{"id":5234,"date":"2019-09-19T12:10:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T16:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/reading-your-way-through-brome-missisquoi\/"},"modified":"2019-09-19T12:10:31","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T16:10:31","slug":"reading-your-way-through-brome-missisquoi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/blogue\/reading-your-way-through-brome-missisquoi\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading your way through Brome-Missisquoi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immersing yourself in our region through the words of our authors<\/em><\/p>\n

As I bike and hike my way through Brome-Missisquoi, I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to live here. Travelling down route\u00a0235 towards Morse\u2019s line, a Ra\u00f4ul Duguay tune pops in my head \u201cComme le K\u00e9bek est beau \u00e0 Saint-Armand-les-vents\u2026 douhou<\/em>\u2026\u2009!\u2009\u201d His play on words as he describes the beautiful windy hills around St-Armand relaxes me as I head up and down the curvy road to Frelighsburg and Pinacle mountain. Although I know the region well, it seems to constantly reinvent itself through its local music, the arts, its terroir products and yes, its authors as well. As they play with our imaginary, the area takes on a whole new unique appeal! Each, in their own way, has taken some form of inspiration from this somewhat mystical and colourful countryside. I invite you to discover a few of them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Murder in Rabbit Hole<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In this neck of the woods, a friendly innkeeper\/author will welcome you to her abode at the end of Chemin des \u00c9rables, as you head towards Eccles\u2019 Hill. The Fonberg Inn<\/a> is where Luce Fontaine<\/a>, a school teacher originally from Bedford, finds her inspiration. After writing several books for young readers, she has taken on the challenge of writing thrillers. In Mortelle Destin\u00e9e<\/a> (Editions ROD, 2017), We follow Val\u00e9rie Morin, an ex-cop, innkeeper in the town of Rabbit Hole (perhaps in reference to Pigeon Hill?) who finds herself investigating sordid crimes committed in a pastoral landscape with its majestic maple trees and country roads.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inspired by Vast Spaces<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re looking for Pigeon Hill while travelling down on St-Armand Road, don\u2019t blink because you might miss it! Yet, this small hamlet is a fertile literary source of inspiration for author Christian Guay-Poliquin<\/a>, winner of the prestigious Governor General Award, Prix litt\u00e9raire des coll\u00e9giens and the Prix litt\u00e9raire France-Qu\u00e9bec for his novel Le poids de la neige <\/em><\/a>(La Peuplade, 2016). <\/em>Although the area is never named, I can\u2019t help but find inspirational elements all around; whether it\u2019s as I overlook the vast expanses found here or, by following, the sometimes straight, sometimes swerving roads, a feeling of awe comes over me every time!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From Mystery to Mystery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Louise Penny<\/a> has chosen to set the scene of her crime novels right here in the Eastern Townships, with the Sutton Mountain range as a backdrop. This Times best-selling, internationally acclaimed author has written more than a dozen thrillers, translated in over 25 languages. She has attracted the attention of such celebrities, as the Clinton clan, who wanted to experience first-hand our picturesque Townships village life. Her Inspector Gamache shows off his panache as he follows trails that will lead him in solving the most troubling enigmas. In fact, by going to the Brome Lake bookstore in Knowlton, you\u2019ll find a map indicating all the interest points that have inspired Ms.\u00a0Penny\u2019s characters and crime settings. Such towns as Stanbridge-East, Frelighsburg, Sutton and Knowlton can all be found and visited! Three Pines Tours<\/a>\u00a0also propose guided tours of the places that inspired Inspector Gamache\u2019s investigations!<\/p>\n

You can start by reading her first novel, A<\/strong> still Life<\/em>, winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards, published by Published on July 11, 2006, by St. Martin\u2019s Minotaur.<\/p>\n

You can purchase them all plus a lot more by visiting the Brome Lake Books, bookstore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Raw Rurality<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Finally, William S. Messier<\/a>*, born in Cowansville with deep roots in Saint-Armand and Bedford, paints a landscape of tall tales which has the locals smile as he depicts events set inside this bigger\u2014than-life nature of our border region. His incredible and timeless stories introduce us to such characters as the ubiquitous Jacques Prud\u2019homme, a roadkill disposal manager in \u00c9pique<\/em> (Marchand de feuilles, 2010) or little Gervais Huot in Dixie<\/em> (Marchand de feuilles, 2013), witness to an often-violent adult world. From his tales of stolen meat and prison fugitives to those of jobbers and local sports legends in Townships (Marchand de feuilles, 2009), the author transforms the region of Brome-Missisquoi into a surreal world, where events collide and stories go beyond the local history, reinventing it as each plot unfolds.<\/p>\n

So, no matter how you choose to explore our Wine Route or the Townships trail, let yourself be inspired by these authors to discover or rediscover our Brome-Missisquoi landscapes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

*For the sake of transparency, please note that the author of the present article has ties with William S. Messier.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Immersing yourself in our region through the words of our authors As I bike and hike my way through Brome-Missisquoi, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[142,145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art_and_culture","category-inspiration-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourismebrome-missisquoi.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}