Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 19
January 17, 2019
Scary Stories for Writers | House Blog
Gather round, writers both young and old, for I am about to tell a tale that will chill you to your very bones…
Once upon a time there was a writer who had finished the first draft of her novel. She sent it off to her editor, who returned the novel with some notes. Upon reading these notes, the writer realized that there were three big problem areas that she needed to fix – one at the beginning, one near the middle, and one at the end.
The writer wracked her brain for ways to correct the problems. It required a lot of thought, but eventually she came up with fitting solutions and fixed everything that wasn’t working. After those three changes were made, she started going through the rest of the novel, working her way through other, smaller problems.
A few nights later she realized that she was nearing the end of her editing. Soon she would be finished and the novel could be sent off again. However, when she scrolled down to the bottom of her novel, she realized that something was terribly wrong.
When she looked at the final pages she saw that nothing had changed. Despite having re-written the entire chapter and doubling the length, it had somehow reverted to its previous state, appearing as if she had never touched it.
All those words she had written were gone.
_
If your heart is in your throat, you now know how I felt last night. Honestly, there is no fright like realizing you’ve lost a part of your work – either through misplacing a notebook or forgetting to save a computer file. My brain instantly went into overdrive – could I remember what was written? Could I replicate it well enough? Should I drown my sorrows until I couldn’t remember what words meant?
Luckily, I was able to recover the missing part, due to a recent habit I’d developed.
My usual habit for working on projects is to work on one file, copying it to a thumb drive so that I can move it from computer to computer (home/work/etc). However, that stopped being convenient for a couple reasons – one being that my tablet doesn’t have a USB port, and another being that I kept leaving the thumb drive behind, thus leaving my work behind.
So, I started doing something different – I started emailing my work to myself. Whenever I’d finish working on something, I’d email it to myself as an attachment (sometimes with other stories I was working on), and when I wanted to work on it, I’d save it to the computer. That way I could continue writing no matter where I was or which computer I was using. There were times when I’d frowned upon this habit, seeing all those emails and files and wondering if I was junking up my email by doing this, but I continued because it was convenient.
And then last night happened…
For some reason, one of my files didn’t download and all my previous changes didn’t get copied over. I can vaguely remember thinking “I thought I’d corrected the page number heading”, but then assuming that I’d forgotten to save that part and moving on without checking anything else.
Thankfully I was able to go back through my emails and find a version with the correction! It was tedious, making sure that I’d copied over all the missing changes, but it was a heck of a lot better than having to rewrite everything from scratch.
Chantal Boudreau announced as a ‘Dystopia from the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to announce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be appearing in 2018’s Dystopia from the Rock collection: Chantal Boudreau!
A Toronto native currently living in Sambro, Nova Scotia; Boudreau is an avid and prolific author with over fifty credits to her name. She is the author of the Fervor series of novels, as well as the Masters & Renegades series and The Snowy Barrens Trilogy.
Boudreau is likely best known for her work in short fiction, and the anthologies she has appeared in have been shortlisted for both the Bram Stoker award and the Aurora award.
Her extensive short-fiction bibliography includes fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror.
Sixteen other authors will be joining 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 for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 16, 2019
Ellen Curtis returns as editor for ‘Dystopia from the Rock’!
Ellen Curtis, author of the Infinity series, returns as one of the editors of 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock!
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, amongst her other literary endeavours.
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.
Seventeen other authors will be joining 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 for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 15, 2019
Finnan Beaton announced as a ‘Dystopia From the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to introduce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be making their debut in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock collection: Finnan Beaton!
Beaton is originally from Nova Scotia and currently lives in Sydney. He makes his publishing debut in Dystopia from the Rock with his chilling tale: Kaida of the Eastern Shore.
Eighteen other authors will be joining 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 for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 14, 2019
Christopher Walsh, author of the Gold & Steel Saga, to write for Dystopia from the Rock!
Epic Fantasy author Christopher Walsh returns to the From the Rock series in dystopia from the Rock with his new story, ‘In Dangerous Company.’
Walsh was featured heavily in the first two editions of the From the Rock series, with his stories ‘Stealing Back Freedom,’ ‘The City that Kid From Time Itself’ and ‘In Defence of Our Home, Part One’ appearing across the Sci-Fi from the Rock and Dystopia from the Rock volumes, respectfully. All are now available in one attractive collection, Legends and Tales Vol. One, collecting the first Gold & Steel Saga short stories.
Legends & Tales | Christopher Walsh
Four tales of adventure wait within these pages to take the reader into a time before the events of As Fierce as Steel. Join Lady Orangecloak and The Thieves as they stage a daring daylight protest, journey to the far reaches of Gildriad with a team of adventurers as they try to solve the mysteries of the Known World, and enter the heat of battle when the Dwarves of Dhalla are tested by a human menace.
C$25.00
Walsh’s new tale looks forward at a far future, where things have gone wrong.
Nineteen other authors will be joining 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 for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 13, 2019
Lisa Daly announced as a ‘Dystopia from the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to introduce one of the exciting new talents in genre fiction that will be making their debut in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock collection: Lisa Daly!
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 makes her fiction-writing debut in Dystopia from the Rock with her short story, “The Island Outside the War.”
Twenty other authors will be joining Lisa Daly, Jeff Slade, Michelle Churchill, Ryan Belbin, Nicole Little, Brad Dunne, David Rimmington, Heather Nolan, Gareth Mitton, Shannon Green and Ali House for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 12, 2019
Prize-Winning short-story author Jeff Slade returns in ‘Dystopia 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.
Slade returns in the 2019 Dystopia from the Rock collection with his new story, Anchored.
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
Twenty other authors will be joining Jeff Slade, Michelle Churchill, Ryan Belbin, Nicole Little, Brad Dunne, David Rimmington, Heather Nolan, Gareth Mitton, Shannon Green and Ali House for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 11, 2019
Kit Sora: The Artobiography available at Broken Books!
[image error]We’re happy to say that Kit Sora: The Artobiography is now available at Broken Books, located at 245 Duckworth St, St. John’s. Stay tuned here and to the Engen Books Facebook to stay up to date on future signing date and times with the artist herself.
Broken Books has also been restocked with copies of After Dark Vapours! You guys have been doing a great job of making them sell out of our stock over the holidays, we can’t thank you enough!
Outside the city? We’ll gladly ship!
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
Prize-Winning author of ‘The Last Tree,’ Michelle Churchill, to write for ‘Dystopia from the Rock’!
Engen Books is proud to announce one of the exciting talents in genre fiction that will be featured in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock collection: Michelle Churchill!
2018 has been a banner year for rising-star Churchill. Her thrilling tale Leopold’s Cherubs Princes was regarded as one of the highlights of the Chillers from the Rock collection. In the months since her first novel, a young-readers fantasy titled The Last Tree, was greenlit for publication with art by Ariel Marsh. Churchill won the August 2018 Kit Sora Flash Photography Fiction Prize for her story ‘Unicorn,’ and was featured heavily in Kit Sora: The Artobiography, a collection of art photographs and accompanying short fiction. Churchill was featured in the collection four times.
A Newfoundlander who was raised in Nova Scotia but returned, Michelle is the mother of two incredible children.
Churchill brings with her her short story “Candles in the Tree,” a tale that editors say “simultaneously uplifts and distresses, a masterwork of modern short fiction.”
Her 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
Twenty-One other authors will be joining Michelle Churchill, Ryan Belbin, Nicole Little, Brad Dunne, David Rimmington, Heather Nolan, Gareth Mitton, Shannon Green and Ali House for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
January 10, 2019
Ryan Belbin announced as a ‘Dystopia from the Rock’ author!
Engen Books is proud to introduce one of the exciting new talents in fiction that will included in 2019’s Dystopia from the Rock collection: Ryan Belbin!
A Pasadena Newfoundland native, Belbin is a natural writer whose work has been featured previously been a staple of Arts & Culture writing in St. John’s, with pieces appearing in Paragon III and Grenfell Inkpot. He also spent a seven month stint hitchhiking across New Zealand.
He brings with his his short story, “The Match.”
Twenty-Two other authors will be joining Ryan Belbin, Nicole Little, Brad Dunne, David Rimmington, Heather Nolan, Gareth Mitton, Shannon Green and Ali House for the 2019 Dystopia 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.
