By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA— Cayuga-raised author Jeremy Gernhaelder is ecstatic about the publication of his debut novella, titled The Drifter, the first in a series of stories he hopes to publish under the banner Small Town Slashers.
Gernhaelder no longer lives in the town he grew up in, but he described his Cayuga-based childhood as essential in shaping him and his interests.
“Although things weren’t always easy, as I was a bit of an outcast, I would not trade the lessons of my youth for one lived anywhere else,” he said. “The wholesome love that a small community has for its members is a life lesson in kindness and gratitude that I find is often lost in the cities.”
CAYUGA—Cayuga-raised author Jeremy Gernhaelder poses alongside his partner Anick Côté, who designed the artwork on his debut novella The Drifter. —Submitted photo.
He said he is often labelled as “too kind or too considerate of others,” but that these qualities are a direct reflection of the smalltown values instilled in him from his time here. “Even though I haven’t lived there for years, I still feel like Haldimand County is my first home and I would like to return to it someday.”
A lifelong writer, Gernhaelder said putting words on a page gives him both an outlet for his creativity and as a means to help address difficult emotions “head on.”
After a bout of depression left him wondering what to do next with his life, he said it was his partner, Anick Côté, who pushed him to try his hand at writing professionally. He also credited the book On Writing by Stephen King and his old high school English teacher, Mrs. Penny Medeiros-Wilkens, noting that without them he “wouldn’t have developed such a grounded concept as writing about murders in small towns.”
He said the Small Town Slashers concept was inspired by both his favourite author, Val McDermid, and the YouTube series That Chapter, hosted by content creator Mike O.
CAYUGA—The cover of Gernhaelder’s debut novella The Drifter, the first in a series of crime stories he is dubbing Small Town Slashers.
He added that as a busy adult, he wanted to write books for those who love long novels but get “frustrated by having to reread sections to get back into the groove of the plot,” listing R.L. Stine’s enduring Goosebumps series as a template for the length and pace of his stories. He explained, “Books with short, rich plots full of characters you can become invested in but that won’t take your whole day to read.”
He gave a tease of The Drifter – one day, a man arrives with “more cash in his pocket than most of the locals have ever laid eyes on and an agenda that he cannot be swayed from,” while a local journalist works to uncover the mystery behind this drifter and why he is really in town. When the drifter disappears and bodies start piling up, her quest for information could mean “life or death for her and everyone she loves.”
Gernhaelder is planning on returning home to Cayuga this holiday season for the first time since before COVID. While he is excited to spend time with missed loved ones, he is also hoping to get out in the community, with a planned visit to Cayuga Secondary School on December 15 where he will speak with staff and students about his experiences as a self-published author.
He will also make an appearance at the Cayuga Public Library on December 17 for a casual meet-and-greet from 12-1 p.m., where he will sell copies of his book, with part of the proceeds benefitting the Haldimand County Public Library and Purrrfect Companions Pet Shelter in Norfolk, where he said a family member volunteers.
Gernhaelder called publishing his first novella a “dream of mine from childhood that I wasn’t entirely sure would ever be realized,” expressing disbelief at the notion of his own published work sitting on the shelves of the same libraries he frequented so often while growing up in Haldimand.
He said the next volume in Small Town Slashers is already written and ready-to-go. Titled Cookies for Comfort, Gernhaelder is currently in the process of shopping the book around, with hopes to “graduate out of self-publishing.”
For those interested in checking out The Drifter, copies are available at local libraries throughout Haldimand, with hardcover, softcover, and e-reader versions available to purchase online.
