William Peckham includes Selkirk and other less-featured destinations
William Peckham, a 93-year-old writer from Kelowna, B.C., features Selkirk in his latest novel, You’re Never Too Old for Love.
Inspired by Peckham’s own experience, Jake, the main character in the book drives from Toronto to Kelowna and stops in cities and towns along the way. The character, a musician and retired travelling salesman, hits the road with his camera, guitar, and harmonicas, stopping “at a photo opportunity, stop where he could play his music for people who appreciated it, then move on,” as the book description explains.
“It became a labour of love for me,” said Peckham. “It became something that I enjoyed doing, learning about our Canada.”
In 2002, Peckham moved to Kelowna, and he and his late son Jim drove there from Niagara Falls. They didn’t stop in many places — mostly to eat and rest — but one stop they did make was in Winnipeg, and from there, Jim drove out to Selkirk to visit a friend.
Nearly 20 years later, his son had asked Peckham if he ended up writing about that road trip. Peckham hadn’t yet, thinking it was a boring tale to tell, but his son assured him it wasn’t.
“I started it, and I was right — it was boring,” Peckham said with a laugh.
The following year, Peckham’s son was in the hospital, and again he asked his father if he had written about the trip yet. Peckham said he still thought the story was boring. Jim encouraged his dad to use his creative imagination and mind of a writer to share about it, so Peckham decided to try writing a fiction story about the road trip.
Peckham’s goal was to write a 2,000-word short story, but once he got to 25,000 words, he realized he had more to say.
“When I write, if I get characters that I like, and they’re doing things, they write the story, they take me to where they want to go,” he said. “That’s how I came to write this story.”
Peckham said he felt like he missed out during his road trip since he didn’t stop along the way, which is why the characters in his book visit many places across Canada, including Selkirk.
The characters visit the Marine Museum of Manitoba and share some of its history. The Selkirk Record is even mentioned in the book.
“I love to write because it takes me places I can’t go myself,” Peckham said.
He’s heard similar sentiments from readers of the book. After completing the manuscript, Peckham sent it to a friend.
“His comment when he was finished was, ‘I’ve driven that route. I’ve stopped in a couple of those places, but I want to go back because you piqued my interest in some of the smaller towns along the way,’” William said.
You’re Never Too Old for Love will be available for purchase the second week of September by contacting Peckham by email at peck102mch@yahoo.ca.
Peckham has a background in radio and television, where he hosted shows on the topic of home improvement. He began writing fiction at age 72 after moving to Kelowna. Peckham has published books and short story collections, and his latest novel is his longest yet.
One of the characters in You’re Never Too Old for Love is loosely based on Peckham’s wife, Lynn Vaughan-Peckham. The name of the band the two played in together, Musical Memories, also makes an appearance in the book. The two were high school sweethearts and reconnected 50 years later.
Peckham said he wouldn’t be the writer he is without Vaughan-Peckham.
“Lynn has been my inspiration. She’s the one who got me to go and take my first course in writing, and Lynn has been fantastic in doing my editing and helping me recreate passages, and she encourages me to go write,” he said. “She’ll see something in the paper, and she’ll say, ‘You know, this would make a good story,’ and so I’ll do a fiction story.”
Peckham encourages people interested in writing to take a course in creative writing to help develop their creative side. It was after Peckham took a writing course that he published his first collection of short stories.
“You may be able to sit down and write things yourself, but you don’t know what to emphasize or how to emphasize it,” he said.
He also encourages people to write when an idea strikes. He keeps a notebook beside him as he watches television so that if he gets an idea, he’ll jot it down right away.
“The next morning, I grab [my notebook], and I come to the computer and I write the ideas down. I may never write the story, but I’ve written the ideas down, and I can go back to that if I want.”
Peckham has age-related macular degeneration, which impacts the centre of his visual field, so he has to see through his peripheral vision, which makes writing difficult
“I said this three times before, I think my publishing days are over,” he said. “But I might do a short story collection that I’ve already written.”
To stay up to date on Peckham’s writing and to order You’re Never Too Old for Love, send him an email at peck102mch@yahoo.ca.
