After more than fifteen years of waiting, Manon Lagacé celebrates the publication of her first novel, entitled: UN. This event marks the culmination of a childhood dream for this administrative assistant who has worked at CCNB for 25 years.
“It was my childhood dream,” the Balmoral native said. “Ever since I was a teenager, it’s a bit hard to explain, but these are movies that are created in my head.”
A graduate of the Aux quatre vents school in Dalhousie, Manon graduated from the Office Technology program at CCNB – Campbellton Campus (1998) and was immediately hired to work there. After 10 years, Manon moved to the southeast of the province to work at CCNB – Dieppe Campus, where she has held various positions for the past 15 years.
The idea for her work UN was born during a maternity leave. Her strong intuition guided her writing during many sleepless nights.
“When you start writing, it becomes an obsession. I didn’t know the beginning or the end, but I could see the story coming together. It’s a love story set in England in the 1850s. I wrote while my baby was resting, but he didn’t sleep much, so I wrote at night,” she laughed.
Over the years, she perfected her manuscript without knowing that she would one day publish it. She shared it with several friends before finally submitting her work to Éditions de la francophonie. The reception was positive and the official launch of her book took place in her home village last June.
“It was a great experience! The comments are positive! My family is very proud of me and I’m navigating it. I even participated in a book fair in Prince Edward Island,” proudly announced the woman who will be taking part in the next book fairs in the Acadian Peninsula and Dieppe next October.
On its social networks, Les Éditions de la francophonie praises the CCNB employee’s masterpiece. We can read: For her first novel, Manon McIntyre (her author’s name) has developed a truly multi-layered and complex scenario of great intelligence that will arouse a whole range of emotions in readers. Her characters are coherent and interact through a story full of twists and turns. There is no doubt that UN will carve out a special place for itself in Acadian literature.
