Manitoba author captures "Spirit of the North" in latest book

"The notes rose and fell, died out and arose again, sending chills up Judith’s back. It was beautiful but eerie and she loved the sound - the music of the north."

—From "Spirit of the North" by Linda Ducharme

Imagine being given a remote cabin in Northern Manitoba.  That's what newlyweds Wilson and Judith are offered through a family estate.  They decide to seize the opportunity and they end up in a life of hunger, isolation and harsh weather.

Such is the subject of author Linda Ducharme's new novel "Spirit of the North".  It launched Wednesday February 15 at McNally Robinson. 

SCENE asked Linda Ducharme to share an excerpt.  She chose one that captures the loneliness, the beauty and the essence of her novel's remote location in winter.

Alone with her thoughts, and only the mare for company, Judith kept busy. She counted on the days flying past, which they seemed to, but the nights were so long, dark and lonely. When it became bitterly cold Judith took some extra oats out to Jazzy. The crunch of snow beneath feet, the mare chomping the grain, and the odd popping of frozen trees - little interrupted the eerie silence. Frost sparkled on the tree branches lit by the twilight in the southern sky, looking like a thousand candles lighted on sparkling Christmas trees.

Even the air was still, as though holding its breath, but the cold stung her exposed flesh. Then, far off in the distance, came a lonely wavering call of wolves, echoed and answered by others, in the opposite direction. The notes rose and fell, died out and arose again, sending chills up Judith's back. It was beautiful but eerie and she loved the sound - the music of the north.

Synchronized with the fading light of the sun, the northern lights began their dance across the heavens in waving bars of pink, orange and green. Judith wrapped her arms around her body, leaned into the mare, and remembered sharing the magic of the lights with Wilson. He had been gone six days now and should be back tomorrow perhaps, or the next day.

"Where are you tonight, my beloved? Are you thinking of me? I miss you, Wil." Judith spoke her thoughts aloud and the mare stirred restlessly, snorting and stomping its hind foot. Judith patted the mare on the rump, and after wrestling some chunks of wood from their pile, returned to the cabin, where she shut the heavy door, barring it against the approaching darkness.

Hear Linda Ducharme on the Weekend Morning Show with host Ismaila Alfa Sunday February 19.

Pictured above:  Linda Ducharme (Danelle Richardson)　
Excerpt provided by:  Pemmican Publications