A Matter of Will

By (author): Rod Carley

Will Crosswell’s decision to pursue acting shattered his father’s dream of him being a useful adult. When we first meet the young Will he is a wolf in wolf’s clothing. But in the ensuing years, from relationships to the theatre, his life has become one shipwreck after another. Dumped by his fiancée and desperate to pay the rent, he finds himself taking a job on the bottom rung of the Great Chain of Being – a telemarketer. The satire becomes serious when Will hits rock bottom. After a life-altering AA encounter with an unconventional minister, Will enrolls in divinity school and has to survive his most challenging escapade yet – a forty day fast in a Newfoundland outport in the middle of the frozen winter. As he struggles to keep from freezing and starving to death, he is confronted by a series of strange events, not the least of which is an encounter with Billy Blight, a bigger-than-life Newfoundlander headed for perdition. Funny, surprising, outrageous, and moving, A Matter of Will is the tale of a middle-age maybe minister and his journey to find a mighty purpose.

AUTHOR

Rod Carley

Rod Carley’s second novel, Kinmount, won the Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the 2021 Independent Publishers Book Awards and was one of ten books longlisted for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour. His first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in Cloud Lake Literary, Blank Spaces Magazine, the anthology 150 Years Up North and More, the Carter V. Cooper 2022 Short Fiction Anthology, Broadview Magazine, and HighGrader Magazine. Rod was short-listed for 2021 Exile Quarterly’s Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize. He is an alumnus of the Humber School for Writers and resides in North Bay, ON.


Reviews

In this fable-like tale, author Rod Carley proves that he has a deft touch with story and character. A Matter Of Will takes the reader on a journey that is pure Canadian and thoroughly enjoyable.”Norm Foster, Canada’s most produced playwright

“Rod Carley’s terrific ear for dialogue brings the worlds of theatre and telemarketing to life in a breazy picaresque about the spiritual redemption of a dissolute rake.”

-Allan Stratton, author, The Dogs

“The phantasmagoric scenes of Will Croswel’s forty Dark Nights of the Soul in Witless Bay, Newfoundland are grotesque comedy such as has been rarely seen in Canadian writing and how refreshing it is!”

– John Metcalf, author, The Museum at the End of the World


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Excerpts & Samples ×

Will Crosswell’s decision to pursue acting shattered his father’s dream of him being a useful adult. When we first meet the young Will he is a wolf in wolf’s clothing. But in the ensuing years, from relationships to the theatre, his life has become one shipwreck after another. Dumped by his fiancée and desperate to pay the rent, he finds himself taking a job on the bottom rung of the Great Chain of Being – a telemarketer. The satire becomes serious when Will hits rock bottom. After a life-altering AA encounter with an unconventional minister, Will enrolls in divinity school and has to survive his most challenging escapade yet – a forty day fast in a Newfoundland outport in the middle of the frozen winter. As he struggles to keep from freezing and starving to death, he is confronted by a series of strange events, not the least of which is an encounter with Billy Blight, a bigger-than-life Newfoundlander headed for perdition. Funny, surprising, outrageous, and moving, A Matter of Will is the tale of a middle-age maybe minister and his journey to find a mighty purpose.

Reader Reviews

Details

Dimensions:

292 Pages
8.375in * 5.5in * 1in
1lb

Published:

September 30, 2017

Country of Publication:

CA

ISBN:

9780994918383

Book Subjects:

FICTION / Literary

Featured In:

All Books

Language:

eng

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Kinmount

By (author): Rod Carley

Grin Reaping

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