Michelle Swallow says she hopes her debut novel rings true to northerners.
While the story and characters are fictional, Northern Bull features many things that will be familiar to Yellowknifers, from the Gold Range to a snowmobile race on an ice road.
The novel takes place over one chilly January day in Yellowknife and follows a cast of characters as they race to find a missing moose head, culminating in a burlesque show.
“I hope people feel like they know people like this, or they know what this cold day feels like, or driving around Old Town or downtown on a really cold day,” Swallow said.
Among the main characters in Northern Bull are Jacques, described as a “down-on-his-luck fisherman” who needs to convince his landlord not to tear down his ramshackle home, his “volatile hunting buddy” Craig, and his next-door neighbour Maggie, who is trying to face her fears and write a story for the burlesque show.
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Swallow, who has lived in Yellowknife since 2006, called the novel “a comic romp.”
“I would describe it as quirky and playful,” she said.
Swallow previously self-published the non-fiction Mackenzie River Guide in 2011.
Inspired by some of her husband’s stories and with a longtime desire to write fiction, she said she began writing what would go on to become Northern Bull in 2021.
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“My goal wasn’t to publish the novel. It was just to complete a novel, just to have a manuscript done,” she said.
“I really wanted something that celebrated Yellowknife and that celebrated the small and silly and quirky things about this town, and that was fun. You know, I wanted to write a fun book.”
Swallow celebrated the launch of her book in January at The Gold Range Bar, where the first chapter of Northern Bull takes place.
“I was really interested in what it would be like to have a book launch at the Gold Range, and it was a lot of fun,” she said.
On April 11 from 1-2pm, Swallow is set to hold a live reading, Q&A and book signing at the Yellowknife Public Library.
