Sheena Kamal

Sheena Kamal was born in the Caribbean and immigrated to Canada as a child. She holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness.

The Lost Ones/Eyes Like Mine is her debut novel, followed by the sequel, It All Falls Down.

From Kamal's conversation with Karin Salvalaggio for Bookanista:

KS: Nora Watts is difficult to pin down. She doesn’t react to situations in a way most people would consider normal. It makes her interesting but also unpredictable. She reminds me of Isabelle Huppert’s character in the film Elle. If you haven’t seen it, you should. Can you tell us a little bit more about Nora’s background and what inspired her character?

SK: Going into the first book of the series, I knew that Nora was going to be a loner, a misfit, a troubled soul. Nora used to work for a small private investigation outfit in Vancouver. She’s not a licensed investigator herself, but she did a lot of the off-books work for them because she has a knack for discerning lies. At the beginning of It All Falls Down, Nora’s skills from that world are put to use as she looks into her father’s death, which happened many years ago. Her character is largely inspired by my interest in writing a more diverse and representative Canada, and also by my fascination with blues music, which I often use as a tool to get into her head.

A surprising number of people warm to Nora even when they sense they shouldn’t. I’m referring to private investigator Brazuca and the Detroit detective Sanchez specifically, but there’s also Harvey, Simone, Kovak and a host of other characters. People seem to want to protect her, sleep with her, confide in her or kill her. What do you suppose it is about Nora’s character that provokes such extreme reactions?

Nora lives life on her own terms and doesn’t care much about others’ opinions of her. People have strong reactions to her – mostly negative. However...[read on]

Visit Sheena Kamal's website.

The Page 69 Test: The Lost Ones.

My Book, The Movie: It All Falls Down.

--Marshal Zeringue