The Mother of All Degrassi takes us on a voyage through time and place in this, her memoir. Most Canadians will have heard of Degrassi at some point in their lives, whether they watched the television series themselves, or with their children, or borrowed episodes to use in the classroom to teach their students about life. But how Degrassi originated, its transformations, its effect on those it touched and those who were involved in its growth, and on the woman herself, is the subject of this story.
This is a tale of an ambitious, energetic, feisty, risk-taking woman who listened to her heart and her spirit, who played the game to win, transforming disastrous moments into a multi-million dollar empire. It is the story of a woman who touched the lives of millions of viewers over a period of forty years, and changed the lives of countless child stars who found their start at Degrassi.
Her memoir is about revelation and risk-taking, daring and dogmatic perseverance, inspiration and hope. And I bet you’d never even heard her name before. Linda Schuyler stood strong behind the scenes, cradling her young actors, and leading her team. I’d certainly never heard of her until recently, though I knew of Degrassi. Living near Toronto, Ontario in the early 70s, 80s, and 90s gave me an edge because that’s where it all began. Or did it?
Entangling business with personal, Schuyler’s memoir is structured somewhat chronologically but supplemented with natural turns and flashbacks when she’s touched by a certain moment or brushed by a special person, and life changes. Yet, she returns to one pivotal moment time and again.
Schuyler wanted to be a mother more than anything else yet was unable to conceive. She suffered with endometriosis, possibly caused by a bodily wrenching in a near-fatal car accident in 1968. She was working at a pub in England when she met Simon, a handsome young man who offered to take her water-skiing in the Lake Country. They were joined by his friend, Elliott. Afterwards, while driving back to London after a long playful day in the sun, their car collided with a double-decker bus. Schuyler was the lone survivor but wore the scars of that moment forever. And from that wreckage emerged a filmmaker, storyteller, teacher, and businesswoman.
Her “giddy, schoolgirl sense of excitement” (47) permeates the text. Flush with media terms like blue-skying, footage, rough picture edit, 16 mm, and Bolex, Schuyler interjects the more technical edges of film production. If you’re at all interested in media studies, this book is for you. In fact, I’d make it part of the syllabus. Yet far beyond that, in its very heart, it’s an emotional story, and a quick and entertaining read that feels real and genuine. Even moments of name-dropping feel natural—that’s just how it was when you happened to be seated next to Hugh Laurie at Bob Newhart’s table in L.A. picking up a Television Critic’s Choice Award (2005).
Rife with teachable moments—Schuyler is at heart an educator—she reminds us that writing for kids means confronting the issues of the day. Degrassi was real and raw. From the beginning, no issue was taboo, and over the years the episodes involved all manner of sociopolitical topics that affected teens. “Our serious subjects for the first season were underage drinking, parental abuse, adoption, bullying, and teen pregnancy . . . pills being sold as drugs, bad date advice, a thwarted pornographic viewing, and the formation of our one-song-wonder rock group — The Zit Remedy” (90). Later stories involved racism, homophobia, and the impact of social media.
Schuyler experienced bullying beginning in grade three, when her family moved from England to Paris, Ontario. The taunts of “Limey Linda—slimy Limey Linda” haunted her. “I consider Degrassi to be probably the world’s longest running anti-bullying campaign,” she revealed at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2020. Perhaps, Degrassi was in-part her revenge. Because Schuyler’s family were immigrants like so many of the children she taught, she understood their experiences and dilemmas, and she wanted to tell their stories. In her first low-budget film, Between Two Worlds, she told the stories of her inner-city Toronto class as she taught them about media. The film was broadcast internationally, and Degrassi was born. Schuyler’s elements: “casting age-appropriate actors, taking chances on fresh talent in front of and behind the camera, naturalistic settings and dialogue, and setting the stories in a lower-middle-class environment” featured in five hundred episodes (60).
Schuyler’s memoir is a celebration of a life well lived, of a woman who loved and lost, followed her heart, then fell and rose again.
As some of you know, Lure was a finalist in the UK Wishing Shelf Awards this year. It’s a wonderful, legitimate contest and one I highly recommend for several reasons. The contest is run by Edward Trayer, a Young Adult/Children’s book author, who created a fair and honest process to help Indies. The entry fee is reasonable (£39) and books are read and judged by reading teams in London and Stockholm. As a Canadian, I’m excited to hear what European readers think of my work. For your entry fee, you receive excellent feedback and an honest Goodreads and Bookbub review based on readers’ comments. Finalists have the option of purchasing a real gold medal. I love to show mine to customers at markets.
I received my feedback this morning. First, I’ll share what the readers said about LURE, and then I’ll add some general commentary for Indie authors that I share with the Wishing Shelf team. I like that the reader is identified by age and gender, and that you also receive the stats. So here we go:
Of those 15 readers:
14 would read another book by this author.
10 thought the cover was good or excellent.
15 felt it was easy to follow.
14 would recommend this book to another reader to try.
Of all the readers — 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was
‘plotting a story’ — 6 felt the author’s strongest skill was
‘developing the characters’ — 4 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘writing style’ — 15 felt the pacing was good or excellent — 14 thought the author understood the readership and what they
wanted.
Readers’Comments (This part makes my heart thump!)
“Excellent chemistry between the characters, and plenty happening to keep most thriller lovers turning the page. The ‘disturbing discovery’ is when the book took off for me. I plan to hunt out other novels by this author.” Male reader, 37
“A surprisingly fun story considering the subject matter. The author is good at plotting and developing the two central characters, Hawk and Jesse. I loved the twists in the story, and the setting worked perfectly.” Female reader, 38
“Always fun to find an author who’s prepared to offer readers a highly original tale with a highly original setting. I thoroughly enjoyed this drama.” Female reader, 42
“I suspect anybody who enjoys a cleverly plotted mystery and has an interest in Native American culture will find this a compelling story. The author works hard – and is mostly successfully – in delivering suspense, mystery, and even romance.” Female reader, 53To Sum It Up:
‘A skillfully plotted mystery with a cast of fully developed
characters. A FINALIST and highly recommended!’ The Wishing
Shelf Book Awards
I'm thrilled by the feedback but what I really appreciate is the depth of analysis. This isn't about glitz. It's about quality and affect on readers. So, thank you Edward Trayer (Billy Bob Buttons) for a well-conceived and managed contest.
Tips from The Wishing Shelf Filtered Through the Lens of My Experience: Included was some general feedback Edward and his teams have amassed over the years. Indie authors, especially when starting out, tend to make mistakes. As a book reviewer and voracious reader, I often see the issues I'm paraphrasing here.
Blurb: A book blurb is not a summary; it's a sales pitch. Make it short and enticing. Who are the main characters: protagonist and antagonist. What are the stakes? Include a cool tagline. For example: A SEXY HITCHCOCKIAN THRILLER THAT DEMYSTIFIES VAMPIRE AND ILLUSTRATES THE POWER OF LOVE (To Render a Raven.) I also add author endorsements.
Formatting: Though it's tempting to reduce printing costs by using small fonts and slim margins, don't make your text illegible or crowded along the inside crease. Use clear, crisp, readable fonts. Don't be seduced by weird, cool, or pretty.
Pacing: Don't rush the climax and the ending. As Edward says it should be "BIG AND EXCITING" not two pages and THE END.
Editing: Nothing turns a reader off like typos. Hire a professional editor to scour your text for spelling and grammar problems. The author's eyes tend to glance over the text.
Beginnings: Start "in medias res" or in the middle of the action. Nothing kills the excitement of a story like pages of setting, backstory, and description. Yes, we need to know place and time, but try to show it by having your character engaged in some exciting activity that will grab the reader.
Word Length: Character development takes time. Don't rush it and publish a novella that should be a full-length novel. Most novels are between 70,000 - 90,000 words, but check the expectations for your genre.
Point-of-View: Omniscient is out and Limited Omniscient or First Person is in. This means, the viewpoint character only knows certain things, and not what's happening in the heads of other characters. They can assume, wonder, or interpret via the actions of others but "head-hopping" is a cardinal sin. When you're tempted to describe another character's reactions or thoughts in detail, it's time to switch scenes.
I hope you find this helpful. I don't often let my captive English teacher out, but sometimes I just gotta say … Do it right. And, thank you to Edward and the Wishing Shelf team for all your hard work.
I may be new to Campbell River, but I love it here and call it home.
I’m enjoying meeting readers this summer at the Campbell River Farmers Market. It happens every Sunday from 10am – 2pm in Spirit Square. I’ll be there with my books Sunday July 16 and again on Sunday August 6.
Yesterday, I chatted with AJ on 99.7 The River. Listen below.
I’m thrilled to announce that LURE: Jesse & Hawk just won a National Indie Excellence Award. I’m proud of LURE and how far it’s come. It was the first book I ever completed way back in the early 1990s when I deep into Indigenous Studies at Trent University. I wrapped it in brown paper and carried it around through many moves over many years. A couple of years ago, I rewrote it and launched it.
It’s hard for Indie authors these days. We’re often seen as inferior because our work hasn’t been accepted by a big publisher, so an award like this really makes me feel good.
Write what you know. That’s what writing coaches tell us. In the case of former small-town journalist Maureen Brownlee, the advice rings true. Her latest novel is set in the interior of British Columbia, 1995 – “Cache Creek to Kamloops and north” (65) – an area close to where Brownlee grew up and worked at her own small-town newspaper during the time the mountain pine beetle was rampaging through the forests of western North America, destroying millions of acres of pine forest. Brownlee’s insider’s view breathes life and truth into this literary text.
“When the beetles attack, they bring a fungus with them, and the fungus spreads into the tree and makes it easier for the beetles to chew through the cambium . . . It stains the wood, blue streaks all through it. The lumber buyers downgrade it” (156). With its blue cambium, prices drop, even though there’s nothing wrong with blue wood if it can be harvested before it dries out and cracks. There’s a metaphor here somewhere.
https://natural-resources.canada.ca/
An unscrupulous developer (aren’t they all?), smelling the potential for a quick buck, comes to Beauty Creek to romance the Creeksters into letting him cut the timber and build his townhouse development before it’s too late. The problem with development is that the locals end up being priced out of their own land. We’ve seen this time and time again as gentrification has crept through this province. But what else can you do when you’re about to lose the only resource that keeps your town alive? And so the debate begins.
The narrative meanders through the distinct voices of three central characters: Maggie, the widowed editor of the Chronicle, struggling to keep her late husband’s dream alive; Stevie, a bright, uneducated single mother of two, bent on independence; and Nash Malone, poet, junk aficionado, and veteran of the Spanish War of 1935. These three strong, independent characters come together when Maggie offers Stevie a decent job at the Chronicle and sends her off to interview Malone. In an unlikely pairing, the older wounded veteran and the young wounded woman strike up a friendship. When the gloves come off and the town experiences its own insidious violence, we are reminded that evil manifests itself in many forms and doesn’t always appear as strangers or insects. Small towns have a unique heartbeat, sometimes fluttering, sometimes pounding with the force of an axe.
As the mountain pine beetle threatens the economy of this small resource-driven town, we see how quickly a community can be brought to its knees. With a voice and writing style reminiscent of Barbara Kingsolver, especially her Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible, Brownlee spins a tragically beautiful tale. A monstrous blue sadness chews its way through these pages, while the haunting memories of Nash Malone weave through the text like a magnificent memoir. I must confess that I was captivated by Malone’s richly sensual writing, but found the typeface, which I know was intended to evoke an old-fashioned smudgy typeface, very hard on these aging eyes. But that has nothing to do with Brownlee’s brilliant eco-fiction, and Nash Malone is a truly tragic hero.
Cambium Blue is a slow-burn winner and destined to become a B.C. classic. It has been shortlisted for the George Ryga Award, an annual literary prize for a B.C. writer who has achieved an outstanding level of social consciousness in a new book.
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