The eloquent and charismatic author, Bobby Hutchinson, made it a point to greet every guest at the library on Wednesday evening, a social nicety that her B&B experience may have turned into a lingering habit. Nonetheless, the gesture was warmly received and established a comfortable mood for the ensuing book presentation.
Hutchinson’s presence at the Nakusp Library was orchestrated though the One Book One Kootenay program and was the second stop of her tour. The OBOK book competition was created by the Kootenay Library Federation to celebrate and inform readers about the rich pool of literary talent bubbling in our own regional backyard. The process began with a dedicated committee (including our library’s own Patty Riley) truncating a list of 35 books by Kootenay authors into a short-list of standout texts. The list was then revealed to the reading public, who has until August 10 to explore the selections and cast a vote for their favourite Kootenay novel being selected as the One Book for 2014.
Hutchinson’s book, Blue Collar B&B, was included in the shortlist by the OBOK committee and stands with two other novels; Africa’s Unfinished Symphony by Fauquier resident Lucia Mann and South of Elfrida by Holley Rubinsky from Kalso. “I am honoured and a little intimidated” Hutchinson said of her nomination. “The other two authors are what I would call literary writers, whereas I am just a storyteller.”
Blue Collar B&B is an account of Hutchinson’s experience when she decided to add the operation of a B&B to her already established career as a steamy romance novelist. The account is unabashedly honest, successfully weaving life’s emotions through the strength of her characters and the candidness of her exploits. Hutchinson has received both praise and criticism for her frank and often humourous dialogue of taboo subjects, but feels that “The more honest I am, the more honest people are with me, and this is the only way we truly learn.”
Hutchinson also acknowledges that she writes for future generations, and when friends or critics ask how she could possibly reveal so much personal information she typically responds that, “the most valuable legacy is not the china set, or the Lamborghini or the bank account, it is leaving a snippet of your life, of who you truly were.”
Hutchinson did not sit down to write Blue Collar B&B until selling the Vancouver house and opening a B&B in her hometown of Sparwood. She realized there was a book hiding in the characters framed by a period of time that had a clear beginning, middle, end and even an existing theme.
Hutchinson used a Charles Dicken’s quote to sum up her writing philosophy; “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em wait” which would account for the ripples of laughter and giggles that washed through the gathered crowd as guests listened to Hutchinson talk about honesty and life.