A lifetime of literary passion has brought the dreams of a Saskatchewan born playwright-turned-novelist Candis Kirkpatrick to fruition with the publishing of her debut novel ‘Crows & Cheesecake’. 

The journey to publishing her first novel began in November of 2022, where she attended her first ever writers retreat, and there she found a community of female authors which inspired her to continue her work in earnest.  

“It wasn’t until, at age 73, here I was in a writer’s retreat, and I was finding my purpose. I was finding a reason to continue with (the work) I’ve done.” said Kirkpatrick. 

The inspiration fueled her renewed efforts and within a few short months work was well underway on Crows and Cheesecake. 

Kirkpatrick was born and raised in Mossbank, but spent 40 years in Moose Jaw where she raised her children and got involved in the community. She is well-known through her time as city councilor from 2012-2016 and her work with Tourism Moose Jaw as the organization's executive director.  

Candis Kirkpatrick received the physical copies of her debut novel ‘Crows & Cheesecake’ last month, with the first copies of the novel selling shortly after hitting the shelves during the North Battleford community garage sale. 

“All I was really hoping for was friends and family would read it and get some pleasure out of it. To have this kind of response is just the icing on the cake. It's been fantastic,” said Kirkpatrick about the novel’s reception. 

Attendees at the sale were certainly intrigued by the title, which Kirkpatrick said did a good job of grabbing their attention: 

“People would stop at my display at the community garage sale ... they’d stand about 3 feet away and they look at the table and you can see them mouthing ‘Crows & Cheesecake’” 

Kirkpatrick will be doing an author read of her novel at the Moose Jaw Public Library on June 13, the event starts at 7:00 p.m. in the South Meeting Room. 

Copies of ‘Crows & Cheesecake’ can be found on the publisher's website, on Amazon, and on Indigo.