The Free Press Wednesday November 17 1971 Author of spy enjoys living thriller ere Author Jim Henderson looked for a country retreat for two years before he and his wife found a suitable home and land on the borders of Acton Now that they have lived here for over a- year they found first impressions of the town and district were close to the mark The people are charming honest and direct says Henderson It is a working mans town people dont put on airs pretending to be something they are not he declares with authority based on ob servations Novel writer Jim Henderson is the author of the fast moving spy thriller Copperhead which Canadian publishers were hesitant to print because it uses Canadian place names and scenario for the plot They wanted Henderson to change Toronto and Montreal to more exotic names like Paris or Budapest and then they might be Interested in publishing the book But the author refused to bend to their and decided instead to send his manuscript to New York starting with the biggest Alfred A Knopf Inc He Intended to go on down the line until it was accepted To his surprise Knopf snapped it up They sent a telegram asking him to come to New York They liked the book but wanted the 125 words chopped down to That meant cutting out description and character but Jim Henderson did it The book was published and distributed In Canada by Random House a of Knopf in generally agree Is first of Its kind with a Canadian setting have been good It is now In its second printing in the United States 10000 hard cover books Dickering is also going on for foreign language rights Briefly the tale centres around David Sohns a Canadian intelligence agent and his efforts to crack a ring of enemy agents carrying in their bodies a deadly plague which they can release at any time as part of a coordinated biological attack Inter national intrigue in Montreal and Toronto out West and in the Barbados explodes in a sequence of suspense blood action and sex One reviewer said the mixture is so lively and contemporary he wonders If the Halton County Board of Education which employs Henderson would allow the book Into school libraries This writer talked with Henderson at his Acton home which almost hidden by evergreens and birches on a hillside above the Black Creek which flows strongly but serenely through the Dolly Varden valley How do you go about writing a book Did you have the plot all worked out It came out of my subconscious Jim Henderson answered He had always wanted to write a novel with a Canadian scenario dealing with chemical or biological warfare Encouraged his wife who hails from Northern Ontario he finally sat down at the typewriter and began It developed as he wrote Much research Henderson admits that he had to do a great deal of research on chemical and biological warefare to keep the plot authentic and notes with relish that the facts about that type of warfare included in the book are true I suppressed a shudder Anyone who has read the book would know why Research on the book also Included snooping around in classified areas where Henderson admits he really had no right to be In a crack at Canadian security arrange ments he said it was possible to walk into the classified areas he describes in the book and wander around indiscriminately Henderson was bom in Iran raised in England and went to school in Wales Im Welsh by temperament and inclination he told this reporter which may account for the fact he picked out the Dolly Varden valley THE HENDEBSON HOME for his home which from certain vistas resembles parts of Wales Disenchanted with opportunities in the United Kingdom he emigrated to Canada his first post a teaching job In Nanalmo British Columbia Im not sorry for my half year there he says but from there he went to the provincial metropolis Vancouver where the action is There he was hired as a radio producer by the CBC a job which started In a hotel beer parlor and terminated two years later by mutual agreement During his tenure there he wrote radio and TV scripts and produced shows experience which influenced the Department of Education to ask him to assist them when the groundwork for educational television after he came to Ontario and Burlington He taught school in Burlington for a year and then moved to Oakville where he took his present job language arts for the Halton County Board of Education I was offend a good Job with O C A the TV branch of the Department of Education Henderson says but the niggling desire to write a book was paramount and he knew the TV job would allow him little spare time to indulge his whimsy His first novel had to be a thriller and Canadian It write mostly on evenings and weekends but a major part was written last summer when he spent six weeks on a Caribbean island Competitive field Thrillers are the most competitive field of fiction writing Henderson declares although he notes there is some bail fiction in the field which Is doing a bit of disservice Writers he admires who wrote The File the most brilliant work In my field Ross Mac Don aid a Canadian now living In California who turned down from Paramount Pictures for rights unseen to his next book MacDonnld real name is Ken Miller and he has in laws in Kitchener Ontario whom he visits periodically Jim Henderson met him there last year Millers another Canadian whose thrillers with Canadian scenarios were turned down by publishers in Canada Hes now the top writer of thrillers in the States Henderson declares The book Henderson most admires and would like to emulate is John The Spy Who Came in From the Cold The Actonbased author has another thriller in the works now which he expects word back from New York on soon Why another thriller Henderson is not taciturn Why not he says Thrillers are as good as any Mac Beth is a thriller Henderson admits that in order to write a novel one has to be a bit strange It is the loneliest job I can think of he offers with no apologies He docs his novel writing on a hillside cabin set in trees behind his house There no phone or other distractions Just heat and light and a window looking out into the bush Henderson a selfconfessed introvert admits he sometimes finds the discipline of writing novels hard He has to drag himself out to the cabin sometimes and he admits it is discouraging to come back to the house with few results when the muse deserts him Universal tastes But it is obvious this academic who has a lively interest in his surroundings people ecology writing philosophy art and theatre has catholic tastes which dont fit into any mold Although exposed to the sophistication of New York he blandly assets if the choice between attend ing a cocktail party on Madison Avenue or having a beer at the Station Hotel in Acton or the Charles Hotel Milton ever appeared he would take the beer any tune On the other side of the coin he thinks nothing of flying to the Caribbean or attending a thtatre or art show In New York He has a lively appreciation of art Through his work he is well acquainted with Pruicipal Dave and teacher Ken Ellis at Acton district high school Acton is lucky to have them he says noting I would give my eye teeth to each at the Acton school No exceptions on studded tire ban The Highway Traffic Act does not provide for any exception to the ban on the use of studded tires In Ontario this winter Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications A C McNab aid in a statement The regulation prohibiting their further use which was passed last year makes it an offence for any vehicle to be equipped with studs on Ontario highways roads and streets he said Drivers using studs maybe subject to fines ranging from to Mr said the province took the lead in banning studs because research carried out in Ontario on their effectiveness and affects on highway damage was more than other jurisdictions The increasing use of studs was found to be wearing off the skid rtsistance texture of paved surfaces creating extensive ruts and obliterating the white driving lane guide lints said Mr Im my owngirl Friday I I limit r in ih hi rt i Id 1 1 ml tin in hull lirm ilDini n I mi ilr i I i Jilt ill ii- in nil inl u Bell Canada The book I wrote had to be thriller And Canadian School standards Some people feel standards are dropping but Jim Henderson this is the most demanding period of time in education People In are literate than ever before and they expect more from teachers parents and students He rates the Acton high school very high but at the same time is cognizant the Canadian security ai limitations a small school presents You tan sense it when you visit schools when there is a good rapport Part of triangle Hendersons interest in ecology has also made him a part of a triangle concerning the condition of the Black Creek The other points in the arc the and But this is another story Id rather have a beer at the Station Hotel than a cocktail on Madison Avenue his interest In this port of Ontario and his determination to use Canadian and names may one day spark novel about this part of the country Meanwhile Jim Henderson and his wife enjoy living here and appreciate their home because it is central lo his work and at the same time provides a retreat that Is conducive to Imaginative works of fiction J observer United Nations John Morison MP for will be attending the session at the United Nations from November 14 to as a parliamentary For a number of years It has been the practice of the Canadian government to op point representatives from the various national political parties as parliamentary observers to of the General Assembly Mr Morrison said he believes that Us an individual becomes more aware of the potentiality and limitations of the United Nations system so his ability to identify and tvnluate possible courses of action for the resolution of international is enhanced Also while most parliamentarians are with the problems under discussion In the UN experience as observer may contribute to a deeper understanding of specific issues troubling the world community and the way these issues can effect Canada HOMEOWNER LOANS Occasions ail Flowers Funeral Arrangement Etc Opn Dyi Wok Bam Til Dark Phon for liniutiful Show in the Spring LAST WEEK FOR PLANTING BULBS WE WIRE FLOWERS ANYWHERE Caroline flower Garden Shop TWO MILES WEST OF ACTONSOUTH SIDE OF HIGHWAY SUPERMARKET MILL ST ACTON 8530650 MEAT DEPARTMENT SPECIALS Swifts Short Shank Ready To Eat Whole or half HAMS CENTRE CUTS CENTRE CUT SLICES 595b 69 795b Fresh Lean Ground Chuck Stewing Beef Schneiders pie Beef Chicken Pork MEAT PIES 39 Schneiders Jumbo Bologna Rings 65 Catelh Save DINNERS Crown Brand lb Bottle Save CORN SYRUP 39 TANG Poly Bag 5 Save Orange Crystals 89 48 Tins Save Be Tomato Juice 39 Crest Family Size Save TOOTH PASTE 89 Jars Save 55c Assorted Jams 5 1 s Purity lb Bag Save ALLPURPOSE FLOUR 69 Save 19c PEACHES 279 Libbys Tins Save DEEP BROWN Beans Pork FRESH PRODUCE DAILY Ont No 5 lb Bag Mcintosh Apples Florida White or Pink Size Grapefruit 10 Ont No Cabbage 39 PRICES EFFECTIVE NOV of Save p TEA BAGS Libbys 32 Jars Save 23c Wine Sauerkraut 3 Cheney Jars Save Bread Butter PICKLES 4