THUNDER BAY - Local author Jean Pendziwol is entering into unchartered waters with her new book.
The local author made a career from writing picture/children’s books, but her new adult novel, “The Light Keeper's Daughter” is a step in a different direction.
The new fiction novel describes the story of a blind elderly woman who enlists the help of a delinquent teen to help her read her father’s journals.
“It’s a deviation from my previous work,” Pendziwol said.
The author held a book singing inside of Chapters on Saturday to give fans the opportunity for a meet-and-greet.
The story taps into of themes of family, identity, art, and mystery - all with the familiar setting of Lake Superior.
“Our weekends and holidays were spent there growing up,” Pendziwol said. “We spent a lot of time sailing the north shore.”
Pendziwol said she’s always been inspired in her work by the history, people, and geography of Northern Ontario.
“I have tremendous respect for the area,” Pendziwol said. “It’s magnificent, it’s beautiful, it’s temperamental. We are blessed in Thunder Bay have access to such a wonderful place.”
Pendziwol said the process of writing her first adult novel was a learning process, but she is pleased with the result.
“It took me several years,” she said. “I worked on it in short chunks of time, there were other things going on in life that took me away from my focus on the work.”
“Eventually, it came to a time in my life where I had the time and mental space to take on a project of that magnitude.
Pendziwol’s book has been available since July 4, and she said the local response has been extremely gratifying.
“The community has been so tremendously supportive and I’m grateful for that.”
The local author said she has a few projects on the go, and hopes she can write another adult fiction novel in the near future.
As for now, her new picture book “Me and You and The Red Canoe” will be available for purchase on August 1.
