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What is The Way?

A Place called The Way tells the story of a settlement in Pine Valley that has a holy and mysterious power that can bring healing and peace to those who call the valley home. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I had heard that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I wanted to explore that, asking the question, “What is The Way?”

Your characters are intriguing and well developed. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

I grew up in a small, rural community and loved the quirkiness of many individuals, everybody knowing one another and the history of the town. I wanted to create a place that was believable, as if you could really go there and meet those people and walk in that town. I wanted to create characters that were like people we know, not good guy, bad guy, but real people with real issues leading a many-faceted life, and to engender a sense of compassion for them.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Self-harm behaviors and what might cause that. Racism and what that experience is like for children going to school and growing up with neighbors who might harbor those types of feelings for them. Spirituality and healing, sexuality and young people, to explore these in a realistic and intimate manner.

Are you planning to write another novel in the Pine Valley series, or are you working on something different next?

I am currently working on Book Four of the Pine Valley series, The Valley of Dreams.

Author Links: GoodReads | Website

Little Jimmy Hart tosses handfuls of hay, watching them shine in the sun and scatter on the wind. Tears dry, yet the awful memory remains. He stomps his tiny cowboy boots, crushing the ants beneath his feet, when his mother quickly picks him up and hurries across the field. Outwardly, the four-year-old looks like the sweet child his mother knows, but within himself, something is lost. Marked by his abusive uncle, he turns angry and destructive. No one understands him except his grandmother. She’s the medicine woman for a tribe driven out of Pine Valley nearly one-hundred years ago. She knows the source of recurring tragedies befalling the Hart family. But, she’s not the only one…

A Place called The Way tells the story of a small settlement founded in Pine Valley. While generations have pondered its name, few realize it is more than just a town. It is a power both holy and mysterious that can bring healing and peace to all the wounded souls who call Pine Valley home. In their individual struggles to find their place in the world, the mystery of their untold secrets lead them at last to each other and, ultimately, to The Way.

Posted in Interviews

A Place Called The Way

Sep 9

Posted by Literary Titan

A Place Called the Way by Corrine Ardoin is set in the fictitious Pine Valley in the early 20th century. It’s a sweeping drama that follows the births, lives, and deaths of the inhabitants of a small rural town known as ‘The Way.’

This novel is the third in Ardoin’s Pine Valley series. The main protagonist is Jim Hart, a man who was physically abused by his uncle as a child in the event that left both physical and emotional scars. As a result of his trauma, his life is blighted by depression and a self-harming habit. As a result, he tries to commit suicide, lets the only woman he ever really loved slip through his fingers, and even loses the right to call his son, ‘son’. The Way is a haven and a blessing for some residents; it seems to offer only a curse for others. Yet, ultimately, it offers hope.

At the beginning of the book, Ardoin helpfully provides a detailed description of the connections from one character to the next. The reader will need these signposts if they want to keep track of the story and the complicated relationships between all the individuals. The characters’ relationships ebb and flow through the novel as they face their own personal challenges and heal from their past experiences.

As the book is named for the town, it’s a nice touch that it’s presented almost as another character, with deep flashbacks interspersed throughout that examine its history. The town’s mysterious healing powers and history give it its own personality adding to the reader’s experience that the town is its own character and just as important as the people residing in it. At one point, I mistakenly thought the main story was just background to a plot twist that never came. However, the strong personal story of the characters and their experience with the town made this novel enchanting.

A Place Called the Way is a coming-of-age novel set in a small rural town with a long tradition of helping the inhabitants heal from their past. Fans of soft-focus historical drama will enjoy it for its sense of community and the complexity of its interpersonal relationships.

Pages: 208 | ASIN : B09WZYQPNS