Welcome Ella Harvey, a fellow member of The Writers' Union of Canada! Her amazing new book comes out September 2022, but you can check out her first book, Encounters on the Front Line!
Ella Harvey is a retired nurse with a B.Sc in Nursing from the
University of Victoria. Her diverse career and adventurous spirit have taken
her to remote regions of the world, with experiences in Asia and Africa marking
her world view. She has
lived on five continents and worked on four. Ella presently lives in beautiful
Victoria on the west coast of Canada, yet is frequently found dreaming of
elsewhere.
Links:
My website www.ellaharvey.ca
FB
https://www.facebook.com/Ella-Harvey-Author
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-harvey
Publisher: www.rmbooks.com
Amazon author page for Encounters on the Front Line (first book)
https://www.amazon.ca/Encounters-Front-Line-Cambodia-Memoir/dp/1927559669
How many hours a day
do you write?
My writing habits are
irregular. At home, I may write very little, when travelling I write a lot. At
home, I like to transcribe from my journal to the computer, sharpen the story,
and edit, many times over. My most creative writing happens when there is a
little background chatter, or I am watching the world go by. Coffee shops, at
home or abroad are great.
What is your favorite
childhood book?
As a young child, I
loved The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff. Then there
was Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The stories that most captivated
and inspired me were the Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene. Nancy was my
childhood heroine.
What inspired you to
write this book?
Travel, often solo
travel, and the passion to explore the road less traveled inspired both of my
books. In 1980 I worked in a Cambodian refugee camp as a nurse with the Red
Cross, which inspired my first memoir, Encounters on the Front Line. My
second memoir, A Time of Light and Shadow covers a wider terrain, the
quest of a young woman, seeking her way in the world. Writing a book gives
voice to the stories of my life. And every time I returned from my travels
friends would say: “You should write a book.”
Five years from now,
where do you see yourself as a writer?
I may write one more
book. It will be creative nonfiction and knowing me, it will be set in a
foreign country. I waver – do I really want to write a third book or do l
listen to another voice that says ‘Yes.’
Each book has taken seven years, from inception to release, so it is a
big commitment and a leap of faith.
A Time of Light and Shadow is an inspiring travel memoir
that explores a young woman’s quest to live life on the front lines, chasing
adventure, and confronting the harsh realities
of crisis work in Asia and Africa during the 1970s. Four decades later Ella returns to India and reflects on poverty
and privilege, youth and aging, longing and belonging.
What readers say:
Ella’s willingness to be touched and changed
by the people she meets—both as a young woman and as an older woman is a
wonderful tonic for cynicism. Reading A Time of Light and Shadow
reminded me of how to walk through our beautiful, wounded world: open-eyed,
open-hearted, mindful of both gifts received and debts incurred.
--Karen Connelly author of The Lizard Cage, Burmese Lessons and Touch The
Dragon
A Time of Light and
Shadow is a courageous story of
compassion, self-discovery, and cross-cultural immersion, amidst a backdrop of
some of the world’s most fascinating wonders and devastating humanitarian
crises. Ella Harvey’s expansive journey seamlessly weaves the exploration of
the external and internal, opening new perspective into the depths of the human
spirit and what it means to live a meaningful life.
— Michael
Schauch, author of A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost
Valley of the Himalaya
This
lyrical, big-hearted book is about a woman living in the moment - whatever that
particular moment is. A Time of Light and Shadow is multi-layered,
combining sobering experiences of humanitarian work with wanderlust… and the
vivid intensities of life on the road.
~~ Louisa Waugh,
author of Hearing Birds Fly, Meet Me in Gaza, and nomadic humanitarian.
