Raven’s Apprentice received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author D Robert Hardy.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The name of the book is Raven’s Apprentice – published 2020
What’s the book’s first line?
I stepped out on deck and took a deep breath. The air had a crisp bite and smelled of brine and dried seaweed. It cleared my head. Even though I was three days behind schedule, I didn’t feel anxious. I felt ready to go. It was time.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Raven’s Apprentice is about our “Interconnectedness.” It has often been said that “we are all connected…we are all one.” The book brings to light everyday events that we assume are coincidence, but when we look deeper into these experiences, we can see there is order and an underlying connection to all living things.
In the late 1970’s I applied for a contract with my boat to work for the B.C. Fisheries Department. What started out as a six-month summer job assessing fish stocks in northern B.C. transcended into my spiritual transformation.
“As I was stepping off the boat a huge raven landed on a pilon near me. He was the biggest raven I had ever seen. His presence was commanding, edging on threatening. A great silence had smothered the wharf. “Nevermore,” surfaced in my thoughts. It lingered there as if it needed savoring. My body was like wax turned hard. I was completely aware, but unable to move.
The messenger then pushed air with a single flap and was gone. The sounds of life slowly returned. Upon reflection, my life was never the same from that moment forward. I had entered the World of Raven never to return.”
Raven is highly regarded by the First Nations of B.C. as a bird of creation, transformation, and at times a trickster.
So, join me in the wheelhouse of my MV Lady Guinevere. Witness being charged by transient killer whales, stalked by wolves and walking creeks so pristine you will feel as if you were the first human to experience the wonder of nature.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
My wife and I and our first child were living on a boat called the Makkeea. We used to spend extended summers anchored in Little Tribune Bay off Hornby Island, B.C. My wife, Kasandra, and Morgane, our daughter, would paddle in to shore and I would stay on the boat writing technical manuals. We did this over a four-year period every summer then we decided to sell the boat and move to Hornby.
After being on Hornby for three or four years I got a job working for the Arts Council as their administrator. I shared an office with Moira Armour who was the curator for the world-renowned Hornby Island Arts Festival. We became friends. One day I invited her to our house for tea and my wife’s famous scones (at least famous on Hornby). We sat in my studio sipping tea and eating our scones when she looked over my shoulder and became weepy. Now this was not a woman who showed her emotions easily having worked as an executive at the CBC for many years. It was a place where women did not wear pants and were expected to bring coffee to all meetings. She wore pants and did not bring coffee. She tended to give her opinion in a strong manner and never apologized. So, she did not shed a tear lightly.
She said with all her pent-up emotions, “You’re the boat people! You used to come to my little bay every summer then one day you never came back. I always wondered where you went and now, you’re here, and we are having tea.” She reached over and touched my hand. That would be the closest thing to a hug Moira ever gave.
She wanted to know everything about living on a boat and where we went and what we saw. She was relentless with her questions. At some point I told her about a time in my life working for the Fisheries department in Bella Bella, B.C.; being rescued by transient killer whales, being stared down by an alpha male wolf, being stalked by a cantankerous old grizzly, descending into a Shaman’s spell and watching myself from the bottom of a creek. She sat transfixed. Suddenly she slammed her fist down on the table and said, “You must bottle up all this adventure and put it into a book! You must do it!”
So, it is done. Moira has since passed, bless her soul, but I think she would be happy with the results.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
To experience something they might never experience in a place they may never go. To transcend their world and enter the World of Raven. To find inner peace within as they turn the pages. To savior the quiet of a lonely bay. To join me in wheelhouse and live through my eyes all the wonders of the BC coast. Here is quote from one of my book’s readers.
“Traveling the coast (preferably in a “slow” boat) one cannot help becoming aware of the interconnections between all of the elements of wind, sun, fog, sea state, history and the hand of God in all.
Raven’s Apprentice captures and relates beautifully this soul enhancing journey in Don Hardy’s very personal journal of his time as a Fisheries Observer on the Central Coast. His heart felt connection with the physical environment, the First Nations community, and his own spiritual growth allows the reader to explore one’s own journey in life.”
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes. My writing career started with freelance ad copy and branched into screenplays and stage plays. One of my screenplays was in production negotiations when it was sidelined due to similarities to the remake of “The Mummy.” I found more success with one of my plays (A Garland for Judy), that had a year-long tour down the west coast of the U.S., playing in Seattle, Portland, Salem and other notable venues. Its most successful run was at the Paramount Theater in San Francisco where it played for six months to sold-out houses.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
Writing is therapy. We can visit joys and tragedies, mysteries and moods and all we need is the facts or our fantasies. The imagination is as boundless as our being and writing facilitates the journey. I write to explore. I write to relive. I write to express myself. I write because I must.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Herman Hesse is a complete inspiration. His simplicity, and frugalness with words. I don’t know how many times I have read Siddhartha, but each time it is a new discovery. Also, Parmahansa Yogananda, who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi. His wit and charm is seductive, drawing you into the arid climate of India, tasting the soil and wiping your heated brow. You must continue reading because your soul is quenched and bathed in his blessing.
Which book do you wish you could have written?
Both Autobiography of a Yogi and Siddhartha. Looking back I see that both were almost a blueprint of my path. I have a distinct preference for books that are written as a journey of two mountains.
The master and the young man had been traveling in the mountains for years with no destination. They would stop at villages and beg for food and provisions. The master would heal those he could and suggest Ayurvedic herbs for others. Some days the master would ask his young companion questions to advance his teaching.
One day the master looked up at a single, snowcapped mountain and asked his young apprentice, “How many mountains do you see.” The apprentice laughed and said, “Master, you are trying to trick me.” The master gazed back at the boy and without changing his expression continued along the path. The apprentice looked at the mountain again and then followed his master.
A little while later the master pointed to a shelter in the rock face and said, “We shall stop here and rest.” The apprentice gathered some wood and lit a fire. The master sat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
The apprentice fussed about with pots and pans and the master opened his eyes and said, “How many mountains did you see?” The apprentice put the pots and pans down, concerned and said, “Master, I saw only one mountain.” The master closed his eyes.
The young man continued to make a simple dinner but would glance at the master from time to time as his thoughts reeled over and over in his mind. The master sat in meditation. His face glowed with peace.
“Master”, the young man finally said, “there were two mountains, the outer mountain and the inner mountain”. The master smiled.