Talking about A Hole in the Ground

Posted on January 27, 2017 by rossmurray1

Here’s an interview I did a while back on “Quebec AM,” the province-wide CBC Radio morning program out of Quebec City. The host, Susan Campbell, is a fellow Nova Scotian, and we have known each other pretty much since we first moved to this province as young journalists years and years ago now. So the conversation was one of the most comfortable I did in promoting my novel, A Hole in the Ground.

If the embed doesn’t work, you can find the interview on Soundcloud.

About rossmurray1

I'm Canadian so I pronounce it "Aboot." No, I don't! I don't know any Canadian who says "aboot." Damnable lies! But I do know this Canadian is all about humour (with a U) and satire. Come by. I don't bite, or as we Canadians say, "beet."
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15 Responses to Talking about A Hole in the Ground

  1. HonieBriggs says:
    January 27, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    Terrific interview! Brought to mind a Mellencamp kind of feeling, all the talk of small towns and the funny way they give us a sense of belonging and longing to escape them at the same time. My community consists of a cluster of these types of small towns, ranch land turned suburb, one of which proudly identifies itself as “a drinking town with a(n) historical problem.” Oddly that is exactly why this town has become a tourist attraction. Wine tasting rooms line Main Street.

    By the way, you DO say aboot.

    Reply
  2. Exile on Pain Street says:
    January 31, 2017 at 7:08 am

    Funny you should mention ‘A Hole in the Ground.’ Guess what I just finished reading? Now, don’t get all insulted and whatnot. When a book enters the Exile household, it gets put on the bottom of a tall stack. It has to wait its turn to bubble to the surface. And I am a s-l-o-w reader. Dickens and Hemingway get the same treatment. Bukowski gets fast-tracked but he’s a super-fast, easy read.

    Ross, I don’t mean to lather your ass or anything but I loved your book. Jen is such a beautifully fleshed-out character that I was sad to part with her. Not to give anything away in your comment thread but the ending made me kind of sad. Prolly not what you intended. The plot flows with the authenticity of someone who crawled around in that environment for a few years. I’ve searched the internet high and low and I don’t think there’s any such thing as a Northern Burlap Turtle. A literary device or just jerking your readers around? No matter. Nice work, pal.

    Reply
    • rossmurray1 says:
      January 31, 2017 at 7:22 am

      Everything else is made up, so why not a species? My brother and his wife are turtlers, and their species at risk is the Blanding’s turtle. I didn’t want to get bogged down (get it?) in species specifics.
      Really glad you liked it. I’ve had people love the ending because they interpret it as Jem ending up with Julien, but I’m not so sure. You’re reactions probably more realistic. There should be a little sadness in all the decisions we make, no?

      Reply
  4. Ilona Elliott says:
    February 6, 2017 at 11:55 pm

    I think I need to give it a read. I have lived in a number of small towns, and they are rich with resources for “fictional” situations and characters. I currently live in one that was once a center of chicken farms, and our claim to fame is the worlds largest egg, which may be an alternative fact since I doubt anyone has researched whether or not there are bigger (fiberglass) eggs existent in this whole wide world. Sounds like a really fun story Ross.

    Reply

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