Rhonda Bulmer
Categories: Female Authors - Anglophone Authors - Authors of Juvenile Fiction; - Novelists - Dramatists - Authors of Young Adult Literature - Miramichi River - Southeast
Source: Author / auteure
Biography
Rhonda (Herrington) Bulmer was born in Moncton but raised in the rural community of St. Margaret's (outside of Chatham, which is now part of Miramichi). Her father was a civilian who worked for 21 radar squadron, the air force radar base in St. Margaret's. With one much older brother who left home when Rhonda was only nine, it made for a very quiet, isolated life that was rich in imagination. She wrote her first book when she was 15, rejected by publishers.
Rhonda attended James M. Hill Memorial High school in the 1980s and studied public relations at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario. She returned to Moncton following the completion of her program and worked in communications and freelance writing while she raised three children with her husband. She self-published a YA novel, Rachel's Manifesto after taking some children's writing courses by correspondence, and then self-published two picture books, before publishing her first adult novel with the brand-new NB publishing company, Merlin Star Press, in 2024.
How has New Brunswick influenced your work?
New Brunswick is basically a character in The Widow & the Will, particularly the Bay of Fundy region. The subject matter of this particular book is about a person from Ontario who is required to come here to settle the requirements of her grandmother's will, which is an inconvenience, but she is attracted by the beauty and tranquility of the Bay of Fundy region, solves certain family mysteries, and is tempted to settle her life here.
What is your favourite New Brunswick book, and why?
Of the New Brunswick books I've read (just a smattering) I think I like The Sea Captain's Wife, by Beth Powning. Such visceral writing – you can really picture what it's like to take a sea voyage.
I [also] loved Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards, although it was tragic.
What do you consider to be the highlight of your career so far?
Finally succeeding in attracting a traditional publisher to my work. I always sought the validation that comes from having been chosen.
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Featured Publication |
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The Widow & the Will (2024) |
Excerpt: I shifted my cramped body into a more comfortable position. The slick, rural road was dark and disorienting. I was used to the city's haze of light pollution. I didn't see her in time. A figure stood on the centre line. She was dressed all in black, making her invisible except for her pale face, which bobbed up and down in the glow of the headlights. I slammed on the brakes with a deep swerve to avoid her, and the car skidded. I felt the impact of her body as she landed on the hood and was thrown off. Everything went black after that. |
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Find this author in the New Brunswick public libraries catalogue.
Source(s): Author.
