Gravel Tells Tales

PETERBOROUGH—Bruce Gravel, the long-time president of the Ontario Accommodation Association, has released his second book, this time telling the stories of what goes on behind the doors of the province’s hotels and motels.

Inn-Sanity: Diary of an Innkeeper Virgin, follows Gravel’s 2008 book Humour on Wry, with Mustard.

“While the story is entirely fictional, most of the incidents are based on actual experiences that happened to innkeepers,” Gravel said.

“Many of the innkeepers who told me these stories have now either retired or passed away, so my book also serves as a record of some of their experiences.”

Inn-Sanity tells the story of a couple stricken by a mid-life crisis who  decide to purchase a run down motel on the edge of a small town. It then tells their experiences that go beyond just making beds and cleaning bathrooms. It is written in diary format told from the wife’s perspective.

The book took Gravel a year to write. Over the years, he kept a record of stories told to him by members of the OAA.

“When you are dealing with the public, you never know what to expect. Innkeepers see a great many different guests, and there are some real characters out there. Many of these incidents are so unbelievable, that you could not make them up if you tried,” Gravel said.

While the book has only been out for a month, Gravel wrote the first draft back in 2001. He then got busy writing columns for the Peterborough Examiner, stories which were compiled to make up his first book.

Following several revisions and “threats of grievous bodily harm from my family” and several revisions, Inn-Sanity was finally published.

It is subtitled “A novel of sex and silliness, tragedy and triumph, and exploding concrete”.

One of  the stories involves, “one of the novice innkeepers (who) attempts a do-it-yourself fix of a plumbing problem and undoes the cap of the main sewage pipe in their basement, resulting in a high pressure sewage bath,” Gravel said.

“Also, when the innkeepers discover a full-grown horse in one of their motel rooms. But there are many, many, more, including an exploding swimming pool.”

Gravel wrote the book for the 60th anniversary of the OAA.

Inn-Sanity is available for $19.95, plus shipping and handling, at www.brucegravel.ca.