and have knowledge of the medical field, (married to a cardiologist), ethics, being for 15 years on McGill’s Ethics Committee, and interaction with a wide variety of people, being chair of local and international organizations, extensive travels – love of architecture and fashion. My family’s Polish background, and business in precious stones.
The magic of Montreal and the serenity of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, coupled with the contrasting beauty and brutality of Waskaganish, flowed in part from hundreds of poems I have written.
“Waskaganish”, a fantasy and love story, set in places we can explore and relate to, was inspired – like many writers – from my unique experiences over a lifetime of study, successes and disappointments. I’ve been fortunate to have worked as a dietitian-nutritionist and have knowledge of the medical field, (married to a cardiologist), ethics, being for 15 years on McGill’s Ethics Committee, and interaction with a wide variety of people, being chair of local and international organizations, extensive travels – love of architecture and fashion. My family’s Polish background, and business in precious stones.
Sandra Cohen-Rose
Goodreads asked
For the main protagonists I reached back to my Polish-Jewish roots. It intrigued me how this group of people who had lived through pogroms, world wars and discrimination, had evolved and adapted to the countries where they settled.
Waskaganish, a small Cree community at the junction of the Hudson Bay and the Rupert River, has a fascinating history. It is the home to the Hudson Bay Company, original fur traders, owners of large land masses. In the 1980s, the timeframe of my novel there was a gastroenteritis epidemic, also the massive James Bay project, which effected their way life. For these indigenous people, the Cree, it was a turning point.
The 1980s was a particularly volatile, uncertain time in Quebec. Emotions were high. The 'Oui ,' 'Yes,' vote to stay in Quebec in 1980 had won the referendum by a slim margin. Montreal, until the political unrest the most populated city in Canada, had to deal with the fallout, population loss - individuals and businesses and large corporations fled.
The discovery and the disappearance of the 16.25 carat Eagle Diamond, found in Wisconsin in 1876, at the time one of the largest diamonds ever recovered in the continental United States, and its connection to the cratonic formations of the Canadian Shield in which Waskaganish is located, inspired me to postulate what happened to it. This was a continuation of my interest in precious gems started as a child in my family business which took us from England to Canada.
In addition the story was a vehicle to expose unethical practices, including those in nutrition, food and health, to get lost and found in in a fantasy world, a love story and to describe places as they moved me.
I returned to the story time and time again to find the universal connection between peoples desires and needs – love, recognition, power, health and money, and the means to obtain it – unethical behaviour, deceit, bribes, gifts, violence, brutality.
Goodreads asked
For the main protagonists I reached back to my Polish-Jewish roots. It intrigued me how this group of people who had lived through pogroms, world wars and discrimination, had evolved and adapted to the countries where they settled.
Waskaganish, a small Cree community at the junction of the Hudson Bay and the Rupert River, has a fascinating history. It is the home to the Hudson Bay Company, original fur traders, owners of large land masses. In the 1980s, the timeframe of my novel there was a gastroenteritis epidemic, also the massive James Bay project, which effected their way life. For these indigenous people, the Cree, it was a turning point.
The 1980s was a particularly volatile, uncertain time in Quebec. Emotions were high. The 'Oui ,' 'Yes,' vote to stay in Quebec in 1980 had won the referendum by a slim margin. Montreal, until the political unrest the most populated city in Canada, had to deal with the fallout, population loss - individuals and businesses and large corporations fled.
The discovery and the disappearance of the 16.25 carat Eagle Diamond, found in Wisconsin in 1876, at the time one of the largest diamonds ever recovered in the continental United States, and its connection to the cratonic formations of the Canadian Shield in which Waskaganish is located, inspired me to postulate what happened to it. This was a continuation of my interest in precious gems started as a child in my family business which took us from England to Canada.
In addition the story was a vehicle to expose unethical practices, including those in nutrition, food and health, to get lost and found in in a fantasy world, a love story and to describe places as they moved me.
I returned to the story time and time again to find the universal connection between peoples desires and needs – love, recognition, power, health and money, and the means to obtain it – unethical behaviour, deceit, bribes, gifts, violence, brutality.
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