Esi Edugyan still recalls visiting her partner Steven Price when the young couple started dating nearly two decades ago.

As a 20-something student enrolled in the , Esi lived in Victoria鈥檚 Cook Street village. She didn鈥檛 own a car. Travelling to see Steven on the West Shore was always a major expedition.

鈥淚 had to take three buses and then, at the end of the last ride, I had to hike up a steep hill,鈥� she says.

Twenty years have brought plenty of changes.

The couple began their lives together downtown but eventually settled in Colwood and started a family, all while crafting impressive literary careers.

Esi is the author of three novels. She emerged onto Canada鈥檚 literary stage with the release of The Second Life of Samuel Tyne in 2004. The ominous and moving portrayal of life in rural Alberta was nominated for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. , a story about politics, race, music and relationships in Nazi Germany won Canada鈥檚 Scotiabank in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Governor General鈥檚 Award for English language fiction, Rogers Writers鈥� Trust Fiction Prize and the United Kingdom鈥檚 prestigious Man Booker Prize. In 2012, the book received the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. Her latest book, , has just been released.

Steven has earned numerous honours for his poetry, including the in 2006 for Anatomy of Keys, which was also named a Globe & Mail Book of the Year.

In 2011, he completed Into That Darkness, a thriller set in modern-day Victoria. Having secured a coveted international book deal, Price then produced what may arguably be his most ambitious work to date. , recently released in paperback format, is an intriguing tale of globe-spanning mystery set largely in Victorian-era London.

The work is loosely inspired by a Price family tale about Steven鈥檚 great-grandfather, who fled England after a 鈥渟pot of bother鈥� with the law. At the end of his westward journey across the continent, A.E. Price settled on southern Vancouver Island, where he started a locksmith business. has since grown to become Canada鈥檚 oldest private security firm. The prevalence of decals emblazoned with the trademark red, upper-case 鈥淧鈥� on storefront windows and residences in Victoria and across Western Canada speaks to the venture鈥檚 success through successive generations.

It鈥檚 those deep roots and family ties that encouraged Steven, Esi and the couple鈥檚 two young children 鈥� both under six years of age 鈥� to call Colwood home.

They agree life on the West Shore offers a good balance of the rural and urban. A walk along the Esquimalt Lagoon Bird Sanctuary, where Emily Carr used to camp out and paint landscapes of a wild coast, or a trip to downtown are only a short ride away. Esi, who was born and raised across the mountains in Calgary, has warmed to her new home.

鈥淓ven eight years ago, when I first moved here, it felt very far,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have that feeling any more.鈥�

Now in their early forties, Esi and Steven are writers of international renown, their books translated into multiple languages, and yet their lives follow a routine familiar to many young families. They embark on weekend family excursions to the Saanich Peninsula or points up the island, spend lots of time at the library and take regular trips to the Royal Bay Bakery for inspiration.

Following our interview at a snug neighbourhood coffee shop, they were off to collect the kids from school.

Picking up the children is a welcome reprieve from their respective writing routines. Both spend up to six hours a day researching projects, trying out ideas, developing characters and unraveling storylines. Esi describes home-office life as providing flexibility but not necessarily the degree of freedom that many office workers might idealize.

First order of business for Esi is digging into a good book, something to get her in the right frame of mind to begin churning out her own narrative voice. Steven jokes that he still has his original writing shirt, its fibres so worn out that he鈥檚 had to begin wearing a second one over top just to hold everything together. Neither place much credence in writing talismans, but be careful about grabbing their cherished coffee mugs while you鈥檙e paying them a visit!

There are often multiple ideas on the go, only some of which ever live to see a final chapter.

When the kids are home from school, the family adheres to an open-door policy. There is no downtime. No hiding at your desk.

鈥淩ight from the beginning we鈥檝e had this open door policy,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e found that when they felt they could come in and talk with us they didn鈥檛 feel the need all of the time.

鈥淎 closed door is an invitation.鈥�

The advantage of having a fellow writer under the same roof to help work through problems, fuel inspiration and offer advice speaks for itself. Each has grown to welcome the chance to act as sounding board, test reader and advice counsellor. It can happen over dinner, on a Sunday drive or in the middle of the night.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely helpful,鈥� Esi says. 鈥淪teven is a great editor as well as a great writer, so it鈥檚 amazing to be able to pass him stuff. I can鈥檛 believe I have this calibre of an editor right at home.鈥�

Coming out of the trance-like space caused by extended periods of creative work, they credit the children for easing their transition back to normalcy.

鈥淚t sounds crazy when you don鈥檛 have kids of your own, but it鈥檚 a wonderful thing that these are your best friends in the world and you鈥檙e spending time with them,鈥� Steven adds.

As their family life and careers have evolved so too has the city they call home. Steven recalls a childhood of dirt biking with pals in Colwood鈥檚 scrubby vacant lots. His neighbourhood had a gritty, rough-around-the-edges reputation. Not so anymore, as new housing projects and commercial developments reshape the landscape. The doesn鈥檛 feel so far away these days.

鈥淚t was such a different place back then,鈥� Steven says. 鈥淏eing somebody who was born and raised here, I think it would be perfectly natural to be disgruntled about all these people coming, but I don鈥檛 feel that at all. I feel great optimism.鈥�

-Story by Sean McIntyre

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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