Castlegar native Robert Chursinoff didn't have to spend a lot of time researching the Doukhobor community to be able to centre his plot around the many descendants of the cultural group settled in the West Kootenays.

"They say write what you know, and I was born and raised a Doukhobor, in a Doukhobor community in Castlegar," Chursinoff told KCR News. "I think in writing those characters, I didn't have to do a lot of research."

He said in his new novel, The Descendants, elements of people he knew or grew up with―and even himself―shine through in the riveting story of Jonah, who has to flee in to the B.C mountains after a disgruntled Hells Angels-member takes up the hunt for him and his rockstar ex- girlfriend.

To learn more about the book, visit Chursinoff's website.

Listen to a KCR News interview with writer Robert Chursinoff here: