Bestselling author Eileen Garvin to visit Bookworm to discuss ‘Crow Talk’

As the weather warms up and we spend more time outside, we see first-hand the healing power of nature. Bestselling author of “Music of Bees,” Eileen Garvin knows this power well and includes it in her books. She’s just released a new book, “Crow Talk” and will be at the Bookworm to share about the process of writing her book, answer questions, and finish with a book signing.

“Crow Talk” is an achingly beautiful story of love, grief, friendship, and the healing power of nature in the darkest of times, set amidst the wild natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Although Garvin’s focus on nature as a healing element wasn’t originally intentional, it has certainly emerged as a theme over the years.

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“Personally, I’ve always taken great comfort in the natural world,” Garvin said. “When I was a child, my family had a lake house near some woods. I was lucky to have that early access to the outdoors and it stuck with me. When I was writing ‘Crow Talk’, I was thinking about how a remote, beautiful location might help my characters, who were struggling with various problems, as it has always helped me.”

Science is important to Garvin, so one major way the characters in “Crow Talk” work through their struggles is by rehabilitating an injured crow.

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“I’m a wannabe scientist with an English major, so writing about an ornithologist, as I have in ‘Crow Talk,’ is the closest I’m going to get,” Garvin said. “I enjoyed writing about the world of bees in my first novel, ‘The Music of Bees.’ So when I began thinking about a new story, I thought I’d venture into the world of birds. Rows were all around me — in my neighborhood, in Portland, up in the woods where I ride my bike. The more I noticed them, the more I fell in love with their brazen beauty. They’re so smart, and they are always watching us.”

It’s not just the nature writing that will draw Eagle Valley locals and visitors to Garvin’s book, but also the setting of the book that is similar to the Eagle Valley.

“The story carries some socio-economic elements that are often present in towns that have become popular tourist destinations,” Garvin said. “Frankie’s family has owned the modest care-taking cottage for three generations and they’ve done maintenance for the other homeowners. Anne has married into one of the wealthier families but comes from a working-class Irish family. I think it’s worth noting that all the homes in Beauty Bay are built in a location that belonged to the Yakima Nation in years prior. So there’s a lot going on under the surface there.”

Another under-the-surface element is how Garvin drew on her personal experiences with her loved ones to inspire her writing.

“One of the characters in ‘Crow Talk’ is a 5-year-old boy named Aiden who has stopped speaking and no one knows why,” Garvin said. “One of my sisters didn’t speak at all until she was seven and I was four. Communication difficulties are one characteristic of her autism. In writing Aiden’s character, I was thinking about non-verbal forms of communication. I asked the question: how might he tell his story when he is not using traditional language?”

There is so much depth and many elements in “Crow Talk” that will appeal to a vast array of readers, and those readers will learn important lessons from the book.

“I hope readers will think about what can be gained from slowing down and paying attention to the natural world that is all around us — especially in places like Vail and my hometown of Hood River,” Garvin said. “We’re so lucky to live in such close proximity to nature, which can be a fun place to play and relax. But taking it a step further, I hope people will recognize our connection to the natural world and its varied inhabitants. We are part of it, not outside of it, and we have the opportunity and responsibility to care for it.”