Interview with memoirist Deidre Havrelock

Today's guest is memoirist Deidre Havrelock.

If you’re a fan of supernatural fiction then you will be captivated by this true story about a spiritually sensitive girl and the path that led to her possession. Part one of a two-part series, Saving Mary is the story of a modern-day Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons.

Deidre Daily is drawn to anything seemingly spiritual, desperately seeking a spiritual existence. But inside this vibrant girl hides a terrified child who sincerely believes she has married the devil. Through a series of spiritual encounters her fear turns into reality, and she ends up possessed.

Deidre’s fascinating memoir relays her story from childhood to adolescence: invisible eyes leering at her from the corner of her bedroom, horrible nightmares tormenting her, and her desperate attempt to find God—only to end up possessed. It is a candid account of possession from a first-person perspective. This dark memoir brings to light an intricate world of deceitful spirits hell-bent on manipulating and damaging an innocent girl’s life, not only through her dreams, but also through seemingly every-day encounters. 

Bio:

Deidre D Havrelock grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she eventually met her husband to be, DJ. It was DJ who initially noticed Deidre’s dark state and worked to seek out someone willing to perform her exorcism. Eventually, the newlyweds found their way to the southern hot spot of Brooks, AB where Deidre began writing. From there the family trekked across eastern Canada to Moncton, NB where they learned to love French fries with cheese curds and gravy. 

Currently nestled in the hills of Kennewick, Washington, Deidre has two horses, one dog, three cats and too many rabbits…and let’s not forget her wonderful husband and three energetic daughters. Her memoir, Saving Mary: The Possession chronicles her dark childhood and the path that led to her demonic possession. She is currently working to finish book two of her spiritual memoir, Saving Mary: The Deliverance.

How did you come up with the title of your book?

I called my book Saving Mary because just after my exorcism my boyfriend convinced me to go to a Bible study. I had already decided I would keep my possession and exorcism a secret. (It seemed all just a bit too strange to talk about.) During the Bible study, however, BAM! A woman caught me off guard. She came up to me at the end of the study and told me that God spoke to her. “God told me to tell you that you remind him of Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons.” It seemed that I wanted to keep my life a secret, but God didn’t get my memo!  I didn’t go to another Bible study for over a year. Those prophetic people, you can always count on them to spice things up.

Give us a glimpse into a typical day in your day starting when you wake up till you lie down again.

My day is pretty boring. I get up and pray…I make coffee. I then crawl back into bed and either read a book or answer emails. At that point my husband leaves for work. Then I wake the kids up and get them some breakfast: yogurt, cereal and fruit. I then read some more or answer emails. I then tell my kids to get dressed. I then make lunches. (Bored yet?) I get a fresh coffee and read or answer emails. I then remind my kids to brush their teeth, and then I get the kids out the door so they can catch their rides to school. I then jump in the shower and then I work. Work entails: reading, answering emails, writing, editing, marketing, blogging, filing, sending out queries. (Sometimes my friend Lori Skypes me!) I do this for the next five hours then I jump in my car and rush to begin the cycle of picking up kids and getting them to soccer, basketball or softball. When I get home, I feed everyone some kind of food I’ve managed to scrape together. Then me and my hubby go for a walk and talk about going on vacation to Greece. This is where I am right now in my life. I love being with my family. Although, it would be great if I could do less driving.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? 

I’m working to finish part two of Saving Mary…The Deliverance. The story of how I became unpossessed. I am also working to edit a book about the femininity of the Holy Spirit, The MotherHeart of God: Biblical Evidence for the Femininity of the Holy Spirit.

What inspired you to want to become a writer?

My imagination, plus my mom read a lot. At a young age I wanted to write something for her to read, so I wrote The Bloody Dagger in grade three. I’m sure my story of a guy who hides in the shadows and chops up people impressed her. I know it impressed my teacher, Mrs. Whalen, who asked, “Don’t you have any happy thoughts?” 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Oh gosh, my quirk is that I write in bed. I sometimes get my laptop and stay in bed for hours! My husband calls it my office. 

When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

I wanted to be a writer and then a lawyer and then I just wanted to party (I sort of lost focus). I used to pray, “Dear God, pleeeeease make me good at just one thing.” I always felt I was exceptionally good at nothing—probably like most of us, I suspect. My husband calls this “The Gift of Insignificant helps.” 

Excerpt:

Chapter Four

Curses

Me and Kelly, we make plans for sleepovers all the time. We don’t ever sleep at my house. We sleep at her house. I sleep over at Kelly’s a lot ‘cause I know there’s no little eyes or ghosts creepin’ around at her house.

At Kelly’s house we play in her playhouse. We sit on neatly stacked bricks, pretending they’re chairs. She’s writing the rules for our new club. I’m colorin’ the membership cards, tellin’ her about the little eyes in my house. She calls me a freak. I then decide to tell her about a dream I had. The one she was in.

“It’s dark outside. And quiet. The leaves in the trees aren’t moving, that ugly ol’ Fort Road is empty and the street lights—they’re dim. Only the moon gives light. It all looks like one of those old pictures, you know, shadowy and still. The only sound comes from Angie’s shiny black tap shoes as she moves down the sidewalk. They’re all, clippity-clop, clippity-clop, CLIPpITY-CLOP, clippity-clop ’cause of the echo. Angie isn’t dancing though. She’s just walking, wishin’ her shoes would shut up. We’re all wishin’ her stupid shoes would shut up. You turn to Angie with your eyebrows pointing to your nose. The way you do when you’re mad … ”

I tell Kelly about the church and about the robbers and about how she hid and how I didn’t hide very good. She says, “That figures.” And we laugh. Then I say how I was pulled to the altar, how I was made to get married and how I was kicking and screamin’.

“But nobody even cared,” I say. I take a yellow crayon, start colorin’ a picture of a bee. Then I tell her how I pulled the robber’s mask off.

“It’s hanging from my hand, his mask. And I don’t know what to do now, and I’m wishin’ I hadn’t done it at all. I look around for you, hoping you might come out from hiding, but you don’t.”

“What’s he look like?” asks Kelly.

“He’s cute,” I say. “With short brown hair. He smiles at me, shaking his head a little like he’s saying, ‘You know, you shouldn’t have done that’—pulled his mask off he means. He feels weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah,” I go.  “Weird. Nothin’ about him feels right. He’s all wrong. And he’s got these black eyes that look and pull all at the same time, so I wanna run away but I can’t.”

“So what do you do?”

“I smile, just a little, to say sorry. But I don’t think he cares ’cause he doesn’t smile back. Then I spy around for you. I’m still hoping you might come out and do somethin’. That’s when he starts laughing.”

“Why’s he laughing?”

“’Cause he knows you aren’t coming, and even if someone did come—it’s too late. We’re already married. He laughs harder and harder ’til the laughing changes him.”

“Changes him?”

“Yeah, his hair—it starts going all creepy. It’s red now.”

“What’s creepy about red?”

So I tell her how his hair’s turned into red-hot flames. How he’s laughing with his head tilted back. His hair swishin’ and glowin’, all on fire.

“Does he do anything else?”

“He smiles at me—big, really big.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause he knows I’m scared and he thinks it’s funny. Then his face also starts changing. Like it’s made of Play-Doh.”

“Play-Doh?”

“Yeah, like when he smiles the smile changes. It keeps twistin’ itself up all screwy-like.”

“That’s more like Silly Putty,” says Kelly.

“Sure,” I say, “like Silly Putty.”

“Man, I wouldn’t’ve hid. I woulda beat the crap outta him.”

“I know you woulda.”

“Geez, Dede.  You married the Devil.”

I nod. “I know,” I whisper. Then I say, “Kelly, can you divorce the Devil?”

“Don’t know,” says Kelly. “I guess you’d hafta find God for that.”

I put down the yellow crayon, pick up a black one and write ‘Busy Bee Club’ at the top of the membership card. I’ve got a heaviness on me now. Like when something’s gone wrong and it’s got to be made right. Just then Kelly goes, whack! hitting me right in the shoulder; she tells me to get up.

“Let’s walk to your house, so you can get some clothes for the sleepover,” she says. Down the alley we go where two big kids stop us and ask if we want a knuckle sandwich. Kelly pulls her eyebrows down, says, “No!”

I say, “Yes.”

They punch Kelly in the face.

Thanks for stopping by today, Deidre.

Readers, you can learn more about the author and her writing by visiting other stops along her tour.