Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 14

Prize-Winning short-story author Jeff Slade returns in ‘Flights from the Rock’!

Engen Books is proud to announce the return of one of its exciting breakout talents from 2018’s Chillers from the Rock collection: Jeff Slade!

A resident of Salmon Cove, Slade is an avid reader who enjoys both making and hearing puns, playing the guitar, and cats. Slade made his publishing debut in Chillers from the Rock with his chilling tale, The Culling, then went on to win the April 2018 Kit Sora Flash Photography Fiction Prize with his story, Extinguished. He returned in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock with his story, Anchored.

Slade returns in the 2019 Flights from the Rock collection with his new story, Flight of the Puffin.

His prize-winning short story is available for purchase along with many other prize and award-winning authors in Kit Sora: The Artobiography, available now through Engen Books by clicking the button below.

Kit Sora: The Artobiography

A stunning, hundred-plus page hardcover collection of over 80 of Kit Sora’s most ambitious photographs, paired with short fiction inspired by the art by Canada’s best authorial talents. Includes stories by USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Sparkes, USA Today Bestselling Author Victoria Barbour, and Bestselling Author Amanda Labonté.

C$75.00

Fifteen other authors will be joining Jeff Slade, Bronwynn Erskine, Peter J. Foote, Lindsay Kitson, Stacey Oakley, Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include pilots, award-winning talent, and bestselling novelists! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.

Bronwynn Erskine announced as a ‘Flights from the Rock’ author!

Engen Books is proud to introduce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction featured in 2019’s Flights from the Rock collection: Bronwynn Erskine!

An Ontario native currently residing in Newfoundland, Erskine is an avid steampunk enthusiast and acrylic landscape painter. Erskine made her publishing debut in 2018’s Chillers from the Rock with her chilling tale: Scarlett Ribbons. She returns to Flights from the Rock with her new story: Feather and Bone.

Sixteen other authors will be joining Bronwynn Erskine, Peter J. Foote, Lindsay Kitson, Stacey Oakley, Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include pilots, award-winning talent, and bestselling novelists! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.

Returning Rocker: Prize-Winning author Peter J. Foote announced as returning for ‘Flights from the Rock’!

Engen Books is proud to announce the triumphant return of author Peter J. Foote to this year’s From the Rock collection, Flights from the Rock.

Peter J. Foote is a bestselling speculative fiction writer from Nova Scotia. Outside of writing, he runs a used bookstore specializing in fantasy & sci-fi, cosplays, and alternates between red wine and coffee as the mood demands.

His short stories can be found in both print and in ebook form, with his story “Sea Monkeys” winning the inaugural “Engen Books/Kit Sora, Flash Fiction/Flash Photography” contest in March of 2018. As the founder of the group “Genre Writers of Atlantic Canada”, Peter believes that the writing community is stronger when it works together.

You can visit him at www.facebook.com/peterjfooteauthor/, and @PeterJFoote1 on Twitter.

Foote’s submissions have gained entry into each of the five modern From the Rock volumes. His story ‘The Silence Between Moons’ appeared in 2016’s Sci-Fi from the Rock, ‘A Troll by Any Other Name…’ in 2017’s Fantasy from the Rock, ‘A Friend in Shadow’ in 2018’s Chillers from the Rock, and ‘Final Edict’ in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock. Foote has proven himself to be a renaissance man of genre fiction, capable of rising to the occasion of any challenge thrown his way. As competition over placement in the From the Rock series has improved, so has Foote steadily grown in his authorial abilities.

In Flights from the Rock he brings two new short stories, one of only three authors allowed to have more than one entry in the highly sought-after collection. They include ‘Lamenting Father’ and ‘Stowaway’s Luck,’ both of which had editors raving.

Editor One: “Very well-written, very lyrical, and is the sort of story that, I believed, will stick with a reader for a while.”

Editor Two: “Peter has really grown as an author, I am pleased.”

Seventeen other authors will be joining Peter J. Foote, Lindsay Kitson, Stacey Oakley, Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include pilots, award-winning talent, and bestselling novelists! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.

The Starving by Jon Dobbin becomes #1 Bestseller on Amazon!

The Starving, the debut novel from Jon Dobbin, hit #1 on the Amazon.ca in the ‘Westerns’ and ‘Occult Fiction’ categories. The novel hit Bestseller status at 2:35PM Newfoundland Standard time on April 18, 2019, peaking at #95 on the overall Amazon.ca charts.

Dobbin has enjoyed repeated success since his first stories, Man of Fire and The Chosen, were featured in the 2018 Chillers from the Rock anthology.  Since then, every work attached to Dobbin has gone bestseller.

A native to the St. John’s metro region, Dobbin tied for first place in the 2017 48-Hour Writing Marathon, sponsored by THE Creative Learning, Thrive, and Engen Books. He describes himself as “the father of three, the husband to an amazing wife, an educator, and a tattoo and beard enthusiast.”

Dobbin’s work has appeared in Chillers from the Rock, Dystopia from the Rock, and Kit Sora: The Artobiography.

Engen Books would like to congratulate Dobbin on this achievement, and thank his fans and peers who helps make this possible.

Writing Guilty Pleasures | House Blog

Sometimes I write things that I have no intention of ever showing anyone.

Ever.

There are random scenes, ideas, and sometimes even full-blown stories that will never see the light of day. They’re all tucked safely away in places where no other soul will find them.

“So why bother writing them?” you ask.

I guess that’s a valid question. I mean, I am the one who brought this whole thing up, so it’s only natural you’re thinking that.

Why would someone waste time writing stories that she never intends to show anyone? Well, it’s a guilty pleasure. As we all know by now, I don’t stick to one genre when I write (I think of it like genre-Pokemon – gotta write ’em all!). I gravitate towards fiction/sci-fi/fantasy, but I’ve been known to dabble in other areas. Sometimes I get the impulse to try a completely different genre, or to mash a bunch together and see what happens. I’ll write tropes; subvert tropes; invent tropes. Nothing’s off limits. I’ll take those crazy ideas and get them down on paper before they run away and the Crazy-Idea Fairy stops coming ’round.

These guilty pleasures are me writing for my own enjoyment. I know this stuff’s not going to fit certain markets, or be good enough to submit, or ‘advance my career’ in any way, but sometimes a writer’s just gotta write. And if I’m pushing or challenging or amusing myself, then it’s worth it.

Not everything you write needs to be literary gold. Or even copper.

 

 

 

 

Winner: “The Perils of the Sea” by Marianne King | Kit Sora Flash Fiction Photography Contest

After much deliberation, Engen Books is proud to announce the winner of the March 2019 Kit Sora Flash Fiction Photography Contest: Marianne King with her story, The Perils of the Sea!

Marianne King grew up in beautiful Port-de-Grave, Newfoundland. She currently lives on the west coast of Newfoundland, where the summers are awesome and the winters seem never ending. She loves reading fantasy, dystopia, and science-fiction, all of which influences her writing. Her short story ‘Slumber’ was a runner up in a previous Kit Sora Flash Fiction contest. The Perils of the Sea will be her first published work of fiction.

There were four judges for this month of the contest:

Michelle Churchill. A Newfoundlander who was raised in Nova Scotia but returned, Michelle is the mother of two incredible children. Churchill made her publishing debut in Chillers from the Rock, and her first novel, The Last Tree, will be available in November from Engen.

Amanda Labonté. Amanda is an author living in St. John’s, Newfoundland, where she gets much of the inspiration for the characters and places about which she writes. Though she knew she wanted to be a writer since the eighth grade, it was many years before she finally walked into a creative writing class and found a new home.

Chelsea Bee. Is a Romance author living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her first novel, London Calling, was published on July 15 2017. Her second, Christmas Mornings, will be available soon from Engen Books.

[image error]Kit Sora Photography. Kit Sora is an artist and photographer from St. Johns, Newfoundland. Her photography draws inspiration from fantasy, dystopia, and thrillers to create evocative imagrey that startles, inspires, and excites.Kit signed with Engen Books in 2018 as head photographer, producing the thrilling image for Chillers from the Rock and re-imagining the covers to the entire Black Womb series into the Coral Beach Casefiles series. Drew Power is a currently seated member of the Sci-Fi on the Rock committee. He was recently featured as the model on the cover of the bestselling collection Chillers from the Rock.

Runners up include Flicker by Hannah Jenkins and The Guide by Ali House.

The Flash Fiction Photography Contest is sponsored in part by FictionFirst Used Books, which specializes in previously enjoyed Sci-fi & Fantasy Novels, Roleplaying Manuals and Graphic Novels. It is run out of the Annapolis Valley and open by appointment only. Their inventory is currently over 5000 titled strong and they ship within Canada, USA and Europe. You can find them on Facebook, here.

The winning entry will be featured on this website as well as on the Fantasy Files newsletter (click to join!). Nicole Little’s runner-up entry will also be featured in the Newsletter. Shannon Fay has elected not to have their story featured.

The first year’s worth of these amazing short stories have been collected in a lovely hardcover edition from Engen Books, featuring photos from the author and flash fiction stories from some of Canada’s top talent! Order your copy today!

Kit Sora: The Artobiography

A stunning, hundred-plus page hardcover collection of over 80 of Kit Sora’s most ambitious photographs, paired with short fiction inspired by the art by Canada’s best authorial talents. Includes stories by USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Sparkes, USA Today Bestselling Author Victoria Barbour, and Bestselling Author Amanda Labonté.

C$75.00

 

Award-Winning Pilot Lindsay Kitson to write Dieselpunk story for Flights from the Rock!

Engen Books is excited to introduce the newest author to be revealed as a writer for Summer 2019’s Flights from the Rock: bush pilot Lindsay Kitson!

From Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Kitson has had several stories published in the past, including The Maelstrom at the End of the World in Athena’s Daughters Volume Two, Cod Liver Oil in Parallel Prairies, and, Two Foxes in Keycon chapbook, to name a few!

She has been the winner of the First to Solo award, given by Women in Aviation, holds a commercial pilot’s license, float and multi-engine instrument ratings, and currently works as a bush pilot in central Manitoba.

She brings with her her short story “Aurora One,” which Flight from the Rock editors say: “Is inspirational, uplifting, and beautifully researched. It also features classic quality aircraft, female pilots, and is totally dieselpunk.”

Eighteen other authors will be joining Lindsay Kitson, Stacey Oakley, Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include more pilots, award-winning talent, and bestselling novelists! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.

 

 

Stacey Oakley, award-winning author of ‘Hunter’s Soul,’ to write for Flights from the Rock!

Engen Books is proud to reveal the next Flights from the Rock author: award-winning author Stacey Oakley!

Stacey Oakley is an author originally from Moncton, New Brunswick who became a vibrant part of the local Newfoundland writing scene after the publication of ‘The Sorrows of War’ in the 2016 edition of Sci-Fi from the Rock. She has since gone on to independently publish her own novel, Hunter’s Soul, and in 2018 was crowned the winner of the 48 Hour Novel-Writing Marathon.

Stacey is an inspiration to all independent authors, and Engen Books is proud and delighted to have her be a part of this anthology.

Nineteen other authors will be joining Stacey Oakley, Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include award-winning talent, bestselling novelists, and amazingly creative pilots! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.

Hunter’s Sould is published interdependently via Stacey Oakley. The cover image used with her permission, to our gratitude. Pick up your own copy here.

Winner: “Heart of Avalon” by JRH Lawless | Kit Sora Flash Fiction Photography Contest

After much deliberation, Engen Books is proud to announce the winner of the February 2019 Kit Sora Flash Fiction Photography Contest: JRH Lawless with his story, Heart of Avalon!

J.R.H. Lawless is a multiple award-winning Canadian SF author who blends comedy with political themes — drawing heavily, in both cases, on his experience as a lawyer and as Secretary General of a Parliamentary group at the French National Assembly. A member of SFWA and Codex Writers, his short fiction has been published in professional venues, and most recently in the Third Flatiron Press Terra! Tara! Terror! anthology, to great reviews, placement as 2018 Recommended Reading, and an award for Best Positive Future Story 2018. He is also a craft article contributor to the SFWA blog, the SFWA Bulletin, and Tor.com. His next story will be released on April 15th in the Third Flatiron Hidden Histories anthology. He would love to hear from you on Twitter, over at @SpaceLawyerSF!

There were two judges for this month of the contest:

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Matthew LeDrew has written twenty novels for Engen Books, Black Womb, Transformations in Pain, Smoke and Mirrors, Roulette, Ghosts of the Past, Ignorance is Bliss, Becoming, Inner Child, Gang War, Chains, The Long Road, Cinders, Sinister Intent, Faith, Family Values, Touch Your Nose, Jacobi Street, Infinity, The Tourniquet Reprisal and Exodus of Angels.

[image error]Kit Sora Photography. Kit Sora is an artist and photographer from St. Johns, Newfoundland. Her photography draws inspiration from fantasy, dystopia, and thrillers to create evocative imagrey that startles, inspires, and excites.Kit signed with Engen Books in 2018 as head photographer, producing the thrilling image for Chillers from the Rock and re-imagining the covers to the entire Black Womb series into the Coral Beach Casefiles series. Drew Power is a currently seated member of the Sci-Fi on the Rock committee. He was recently featured as the model on the cover of the bestselling collection Chillers from the Rock.

Runners up include Activist by AJ Ryan and Through Which Her Blood Flowed by Amanda Evans.

The Flash Fiction Photography Contest is sponsored in part by FictionFirst Used Books, which specializes in previously enjoyed Sci-fi & Fantasy Novels, Roleplaying Manuals and Graphic Novels. It is run out of the Annapolis Valley and open by appointment only. Their inventory is currently over 5000 titled strong and they ship within Canada, USA and Europe. You can find them on Facebook, here.

The winning entry will be featured on this website as well as on the Fantasy Files newsletter (click to join!). Nicole Little’s runner-up entry will also be featured in the Newsletter. Shannon Fay has elected not to have their story featured.

The first year’s worth of these amazing short stories have been collected in a lovely hardcover edition from Engen Books, featuring photos from the author and flash fiction stories from some of Canada’s top talent! Order your copy today!

 

Kit Sora: The Artobiography

A stunning, hundred-plus page hardcover collection of over 80 of Kit Sora’s most ambitious photographs, paired with short fiction inspired by the art by Canada’s best authorial talents. Includes stories by USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Sparkes, USA Today Bestselling Author Victoria Barbour, and Bestselling Author Amanda Labonté.

C$75.00

Teresita E. Dziadura announced as a ‘Flights from the Rock’ author!

Engen Books is proud to introduce one of the exciting talents in genre fiction that will be returning in 2019’s Flights from the Rock collection: Teresita E. Dziadura!

Dziadura has steadily been making her voice heard in the Newfoundland writing scene more and more over the last two years, making her presence known at NaNoWriMo writing events and seminars as a force to be reckoned with, bringing wit and insight to every conversation she’s a part of!

Dziadura made her print debut last year in Chillers from the Rock with her short story Beyond No Man’s Land, a chilling tale that cemented her as one of the fresh new talents in the industry.

In Flights from the Rock, she brings with her her short story ‘Flight 520 to London,’ a harrowing hijacking story sure to make any reader — or frequent flyer — tense!

Dziadura describes herself as a sci-fi and horror nut, but is also a longtime fan of British comedy. She has studied Marine Biology and has four children with her husband of twenty-five years.

Twenty other authors will be joining Teresita Dziadura, Nicole Little, Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! They include award-winning talent, bestselling novelists, and amazingly creative pilots! Who will join them? Stay tuned and Never Look Back!

For exclusive content and FREE books, be sure and check out the Engen Books Patreon.