I first met Ron Wood when he sent Frontenac House a manuscript we might consider for publication. Well, we’re always interested in new manuscripts, but this one was so far out of the ordinary that I hardly knew how to approach it. The storyline takes place in the real-life hamlet of Manyberries, Alberta, but beyond the setting, everything seemed like pure fantasy.
The action starts with the local postmaster removing NDP literature from people’s mailboxes because he doesn’t want to leave that sort of stuff lying around where children might find it. Then another character wants to initiate a class-action against shampoo manufacturers on the grounds that their products cause men to grow breasts. And on and on it went, each chapter flowing over with hilarious ideas and crazy plots. By the time I reached the halfway point of the manuscript I had gone from chuckling to snickering to laughing out loud – really loud. We have got to publish this manuscript, I said to myself.
And so we did – and what a great decision that was. And God Created Manyberries was a huge success, drawing accolades not just from the reading public but from sources as varied as the Stephen Leacock committee (who short-listed the book for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour) to Prime Minister Steven Harper, who wrote a tongue-in-cheek blurb that we put on the cover of Ron’s next book, All Roads to Manyberries.
But best of all, publishing the two Manyberries books led to a close friendship with the author. For more than 15 years we would meet for afternoon beer and wine conversations, rehashing the political foibles of the day. It was tremendous fun, and Ron’s unique awareness of what was going on in Ottawa combined with his tremendous sense of humour would always keep me entertained and safe from complacency.
It’s impossible to put into words how much I’ll miss those wonderful conversations.
David Scollard
Publisher (retired)
Frontenac House Ltd.
