The writer and journalist Marjorie Simmins joins Joseph Planta to discuss her husband Silver Donald Cameron (1937-2020), and his final book Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes (Viking, 2020).

Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes by Silver Donald Cameron (Viking, 2020). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Blood in the Water

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Silver Donald Cameron was a prolific writer, and in various genres. There were plays, and newspaper columns, novels, as well as the non-fiction he was likely best known for. He was also an activist in the best sense of the word. Someone who cared about the environment, and that was clear in his work and documentaries, many of which are available and linked to at www.TheGreenInterview.com. Don appeared on this program in 2016, when he and his wife the writer Marjorie Simmins travelled throughout the country to promote their respective works. They ended up on the West Coast to spend the winter away from the east coast. Don’s reputation as a writer preceded him, and he was honoured by the country he knew so well with the Order of Canada, and the Order of Nova Scotia. Silver Donald Cameron died on 01 June 2020 just three weeks shy of what would have been his 83^rd birthday. And as he is being mourned across this country, his final book has just been published. Blood in the Water: A True Story of Revenge in the Maritimes is cinematic in scope, but it gets to the heart of the Nova Scotian fishing village where in 2013, a small-time criminal named Philip Boudreau disappeared after he was caught vandalising lobster traps. One of their owners took out a rifile and fired four shots and rammed and sank Boudreau’s boat, and his body was never found. The book chronicles the lives of those involved, the industry of lobster fishing, and the charm and character of small-town life in the Maritimes. It is a place that is steeped in community and history, and Mr. Cameron does a marvelous job in capturing the spirit of this part of the world, one he knew well, loved and loved him in return. Marjorie Simmins joins me now to talk about the book, to talk about Don, and to join me in remembering this remarkable man. Ms. Simmins is an award-winning journalist and author of the memoirs Coastal Lives, and Year of the Horse. She is a noted teacher of memoir writing, and this past spring published Memoir: Conversations and Craft, and outstanding book that looks at how good memoir is written. We’ll have Marjorie on in a few weeks to talk about her own book, which is a marvelous book about memoirs and memoirists as they share their wisdom. Visit www.silverdonaldcameron.ca for more information. As I told Marjorie, I not only admired Don, but I liked him very much. This book is published by Viking. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Marjorie Simmins; Ms. Simmins, good morning.

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