Cynthia d'Entremont and dad Evan Morgan stand in front of a framed poster of her Oak Island Revenge book.

LAKEVIEW: With the bright sun shining down through a skylight inside Sunnyside Mall in Bedford, a young woman dressed very colourfully begins to read a chapter from a book.
As the woman finishes off the final paragraph in the chapter, everyone in the crowd outside Indigo Spirit Books gives a round of applause for the words the woman had just spoken. Those words were penned—and then read aloud—by Cynthia d’Entremont, the Lakeview author of the edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller Oak Island Revenge.
d’Entremont said its set in 1958 in a place called Oak Island. She explains why she decided on that time period.
“I set in at that time because it was after some Texans had come with their drilling rigs to drill, but before the causeway was built to Oak Island so it’s a time when people still had to take a boat to go out there,” said d’Entremont following signing a plethora of books on May 12. “That was important to the story, so that’s why I picked that time.
“There wasn’t a lot of exploring going on so I thought it was a good time to set a fictional story.”
The first draft for Oak Island Revenge—printed by Nimbus Publishing—took d’Entremont about five or six months, before a rewrite took place. In total, from start to seeing it published about two years lapsed.
“I set it aside for several months, and then came back to it and did a rewrite, which took another few weeks,” the well spoken writer said. “Of course, when the publisher takes it you go through a couple of rounds of editing there. In all of my writing, I usually have someone in my writing group read it, so it’s getting revisions done.”
She said the main character, Jonah Morgan—the last name being the same as her parents—is curious about the island, so he’s decided he will go explore it with his best friend.
“They do set out to do that, but unfortunately for them along the way they come across some information that might help in the disappearance of someone in the community,” said d’Entremont. “Jonah knows something about the disappearance, but he realizes that although truth is very important to him, some truths are going to have consequences for people, and he’s trying to live a truthful life, while still protecting his best friend. That’s basically what he’s trying to do, and then it compounds.
“It’s a story about how to find truth in the midst of difficult circumstances, and how you can make sure justice happens.”
The turnout of 100 people outside Indigo-Spirit Books for the launch, which included cake and an appearance by Sackville-Eastern Shore NDP MP Peter Stoffer, was impressive. Nimbus’ children’s book editor, Penelope Jackson, introduced d’Entremont, who she worked with on the book.
“I was thrilled to see so many people here, a lot of people I haven’t seen before and my family and friends,” she said. “I’m pleased with the support.”
d’Entremont isn’t sure Jonah has had his last bit of action in her books—she sees a possible future in store for him, which should delight fans of Oak Island Revenge.
“I am tweaking around the idea of Jonah getting involved in some other mishaps along the way,” he said. “Nothing’s decided yet, but I certainly had a lot of fun working with the characters in the story, and would like to see a little more of them. I’m hoping to be able to devote some time to that.”
Oak Island Revenge can be purchased at Indigo Spirit Books in the Sunnyside Mall in Bedford, at other book stores across the province, and online at d’Entremont’s website http://www.cynthiadentremont.com/, and Amazon.ca
There was also a contest running on the Nimbus Publishing website in conjunction with the book. The winner—which was scheduled to be announced on May 30—would win a gorgeous hand-made pendant piece by a local artist from Jennifer's of Nova Scotia; a replica of the locket in Oak Island Revenge; and a one-night stay at Oak Island Resort.
phealey@enfieldweeklypress.com