Angela van Breemen
Angela van Breemen is an avid writer of poetry and belongs to the Wordsmiths Writer’s Group. She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and the South Simcoe Arts Council. Angela is also a Soprano Soloist. A firm believer in giving back to the community, she often sings for different charitable organizations. Music and poetry have been an integral part of her life and, in early 2024, she launched her debut album, In The Breeze. Celtic in nature, it includes three original pieces of music, based on her poetry.
Angela volunteers for Procyon Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre, a group dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and safe release of orphaned and injured Ontario wildlife.
Angela van Breemen is delighted to have completed her first novel, Past Life’s Revenge, a crime thriller with a twist of spiritualism.
Marina Raydun: You’re a poet and a singer. How did you make the transition to prose writing?
Angela van Breemen: Deciding to write a novel to begin with was a huge step for me as I have always considered myself a poet. I had started writing Past Life’s Revenge in my mid twenties, but due to time constraints and the necessity of working full time, I had abandoned it roughly a third of the way through. In my younger years, poetry came easily to me, so that I had the unrealistic expectation that writing prose would come just as easily. Maturity gave me the patience to listen to the rhythm and cadence of life. Once I started to do that, I began to recognize the patterns in nature, from rain falling on the roof, the ocean tides sighing in and out and to the regular singsong of birds. All patterns. Once I understood the regular patterns were everywhere in our natural environment, I began to appreciate that these rhythms of life were the very essence of creativity, whether it be visual art, dance, music, poetry or prose. From there, it was a comfortable transition to move from music and poetry to prose and it was not really a conscious decision. It was more of a natural evolution that occurred throughout my lifetime.
MR: Do you find similarities between writing poetry and crafting a novel?
AVB: Yes, I find there is an interconnectivity between poetry, music and writing prose. For me, poetry is like painting with the written word, as one can portray so much succinctly. The idea of writing a full book was at first daunting, but as I began to write, the words flowed in much the same way as when I was composing my poems, or writing a song, with a rhythm and cadence. I soon found a tempo to writing prose, which I believe encourages the reader to want to keep reading. The musicality and cadence I mentioned earlier is crucial. It’s what keeps me writing, and I believe that if in the “zone” the finished product will be pleasing to the reader and will make them want to turn page after page. I also believe in structuring and plotting out my stories, whether for poems or prose. I need to have a goal, a roadmap, a clear idea of where I want the story to go.
MR: I am very intrigued by the concept of your novel--it’s part crime novel and part exploration of past-life regressions. What inspired this for you?
AVB: The concept for Past Life’s Revenge came naturally to me as I was introduced to psychics, mediums and empaths at a very early age. Topics with guests around my parents’ dinner table often focused on the subject of reincarnation. One idea that I toyed with for years was, what if someone was murdered, and what if they reincarnated soon enough after death, that they would encounter their killer again in their current life? How would they react? What would they do? It’s these questions with which David Harris, the protagonist, struggles. Writing crime fiction thrillers that explore the use of the paranormal to solve cold cases is an area that has always fascinated me. So often one hears on the news about a person who has gone missing and there are times that the police have actually engaged psychics to find missing people. The use of empaths to help solve crimes is not unheard of. Obviously just because an empath may say, he or she or they are the killer, concrete evidence still needs to be collected, but wouldn’t it be great if there was someone helping on a paranormal level, pointing investigators and the police in the right direction? Real life can be just as strange as fiction; in 1961 Dutch parapsychologist, Gerard Croiset was asked to help find a missing girl, Edith Kiecorius. Croiset described “a grey building with five floors." This detail led police to a boarding house at 307 West Twentieth Street, where her body was found, evidence there led to her murderer being brought to justice.
MR: Is Past Life’s Revenge slated to be a series? Will the reader need to read the books in order or would one be able to pick up book two without reading book one, for example?
AVB: Yes, I am working on the second in the series, Revenge is Not Enough. After having successfully apprehended the killer of David’s previous self, Emma and David have launched an investigative firm specializing in solving cold cases using the paranormal. I am sure, readers, myself included, will want to see what cases David and Emma will solve, and also how their personal relationship will develop over time. I am about a third of the way through the book and hope to have my first draft completed by the end of the year. I expect to write at least five books in this fictional series exploring how the use of the paranormal and psychic abilities can help solve cold cases, providing closure to the families who have lost loved ones, and also to help lost souls who cannot move on after death to find solace and peace and make that final step to the next world. Some of my favourite authors, like Louise Penny, James Paterson and Daniel Silva, write wonderful series. They cleverly thread enough clues in the books so that even if you pick them upand read them out of order, you can still appreciate the story individually, but also have a sense of the larger theme that extends throughout the series. Of course, whenever I can, I prefer to read the books in order, but a good writer should strive for providing enough information about the protagonist and the supporting characters for the reader to be able to enjoy the books out of sequence. This is something I would like to emulate.
MR: Talk to us about your writing routine.
AVB: Summer disrupts my writing routine. However, when the fall and winter months arrive, I find it easier to adopt a regular writing pattern. During the fall and winter months I tend to write in the mornings for a few hours, but if inspiration is flowing and I have no other commitments for the day, I will do marathon writing sessions.
MR: What is your favorite genre to read?
AVB: I love all genres, but I particularly enjoy murder mysteries with a good plot and character development.
MR: What are you reading right now?
AVB: Currently, I am reading, A Great Deliverance, by Elizabeth George, next on my reading list is Linwood Barclay’s latest book, I Will Ruin You.
MR: You recently released an album. Tell us a little bit about it.
AVB: In the Breeze was released in April of 2024. Celtic inspired, it was very thrilling to put three of my poems to music. The first piece is called Do You Hear the Drums? It was cowritten with Casey Cole, a good family friend, excellent house painter and musician. Two years ago, he came over one day to do some work on our house, and while the first coat of paint was drying, he said, “Angela, you’ve got to hear this instrument!” It was a handpan drum. As Casey began to play, the words and melody to a song just popped in my head, and I started singing. Mars Giammarco, from Red Egg Studio, produced my album for me, and the way he mastered this song and the other ten on the album is just amazing. Though the Seas Were Rough is another original piece I wrote based on a challenge given by a writing group to which I belong called the Wordsmiths. The challenge had been to write about the sea. Peter and I had just seen the movie Fisherman’s Friends and I was so inspired, I decided I would write a sea shanty! As I wrote the poem, the music was there too. That’s the cadence of writing at work! My third original song is contemporary and is called I Will Be in the Breeze. I wrote the poem in remembrance of my mother. Rina Valcourt, a dear friend, and music teacher loved the poem so much, she wrote music for it.
MR: Do you listen to music when you write?
AVB: Never. If I listened to music, while I was writing, I would be singing along, or even dancing, I certainly wouldn’t be writing. I would find it too entrancing, and it would distract me from the cadence and rhythm of my own writing. It would simply be too chaotic for me.
MR: What do you think about when you’re alone in your car?
AVB: I don’t do much thinking in the car. I prefer to keep my attention on driving and not be distracted. I do listen to the radio, either smooth jazz, or else talk radio. My time for quiet reflection and thinking is when I am surrounded by nature. Many of my ideas for poetry, books or music come best to me when I feel peaceful and tranquil, immersed in the sanctity of the forest.
To learn more Angela van Breemen, visit https://angelavanbreemen.ca (Book) and
https://wildsongbird.ca