David Findlay, one of the Carleton Place clan, famous for the stoves they’ve been manufactured for a century or so. In 1942 he left law for literature. Writing had been paying him for a long time. It kept him, his wife, two boys and two girls very nicely, indeed. I had a hard time finding his work until I realized he went under the name of D.K. Findlay.
“I was at Osgoode Hall when I sent a story to the Canadian Magazine and they paid me $4 for it”, he said. “And they asked for more. This was wonderful. I kept on writing and I had the great, good luck to tie in with a first class agent in New York Sydney Sanders. He took very real interest in Canadian writers, and was a personal friend of the Saturday Evening Post people and helped me tremendously.”
In 1933, David Findlay made the goal of most short story writers. The Saturday Evening Post accepted and paid him $500 for what he calls a “He and She” story. He sold many stories to the Post, Colliers, American and Red Book. He was also at the time in 1958 correcting proofs on “Her Subliminal Mind”, a topical effort that will appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
He had a year in the British Isles and on the continent after he graduated from University of Toronto. He wheeled his way and through France gave him background for “Search For Amelia”, his first full length novel. He was in England as a freelance writer with a loose contract with Maclean’s Magazine and he also got around the air fields a lot and that gave me more background for the book. His younger brother, “Jock”, one of the original night ‘fighter pilots of 406 Squadron was killed in 1941.
CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
16 Sep 1941, Tue • Page 4
David held a pilot’s licence and many ideas of love and adventure are borne on the wings of flight. What about habits of work? “I work through the morning from nine to one and I hate to be interrupted”, he said.” I’m not worth a hoot at the typewriter in the afternoon but like to go back in the evenings. It’s absolutely imperative. If you are going to be professional writer, you need to develop habit of work. Why hadn’t more of his stuff appeared in Canadian publications? “Just no market here for short stories”, he said. Macleans is about the only publication that brings out fresh stories and pays good prices. .
It’s been my experience that the United States magazines have absolutely no prejudice against Canadian writers. And if their stories have a Canadian background they’re quite happy about that? What about the future of the short story? . . “Look at history”, David Findlay said. “Story telling is one of the world’s oldest professions. Stories have been read for four or five hundred years. People have always wanted them and the movies, radio and television clamour for them.”
where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun and theSherbrooke Record and and Screamin’ Mamas (USACome and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place. Tales of Almonte and Arnprior Then and Now.
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