Embarking on a new adventure

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This article was published 25/02/2022 (1497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For many, retirement isn’t an end, but the beginning of an exciting new journey.

Such is the case for Nadine Kampen. When the longtime East and North Kildonan resident recently retired from her career in marketing and communications, she knew just what she wanted to do.

“I was a non-fiction writer for 40-plus years,” Kampen, a Miles Macdonell Collegiate alumna, said. “I’d done almost every kind of writing but fiction. It was tugging at my heart to give that a try.”

On Jan. 20, Kampen’s debut novel The Brantford Wagers was published under her own imprint, Birdsgate Publishing. Two days later, she held a virtual launch over Zoom, which was attended by fellow indie writers and romance fans from across the globe.

“Reception is good, so far,” Kampen said. “It’s an encouraging start. My goal in this first year is to connect with readers and start building a platform, as this is the first in a series.”

The Brantford Wagers has been a long time coming for Kampen. She started writing the novel when her children were at home, before she got back into the workforce.

“I put this book in the drawer many years ago,” she admitted. 

Around 2015, when she knew she wanted to make a go of writing fiction in her retirement, Kampen brought it out of the digital drawer and started chipping away at it. But it was only in the last year or so that she was really able to commit any serious time to it. Making the shift from non-fiction to fiction was a bit of a challenge.

“There were so many new things to learn,” Kampen said. “I taught myself a lot, and I hope to keep improving on it.”

The Brantford Wagers itself is a Regency romance, and concerns the romantic life of protagonist Clara Vincent. The period and genre both appealed to Kampen as fertile ground to explore.

“It’s a fun setting for fiction,” she said. “The romance novel has a happy ending, you’re committing to the reader that you’re happy at the end. And I wanted to do that, to lift people up. For me, this is a good place.”

Kampen was inspired to launch her own publishing endeavour after being inspired by the burgeoning indie publishing scene.

“In the past decade, it has really taken off, especially with opportunity to connect with readers online,” she said, adding that her 40-plus years of experience in the field of communications and marketing made the transition to publisher a painless one. “I can handle a lot myself, but also know when to hire professionals. I’m sole proprietor. Isn’t that rewarding at the end of your career to be president of your own company?”

While Kampen will be busy promoting The Brantford Wagers for the next year, she’s also hard at work on a followup, with the intent of writing at least three novels in the series.

“The fun of doing a series is you get attached to your characters, and so do the readers hopefully, as you move along through their lives,” she said.

While Kampen hopes to connect with readers, she also hopes her foray into writing and publishing fiction will inspire others.

“I left my previous career and I’m starting a new one, one that I can set at my own pace,” she said. “I hope there are many people like myself who aren’t intimidated to start their own journey.”

To learn more, visit www.nadinekampen.com

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

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