We chat with author Sharon Bala about Good Guys, which is a page-turning moral drama about money, the dark side of philanthropy, and what happens when you try to change the world for all the wrong reasons.
Hi, Sharon! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m the author of the novel The Boat People. Good Guys is my second novel. I write short fiction, the occasional essay, and am the Creative Non-Fiction Editor at Riddle Fence Magazine. When I’m not writing, I can usually be found cooking, reading, running, hiking, and travelling.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
In grade three, my teacher spent the year writing and illustrating a sci-fi novel that featured every kid in the class. Every few days she read a chapter aloud and at the end of the school year she presented each of us with our own copy of the book. You can imagine my excitement! Also exciting: the assignments to write our own stories. I filled page after page after page. It was the first time I enjoyed homework.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: something (everything!) by Enid Blyton
- The one that made you want to become an author: The novel my third grade teacher wrote.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.
Your latest novel, Good Guys, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
A smart, satirical moral drama
What can readers expect?
Claire Talbot is the publicist at Children of the World, an international aid charity. Morally burnt out after decades working in reputation management, Claire is relieved to finally use her PR skills for good. Too bad the organization is on the verge of bankruptcy. In a last-ditch effort to keep them afloat, Claire arranges for an A-list actress to volunteer at one of their overseas orphanages. When the actress decides to adopt a baby and promises a massive donation, it seems as if Claire has single-handedly saved the day. But after a journalist digs into their operations and reveals a shocking crime, Claire and her colleagues must reckon with their complicity and all the ways their work abroad has harmed the very people they set out to save.
Moving between Children of the World’s headquarters in Toronto and their compound in Central America, Good Guys charts the charity’s rise and fall. Readers can expect a tightly paced and thoughtful exploration of power and philanthropy, as well as workplace shenanigans.
Where did the inspiration for Good Guys come from?
My first career was in communications and I worked in health-care non-profits. I went into that field naively assuming good intentions guaranteed positive outcomes. But of course the truth of non-profit is messier.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Every office has a joker and the one in my book was especially fun to write!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I drafted by the seat of my pants and reverse engineered the plot. Imagine a cork board with colour coded cue cards, post-its, and red string. I called it my murder board because I felt like a detective solving a crime. Other writers would come over to laugh and commiserate at this chaotic-looking thing.
What’s next for you?
I’m deep into a new – and very different – book.
