Lorina Stephens's Blog, page 22

Shadow Song coming out in audiobook in 2018

So thrilled to announce Shadow Song will be coming out as an audiobook in March of 2018. It’s being narrated by Susan J. Iannucci. Susan is a California denizen, who has narrated productions all over the world from her professional sound studio.

When released, Shadow Song will be available through Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

I’ll have links up to both Amazon and Audible on my website under the page for Shadow Song. You will also be able to link to it through Five Rivers’ site.

This will be the second novel I’ll have in audiobook format, the first being From Mountains of Ice. If you haven’t purchased that one, you should! Why? Because it’s a good story, if I do say so, and you’ll love it, whether in print, ebook or audio. Besides, none of us like to encourage the reality of the starving artist.

Cover for Caliban!

Very excited to reveal the brilliant cover Jeff Minkevics has created for my forthcoming novella, Caliban.

I think Jeff captured the essence of the story in his artistic concept, while also paying homage to the golden era of SF. At first Jeff wanted to give a tip of the hat to the great illustrative covers created by Doubleday artists, using a Puppet Masters feel, but when it was made apparent to Jeff that the main character in Caliban is not in control of his situation, Jeff decided to explore the concept of alien life-forms as misconceptions.

And of course the cover is very blue. I love blue. So, thank you, Jeff, not only for the blue cover, but for defining what Tine, my misunderstood Caliban, might be like.

Because you’re going to ask what Caliban is about, here’s the marketing blurb:

Tine desires beauty, and freedom from his home. When called to find a missing ambassador to a society of artists, he risks everything for the pursuit of that desire, only to find illusion can be reality, and reality illusion. Sanity is subjective. And it is possible life, even beauty, can be found in unexpected places and forms.

Caliban was originally slated for release December 1. That release date, however, has been pushed back to March 1, 2018, in order that Five Rivers Publishing can complete the required work to publish a polished book. When Caliban does release, it will be available in 6 x 9 trade paperback, and ebook, through all your favourite online booksellers, and directly from Five Rivers Publishing, and through my own website. There will be an audiobook version available later in 2018.

September Progress Report

Because some of you have been asking about my next novel release, thought it would be a good idea to update you on my progress.

Caliban is slated for release December 1, 2017. However, because my cover art mad genius, Jeff Minkevics, has been inundated this year, the cover for the novella is delayed, and thus the release of Caliban may be delayed a month or two. Eric Demarais has done a fabulous job of the layout, and the galleys are now being proofed by one of Five Rivers’ editors.

My other WIP, The Rose Guardian, is very near to finished, the first draft, that is. There are only three chapters left to write. I’ll then have to let that percolate a bit, and will likely return to the novel in early winter to set to the process of revision. That’s a process I love. For me it’s when I get to finesse the story, bring all those elements together, create a fluid and hopefully engaging narrative to captivate my reader. First drafts are anathema. Give me revision any time.

And of course I do have to reiterate the fact there’s a fabulous new cover for From Mountains of Ice! Simply love what Jeff Minkevics did with that! To go with that new cover there’s the new audiobook that’s available through Amazon, Audible and iTunes. It’s been beautifully narrated by Diana Majlinger. I think she did a fabulous job.

That’s all for now, dear reader.

Eulogy for Mother

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Ring the bells (ring the bells) that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything)

That’s how the light gets in

In this quote from Leonard Cohen’s Anthem, he speaks of chiaroscuro. The Oxford Dictionary defines chiaroscuro as the treatment of light and shadow in drawing and painting.

I think of chiaroscuro when I think of Mother. Chiaroscuro best sketches the force of nature that was Mother. In her winter it was bitter. In her summer it was glorious. Light and shadow. Shadow and light. She had a generosity of spirit, which could turn to something darker when feeling threatened.

Mother was born at the end of the Roaring Twenties, a time of prosperity, new vision, some would say an indulgence after the horrors of WWI. But for Mother’s early years, growing up during the Dirty Thirties, there was adversity and heartache, ameliorated by a few very strong and gentle influences in the persons of her mother, Annette, and later in her step-father, Arthur Brown. It is from them, I believe, Mother learned about that glorious summer, that light of chiaroscuro, of seeking beauty through the cracks.

She married early, almost a child-bride, discovered the darkness of chiaroscuro during those years, and fled through the cracks of that marriage into light, into freedom, and what she thought was another cascade of light in the form of my father. But because life is all about chiaroscuro, in order to understand the light, you have to understand the darkness, and so once again she fled from darkness into the hope of light and the possibility of building, yet again, a life.

It was shortly after she’d settled into the hope of that new life Gerry Batherson walked in all grins and handsome swagger, the Burton to her Taylor. He became the love of her life. And throughout her many long decades with him there was much in the way of light, most especially the brightest light of all in the form of my sister, Penny.

There were cracks, indeed. Just like Burton and Taylor Mother and Dad were on-again/off-again. You could never say it was boring. And together these two titans built a life of prosperity, becoming industry leaders, offering up opportunities to Penny and me through travel and education, tutelage in art and dance, during a time and in a community that eschewed such pursuits. But the cup from which Mother drank was full, and she wanted to share that bounty, dispense largess, until the wine soured, the cup cracked. And so there would again be winter and darkness.

I believe Mother finally understood personal contentment, if not happiness, when she came to terms with being alone, of living within her own skin free of dependencies on others for her well-being. Those years, spent mostly in the company of Penny and my sister’s growing wisdom and forthrightness, very much allowed Mother to understand that life didn’t always have to be about chiaroscuro. That maybe there was contentment in the return to her earliest of loves, that of the earth. Of quietude. Of the art of stillness. And in the legacy of her grandchildren, Adam, Melissa, and Christopher.

Sure, there were still tempests, but mostly those were confined to tea cups instead of oceans. As she had as a girl, she dug in the dirt, and from that dark, fragrant place grew beauty and light, a burgeoning bounty of life and colour.

But life is about chiaroscuro. And so to define the light came the darkness, this time a darkness she would not be able to flee. There would be only one crack left after the disease of cancer was to consume all her light, and that crack, we hope, has led her to light, and a profound understanding of the beauty that is life, that is chiaroscuro, that is Barbara.

From Mountains of Ice now an audiobook!

My first audiobook, From Mountains of Ice, is now live and available on iTunes, Audible and Amazon.

Narrated by Diana Majlinger, the audiobook runs 9 hours and 11 minutes long, beautifully told with a European flair that is captivating, clear and a perfect complement to this tale of madness, betrayal and endurance.

If you don’t already have an Audible account, you can get From Mountains of Ice for free with an Audible trial. How cool is that?

Jeff Minkevics, Five Rivers’ art director, created a new cover to celebrate. I think it’s awesome!

Would love your feedback on the cover, Diana’s narration, and the story, by leaving a review for any of the three formats now available.

Update: The Rose Guardian

I am so very close to finishing the first draft of my new novel, The Rose Guardian. I know, I know, I keep saying this date, and then that date, and then another, but life and obligations continually suck away my creative energy. Between operating the publishing house, and attending to the glass business which keeps Gary and me afloat, there is little time left. But I am carving out hours here and there, stringing thoughts into words into phrases into narrative.

What is The Rose Guardian about? I think I’ve sketched out the particulars of the story somewhere in my blog, but to recap: the story is about a woman dealing with the death of her mother, and told from three perspectives, that of Vi Cotter, who is an artist, and told from first person past tense; that of Una Cotter, who is the mother of Vi, and told from her journals; and that of a little girl, Lettie, told from third person present tense. The narratives do mesh, and it is my hope to draw my readers into a story of ambiguity, of the grey fabric of real life.

Where will The Rose Guardian appear? I’m not sure at this point. I think I just need to finish the thing first, polish it so it shines, and then decide about marketing. I must admit I’m torn about that aspect, probably because I’m not getting any younger and thus with age comes the weight of experience which leads me to indecision. So we’ll see.

Caliban still on track

My newest novella, Caliban, is still on track for release December 1, 2017. It’s presently in layout and cover design. I haven’t yet seen a cover concept from Jeff Minkevics, but I hope to soon after he’s finished with the new cover for From Mountains of Ice. I do know Éric Desmarais has the basic layout of the text complete, and is now working on interior graphics.

I think I may have set these two remarkable artists a challenge with this one, because there are so few tangible elements in this story, but I have every faith they will rise to that challenge and deliver something utterly breathtaking. Stay tuned.

New edition of From Mountains of Ice

Very excited to announce there will be a new edition of From Mountains of Ice this summer. Five Rivers’ brilliant Art Director, Jeff Minkevics, is designing a new cover, and wow is it fabulous! I am so excited, even if Jeff is losing his mind dealing with all the minute detail he’s decided is required. And Éric Desmarais, Five Rivers’ layout artist, is working on a stunning new layout which does absolute tribute to the story.

This will mark six years since From Mountains of Ice first released. It seems to have garnered rather polarized reviews, from glowing praise to downright loathing, which is something I’ve come to realize as both a publisher and writer is pretty average for the majority of books.

Hope to have a sneak peek for you soon. Stay tuned….

Another perspective on minimum wage cost

Yes, yes, I know this blog is supposed to be about my books and writing life. However, part of my writing life also revolves around what keeps this family of mine solvent, and that very much has to do with my husband who is a skilled tradesman in a rather specialized area of the glass industry.

There has been an announcement by the Ontario government a hike in minimum wage is forthcoming. This is an initiative I very much laud and support. It’s important to allow people to earn a fair wage, to be able to live and prosper. But in all the rhetoric bandied about by both supporters and detractors of this minimum wage initiative, I cannot help but wonder if many of those people, who are not tradespeople, stop to consider a hidden hypocrisy in much of the argument, that of what we are willing to pay the tradesperson who comes into our homes to repair, to build, to renovate our environments.

How many of us ask the tradesperson if there’s a discount for cash? Or if they’d be willing to forgo charging HST? Or if they’d be willing to meet the ridiculously low price of some other large contracting firm which doesn’t come with impeccable credentials and references? There is an assumption if a discount is given by the tradesperson, especially if the job is paid in cash, that the income from that job will go unreported and directly pocketed, essentially becoming part of the underground economy.

What isn’t generally understood by the public is that a large percentage of tradespeople live in fear of an audit by CRA, because contractors and tradespeople are considered an easy target by the CRA, and so many of those very same tradespeople are scrupulous about reporting all income, whether paid in cash, or discounted, or not. What that means to those tradespeople is they end up paying the HST on behalf of their clients. That means 13% off the profit of the job. And if the client has pressured the tradesperson into meeting the deep discount of a larger firm, which is willing to give that discount just to keep crews working, that also means a further reduction of profit for the small tradesperson who likely is more qualified and better-skilled than the people employed by the larger firm, a firm which likely pays its trades minimum wage, and has a revolving door for its employees.

So, next time you hire a tradesperson to do work in your home, think about that. Think about what you’re asking when you don’t want to pay the HST and pressure the tradesperson into taking a 13% hit on his or her income.

Words for thought.

Review: A Place Called Winter, by Patrick Gale

A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sensitively written, beautiful yet precise prose, seamless environmental detail, and characters who are credible, A Place Called Winter is an historical novel worth a reader’s attention and time. Set in late 19th century Saskatchewan, Patrick Gale chronicles the difficult journey, both psychological and temporal, of Harry Cane (an actual ancestor of the author’s).

Cane, who flees England upon threat of exposure and possible hanging for his homosexuality, leaves behind a wife and daughter to homestead in Canada. He, like so many, is lured by promises of land for the taking, of bountiful harvest, and security. Yet Cane does prevail despite flimflammery, rape, devastating illness, heartbreak and bone-shattering labour. The story is one of quiet triumph, of fluid relationships, and acceptance.

My one quibble with the story is the author’s lack of experience with Canadian cold. When Cane indentures himself to a farmer in Moose Jaw, he sleeps in a shed, without heat, throughout the winter, in an area which could see temperatures plummet as low as -36C. There is a high probability he would freeze to death. And there is no mention of the difficulty of travel in winter with blizzard conditions, or of spring thaw and the sucking mud.

However, beyond that truly minor complaint, A Place Called Winter is an engaging and worthy read. Recommended.

View all my reviews