Corridor Nine

by Sophie Stocking

  Thanks to Thistledown Press. I am grateful indeed to land in the capable hands of this venerable Canadian publisher. Thanks as well to my excellent editor Harriet Richards.

  I wrote this book in English 598 at the University of Calgary, and arrived, a somewhat shell-shocked recovering housewife who’d lost access to her words. Providentially, the class taught by Aritha van Herk remyelinated my verbal brain, and probably made me think harder than I’ve ever thought before. Thank you Aritha, for your generous encouragement, and the rigour and dedication of your teaching. I was lucky indeed to walk into your classroom.

  Thank you to Lori Hahnel, who on multiple occasions reduced my stress exponentially with her generous advice. I am but one example of her magnanimous fostering of Calgary writers. The prodigious creative hub, Alexandra Writer’s Centre, in particular classes under Robin van Eck, built my courage and fortified my portfolio. Thank you.

  To my children Avery, Nathan, and Josephine, thank you for your patience with the wild ups and downs of my creative process, and your grounded, often spot on literary feedback. Thank you, Josephine, as well, for insisting I submit my painting as cover art, and for devising the title! Watching you three go forward is my greatest pride and delight.

  Finally, to Paul, for putting beans on the table, keeping the roof over our heads, and all of us under it dancing. Thank you for really hearing my stories. You are my home and foundation.

  Burdened by the notion that a career should encompass everything, Sophie Stocking changed her major so often she narrowly escaped a degree in General Studies. Chapters in social work, architecture, and motherhood followed. She finally noticed that she’d always been writing, and in terms of encompassing everything, stories fit the bill. Sophie found the courage to pursue fiction at the Alexandra Writer’s Centre, and went on to study under Aritha van Herk at the University of Calgary. Corridor Nine is her debut novel. She hopes one day, to own a hedgehog.