Carissa Halton

In this episode I talk with author Carissa Halton about her debut novel Revolution Songs along with discussing research within place, how researching real people can help a writer with character development, the ways strategic planning can support a writer’s career, and writing historical fiction with authenticity, even when the truth of that authenticity is problematic. Carissa Halton is an awarding-winning writer whose fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in the Post-Media Newspapers, Today’s Parent, Alberta Views, The Tyee, CBC among others. Her book of essays, Little Yellow House Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood, was a finalist for the 2019 Edmonton Book Prize. Revolution Songs is her debut novel. In her work life, Carissa runs Halton Strategic, where she works with teams and boards to find common ground. She lives in Treaty 6, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. About the Book:Annie Jalmer stands uneasily between opposing allegiances inher 1930s Rocky Mountain town. As the radical politics of herfamily inflame tensions, Annie becomes an unwilling double agent until a violent strike forces her to take a stand. Revolution Songs is the electrifying debut novel by award-winning writer Carissa Halton, inspired by the little-known story of a Communist union, the rise of the Canadian Ku Klux Klan, andthe women who fought on both sides. Set against the charged backdrop of Depression-era politics, Halton weaves athrilling and timely story that echoes the rising polarization of our own era. Carissa Halton is an awarding-winning writer whose fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in the Post-Media Newspapers, Today’s Parent, Alberta Views, The Tyee, CBC among others. Her book of essays, Little Yellow House Finding Community in a Changing Neighbourhood, was a finalist for the 2019 Edmonton Book Prize. Revolution Songs is her debut novel. In her work life, Carissa runs Halton Strategic, where she works with teams and boards to find common ground. She lives in Treaty 6, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.