It's been a few months since Yellowknife-born writer Katlia (Catherine) Lafferty's latest novel, Firekeeper, was published.
The reviews of the new book have been positive, and she's grateful for the praise it has received.
"It's so nice to know that it's welcomed and accepted and it's really nice to know because it was sort of one of those books that was a bit intimidating to write because it was different than all the other books [I've written]," said Lafferty, a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation.
Firekeeper, which was released to the public in April, tells the story of a teenager named Nyla, a girl with "an affinity to fire." It deals with themes like colonialism and inter-generational trauma. It is the writer's fourth book to be published.
The initial draft took "about six weeks" to write, accordingly to Lafferty, though editing took much longer.
"I started writing it when we were in the height of the pandemic, and we were all having to stay indoors," she said. "It was really hard for me SA国际影视传媒� I like to be outside as much as possible SA国际影视传媒� so I turned to writing.
"It doesn't take long for the writing process for me," she added. "What really takes a long time is editing. So it took two years in the editing stage."
While Firekeeper was published recently, Lafferty is already hard at work on her next book, and it is one of her most ambitious projects yet.
"I'm so excited about this book," she said of the forthcoming novel. "For the past six years, I've been taking serious steps as a writer. I finally got a literary agent SA国际影视传媒� actually two literary agents SA国际影视传媒� to work with me. I couldn't even get one to look at me a couple years ago, but they sold a proposal for a book called 'Mother Earth is Our Elder' to HarperOne, out of in New York, and Penguin Random House. So Penguin has the Canadian rights and Harper has the world rights and the U.S. rights.
"This book is a compilation of stories from Indigenous Elders and knowledge-carriers and youth across the North on their perspective of climate change. So I've been speaking to people over the past few months, gathering these stories. It's remarkable what's unfolding in front of their eyes."
The upcoming book is due for publication in July 2025, and is coming together "very naturally," according to Lafferty.
"I'm super excited," she said. "If the world doesn't know who the Dene are, they will know after 'Mother Earth is Our Elder' is published."
She is proud to represent the Dene on the literary stage, and encourages aspiring creatives to pursue their passions SA国际影视传媒� whether it's as writers or something else.
"Reach out to other like-minded individuals and support one another," she said, offering her advice to the next generation of creators in the North. "It can be very isolating sometimes when you are an artist, and sometimes as artists we tend to sort of doubt our abilities, so it's important to surround yourself with people that inspire you and lift you up and encourage you to continue no matter what."
