For many Guelphites, the 1990s to early 2000s are full of fond memories of the city's vibrant music and cultural scene ... but there was more to it.
Although it's characters and events are fictional, Guelph writer Rebecca Morris sets her debut fictional novel, Other Maps, in the Royal City that features local landmarks, both past and present.
Now living in Montreal, Morris relives some of the most memorable hangouts in her hometown including the Bookshelf Café, the Hillside Festival, the Albion, the Trasheteria, Exhibition Park and Stone Road Mall.
"I'm really excited for people from Guelph to read this book, and especially people like me growing up in the 90s there. I tried to capture some of that energy in my book."
Although an intense story, Morris hopes Other Maps will offer an exciting read for people from Guelph who can maybe relive some of those good times too.
The book, due to launch on Sept. 14, is a literary fiction #metoo novel that explores truth, resilience and the 'ride-or-die' friendship between two young women who will support each other at any cost.
"This is my first novel. I have been working on it for a long, long time," Morris said.
"The two main characters were haunting me for years. As I started working on it, I realized it was set in Guelph, even though I hadn't lived there for a number of years."
Morris tried to set the story in an unnamed city but it just kept coming back to Guelph. So, she embraced it at the end, and even included a view of the city on the book's cover.
"Writing this book taught me how to write a novel. I started writing this book before there was even a hashtag for the #metoo movement. In a way, it shut me down for a little bit when that movement came out. There were all these powerful stories, and mine was fiction," Morris said.
"I really wrestled with that. I thought how could I possibly put something out into the world that is fictional when so many people have gone through the real thing? I worked through that and thought, well, I can write the best book I possibly can, I can do a lot of research, and I can have a lot of people read it."
Morris hopes people who read about the painful experiences, might also see a way through them.
The winner of numerous awards for her stories including the Malahat Review Open Season Award for Fiction, and the Humber Literary Review’s Emerging Writers Fiction contest, Morris is a Banff Centre alumna, recipient of a Canada Council Arts grant, and an active member of the Quebec Writers’ Federation where she teaches workshops on short fiction and narrative structure.
Born and raised in Guelph, Morris has fond memories of her hometown and makes sure to visit regularly.
"I was born in Guelph in the 1970s. My mom still lives in the same house I grew up in. I graduated high school from John F. Ross and then I went away to university. After that, I would come home for summers, but I never came back home to live. I settled in Nova Scotia and then in Montreal," she said.
Morris attended Trent University, she completed a teaching degree at Queen's University and obtained a master's degree at Dalhousie University.
"My degree was in French. I've taught Kindergarten all the way up to Grade 11," Morris said.
"I still visit Guelph pretty often. I was just there in July. My family and friends are all still there."
Other Maps will be released on Sept. 14 by Linda Leith Publishing. It has been selected as a “national breakout” title by the Literary Press Group of Canada and was included in “most anticipated” Fall Fiction Previews on CBC Books and the 49th Shelf.
As well as having book launches in Montreal and Toronto, Morris will partner with the Guelph Arts Council to launch her novel on Oct. 4 at the artBar in Guelph, an event hosted by local Guelph writer Greg Rhyno.
"My book is available for pre-order now, it will be on Amazon and at the Bookshelf. My launch at the artBar in October will be super cool," Morris said.
For more information or to purchase Other Maps, visit here.
"I hope people will feel seen," Morris said.
"This is a book about an emotional journey that this character is on, but it's also about friendship. It's about two characters, not just one. And it's about the support women can give to each other in their darkest times."
