Ask the Author: Janet E. Cameron
Answered Questions (2)
Janet E. Cameron
Thank you so much! It seems like the book was published a million years ago, so great to think of someone still remembering it and reading it. And I love the soundtrack idea! Now to answer your question, I did write a novel set in the same time and place as Cinnamon Toast. It was set in 1988 and centred on the MacBride family - Emily and Eleanor MacBride were in the background of Cinnamon Toast around the party chapters and afterwards. However, I wasn't able to find a publisher for it, I think partly because it was a bit too dark. It's about a family imploding after one of the siblings dies. Not too much fun, although there were some lighter moments. After that I was too discouraged to get down to writing another book for a long time, but I finally finished another novel several months ago. Will it be published? I might know more in a few months. It's set in 2016 and the main character is a girl trying to find out which member of a terrible Canadian 90s grunge band is her father. So a bit lighter than the second one. Once again, thank you so much for your kind words about Cinnamon Toast!
Janet E. Cameron
Hi Aimun,
I'm really sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I don't visit Goodreads very often.
Well, to answer your question, I stumbled on the story of Cinnamon Toast more or less by accident - I actually began it as a very short story that was homework for a writing class and Mark was originally the main character. Then I switched narrators as an experiment and was overwhelmed by Stephen as a character. He just seemed very real to me and I wanted to tell his story. (I wrote an article about this for my website if you'd like more details. Here's the link: http://www.asimplejan.com/index.php?o... )
So I didn't start by thinking I wanted to write a story about 'a gay teenager'. I started with Stephen, who happens to be gay, and I became very involved in his struggle because I loved this particular character. I did grow up in a small town very like Riverside and always felt like a misfit and a weirdo there. I was extremely shy and had a lot of difficulty connecting with anyone outside my family. This is most likely what motivated me to write about an outsider in a small community, though I'd never claim to have any insight on the experience of being LGBT myself. Most of the book was just me using my imagination and trying to put myself in Stephen's position. I believed in this character and he still seems very real to me.
I hope that answers your question. If you'd like to contact me about it outside of Goodeads, my email is asimplejan@gmail.com I'd be happy to hear from you. Thanks so much for reading!
All the best,
Janet
I'm really sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I don't visit Goodreads very often.
Well, to answer your question, I stumbled on the story of Cinnamon Toast more or less by accident - I actually began it as a very short story that was homework for a writing class and Mark was originally the main character. Then I switched narrators as an experiment and was overwhelmed by Stephen as a character. He just seemed very real to me and I wanted to tell his story. (I wrote an article about this for my website if you'd like more details. Here's the link: http://www.asimplejan.com/index.php?o... )
So I didn't start by thinking I wanted to write a story about 'a gay teenager'. I started with Stephen, who happens to be gay, and I became very involved in his struggle because I loved this particular character. I did grow up in a small town very like Riverside and always felt like a misfit and a weirdo there. I was extremely shy and had a lot of difficulty connecting with anyone outside my family. This is most likely what motivated me to write about an outsider in a small community, though I'd never claim to have any insight on the experience of being LGBT myself. Most of the book was just me using my imagination and trying to put myself in Stephen's position. I believed in this character and he still seems very real to me.
I hope that answers your question. If you'd like to contact me about it outside of Goodeads, my email is asimplejan@gmail.com I'd be happy to hear from you. Thanks so much for reading!
All the best,
Janet
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