Welcome to BookView Interview, a conversation series where BookView talks to authors.

Recently, we talked to Céline Perron, about her writing and newly released thriller, The Next Right Thing, (read the review here).

I grew up in the small Francophone community of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. A small town located in Northern Ontario, Canada. After graduating High School in 2012 I moved away for University and spent the next few years gaining a Bachelor of Honours in Law and Justice and a Minor in Psychology from Algoma University in 2016 (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and a Master of Arts Degree in Criminology from the University of Windsor in 2018(Windsor, Ontario).

Afterwards, I moved to the nation’s capital [Ottawa, Ontario] to begin working towards my career goals. Originally, I had aspirations to enter the field of law enforcement, but faith had other plans and before long I obtained a position at Scotiabank in their Fraud Department. In 2020, I was fortunate enough to get hired as part of the Fraud Investigation team.

Website: www.celineperron.com

Instagram: @celineperronwriter

Facebook: @Celine Perron

Tiktok: @celineperron.author

Does your family support your career as a writer?

Absolutely! I am very fortunate to have a family who is abundantly supportive of my dreams and once I told them I was writing an actual book they couldn’t be happier. That is, until I shared the good news that my manuscript would become a published novel. My family members were some of the first to order a copy of my book the moment it became available.

Is writer’s block real?

A thousand percent yes! Writer’s block does happen to writer’s and they shouldn’t stress so much about it. Sometimes WB occurs when you need to take a break, or in my case, when you’re trying to force a scene together that just isn’t working, and you need to head back to the drawing board. I don’t think I have a negative attitude towards WB compared to other writers because I’ve learned to use it in a more productive way. WB helped me when I needed to rethink a part of my story that required some work and in the end the book was all the better for it.

SOME FUN QUESTIONS:

If you could only change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

If I had to pick, it would definitely be my ability to overthink things. This has been challenging at times, especially in the writing and publishing process. One example I can think of is when it came to selecting the cover art for my debit novel ‘The Next Right Thing’. I went as far as creating a poll on social media in order to feel more confident in the selection process. This ended up being a great help as it allowed me to get a clearer sense as to what the readers would prefer versus me wanting to add pretty much everything to the cover. Sometimes the simplest concept is the better option. (It’s just easier said than done at times!).

How different was your life one year ago?

I still remember being at a party celebrating New Year’s Eve for the year 2020 and thinking of all the possibilities that awaited us. Little did I know! I feel that we can ask just about anyone this question right about now and they would likely all say something along the lines of their life being a lot more social, and, in a word, normal. The pandemic has certainly created a more challenging world for everyone, but I chose to continue to see past the hardship and focus on the good. Although the past year has been difficult, I’ve loved seeing the resilience that exists in the world. People from all walks of life taking on social change or even working to better their own lives on a smaller scale. It’s absolutely inspiring.

Your life didn’t necessarily go as planned, if you could, would you change anything?

I can’t say there aren’t things I would have liked to see turn out differently, but if I’m being honest, regardless how things turned out, I wouldn’t change the path my life took. Yes, it wasn’t always easy and I’m not so ignorant as to think that the challenges are long from being done with me, but I know without a doubt that I’m who I am today because of it all. All the challenges, all the setbacks, but especially all the good days and the even better people that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet along the way it all led me to where I am now. To who I am now. And I wouldn’t change that for anything. 

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BOOK/WRITING:

How did your writing journey begin?

Fun fact, the story of my debut novel was actually thought of over ten years earlier back when I was in High School. I was in grade 9 (freshman) and I had decided then and there that I was going to be a writer when I grew up. I had plotted the story and the characters for my book and truly felt that I had something worthwhile in my hands. My good friend Theresa was one of my strongest supporters and encouraged me to finish the book. It would only be when I started telling others that I wanted to write that the doubt set in. Needless to say, some felt that I should pursue a more reliable and less challenging career goal and being the impressionable teenager that I was at the time, I listened.

Regardless of the choices I’ve made when it came to setting aside my writing, I don’t regret it. Sure, it meant that I would have to wait over a decade to write again, but I honestly feel that this was the way it was always supposed to go. Over the years, it wasn’t just me that grew up, it was my characters too. Characters that stayed in the farthest corners of my mind all these years just waiting for their story to be told one day. Now, I never imagined it would take a worldwide pandemic to get the ball rolling, but I guess it’s true what they say – you really never know how things will turn out.

Follow up: My good friend Theresa was among the list of people whom I told about my book finally being written and published. She has since received her own copy and actually ended up being one of the very first readers to write a review for it. A review for the very same book we had both been waiting to be finished for all these years. And, in her words, it was ‘a masterpiece’.

What makes this book important right now?

What makes this book important from a professional sense is knowing that it will lay the foundation for my writing career. On a personal level, it’s important to me to know that this story that has lived in the furthest corners of my mind for all these years has finally come to life.

What’s next for you?

I am happy to say that I am still writing and am working on my newest project which will also be my very first series. At this time all I can say is that it will be YA Fiction (Young Adult Fiction) and has a paranormal aspect to it as well. For more information readers can follow along on my Instagram page @celineperronwriter

***