OLDS — At 94, Olds resident Bill Shymkiw could take it easy and no one would question that.
But that’s not Bill.
Since he turned 90, he’s been busy turning out one collection of stories after another.
This Saturday, Oct. 22 at 2p.m., Shymkiw will be at the Olds Municipal Library to share some of those stories and ask some of the philosophical questions they raise.
He’ll be talking about three published books:
The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow, a collection of 30 fictional short stories, (volume 1); Hope Is Triumphant, also a collection of short stories; and a novel, Ryan’s Redemption.
The main thread in The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow is the story of a man from age eight to adulthood, but there are 29 other stories in the book.
The main story in Hope Is Triumphant is that of Lara from two years of age right up until when she becomes a senior.
“She starts out as a child that is given away or abducted and then we follow her life as she becomes part of an English family and rises to the top to become a lady Lara of Springfield,” Shymkiw said during an interview.
Ryan’s Redemption is the story of a Sundre man who starts his life “in a privileged setting,” Shymkiw said, but begins a downward spiral into crime and ends up in jail. He even tries to kill his father.
"The crimes he commits, you can’t undo them. But you can try to do something that is beneficial,” Shymkiw said.
“What he’s trying to redeem is his character that he should have had, but he didn’t adopt it.
“In other words, it was probably offered to him, but he rejected it in his early age.
“Now, when death faces him in the face and says ‘you’re gonna die because you’ve done too many crimes,’ he says ‘well, I’ll just have to – I don’t want to die, I want to live.’
“So he begins to do humanitarian work. He atones for what he has done.”
“In my talk, I’m going to go back and I’m going to say ‘what made that child turn to crime? What were his faults? What were the flaws in his character that drove him that way,’” he said.
Shymkiw was asked if he plans to write another book.
“No, I don’t want to, I don’t want to. I’ve done what I wanted to do,” he said.
“Although I call myself an author here, I’m more of a storyteller. I’m not writing books to make a living. My earning days are past.
“I wrote these books because I wanted to do it. In other words, I was inspired to do something, write something.”
Shymkiw’s books are available at Pandora’s Boox.
“At the end of my talk I will tell them to go to Pandora. I want to support the local businesses,” Shymkiw said.
“And if they buy at Pandora, Pandora will get a little money and I will get a little money and I’ll be happy.”
