This interview is part of the ongoing series, “Originality: conversations about books and art with innovative indies.”
When a rare recurrence of an orbital tumor upended Toronto native Rachel Stone’s familiar life, she found herself at a crossroads. Was she to carry on with her demanding, yet successful career? Or carve out a new path, one that just might lead her to fruition of an enduring dream?
The decision Rachel made is one that unexpectedly and, without doubt, positively impacted her life and her health—a testament to how risk can have an uncanny way of gifting a person with the most rewarding of outcomes.
Rachel ultimately chose to resign her career and instead pen her first novel, The Blue Iris, the story of a woman working toward a doctorate degree who takes on a blue-collar job at a flower shop for the summer, where she finds unexpected friendship, self-discovery, and healing. It’s a compelling read—not to mention award-winning—and one that leaves readers to consider whether it may be time to make a change in their own lives. Time to, perhaps, take the road less traveled.
BKM: The Blue Iris is the story of Tessa, a recent PhD grad engaged to an up-and-coming lawyer from a prominent political family, who takes a seasonal job at a flower shop amidst a patchwork of coarse employees. As you see it, what is the book really about?
RS: For me, at its heart, it’s about how our futures can’t outrun our pasts. The idea that we won’t truly move forward until we come to terms with the parts of the past—and ourselves—we try hardest to avoid. Our “stuff” always catches up to us eventually. As Tessa and the other characters at the flower market finally face the hard truths they’ve been desperately outrunning, they’re able to heal and discover the beauty in letting go. In that sense, the story becomes about redemption, second chances, and ultimately hope.
BKM: Did you channel any of your own experiences into Tessa or other characters? What role do flowers/flower shops play in your life, if any?
RS: A few of my own moments found their way into Tessa’s journey indeed—the embarrassing ones! Her smashing into a screen door in front of all the “cool people?” That totally happened to me. Getting trapped in a pitch-dark flower refrigerator and hyperventilating? Also me. Outrunning an apparent murderer in the pre-dawn darkness only to discover he was just delivering newspapers—you guessed it. When a narrative calls for an embarrassing moment, I always seem to have plenty of my own to pull from.
As for flowers, I worked at a flower market in Toronto for seven summers in my twenties, so I drew inspiration for the book’s setting (as well as the day-to-day of the business) from that. I found the dichotomy of the market so interesting—on one hand you’re surrounded by all these lush, delicate flowers. On the other, there’s so much grit and gruel that goes into selling them. It was a lot of fun bringing that world to the page, then setting my characters loose inside it.
BKM: There are many reasons this book drew me in, including your writing style, which seamlessly weaves together thought-provoking prose with the realistic dialogue of those working the backend of the Blue Iris. There is a particular passage on page 106 that caught my attention. Here, Eleanor, the mother of Tessa’s fiancé, laments: “Then, at least, there would be two women at this table with nothing to show for any of it besides children who will never understand the sacrifices, a husband who has long forgotten, and a big, sparkling house with no speaking role at all.” This struck me as so poignant, both within the story and as a stand-alone thought. As unlikeable as Eleanor is, this passage offers a glimpse into her psyche. And it is also simply sad. It made me wonder how many people might be silently suffering in ways that they never reveal or acting unpleasantly because of that suffering. What are your thoughts on this passage?
RS: It means a lot to hear this! You’ve captured everything I hoped to accomplish with Eleanor.
My education background is in psychology, and I find human perception particularly fascinating—the way we form vastly different impressions of the same scenario depending on our own perspective and biases. It’s easy to dislike Eleanor when we’re first introduced to her, but in learning why she acts as she does, our empathy increases (even if her behaviour remains inexcusable). One of my highest goals (and greatest pleasures) as a writer is to change a reader’s mind once they see behind the curtain. I often think how different the world would be if that happened more in real life.
BKM: Your protagonist, Tessa, is at a crossroads in her life. She’s fresh out of grad school and engaged to a man from a prominent family, seemingly one who “has it all,” yet finds her work at a flower shop more fulfilling in many ways and undergoes surprising self-revelations while working there. This is in opposition to what we're trained to believe: aim high, go for the gold. Tell us more about why you chose to write her story in this way.
RS: It’s so true, there’s a great deal of pressure especially on folks approaching age 30 to get on the “path to success.” It’s stressful to reach the end of one’s academic career and still have no idea “what’s next,” what our path looks like. It was important to me to bring that struggle out in Tessa because I think a lot of people, even those younger and older than her, can relate. I’ve certainly shared those anxieties. I wanted to show there’s more than one definition of success, and when you strive for one that doesn’t suit you (because you believe you should), it only leads you further astray. While Tessa discovers a new definition of success—friendship, chosen family, healing, well-being, a line of work that aligns with who she is and fulfils her—we have Will’s path unfolding by contrast, one with security, wealth, power, all he could ever want, and it’s ruining him.
BKM: I think it's safe to say that many people have a desire to break from their career and move into a creative realm, live their lives in a more meaningful way, as Tessa does. What is your career background, and why/how did you choose to become a novelist?
RS: I come from a labour relations background, specializing in collective agreement negotiation and grievance management. I did write a lot, but it was briefing notes, settlements, contract language—the polar opposite to creative writing. My world flipped upside down when a rare orbital tumour I’d had removed many years prior had returned against 99% odds. Talk about shifting perspectives! It was a wait-and-see as to next steps, and my long-held dream of becoming an author felt very now-or-never. With my husband’s support I decided to take a year of unpaid leave and give that dream a proper go. I enrolled in creative writing classes, fell under the spell of The Blue Iris, and that one year turned into…seven now? No other job has felt more right, and I knew I’d have a very hard time going back to anything else. In a way, I was on the same journey as Tessa, veering from the “successful” corporate path and stumbling upon who I’ve been all along.
BKM: What most surprised you in making this significant life change?
RS: The more I wrote, the more “me” I started to feel. Before I knew it, the tumour was stable—and then, it was shrinking. Writing The Blue Iris quite literally got me out of the woods. I sure didn’t see that coming! The book took on deep meaning for me; I’m more attached to those characters and pages than I could have imagined. All of that really cemented my determination to see it through to publication, then continue on this journey. I’m living proof of what’s possible when you make space for that thing that lights you up inside.
BKM: What is one tip you have for those seeking to pursue a creative life?
RS: Make room. I think creatives have a hard time justifying time spent on our work when it doesn’t pay the bills or produce immediate results. The world dictates that other priorities should be higher, that we’re “not busy” in a traditional sense and therefore our time belongs elsewhere. So we have to be ruthless about making that room. Start small, whatever you can manage at first, but do make room. And don’t apologize for it.
BKM: Pick any book – drama, literary, bio, self-help, etc. What’s a must-read recommendation?
RS: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. It outlines the alarming ways in which research data informing everything from our public spaces and workplaces to medical care and transit systems is systematically blind to fifty percent of the world’s population. Woman or man, it will change how you look at every single thing around you.
The Blue Iris is available in print, ebook, and audiobook. Visit rachelstoneauthor.com for more information.
Thank you for reading!
~Brenda
Be clear. Be proactive. Be intentional. Be passionate. Be creative. Believe!
The Blue Iris
Sometimes, uprooting the thorn-filled past is the only way we bloom. . .
Tessa Lewis is set to embark on a Big-Time Career and marry Toronto's fastest-rising lawyer, who loves her to pieces. But when a visit to a flower market from her childhood sparks memories of the mother she lost too soon, Tessa puts her bright future on hold to work there, determined to come to terms with her past.
At the Blue Iris Flower Market, everything is blossoming except the rag-tag crew, each hiding deep scars of their own. When Sam, the beloved but troubled man in charge, takes off and leaves the market reeling, Tessa and her unlikely new friends come face-to-face with their most uncomfortable truths, uprooting lives carefully cultivated-and just maybe, unearthing everything they've ever wanted.
Told from multiple perspectives, The Blue Iris is an intricately woven exploration of love tested beyond its limits, chosen family, and the beauty that grows in letting go.
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