Interview with Bonnie Toews:

Laurel Johnson
Interviewer, Midwest Book Review

LJ for MBR: Your book was especially interesting to me because of the era - World War Two - and the obvious research that went into it. What made you choose WW 2 and the Nazi influence in Europe as a theme?

Bonnie: In my earliest memory, I recall my mother and babysitter
talking about the rationing of butter, and my favorite uncle was a
fighter pilot. Two of my music teachers were also involved. One fought
with the Dutch Resistance, and the other was an actual spy posing as a
church organist in Berlin throughout the war. They were such humble
people it was difficult imagining them as secret operatives capable of
killing anyone if they had to. Their stories are not depicted in my
novel, but the use of music in the secret operations plays a big part
as well as the essence of my teachers' wonderful character and faith.
At ages nine and ten, I loved reading the Cherry Ames books, about
WWII combat nurses, and the Borneo books, about Second World War
fighter and bomber pilots. These books always solved mysteries. Why I
gravitated to them more than any other, I don't know, but suspense and
military thrillers are still my favorite reads and why I began writing
in the genre. In fact, I wrote my first novel at age ten about an army
nurse in the Pacfic. Years later, when I read Leon Uris' "Mila 18,"
which describes the death camps in graphic detail, I felt such an
affinity with the Jewish soul and the horrors the Jews suffered
through the Holocaust that I wondered if I had once lived as one
before my present life. In my twenties, I studied Jewish history,
culture and religion to try and discover why the Jewish people have
been so persecuted and scapegoated over the centuries. I did gain
insights from my studies and a deep abiding respect for their
religious concepts.

I was equally fascinated with mob psychology and what drove the German people to embrace and follow a mad man like Hitler with such blind faith. Studying history provided those answers, and it alarms me today that our education systems do not emphasize the study of history.
Without knowing our pasts, we are vulnerable to making the same
mistakes again, and that's exactly what is happening now. Today's
United Nations is making the same mistakes its predecessor, the League of Nations, made in the 30s, and the results are frightening. If
people don't understand history, they can't undertstand the decisions
their leaders make, and they can't respond with knowledge to those
decisions. The terrorists' attacks of 9/11 reignited our nations'
patriotism, but we still have to guard against blind loyalty based on
manipulative propaganda. An article by a savvy Toronto journalist and
foreign correspondent can give Americans and Canadians the best reason for going to war with Saddam Hussein that I've read in some time, but it still doesn't nullify the terrible loss of life and suffering for
both sides in an invasion of Iraq, either for the military of both
sides or for their civilian victims.

LJ for MBR: I was particularly fascinated by your use of Churchill as
an almost incidental player in the plot. Many writers would be
hesitant to even try. Tell us your reasoning for utilizing Churchill
as you did.

Bonnie: Churchill was part of what really happened in the true events
related to the story. He did sponsor such an operation. He did back
the secret civilian agency called Special Operations Executive (SOE)
and his masterspy, "Intrepid," director of the British Security
Coordination. He was as ruthless as either Hitler or Stalin in his
strategies to beat them, such as exposing villagers and citizens in
Nazi-occupied territories to terrible reprisals just to unify the
local people into secret resistance. He believed the formation of a
fifth column was absolutely necessary to winning against the Third
Reich. I was also intrigued with his style of speech--the rhythm and
choice of words--which William L. Shirer notes in his "The Nightmare
Years 1930-1940." Churchill rarely came out and said directly what he
wanted. He used words in euphenisms, similar to Hitler actually, like
planted seeds for others to interpret. Perhaps the "buzz" words both
men invented were to allay their guilt for the brutal and tragic
orders they issued. I also wanted the reader to see the man behind the
British hero so many admire. We may never be able to criticize that
what he did he did because it was necessary to win the war against
such a sadistic enemy, but we don't have to like it, or respect it, or
be mesmerized by his bulldog personna. He was a bully fighting bullies.

LJ for MBR: Your bio says you were a trained pilot. That explains the
"in-the-scene" feel of of your story when airplanes and pilots were
involved. Do you still fly?

Bonnie: No, I don't. You have to renew your licence every year, and I
haven't kept up because shortly after I turned 40, I had a major heart
attack. It took me ten years before I could even drive again, but I am
completely healed and can do everything again that I always did. To
regain my licence, however, would be very expensive, and as we get
older, we have to prioritize what's important to us. Flying is
something I loved to do, and I'm glad I did it. It represents my
belief that women can do whatever they set their minds to achieve.

LJ for MBR: In addition to your other accomplishments, you have an
editing and ghost writing service. Tell us about that aspect of your
work life.

Bonnie: Actually, I must remove that service from my web site because,
late last year, I resolved not to edit any more book manuscripts or
ghost write. Those two things were terribly time consuming to do them
well and to give authors the attention they need to succeed for
themselves. I am back to writing articles for magazine editors I
respect and doing routine edit jobs for business publications. Since I
was a magazine writer and editor for many years, it's a professional
routine I am comfortable with. More importantly, it allows me to
juggle my time more sensibly so that I can stick to the schedule I
need to devote to writing my own novels.

LJ for MBR: You are currently working on another book. What is the
title, a brief synopsis, and when can we expect it to be released?

Bonnie: Yes, I am. The title is The Sun's Tears, and it is a sequel to
Treason & Triumph featuring Caitlin. It's another suspense story based
on true events. Caitlin is now 48 years old, at the peak of her
broadcasting career, when she journeys to Central Africa in 1994 to
report on the mass slaughter of Rwandans. There she discovers more
than genocide: UN peacekeepers are being used as guinea pigs for an
experimental antimalaria drug without their knowledge. In her zeal to
find out who is behind it, she suddenly stumbles upon government files
that reveal that she isn't who she always believed she is. Her parents
are not her birth parents. Her mother was a war correspondent and her
father was a war criminal. It all begins with murder at her dinner
table, and one man's mission to prevent another Holocaust.

I'm also having a little fun with Caitlin's character going through
menapause at the same time as she reinvents herself. My goal is to
complete the manuscript by yearend of 2003 and to have it in my
publisher's hands immediately. When it is released will depend on a
number of factors. My fans would prefer as soon as possible in 2004,
but realistically, it may be 2005.

LJ for MBR: Writing a book can be daunting, and getting one published even more difficult than the writing itself. Are there any words of wisdom you can share with our readers on the subject of writing and publishing?

Bonnie: Faith, patience, perseverence and skill. Learn to use the best
writing techniques you can. Never give up on your dream. There is no
truly original story. What is unique is each author's way of putting a
story together. In writing, there are no shortcuts. Writers who do not
want to spend time authenticating details used in their imaginary
plots cannot suspend their readers' disbelief. The first "error"
readers see turns them off and makes them suspect the rest of the
story. If you read through reviews at amazon, for instance, this is
the biggest complaint of readers and the most prominent reason for
giving a book a poor rating. It is also the most immediate reason to
be rejected by agents and publishers, who are first and foremost the
biggest fans of the authors they sign. Publishing? There are many
books written about it today, and writers do need to read them and
understand the process before they can make a decision about how they
want to approach getting published. Some self-publish or turn to
print-on-demand publishers to establish a track record or deliver a
ready-made market they can sell to an agent and/or commercial
publisher. Others query agents looking for one to represent them to
the publishers in their networks. It can also depend on the fiction
genre you are writing in as to the way you seek to be published.
Writing non-fiction books works differently. Many "experts" make
profits self-publishing their expertise. Their way of approaching
agents is also different. You take an idea and sell them on the niche
your book fills with just one chapter written to provide an example of
your writing style and marketing strategies for selling your book.
With this proposal and sample material, agents can find a publisher
and negotiate an advance payment.

To help new writers, I have an authors' group online. We conduct free
workshops on improving our writing techniques and share our publishing and marketing experiences. We have developed a very reliable archive of resources that shortens new writers' how-to searches for such things as how to write an enticing query letter, or effective press release. Subscription is free. Readers can join it at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/making_critical_choices.

We also have a group catalog of our books at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bonnie.toews/books.html

LJ for MBR: Is there any question you wish I had asked, or any other
information you would like to share with our readers?

Bonnie: Why did I choose two women as my protagonists? Originally, I
believed I was writing women's fiction, and I wanted to show how women respond in emergency situations they can't control, such as war. I first dealt with the original character, Catherine, who represents the
real life cousin of Britain's King George VI--a secret agent called
Trudi who Churchill sent in to persuade the Danish nuclear scientist,
Neils Bohr, to defect to London. After she convinced Bohr to escape to
England, the Gestapo found her, arrested her and tortured her. She
never revealed who she was or the Nazis would have demanded a ransom
for her safe return. Instead, at the end of the war, British
Intelligence never found her body. What actually happened to her
remains a mystery. In fantasizing a "what if she survived" scenario, I
saw the need to develop a "sister-in-spirit" or a mirror of her
character--a woman totally different from an opposite background with
one commonality that becomes their bond, and through their
association, they grow and change. In the end, they reflect each
other's character and looks. I wanted to portray the direct way women
deal with problems. What takes men all day to discuss to decide on a
course of action takes women five minutes to do. Through their mental
thoughts I wanted to show war through a woman's perception instead of
through a man's. What resulted was a story that men are equally
enjoying, so It's not a women's only fiction. "Treason & Triumph" is
mainstream historical fiction, and that's a bonus I didn't set out to
achieve. It's a result of going with the characters and their story,
and their story has created its own audience.

There is one more thing. I not only tried to show humanity at its
worst, I also wanted to show the counterbalance of ordinary people at
their best. It is the strange juxtaposition that war conditions
create, and so, against the scene of Marla being tortured at Gestapo
headquarters, across the street in the convent chapel a young German
soldier finds God's redemption in the face of a woman he believes is a
nun but who is actually Catherine in disguise.

LJ for MBR: I appreciate your time, Bonnie. Readers may read more
about Bonnie Toews and her books at www.bonnietoews.com.

Amazon.com talks to Bonnie Toews

B.T.: I grew up in a gold mining town called Kirkland Lake just south of Hudson's Bay in Canada. During the long winters, reading was an escape. I really wrote my first novel when I was 10, about a U.S. Army Air Corps nurse in Korea (before M*A*S*H ever became a classic). For a long time, writing was something very private, a way of releasing loneliness. It's too bad I never saved my journals. They would be interesting to read now. In my early twenties, I toyed with writing full time, but I didn't much like the prospect of starving. I didn't believe enough in myself then to take the risk. But over the years, publishing has fascinated me, and writing has been a part of the job. I've sold advertising, audio visual aids, then moved into marketing communications. Finally, about 8 years ago, I became an editor of a business publication. By then, I knew I wanted to be a published author. The concept for my first novel grew out of my fascination with the lives of secret agents. Two of my music teachers were in the underground movement during World War II. They were the least likely candidates imaginable, but as I developed various "what if" scenarios, I remembered these sensitive artists who risked death to fight Hitler's tyranny. What gripped me was their quiet bravery, humble faith and fierce tenacity. These characteristics have become the essence of my heros and heroines. Now that the first novel is finished, I find I have a library of characters lining up in my mind, waiting to come alive in their own stories. 

Amazon.com: What authors do you like to read? What book or books have had a strong influence on you or your writing? 

B.T.: At nine, I had devoured all the Cherry Ames books. Then I discovered the romantic mysteries of Emile Loring,until I got hooked on Helen MacInnes. She couldn't write fast enough to keep me satisfied. But the author who probably inspired me to follow my own path was Ayn Rand. Now her heroes and heroines seem larger than life. Probably because they were created to preach her philosophy in strong individualism and capitalism, but at the time, reading "Atlas Shrugged" pushed me to stretch my horizons. For instance, I took flying, because I always wanted to do it, and I discovered the tremendous sense of spiritual freedom in the sky that Jacqueline Cochrane wrote about. Today I'm a great fan of Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Herman Wouk, Patricia Cornwell, and Michael Palmer. I've now read two books by Sandra Brown I've really enjoyed. Since I like to read suspense, it's also why I like to write it. 

Amazon.com: Could you describe the mundane details of writing: How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you write a draft on paper or at a keyboard (typewriter or computer)? Do you have a favorite location or time of day (or night) for writing? What do you do to avoid--or seek!--distractions?

B.T.: Boy! Mundane. You can't cheat on research and character development if you want to produce a credible novel. My husband would say I "leave him" much too often on journeys inside my mind, while I'm creating an idea and building a new story. I go through energy highs and lows. When I'm on, I go for 15-hr. days at the computer, day after day between regular work assignments and my evening to sometimes all-night benders writing my own stuff. I've never been good at working through a draft and then going back and fleshing out the details. I work in bits, creating then perfecting before I can let go and get on to the next part. It's a slow way to go because I don't write from an outline. I go into my characters' heads and look at their situations from many different camera angles. For my first novel, I didn't even know who the traitor was until I was three-quarters of the way finished. When I'm finished the first writing, I'm a ruthless editor, so I guess the most frustrating part of the writing process is rewriting. Then again, it's also the most rewarding. Over the years I've become very focused, but that may be because I have my own office at home. I can close the door, even to my cats, and occasionally I do. 

Amazon.com: Do you meet your readers at book signings, conventions, or similar events? Do you interact with your readers electronically through e-mail or other online forums?

B.T.: This is only my first novel, so I haven't experienced many book signings. Without readers though, there is no point to writing. I love to hear what people think about my book. Even if they don't like it, I welcome that too because it's all part of the learning process. I have a web site, and readers are welcome to email me. 

Amazon.com: When and how did you get started on the Net? Do you read any newsgroups such as rec.arts.books and rec.arts.sf.written, mailing lists, or other on-line forums? Do you use the Net for research--or is it just another time sink? Are you able to communicate with other writers or people you work with over the Net?

B.T.: My day job started me using the Net. We used newsgroups for quick references but never relied on the information we found there without checking with reliable sources. I've tried the odd chat room, but I'm really not comfortable with them. I've discovered a wonderful group of writers though, and it's great to share our writing experiences. I believe the Net is the last resort for new and less promoted authors. Now that giant publishing houses are swallowing up smaller presses and are only promoting best sellers, there's less opportunity to make a successful living at writing, no matter how good your book is. But the story about David and Goliath was for times like these. The Net may just be our David.