Friday, October 10th Port Alberni, BC
At their last planning session, Gloria and Wilma decided to meet at the New Moon for the next one. Wilma always enjoyed the drive into Victoria, but Gloria insisted that it was her turn to get out of the rat race for a bit.
They had a lot in common. Even with cultural differences they both were by nature, and had to be by circumstance, very strong women. Wilma, perhaps, was held back at times by prejudice. Gloria, perhaps, was held back at times by her choice to not overshadow her husband’s abilities. For both women, though, that was a long time ago. They were getting to know each other, share stories, chit-chat. Gloria liked straight talk, Wilma did too. It was the first time in years either of them had someone to really open up with.
Wilma told Gloria that she had gone to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver the same time Hank and Elliot had – but it wasn’t until they’d started coming into the café that she began to know them better. She enjoyed working with them on the projects.
"Oh," Gloria said, "They really appreciate the crews you’ve been able to send them. There’s so much to be done. They think they’ll be able to come in on time, but who knows how long we actually have?"
"I hope enough. I heard that Adam finally met with the Programmers, so hopefully I can start teaching the Trainers soon. The first thing they’ll learn is how to leave tips." She smiled at Debbie who was refilling their coffee. Wilma continued, "Hank and Elliot haven’t been in for a while; tell them hello for me next time you see them."
Gloria smiled, "I will. As a matter of fact, I’m meeting Hank tomorrow to look at a warehouse in Port Hardy."
"Oh – you secured the contracts then? Good, good."
Gloria had told her about the long-term contracts she had presented to the mainland growers. The Port Hardy warehouse, 400 kilometres north of the New Moon Café, would be the food distribution centre for the northern third of the island, if it needed to, if things evolved to that point. "They were signed yesterday. Now," Gloria added, "after the island separates from the mainland, the ‘new United States producers’ will continue to supply Townsend Foods on the island."
Wilma thought, ‘And – she controls the Townsend Foods on the mainland. If the growers are at all resistant to meeting their obligations to the Island under these contracts, well, she’ll handle that easily enough.’
Gloria started to ask her how things were going with Harry and his efforts when the bell over the front door of the café tinkled. They turned and watched as Jean Jordan came in. What on earth was ‘she’ doing here?
Wilma sensed immediately that Gloria was not pleased to see Premier Jordan’s wife. From the door, Jean waved at Gloria, and Wilma watched her friend’s jaw tighten as she flitted towards them. Wilma got up to leave. Jean stopped her, and said, "Gloria, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?"
Wilma stuck out her hand. "Hi. I’m Wilma Thorn. And you are?" knowing full well who she was.
She flashed a smile and said, "Jean. I’m delighted to meet you."
"You are? Why is that?"
"Why, because any friend of Gloria’s is a friend of mine. Isn’t that right, Gloria?" It wasn’t a question.
Gloria didn’t play in the game, she rarely spent any more time than necessary in Jean’s vicinity. Rather than answer the non-question, Gloria asked, "What brings you to the New Moon Café?"
"Oh," Jean explained, "I saw your Lincoln, so I knew you must be in here." Gloria made a mental note to trade the car.
"With everything that is going on," she continued, "and everyone is so busy, and of course you know my husband is very busy, Gloria, I thought a nice day trip to the island would be a good diversion for me. I’ve begun looking for the perfect place for Jack and I to build a third summer home. Naturally, it will be on the island somewhere."
Wilma looked away; Gloria said "Naturally."
Mrs. Premier looked around at the décor of the café, "What brings you here, Gloria?"
"The pie. You should try a piece."
"I’ll get it." Wilma quickly added, and she was off.
After Wilma left, Jean leaned closer and whispered, "Seriously, Gloria, what ‘are’ you doing here? Does it have something to do with…", in even more of a whisper, "…you know…"
Gloria saw the opportunity and took it. She nodded towards Wilma in the kitchen and whispered, "Yes. I don’t mean to be rude, Jean, but I need to finish with…you know…"
"Yes. I see. Good. Yes." Jean obviously didn’t see at all and wouldn’t have known good from not good being this far out of her element.
Jean bounced up, and hollered towards the kitchen, "Nice meeting you, Wilma. Good-bye."
"Bye," came a shout from the back. It wasn’t until they heard the bell tinkle that Wilma and Gloria burst out laughing, in perfect harmony.
After centuries of peace between Canada and the United States, many people on both sides of the border advanced the idea of one great nation.
Many also resisted it.
As Provinces across the mainland begin to leave Canada to become part of the USA, a few people from Vancouver Island develop their own plan: they would steal Canada, before it vanishes.
From a beautiful island off the western coast of Canada, follow this powerful tapestry of political deals, human struggles and triumphs, as it weaves from Victoria to Halifax, from Manhattan to Seattle, from Ottawa to the White House to Buckingham Palace.
Many also resisted it.
As Provinces across the mainland begin to leave Canada to become part of the USA, a few people from Vancouver Island develop their own plan: they would steal Canada, before it vanishes.
From a beautiful island off the western coast of Canada, follow this powerful tapestry of political deals, human struggles and triumphs, as it weaves from Victoria to Halifax, from Manhattan to Seattle, from Ottawa to the White House to Buckingham Palace.
Authors
The Mace is authored by individuals with thirty years in the political, legal and technical worlds of Canada, the US, Europe and Asia. In the five years since the release of The Mace, a number of the predictions in the novel have begun to occur.
Letters
~
Author's Note: ~
The first printing was ready on October 4th - the very day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were to arrive in Victoria. Because Buckingham Palace plays such a crucial role in the successful and happy ending to the story, we felt that, if we could make it happen, we wanted her to have the first books off the press.
Through some wonderful and gracious people that were involved in this great event, we were able to take the very first two copies of The Mace over to Government House to be given, on our behalf, to Her Majesty and Prince Philip. It is truly wonderful that so much of the fictional story that was written months before their arrival, Her Majesty was able to experience.
~ Rene Howard
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you for your thoughtful letter and for sending me a copy of your recently published book, The Mace.
I greatly appreciate your courtesy and generosity in presenting me with this gift. Also, thank you for your kind words of support. I would like to reiterate what an immense privilege it has been to represent my fellow Canadians, allthese years. Above all, I feel especially honoured by the trust they have shown me time and time again. Throughout my life I have endeavoured to live up to their expectations, and your portrayal suggests that, in certain instances, I have clearly succeeded.
Thank you, again, for your good wishes.
Sincerely,
Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your novel entitled The Mace. I am pleased that you were able to offer assistance to BCBC and the Ministry of Management Services.
It was interesting to read about the Plan for the independence of ...
[spoiler edited]. This fast-paced story was told with intrigue, ingenuity, and a unique writing style. I appreciate receiving a copy and wish you all the best.
Again, thank you for the gift. It was good to hear from you again.
Sincerely,
Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
~~~~~~~
Author's Note: ~
The first printing was ready on October 4th - the very day that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were to arrive in Victoria. Because Buckingham Palace plays such a crucial role in the successful and happy ending to the story, we felt that, if we could make it happen, we wanted her to have the first books off the press.
Through some wonderful and gracious people that were involved in this great event, we were able to take the very first two copies of The Mace over to Government House to be given, on our behalf, to Her Majesty and Prince Philip. It is truly wonderful that so much of the fictional story that was written months before their arrival, Her Majesty was able to experience.
~ Rene Howard
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you for your thoughtful letter and for sending me a copy of your recently published book, The Mace.
I greatly appreciate your courtesy and generosity in presenting me with this gift. Also, thank you for your kind words of support. I would like to reiterate what an immense privilege it has been to represent my fellow Canadians, allthese years. Above all, I feel especially honoured by the trust they have shown me time and time again. Throughout my life I have endeavoured to live up to their expectations, and your portrayal suggests that, in certain instances, I have clearly succeeded.
Thank you, again, for your good wishes.
Sincerely,
Jean Chretien
Prime Minister of Canada
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
October 30, 2002
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your novel entitled The Mace. I am pleased that you were able to offer assistance to BCBC and the Ministry of Management Services.
It was interesting to read about the Plan for the independence of ...
[spoiler edited]. This fast-paced story was told with intrigue, ingenuity, and a unique writing style. I appreciate receiving a copy and wish you all the best.
Again, thank you for the gift. It was good to hear from you again.
Sincerely,
Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
~~~~~~~
Press Articles
NOTICE !!
STORY SPOILERS
IN PRESS ARTICLES
AUTHOR SWINGS THE MACE AT CANADA-U.S. RELATIONS November 18, 2002, Nanaimo News Bulletin By: Chris Bush, The News Bulletin
If times got tough enough, could Canada/US relations get a lot closer? Could provinces even start joining the Union to the south? Nanaimo author Rene Howard envisions scenarios where it could happen.
Picture this: Saskatchewan, birthplace of the CCF, bastion of Canadian socialism, pushed to the brink of economic disaster by years of drought and crop failures, casts its eye south of the border for help from its equally thirsty neighbouring states.
The Midwest has capital, no water. Saskatchewan has abundant quantities of water, but no finances to access it.
So begins the domino-effect fragmentation of Canadian confederation along north/south economic corridors that already exist. So does the drought in the prairie provinces and the U.S. Midwest.
The authors hold dual Canada/U.S. citizenship.
“We started to develop an idea. Could Vancouver Island stand on its own if there was a natural catastrophe? Could it weather the storm?”
But there doesn’t have to be a disaster here. Just follow the news.
“As we were writing the book, things were happening,” he says. “The drought in Saskatchewan, the terrible situation with the horses dying and the locusts and grasshoppers. The drought extended all the way down into the Midwestern United States.”
In this political mystery thriller, Vancouver Islanders must react quickly to events happening in mainland Canada and, if possible, save Canada - perhaps even steal it.
What evolved was three months of planning and nine months of “1,000 words a day or bust” hard writing to launch The Mace by October in time for the Christmas season.
“It takes place in the near future. We call it reality fiction because we wanted to make it real, but it’s set in the future so we could fictionalize and not take liberty with politicians, governments, people and businesses here.”
Commentary has already come from some fairly high level officials, including Premier Gordon Campbell who sent a letter containing references to passages in the book one would only know from reading it, indicating how much he enjoyed The Mace.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
PORT ALBERNI STARS IN POLITICAL FICTION BOOK November 1, 2002, The Alberni Valley Times By: Siobhan Burns, AV Times
The authors, from Nanaimo, launched their political fiction book called, The Mace, on Saturday, Oct 26 at Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo. The book, written under the pen name Rene Howard, was released on Oct 4. “It’s political fiction, there are two main story lines. One is the situation going on between Canada and the U.S. Each of the provinces on their own decided to leave Canada to become part of the U.S.,“ said Rene. The second story line is about a small group of people, some from Port Alberni, that try to save Canada.
The authors have lived in Nanaimo for one year. Before they moved to Nanaimo they lived in Victoria for a few years. “We’ve lived on both sides of the border so we come from experience. We’ve done a lot of work with the political system, both in the U.S. and Canada”.
We call the book “reality fiction”. “The people are fictional. The settings are real. The events have already begun,” reads the back cover of their book.
The couple said they have worked together on a lot of projects and that they enhanced each other’s skills when writing the book. “Two-thirds of what we wrote didn’t end up in the book”. One of the biggest challenges that we found is that you have to edit a lot. Editing can sometimes take longer than writing”.
The very first book off the press went to Queen Elizabeth and the second went to Prince Philip.
It’s also doing quite well in town.
“I’ve sold it surprisingly well. Their first delivery to me was sold out and we’re working on the second one,” said John Templeman, owner of Curious Coho in Port Alberni. “It’s the very first book either fiction or non-fiction which had put natives of the West coast, Port Alberni in particular, in a very positive light. The Saturday they brought it in to me, I read it right through. It’s very possible and probable. It was well rounded and an interesting read - which is unusual for a first novel,” said Templeman.
