That burst of excitement TV brings

A burst of excitement thanks to Nick Moore

 We planned the launch of Abigail Massey at McAdam Station, Volume 1, for Sunday, December 5, 2012.

We had no idea what to expect.

I drafted a press release that I sent to every media outlet in New Brunswick that I could identify, no matter where in the province they were located. I sent it on a hope and a prayer, desperate to garner even the briefest mention on a radio station, on a TV news broadcast, in a newspaper.

We booked the Formal Dining Room at the Station. The McAdam Historic Restoration Commission prepared refreshments, the MHRC President Gail Swan prepared remarks and Patti and I talked through what I would say as well.

We were ready to go.

Problem was: the books weren't. The printed copies of the first collection of short stories got caught up in the postal outlet in Moncton, New Brunswick.

We had to go to the launch event WITH NO BOOKS to sell.

We had the seven advanced copies we had printed (well, we had six since one copy had somehow gone missing) to show to people willing to place orders, but the expected 500 copies of the book to sell did not get to us in time.

Sensing a building disaster, Patti and I made our way out to McAdam on the assigned day. When we got there, we found a small but excited group waiting for us. Mary O'Keefe attended with her husband and some friends. The Carroll family of McAdam was well represented.

And, to my great joy, about 20 other people from the local community turned out.

Still, 35 people? With 500 books to sell?

I sensed we were in serious trouble. The show would go on, to be sure. We would do our very best, absolutely. But how the heck are we going to spin a 35-person launch event with no books into the effective marketing and sale of 500 copies of a virtually unknown book by a virtually anonymous author?

Me on CTV

Just as I was girding myself to ask Gail to start the proceedings, my attention was attracted by a bustle at the doorway to the Formal Dining Room.

Are those professional quality film lights? Is that a television camera? Is that Nick Moore from CTV Atlantic, strolling into the room with a microphone, a camera crew and a buzz of electricity?

It was like Nick and his crew touched off a rocketship that carried our project for the next ten years. His wonderful three-minute piece on the books and the Station played that evening on the six o'clock news and, I am told, across the country.

And it splashed our project into the public imagination and the attention of the other media. 

By Wednesday, we had been featured in newspapers and interviewed on popular radio shows. 

By Saturday, we had sold out the original 500-copy print run -- the copies having been received so helpfully on the Monday after the launch event -- and were ordering more.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

When writing comes easy

Avis Boone, the inspiration for Abigail

I remember writing those first Abigail stories.

I don't remember researching for them (much) but I do remember writing them. I sat at the big white iMac computer in our home office and the words just poured out of my fingers. Once I got the basic concept and characters down, there was no stopping me.

I've only had that experience one other time in my life -- the experience of writing as typing, or typing as writing, where the story, the setting, the characters are so fully developed in my mind that I didn't even really have to think but simply to write.

It's a joyful, blissful experience for a writer. You feel free and powerful and filled with talent.

I actually wrote twelve stories in a very short space of time, perhaps two months, even though Lynn and I had only planned on a single volume with four stories. 

The first story in Volume 1, "Passing the Test", was based on comments made by Avis Boone, the real-life inspiration for Abigail, in a documentary made by the local Rogers Cable station (find it here). Avis talked about how she and her cousin had applied for jobs at the McAdam Station and, bam, there was the story idea.

Several of the characters also leapt fully formed from that interview: Abigail (Avis), Martha (Avis' cousin), Miss Pierce (Miss Quinn, the stern hotel manager about whom Avis told several interesting tales).

Easy peasy.

The second story, "In Trouble", was also inspired by one of the tales Avis tells in the Rogers "Backtracks" program. Talk about a great resource for material -- I have had the honour of meeting several of Avis' family members and I have thanked them over and over again for her contributions to the Abigail stories.

Once I had those two stories done (and that took maybe two days at most), it was smooth flowing from there. Abigail and Martha were clear in my mind; Miss Pierce was also coming together nicely. And I felt I had a pretty good handle on the times (the stories are set in the early 1940s).

"Behind Bars" was a simple little story that was intended to highlight the fact that the McAdam Railway Station had its own jail cell. And to show the Martha was indeed a mischievous little person who would cause no end of trouble for her more straight-laced cousin.

And then there was "Canada's Sweetheart", a story which has gone on to become far and away the favourite story for most people who love Abigail. The good folks at the Station have even created a skit based on the story that they perform at many of their special events.

Canadian skating legend Barbara Ann Scott visit to the McAdam Station in the late 1940s was mentioned on several of the tours of the Station I had attended and I realised early that there was a story there.

 Then, on a visit to Ottawa the summer before sitting down to write Abigail, I had a chance to visit a museum display on Ms. Scott's amazing international skating career. As I toured the display, I realised that Ms. Scott was just hitting her stride at the time of the Abigail stories, not yet Canadian or Olympic champion but just about to burst onto the international scene.

So I decided to change the dates of her visit to McAdam and have her interact directly with my characters in what I think turned out to be a very sweet story.

And so "Canada's Sweetheart" was born.

The story holds an especial place in my heart as the author because it marks the first time I incorporated a real person into the world of Abigail. Barbara Ann Scott appears as herself and my characters interact with her directly.

This is an approach I used over and over again throughout the Abigail stories. I had Prime Ministers and Premiers drop in. After finding the McAdam Telephone Book from 1939 in the New Brunswick Provincial Archives, I was able to incorporate the actual townspeople of the time (like Mr. Cook, the greengrocer, and Dr. MacLean) into the stories.

And, in later stories, I did much more. But that I will have to save for a later post.

Jumping in with both feet

Frank Carroll

The first significant memory I have of the Abigail Project is that first meeting with the executive of the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission.

It's important to remember: I had never met any of these people and had no idea how they would react to our crazy idea and the sample books we brought.

If memory serves, Mary O'Keefe helped set up the meeting and she and I drove out to McAdam one Saturday afternoon to meet the group: Frank Carroll, Elsie Carroll, Dave McInroy and one other person whose name current escapes me. It is possible that Gail Swan was also there and that perhaps Elsie wasn't -- my memory has always been quite problematic.

I had written 12 stories already, flawed, wonderful stories that introduced cousins Abigail and Martha, their new friends Alice and Jenny as well as the stern Miss Pierce and the gruff Mr. Fitzpatrick.

Using only the first four stories -- "Passing the Test", "In Trouble", "Behind Bars" and "Canada's Sweetheart" -- my sister Lynn had created a beautiful sample book, complete with illustrations she herself had drawn. I remember being stunned at how beautiful those illustrations were and how the book looked so professional.

Lynn had seven sample copies printed and sent to me specifically for this meeting.

Frank and the team were nothing but kind and supportive and, after I did my brief pitch about what we had done and what we hoped to accomplish, I produced the sample copies with something of a flourish.

Dave, who had been fairly quiet throughout the early part of the meeting, pulled out his wallet, slapped a ten-dollar bill on the table and said, "I'll buy one right now."

At that point, I knew we were in business.

I asked for their consent to use the Station and its history in this way and said that we would print and donate 20 copies to the Station. They could sell those copies, pocket an easy $200 and move on to the next project.

Elsie Carroll

If they felt the idea had promise, however, I would pay to print 100 copies for them to sell, with the Station reimbursing me for the cost of printing if proceeds from sales were sufficient to cover it. I didn't want them to be out any money just because they chose to support our crazy idea.

Frank looked affronted, smiled a slow smile and said, "Print 500".

I sat back as if I had been punched. FIVE HUNDRED copies? That's an initial investment in printing costs of $3000. And I had promised to cover the cost if the books didn't sell.

I swallowed hard, glanced at Mary and caught her grin. She seemed to have caught whatever fever was afflicting Frank.

I looked from smiling face to smiling face and thought: Okay. They know their market better than I do. If they think they can sell 500, who am I to question them?

With that settled, we agreed on a launch date for the Abigail book for early November, with further discussions to be held and details to be sorted.

Then Mary and I drove back to Fredericton and I had the delicious luxury of telling my partner Patti that Christmas was cancelled: all our money was to go into printing 500 copies of Abigail Massey at McAdam Station, Volume 1. 

With the faint hope that we would sell enough copies to recoup our investment!

Journey's end: Abigail co-creator Mark Walma bids farewell to his beloved character

Me, Mark Walma, speaking at the recent book launch

With the publication of Unclaimed Baggage, Mary E. O'Keefe's wonderful new novel, in the fall of 2022, our long journey with the Abigail Abigail Massey at McAdam Station project comes to an end.

At least my journey comes to an end.

Mary has expressed an interest in writing additional stories exploring the lives of some of our supporting characters -- like Miss Pierce and Mr. Fitzpatrick -- but for me, as one of the two creators of Abigail, Martha and their friends and of the popular story books that chronicle their adventures, I am bringing this 13-year project to a close.

The fact that I am not sad or worried or scared or melancholy or uncertain about this decision tells me it is the right thing to do. The time has come to focus my attention on other projects, other creative endeavours.

The Abigail Project has been an amazing experience for me, filled with memorable moments and wonderful surprises.

Once Lynn and I decided this was something we wanted to do -- to tell the (fictionalised) stories of the young women who lived and worked at the McAdam Railway Station and Hotel as a way to raise money to help preserve the Station, the first 12 stories just poured out of me.

We had planned to print only one collection of four stories, with only 20 copies, and to donate them to the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission. We figured they could earn maybe $200 from selling the book and then be done with the whole idea.

The Commission had other ideas, however, and asked that we print 500 copies, confident that the interest would be there to support such a massive print run. Lynn and I, along with my partner Patti, took a big gulp and ordered 500 copies of Volume 1, hoping beyond hope that our little project wouldn't end up costing the Commission, or us, a bundle of money.

Within a week of publication, that original print-run of 500 had sold out. We can thank the people of McAdam for that, and the media in New Brunswick who threw their full support behind the venture. We have since printed and sold about 2,000 copies of Volume 1 of Abigail Massey at McAdam Station and followed it up with Volumes 2 through 5, plus a Christmas novella, a coffee table book, a beautiful poster Lynn designed, mugs, bookmarks and even an fake McAdam Junction newspaper. And now, finally, Mary's epic novel that brings Abigail back to McAdam in the year 2017.

The experience has been so filled with joy and delight that I have a million wonderful memories of the Abigail Project. And I hope to use upcoming blog posts to share those with you as well.

It will be sort of my farewell to Abigail. And my thanks to everyone who has supported our books.

Breaking New Ground: Abigail novel makes CBC Christmas book list

 We have spent a decade and more building the Abigail Massey at McAdam Station project, publishing five collections of stories, a Christmas-themed novella, a coffee-table book and now Unclaimed Baggage, Mary E. O'Keefe's wonderful new Abigail novel.

 This novel continues the story of Abigail and her friends, while bringing the story of Abigail's long and complicated life full circle. This novel introduces the mystery of what drove Abigail and her beloved cousin, Martha Casey, apart in the latter part of the war and traces Abigail's efforts to reconcile with Martha.

It is a wonderful book, beautifully written and spectacularly designed and illustrated, and has sold fantastically well since we released it just over a month ago.

And now Mary and her novel Unclaimed Baggage have accomplished something unprecedented in the history of our project: they have earned mention in an article in the provincial media, promoting New Brunswick books for the Christmas season: CBC Article

The entire Abigail team extends our hearty congratulations to Mary and Lynn, author and illustrator/designer of this wonderful novel. And we want to thank Patti Simmons, who has worked her social media promotional magic to ensure that this amazing book has become known across the province and around the world. 

Unclaimed Baggage is available for purchase at the McAdam Railway Station, the McAdam Village Office and at Artful Persuasion, located on York Street in downtown Fredericton.

And, even more exciting, Mary will join Abigail creator and author Mark Walma will be appearing live in person at the Fredericton Boyce Farmers Market on Saturday, December 17 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Look for them inside the market buildings and, please, drop by to say hello!

 

Unclaimed Baggage launch a huge success

Unclaimed Baggage launched on September 25 at a wonderful event held at the McAdam Railway Station.

The McAdam Historical Restoration Commission outdid itself with its preparations -- the formal dining room looked beautiful as it hosted more than 100 fans of author Mary O'Keefe, the McAdam Station and the Abigail project.

Mary gave a wonderful talk about her life, her book and her writing process while local dignitaries and McAdam Station volunteers also spoke.

We started with 61 chairs available for guests but we soon had to haul out additional chairs and, even then, people were left standing all around the room. The energy was fantastic and it was hard not to be carried away by the emotion of the day.

Mary dedicated the novel to her sister, who passed away while the book was being written,  and in an emotional moment presented the first copy of the novel to her brother-in-law, as family and friends looked on.

And there was even a surprise -- Mary introduced Abigail Massey herself and, as Abigail began her remarks, she was interrupted by her cousin Martha, with whom she has been quarrelling for almost 70 years.

The script for the Abigail/Martha skit was taken from the pages of Unclaimed Baggage itself and proved a hit -- several guests appeared scandalised when Martha leapt to her feet to interrupt Abigail's remarks and so effective were the performances that it took a moment for many people to realise it was simply a skit for their entertainment.

After the official program came to an end and as guests enjoyed the wonderful refreshments provided by the McAdam volunteers, Mary and Abigail creator/author Mark Walma got the chance to meet dozens of guests and sign their copies of the new novel and of many other Abigail books.

It was a huge success and a lot of fun for everyone involved. If you wish to purchase your copy of Unclaimed Baggage (or of any other Abigail books), visit the McAdam Station website to place an order.

Abigail's final story to be launched September 25 in McAdam

Two women. Both born in McAdam. Both raised in McAdam. Both having left McAdam years ago to pursue their careers, to follow their dreams.

 

Both returning to McAdam on September 25 to share a shining moment.

 

One is real, the other fictional.

 

And their stories meet at the McAdam Station.

 

Author Mary O’Keefe returns to her hometown McAdam, New Brunswick, on Sunday, September 25 to celebrate the launch of her first novel, Unclaimed Baggage, at 2 p.m.

 

The final chapter in the successful “Abigail Massey at McAdam Station” saga, Unclaimed Baggage tells the tragic but heart-warming story of an aging woman, Abigail Massey, who returns to her hometown in rural New Brunswick to make one last attempt at repairing her relationship with her once beloved cousin.

 

“Abigail and her cousin Martha were torn apart by tragic events at the end of the Second World War and have not spoken to each other since 1944,” O’Keefe explained. “I’ve set the novel in 2017, when Abigail, now in her 90s and living in Ontario, decides to make one final visit home to McAdam in hopes of solving the mystery that has kept her and her cousin apart for more than 70 years.”

 

A retired nurse and health consultant who has spent most of her life in Fredericton, O’Keefe seems perfectly suited to write this final Abigail novel.

 

“We have a lot in common, this character and I,” O’Keefe said with a smile. “We were both born and raised in McAdam with the Station playing an important role in our lives. And, like every McAdam native, no matter where our lives have taken us, this amazing little village in rural New Brunswick has always held a special place in our hearts.”

 

Introduced almost 15 years ago as a fund-raiser for the McAdam Historical Restoration Commission, the Abigail Massey stories have entertained thousands of readers, young and old, across New Brunswick and around the world.

 

“The Abigail stories are based on the lives of the young women who lived and worked at the McAdam Railroad Station and Hotel in the 1940s,” O’Keefe explained. “We’ve now published five collections of stories, one novella, a coffee table book, and now the new novel, all in support of the restoration of this gorgeous national landmark. I think we’ve raised between $40,000 and $50,000 for the Station so far and I really hope Unclaimed Baggage captures our readers’ imaginations the way the original story books have.”

 

Mary O’Keefe will launch her new novel, Unclaimed Baggage, at a special event on Sunday, September 25 at 2 p.m. at the McAdam Railway Station. It is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend, tour the historic station and learn more about these two amazing women with so much in common.

 

“I am so excited to be able to present this book to the world,” O’Keefe said. “It’s been a labour of love for me for the past four years and I hope the many fans of Abigail Massey, of the historic McAdam Railway Station and Hotel, find my novel to be an exciting, emotional, satisfying finale for the whole Abigail Massey series.”