Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 15

Prize-Winning author Nicole Little announced as ‘Flights from the Rock’ author!

Engen Books is proud to announce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be appearing in 2019’s Flights from the Rock collection: Nicole Little!

Little has steadily been making her voice heard in the Newfoundland writing scene more and more over the year, making her presence known at competitions as a force to be reckoned with, bringing wit and insight to every conversation she’s a part of!

Her flash fiction “Sweet Sixteen” won the June 2018 Kit Sora Flash Photography Fiction Prize, and she achieved third in the October 2018 Nightmare on Water Street reading competition. For her talents, Little was one of only a select few gifted authors allowed two entries in the Dystopia from the Rock collection, with her stories “The Market” and “The Last One Standing.”

Her first-published 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.

Nicole brings with her two stories, one of only three authors allowed to have more than one entry in the highly sought-after collection.

On her stories “Far Out” and “On a Wing and a Prayer,” judges said: “These are amazing pieces of fun short fiction with clever twists a their ends!”

Twenty-One other authors will be joining 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.

Final Fantasy Foiling: Sephiroth vs Cloud

One of the great challenges writers face is creating a compelling conflict between their protagonist and antagonist. Too often the hero and villain exist within in their own respective vacuums. The hero saves the day because that’s their job while the villain twirls their moustache and exists as the hero’s make-work project.

I think a truly great hero/villain dichotomy is when the antagonist is a foil to the protagonist. That’s when the comparison goes deeper than their goals; their character traits are similar but differ in some striking ways. Moreover, by creating a strong contrast between your hero and villain, you can develop the themes of your story.

To illustrate this point I want to talk about the characters Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. I chose FF7 because I want to show that this principle transcends media. And also because that game kicks ass and Sephiroth is the ultimate badass. FF7’s story is pretty bananas, but I’ll do my best to streamline and focus on the salient points.

*Spoilers ahead*

[image error]the ultimate battle of length vs girth

When we first meet Cloud, the protagonist of FF7, he is a passive hero. By that I mean, he doesn’t really have a goal, he just goes with the flow. He’s an ex-member of an elite military force called SOLDIER and is now a mercenary working for an environmental terrorist group called AVALANCHE (capitalizations are not my own). As the story progresses we start to see cracks in Cloud’s story and begin to suspect he’s either lying or cannot clearly remember his own past.

As the story progresses we learn that Cloud was never an elite member of SOLDIER; he never tried out but didn’t succeed. Instead, he worked as a low ranking officer. We learn that prior to the events of the game, Cloud was in involved in genetic experiments with a member of SOLDIER named Zack. Together they escaped the lab, but Zack died, so Cloud took over his identity. Through these experiences of trauma and shame, Cloud created a fake identity for himself, in which he lost himself.

Before the story’s climax, Cloud faces up to his past and asserts his real identity and resolves to defeat Sephiroth.

[image error]He’s like Link but with more hair gel

By contrast, Sephiroth was an elite member of SOLDIER. In fact, he was a living legend in the military. Cloud grew up idolizing Sephiroth and joined SOLDIER to be like his hero. However, in a series of flashbacks we see that Sephiroth was disillusioned with his reputation and the military in general. Perhaps even suffering from PTSD.

Sephiroth comes to learn that he was a product of genetic manipulation as a child, bred to be the ultimate soldier. He was injected the cells of an alien named Jenova, who landed in earth thousands of years ago. He comes to see Jenova as his true mother and that it is his destiny to inherit the earth and rule over it like a god.

Sephiroth believes that Jenova was a member of an ancient race named the Cetra who were stewards of the planet thousands of years ago. However, Jenova is in fact more like a cancer who killed off most of the Cetra when she first arrived, before the Cetra were able to seal her away. Sephiroth doesn’t care about this and creates his own narrative of superiority.

Thus, much like Cloud, Sephiroth also manufactured an identity to heal a wound in his ego.

 

[image error]your hot goth boyfriend

Interestingly, Cloud was also injected with Jenova cells during his experiments. Thanks to this, Sephiroth is able to manipulate him throughout the story. At the story’s climax, Cloud must fight and kill a version of Sephiroth that exists within himself. It is a gesture which acts as a metaphor for the story’s moral argument: reject self-delusion and accept your authentic identity.

The way Sephiroth acts as a foil to Cloud develops the theme of identity and self-delusion in the story. Both characters have experienced trauma and shame. Cloud not being able to achieve his goal of becoming an elite soldier and then his time being experimented upon. Sephiroth and his horrors of war and learning that he was a product of experiments. The important difference is that Cloud chooses to face up to his self-delusion whereas Sephiroth loses himself in his.

So, in conclusion, if you want a strong dynamic between your hero and villain put in the time to figure out how they’re inter-related beyond simply trying to beat each other in a fist fight.

Cover Reveal: The Starving

[image error]Engen Books is proud to announce and unveil the cover for The Starving, the first novel from award-winning author Jon Dobbin, in stores in May 2019.

This stunning, evocative piece of art embraces the horror at atmosphere of Dobbin’s Western horror was crafted with care by the amazing Jud Haynes.

Haynes is one of, if not the, most talented graphic designers working in the province at this time. His work has enhanced many an amazing project, including album covers, tourism campaigns, and novel covers. To find out more about his work, visit his website.

Dobbin’s novel follows the story of Bill Weston hunting the man known as Faraway Sue.

From the back cover: “Something evil grows in the heart of Colorado.

Bill Weston was a man of the West. He knew it – its land, its people, its stories. It was where he plied his trade, hunting men for money. His life wasn’t easy, but it was predictable. That all changed when he captured Faraway Sue and he was led on a trip through the Colorado forests.

In those unknown wilds Weston was confronted by an ancient evil, bent and twisted by time and hunger. It would take everything in him to make it out alive, but what can a man do when faced with a creature out of myth and legend?

Find a way to survive, or be changed forever.”

“The Starving is an incredible, transcendent work. A return to — and at the same time, reexamination of — both the Western and Horror genres. It is a stunning first novel, of the type that only come along rarely.” — Matthew LeDrew, founder of Engen Books.

Pickup The Starving, available this May from Engen Books, as well as Dobbin’s contributions to Chillers from the Rock and Dystopia from the Rock, available now.

 

Carrying a Torch | Kit Sora’s Storytime

The past week has been incredibly busy, leaving no time to plot a prop/concept for this week. When life finally slowed down for Sunday, I was exhausted and overslept and moved at a snail’s pace as the weight of life settled in. I wasn’t quite myself and I’m still not there, but it’s a work in progress.

We were heading out to Carbonear/Hearts Content to visit people we love, and had to pack up the car for the day. I couldn’t settle on a dress I wanted to shoot, I barely picked a wig, and grabbed an iridescent cape I picked up recently. On a whim I decided I wanted a torch, as it was super foggy outside, and could shoot it later in the day, so Drew found a broom as old as the house in the basement, and was about to load it into the trunk when he found and ACTUAL torch that was picked up for another project- You never know what you’ll find in our house/car

I had a vague idea of what I wanted in my head, but as we neared Hearts Content, the fog all but vanished so I was recalculating in my head. We left HC shortly after sunset, loving the beautiful clear skies and deep hues of life around us. Not two minutes after hitting the road however, the wall of fog returned and available light was cut in half! It only thickened as we neared the space I had in my head, and it was quickly back to the original idea.

We hopped out of the car, and everything was so incredibly still. Not a breath of wind, not a chirping bird, just the sounds of our shoes on the gravel. It was happy thoughts from there on out because I scare myself so easily, and you could barely see 5 feet in front of you, in the dark, thick, blue fog.

We reached my destination, Drew coated the torch in burlap and kerosine, and I stripped down to just my cape. There was an eerie chill in the air just before the torch was lit, and then it was ‘don’t catch on fire, check focus, fire’. We had a solid 30-40 seconds of flaming torch before the top fell off, and Drew saved the world from catching fire. A basic layer of clothing was reapplied as we found our way back to the car, where we loaded up, cranked Enya & drove off to start our journey home

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

Words © 2018 Kit Sora. Image © 2018 Kit Sora.

Bestselling author Carolyn R. Parsons announced as the first Flights from the Rock author!

Engen Books is proud and humbled to reveal the first of our twenty-three author Flights from the Rock lineup: bestselling author Carolyn R. Parsons.

Carolyn R. Parsons is a full-time writer  and radio personality residing in Lewisporte, NL. She has contributed to  The Central Voice, the Saltire network of papers, and Downhome Magazine. Her books include a poetry collection, two novels and a collection of short stories. Her 2017 novel, Charley through Canada, attained bestseller status on Amazon.

Carolyn is a founding director of Literary Events NL, an organization that provides Newfoundland authors a forum through which to share their work, debuting with the highly successful 2017 Canada 150 Literary Tour NL. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Writers Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL) as the representative for Central/Burin. She was a contributor to 2018’s bestselling photography book, Kit Sora: The Artobiography, with her flash fiction: ‘The Doorway Home.’

Carolynn has had a longtime fascination with aviation, and in 2010 took a flying lesson in Stratford, ON. During the lesson she took the controls for about 20 minutes, flew the plane over her house, and circled back with guidance from the instructor. She describes the experience as “Amazing.”

Her most recent novel, The Forbidden Dreams of Betsy Elliott, was released through Flanker Press in February 2019.

Carolyn is an inspiration to authors all over the province and a strong voice for equality and change in her community, and Engen Books is proud and delighted to have her be a part of this anthology.

Twenty-Two other authors will be joining Carolyn R Parsons, Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! We still have award-winning and prolific authors in the genre to announce! 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 Forbidden Dreams of Betsy Elliott is published via Flanker Press. The cover image used with their permission, to our gratitude. Pick up your own copy here.

Your ‘Flights from the Rock’ editors!

Engen Books is proud to formally announce the editing team between 2019’s Flights from the Rock: Erin Vance, Ellen Curtis, and Lisa Daly!

[image error]Ellen Curtis and Erin Vance, the leaders behind this amazing event and collection.

Erin Vance is an editor and a graduate of the Memorial University of Newfoundland English Honors Program. She won the Arts and Letters competition when she was just 14 years old in 2007 with her short story, “Something White.” She is featured in the Nelson Literacy 7 Homegrown (Newfoundland Edition) with her poem “Rough Draft.”

Erin wrote her Honors thesis paper, Song of the Mockingjay on exploring the nature of Katniss Everdeen’s agency in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series. She is creative, spiritual, and loves reading, writing, and anything to do with words.

Erin is the co-editor of the From the Rock anthology series, which highlights Newfoundland talent in genre writing, and is the editor-in-chief for Engen Books.

Ellen Curtis was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her aptitude for the written word began at a young age, when she began filling paper with stories and other scribbles. Those scribbles eventually began to make more sense, and in 2008 she published her first collection of short stories. Since then, she has gone on to co-author the Infinity series with Matthew LeDrew, among her other literary endeavors.

Ellen earned her Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2015, and was under the illusion that completing her studies would mean she would have more free time. In reality, it simply means she does more reading, albeit for work. When she actually does find a spare moment, she enjoys spending time near the ocean nursing an espresso and daydreaming about the day she can fill her home with the happy bleating of Pygmy goats.

Lisa Daly is an Archaeologist, historian, professional ballroom dance instructor, crafter, and avid baker currently living in Fredericton. She has published an extensive library of non-fiction works, the most recent including Sacrifice in Second World War Gander, in Canadians and War, Vol. 3. Lammi Publishing, Canada and An Empty Graveyard: The Victims of the 1946 AOA DC-4 Crash, Their Final Resting Place, and Dark Tourism, in AP Online Journal in Public Archaeology, 8(2): 79-98. She made her fiction-writing debut in Dystopia from the Rock with her short story, “The Island Outside the War.”

Lisa joins the team as a guest editor, bringing with her a wide range of aviation and historical knowledge to make Flights from the Rock as authentic as possible.

Twenty-Three authors will be joining Lisa Daly, Ellen Curtis, & Erin Vance for the 2019 Flights on the Rock collection! We still have award-winning and prolific authors in the genre to announce! 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.

Dystopia from the Rock launch a massive success

[image error]Engen Books held it’s third annual From the Rock launch at AC Hunter Public Library on March 23 2019, for its brand new Bestselling title: Dystopia from the Rock!

A standing-room only crowd of over 75 people listened to readings and talks by Matthew LeDrew, Brad Dunne, Gareth Mitton, and Nicole Little, and stayed afterwards to buy books and get them signed by the 18 authors in attendance!

Dystopia from the Rock hit #1 Bestseller on February 21, 2019 at 8:22 AM Newfoundland Standard Time: a full month before its release, on the strength of its eBook preorders alone. It reached #1 in the category of ‘Science Fiction Short Stories,’ ‘Cyberpunk,’ and ‘Canadian Short Stories.’ It reached #25 in all of Literature & Fiction in Canada and was named a ‘Hot New Release’ by Amazon.

[image error]Dystopia from the Rock features the work of Jed MacKay, Corrine Lewandowski, Katie Little, Sam Bauer, Andrew Pike, Jon Haas, Matthew Daniels, Matthew LeDrew, Lauralana Dunne, Diane Lynn McGyver, David Wright, Erin Vance, Jon Dobbin, Elizabeth Whitten, Peter Foote, Chantal Boudreau, Ellen Curtis, Finnan Beaton, Christopher Walsh, Lisa Daly, Jeff Slade, Michelle Churchill, Ryan Belbin, Nicole Little, Brad Dunne, David Rimmington, Heather Nolan, Gareth Mitton, Shannon Green and Ali House.

Find it on Amazon and wherever fine books are sold!

Livin’ on the Edge: Engen’s Dystopia from the Rock | Jon Dobbin’s Blog

“There’s somethin’ wrong with the world today/ I don’t know what it is” crooned Steven Tyler of Aerosmith in the band’s seminal 90’s hit Livin’ on the Edge. Those opening lines, a cry against the changing and harsh world, are as true today as they were in that almost 30 year gone decade. Turning on the news, reading a Facebook article, or, perhaps, tuning into the Twitterverse will tell you “somethin’ ain’t right.” And while that’s concerning, even downright scary, the art that is produced in these times of hardship is often beautiful, uplifting, and a call-to-action. It tells us to make a change or else. The writers and editors of Engen’s collection of short stories, Dystopia From the Rock, have certainly embodied this movement.

Like fables or parables, dystopian fiction often aims to teach a lesson or to convey a moral. These stories often wag their fingers at readers and say, “if we don’t change, we could end up just like this.” Dystopia From the Rock has tales that attempt to teach us that lesson. Notably are Samuel Bauer’s “In the Rising Flame” and Matthew LeDrew’s “Young Republicans.” In both stories, the authors speak to societal trends that we see today.  Bauer tackles the possible aftermath of a nuclear war, the segregation of class, and the drug trade. LeDrew also challenges segregation of class, focusing on the dangers of ignoring and denying these issues. In both cases, a lesson can be learned, a warning presented and a challenge made to make a change.

A dystopia is said to be the opposite of utopia. That’s to say, it is a story about when things have gone wrong. In Dystopia From the Rock stories such as David Rimmington’s “The Ninth Wonder” and Ali House’s “Game Plan” give us a glimpse into a future where wrong outweighs the right. Rimmington’s tale paints the picture of a colonized planet in which an unyielding machine continues to run, to work, with horrible efficiency. House, on the other hand, gives us a glimpse into a world where a dictator has gained control but is faced with the problem of a growing resistance. These stories are truly the opposite of Utopia. In both cases, perhaps the world was moving towards some sort of positive future, but something caused it to take a wrong turn that ended in a disaster.

Disaster breeds art. Beauty grows from ruin. Dystopia From the Rock showcases this many times over.  Two glowing examples are Michelle Churchill’s “Candles in the Tree” and Nicole Little’s “The Last One Standing.” Beautifully written, each story delivers a different tone and message that plays on the reader’s emotions. In Churchill’s story, the first of the collection, we are faced with the gut-wrenching consequences of a terrible accident that leaves the reader teary-eyed, and frightened. In contrast, Little’s story, the final of the collection, gives us back the breath that Churchill stole from us.  A sigh of relief and the possibility of a happy ending that leaves us with a sense of hope and, perhaps, even a smile.

From start to finish, Dystopia From the Rock is a great read for those who enjoy speculative fiction. There are so many remarkable authors in the collection that those I mentioned above are only the tip of the talented iceberg. So, pick it up. Read, enjoy, post a review. As Steven Tyler sang, “something right with the world today/ And everybody knows it’s wrong/ But we can tell ‘em no or we could let it go/ But I’d rather be a hangin’ on”. Read, write, resist. Keep hangin’ on.

Jon Dobbin’s first novel, The Starving, is to be released this May from Engen Books. Check out Dystopia from the Rock, on sale now from Engen!

“So, What’s Your Book About?” | House Blog

I went to a party a few weeks ago. It was a surprise party for someone’s birthday, but it was three weeks after their actual birthday, which meant it was really a surprise. It was also the type of party where I knew most, but not all of the people there, so throughout the night many an introduction was made.

I’m generally awkward when meeting new people (I’m terrible with faces and names), but for some reason the thing that threw me the most was being introduced as “This is Ali, she’s got a novel coming out.” Why would that throw me? Well, after someone says a thing like that, a polite response would be: “So, what’s your book about?”

…um…

“Well… it’s a continuation of my first book, which is set in a future where the Earth’s been mostly destroyed – oh, and all the humans are dead, but there are humanoid beings called Elementals who can have power over one of six elements due to their EDNA make-up…”

“Well… it’s a continuation of my first book, but you don’t necessarily have to read the first one – but you can if you want to…”

“Well… I don’t want to call it a ‘Chosen One’ narrative…, but it’s kind of that, but times two, ’cause there are these two characters…”

“Well… it’s about Kendra, who finds out that she’s got a great destiny, but then there’s another person, Kit, who’s also got a destiny, but her story was the plot of book one…”

So, yeah. That was the night I realized that I wasn’t very good at describing my own book. Sure, I’d written a blurb for the back of the book, I’d managed to write a few lines for a teaser, and yet when asked to tell someone about the story face-to-face, my mind went urgleblargh…

Thinking back, it makes sense to me that my brain would suddenly glitch, considering how much of that world resides inside it. When asked about my novel, I find it difficult to focus – do I set up the world? Do I set up the mythology? What about the 99 years of unrest? How much information did I need to give to properly explain the story? I was so preoccupied by the forest that I couldn’t see the trees.

After that party, I made it my goal – nay, my MISSION – to learn how to talk about my books without getting tripped over my own thoughts. It was time to stop being bogged down by details! All I needed to do was hook them with the plot – the actual book would fill in the rest! I merely needed to speak such eloquent and enticing words that anyone who heard them would rush out and buy a copy immediately! (Or, at least they’d hopefully be interested.)

And even if I didn’t come up with a speech of impressive grandeur, it would at least be leaps and bounds better than ‘urgleblargh‘.

 

____

What did I finally come up with?:  “Well, it’s sci-fi/fantasy, set in the distant future, and it’s about a young woman, Kendra, who learns that she has a notorious lineage. She’s expected to keep up the family ambitions, but as she learns more about her world she comes to realize that in order to succeed sometimes you have to walk your own path.”

(and if that got you interested, you can buy the ebook HERE!)

Heartstrings | Kit Sora’s Storytime

STORYTIME!! This particular shoot I actually managed to plan this one in advance!

We were inside of Montana’s having a lovely feed with our darling Louisa, watching the daylight fade away. The plan was to wait until the sun was close to setting, but food was too good to pass up! We all rushed home with out bellies full, and dove into photo mode!

This shot was actually taken in our tiny downtown back yard, in front of our 3+ story high tree! I’m sat on an old pair of pants because night ground can be scary, and holding a heart covered in flowers, attached to a green vine which was super glued to a scar that was spirit gummed to by chest, the process began.

Drew coated be in fake blood, which I -know- I chose, and needed for the photo… but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t gross me out 110%!! It is cold, and THICK, and runny, and really looks legit when it’s dripping from your body! Needless to say, many a face was made throughout the making of this shot!

Louisa was my lovely light holder, standing in the middle of my yard wielding my softbox to bounce for the perfect amount of light, and Drew was my magical shooter (as I would have -totaled- my remote, and it was cold and scary)!

Also! Our fence is directly on a little alleyway behind the house, which is quite cute in the daytime with vines and little trees!.. But a little less so in the evening. At one point I heard footsteps going down the alleyway, and then they just stopped as they reached our fence.. so I’m 99.9% sure there was someone watching me terrifyingly hold a bloody heart by a tree through the fence! ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE!!

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

Words © 2018 Kit Sora. Image © 2018 Kit Sora.