YORKTON — Long before he became a published author, screenwriter and audiobook narrator, Charlie David was a Yorkton kid listening to GX94, browsing the shelves at the public library and attending the Yorkton Film Festival with his family.
Now, many of those small-city experiences have found their way into his latest novel.
David, a 1998 graduate of Yorkton Regional High School, is preparing to release Bless This Hot Mess, a comedic mystery set in the fictional Ontario community of Greater Napanee. While the story takes place hundreds of kilometres from Saskatchewan, David says the setting was heavily influenced by his upbringing in Yorkton.
“Because I grew up in Yorkton, there are a lot of similarities between the two cities that I thought were kind of fun to play with,” David said.
The fictional community is roughly the same size as Yorkton, and one of the novel's central storylines revolves around a local radio station.
That idea was inspired in part by David's own experience growing up with Yorkton's country radio station.
“I listened to GX94 and that was, at the time, our sole radio station that only played country,” he said. “In the book there is a sole radio station in the town as well.”
The novel follows a radio station that launches a talent competition in a last-ditch effort to rebuild its audience. The story mixes comedy, mystery and romance, but David said the small-town setting was an important part of what he wanted to capture.
Set in 1999, the book also draws on memories from David's late high school and early college years, including his time with Saskatchewan Express and other experiences growing up in the province.
“There’s a lot of fun nostalgia baked in by way of the music, sports, celebrity and fashion references of that era,” he said.
David credits several Yorkton institutions with helping shape his creative career.
A frequent visitor to the Yorkton Public Library as a child, he said the library sparked an early love of books and storytelling.
“I’m a library kid,” he said. “Getting lost in those shelves as a young person, I imagined that one day it would be cool to have a book there.”
He also points to the Yorkton Film Festival as a major influence. His mother began taking him to the festival when he was in elementary school, and he still tries to attend whenever possible.
“My mom started taking me to the Yorkton Film Festival when I was probably in Grade 2,” he said.
Bless This Hot Mess is David's fourth book. Previous works include Mulligans, which was adapted into a feature film, and Shadowlands, which became a television miniseries.
David said his goal with the new novel was to create something lighthearted at a time when many readers are looking for an escape.
“I wanted to put something into the world that was joyful, that would hopefully make people laugh,” he said.
The novel also includes an original soundtrack, with readers able to listen to songs connected to the story through streaming platforms as they read.
Bless This Hot Mess is scheduled for official release Aug. 11 and will be available in print, e-book and audiobook formats through major retailers and online platforms.
