Part fiction, part memoir but all intriguing, Annemarie Watson-Russell’s new book deals with shady events three decades ago.
Uneven Bars, now available at Book Nook, is described as “a story about true love thwarted by murder in the Cayman Islands in 1976” by the author.
“In the middle of the summer of 2009. I decided to write it on a sudden inspiration, because I realised I had memories of this love from 33 years ago, in a way that made it extraordinary and romantic,” says Annemarie, who lived here between 1975 and 1977. “When my lover said, in 2009, he couldn’t remember details, I told him he couldn’t have loved me as much as I loved him, then, and that it reminded me of something my sister says: ‘In every relationship, one loves more than the other.’
“I told him I would not write my details to him,” she says. “Instead, I would write a book about us titled ‘Uneven Bars’, where I would place the intricacies of the greatest love of my love. He replied, ‘Wrong. I loved you as much, if not more’ and thereupon sent a deluge of fond and intimate details that set me aflame. It was as if 33 minutes instead of 33 years had lapsed. He ended with, ‘I think a book about us is great news. I will contribute what I can.’”
Fictionalised memoir
Now based in Panama, she felt that writing the book was like coming home.
The plot is in part driven by the unfortunate drowning of Lesley Helen Milton in 1976. In the novel, the author explores possible reasons for her best friend’s death and at times pulls few punches.
“A couple of events are out of sequence to move the plot along, and some people’s names have been changed, so I call it a fictionalised memoir ... except for a well-marked fantasy sequence at the end, though, it is the truth from my perceptions,” she says.
It looks like there will be more books in the future, muses the writer, who has already been approached by other people keen to tell their story.
Aside from the fictionalised memoirs, Dr. Watson-Russell is also planning non-fiction books.
My first published book was in 1986: So, You Have To Go to Court!, written with Wendy Harvey. It was a Canadian bestseller but more importantly, it influenced court proceedings to make things easier on child witnesses.
“I have some nonfiction books planned, the first of which is called From Light, about electromagnetic light messages we receive which guide our lives,” she explains.