Certainly, I think the planet could use some brave, heroic leaders right now.
Which brings me back to the questions that occupy so much of The Invisible Woman trilogy.
What is a hero? What is bravery? How do heroes…become heroes?
The Invisible Woman Marcie Blanchard is my answer to those questions.

My dictionary labels c--- as “vulgar slang” and says it refers to either “a woman’s genitals” or, “an unpleasant or stupid person”. I think c--- is part of the same plot line of laws, stereotypes, religious edicts, social norms etcetera devised throughout history and up to the present day to keep women and girls in their place, to shame and silence them. It connotes a view of women and girls as lesser than, and we have all seen the outcomes of that.

CTV and its parent company Bell Media have been giving a master class in my inspiration for writing How the Invisible Woman Learned to Fly. My main character Marcie Blanchard is not me, but she faces a version of the challenges I know so well. As a working journalist, I experienced sexism, and, as I got older, ageism as well. As a journalism professor, I and other women experience sexism and ageism in my current workplace.

Do you have a dog? My own dog sits next to me as I write this. Romeo is a six-year-old Cocker Spaniel, and when I’m home he’s never far from my side. Romeo always has one large ear attuned to the possibility of someone walking past our home (how dare they!), and another listening to…things I cannot hear. Higher frequency sounds? Vibrations in the fabric of time? Ghosts? If you have a dog, you know they live in two worlds – our world and a dog world humans cannot experience. There might be magic in that dog world. I hope there is. That’s why I chose a dog to be a major character in How the Invisible Woman Learned to Fly.