Faux Fiancé
Pauline needs money. Émile needs an image change.
If she can help him with the latter, he can give her the former and all they need do is act engaged until his family thinks he’s settled down.
Though the childhood friends spark like slippers on carpet, their best laid plans (and budding romance) are threatened by Pauline’s ex, who’s turned her personal trauma into a bestselling theater piece; and by Émile’s family, who have the emotional intelligence of flatware.
Fear not gentle reader: They have a Machiavellian fairy godmother who’s been manipulating Émile’s family for forty years and is determined to put everything to rights. Only time will tell whether her meddling brings about reconciliation, destruction, or just a lot of heavy metal fiddle music.
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I was in college (Québec CEGEP) in the early 90's, not long after the Oka Crisis mentioned in the book. I took a course called "Indian and Inuit Views" and we took a field trip to the brand new Museum of Civilization and my Cree pal got us all sniffing totem poles. I guess this is where my interest in Indigenous issues began. Not just the culture, of course, but the political issues. Some of the worst racism in Canada is directed at Aboriginal people, and we have a pretty shameful history of ethnic cleansing. Will my book help with that? Probably not, but I don't want to ever say I didn't try.
If she can help him with the latter, he can give her the former and all they need do is act engaged until his family thinks he’s settled down.
Though the childhood friends spark like slippers on carpet, their best laid plans (and budding romance) are threatened by Pauline’s ex, who’s turned her personal trauma into a bestselling theater piece; and by Émile’s family, who have the emotional intelligence of flatware.
Fear not gentle reader: They have a Machiavellian fairy godmother who’s been manipulating Émile’s family for forty years and is determined to put everything to rights. Only time will tell whether her meddling brings about reconciliation, destruction, or just a lot of heavy metal fiddle music.
___
I was in college (Québec CEGEP) in the early 90's, not long after the Oka Crisis mentioned in the book. I took a course called "Indian and Inuit Views" and we took a field trip to the brand new Museum of Civilization and my Cree pal got us all sniffing totem poles. I guess this is where my interest in Indigenous issues began. Not just the culture, of course, but the political issues. Some of the worst racism in Canada is directed at Aboriginal people, and we have a pretty shameful history of ethnic cleansing. Will my book help with that? Probably not, but I don't want to ever say I didn't try.
Cowichan Sweater, photo by Amy Honey
"Nuu-Chah-Nulth (formerly Nootka) whaling canoe sculpture in Port Alberni, BC" by Kevstan
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Ben's Deli by Colin Rose
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Montreal neighborhood (the Plateau) like Émile's
The Charlevoix region by David Touzin
Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy
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Ben's Deli by colros
Kahnawake Mohawk, 1869
Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake) ca 1895
Kahnawake stop sign by LHOON
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Émile Nelligan 1899
Aurora Borealis by Frederic Edwin Church
The Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, by Blue william
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