Matthew Ledrew's Blog, page 41
July 6, 2017
New Life in Quidi Vidi Village | Ellen Curtis, Newfoundland Quarterly
“Picturesque Quidi Vidi Village is home to a bevy of beautiful colours and buildings. History hides in every nook and cranny here, but so does innovation. This fusion of old and new is represented best in Mallard Cottage, an 18th century Irish-Newfoundland vernacular style cottage, currently enjoying a rebirth under the ownership of chef Todd Perrin. We spoke to Todd recently to find out what new things the future holds for Quidi Vidi Village, and for the province’s food industry.”
To read the entire article by Infinity author Ellen Curtis, click here.
June 30, 2017
HUGE Lineup Changes for Avalon Expo 3!
Big news today for fans of literature and genre fiction in the province! Avalon Expo is pleased to be bringing a new guest to their Avalon Expo 3 lineup: none other than Ali House, author of The Six Elemental!
The big news for fans of Engen Books is that that this will be the first time that our entire 10th Anniversary cast has been in one place at one time! Saturday August 26 2017 only, you can see Ali House, Paul Carberry (Zombies on the Rock), Ellen Curtis (Infinity), Erin Vance (From the Rock), Amanda Labonté (Supernatural Causes) and Matthew LeDrew (The Xander Drew series) all on one stage at one time!
[image error]House is a playwright, novelist, and short fiction author originally from Newfoundland, currently living in Nova Scotia. Sheis a graduate of the Fine Arts program at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (MUN). She currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she works in arts administration and spends more time than a person should in and around theaters. her first production, WNDRLND, has been smashing through the Atlantic theater circuit all summer. Wndrlnd , Directed by Matt Hamilton-Snow, is a light-hearted whimsical comedy takes you down a path filled with quirky characters who are as endearing as they are challenging.
House joins a prominent list of guests at this year’s convention, including Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Linda Ballantyne (Sailor Moon), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and René Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)!
June 27, 2017
Vacant Chairs | Linda Blagdon
Sixty-Eight poems from native Newfoundlander Linda Blagdon that highlight both the struggles and joys of growing up in Newfoundland. These poems reflect on the nature of family and friends, based on Blagdon’s own experience or stories passed down via the Newfoundland oral tradition.
Ranging from humorous to tragic, and from inspirational to personal, ‘Vacant Chairs’ provides a window into the depth of one woman’s experience of Newfoundland culture, tradition, and faith.
Vacant Chairs
Poetry by Linda Blagdon
[image error]
Purchase:
Canada:
Vacant Chairs (amazon.ca)
Vacant Chairs (chapters.ca)
US:
Vacant Chairs (amazon.com)
Vacant Chairs (Barnes&Noble)
Kindle EBook: Vacant Chairs (amazon.ca)
Kindle EBook: Vacant Chairs (amazon.com)
Title Information:
ISBN:
978-1926903408
Release Date:
June 25, 2017
Status:
Available
Book Type:
Electronic / Print
Cover Price:
EBook: $0.99 USD
Page Count:
72
Related Titles
[image error]
[image error]
[image error]
Reviews
June 26, 2017
The 48-Hour Writing Slideshow!
This past weekend was the first of what we think will be many 48-Hour Writing Marathons, sponsored by THE Tutoring Center, Engen Books, and Thrive! A great time was had by all, we raised a lot of money and collectively wrote over 60,000 words, the majority of which (over 10k!) went to Sci-Fi from the Rock author Stacey Oakley.
Lots of authors and writing enthusiasts showed up to write and enjoy a quiet creative space with which to work and bounce ideas off of similarly-motivated individuals. All said an amazing weekend, and we thank Call of the Sea and Supernatural Causes author Amanda Labonté for arranging it!
June 23, 2017
The Governor’s Daughter by Sambath Meas | Other Indie
[image error]The Governor’s Daughter is a 2017 period detective thriller from newcomer Sambath Meas. It was published by Red Empress Publishing, a full-service publisher that began in early 2017 offering traditional and new services for our authors to help them succeed and stand out in an ever-changing market. This is the first novel in a planned series by Meas, called The Mysteries of Colonial Cambodia.
This book is part Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes and part Jane Austen, and for those who aren’t sure if that’s high praise or not: it is very, very high praise. The book takes the conventions (and the tropes) of the ‘female-lead period-piece’ sub genre and turns it on its head by putting the protagonist, Anjali Chinak, in a traditionally male role (for the time period) as private investigator.
There’s a lot of tension in this book, and Meas pens it masterfully. There is both the implicit tension of the ticking-clock narrative, in which Chinak must race against the clock to save the man she’s fallen in love with from being put to death after he is charged with the murder she is trying to solve… but there’s more than those obvious tensions. There are societal tensions here as well. There are gender-norm tensions and racial tensions that slither throughout this narrative and draw the reader into the issues at hand: while reading it I found myself parsing my feelings on each issue, and the setting of the fictionalized 1920’s lends just enough of a departure between the reader and those on the page that the reader can draw their own conclusions to each part.
I’m on the fence a to whether or not to call this an ‘alternate history’ novel or not. The feminist in me hates to do it, because the only thing ‘alternate’ about it is that Chinak is accepted — at any level — into forensic detective investigation at the time. This isn’t a Kenneth Tam-style alternate history, where it is revealed Canadian’s discovered a new planet in 1892. This is within the realm of possibility, but yet just outside it enough that it can’t be classified just as a Historical Thriller.
That’s always the problem with me and historicals, isn’t it? It came up during Knight’s Surrender, too: if the novel takes place in a world or time or society that’s pre-second-wave feminism, the novel can’t in with me: it’s either historically accurate and I dislike its treatment of women, or it treats women fairly and I take issue with the historical accuracy. This is my baggage, not the books, and I think Meas overcomes it amazingly: with just enough tweaks that you know that in this reality, which is not unlike our own, this is on the cusp of being accepted.
[image error]I love taking the Freudian method of dream analysis and applying it to literature. Quick/Dirty rundown: you take the part of the book that bothered you the most, then spin the analysis so that that is what the book is about. At least, what it’s about for you.
What ‘bothered’ me about The Governor’s Daughter were its tonal shifts. For the first half of the book, Meas doesn’t so much merge Conan Doyle and Jane Austen as much as she switches between them: one chapter will see Chinak investigating with vivid detail the foreign-object sexual assault of a murder victim, and the next she will be contemplating her love life with a friend as though her greatest concern is Mr. Darcy’s umbrella… but as always, i can make a strong case for this dichotomy being what the novel is about. It’s almost as if the novel shines a spotlight on how the male point-of-view dominates literature: because really, why is that perceived as a tone shift to me? If it were a detective novel by Dean Koontz, I wouldn’t be calling a scene depicting the character’s personal life and relationships tonally inconsistent, I’d be calling it character-building. Hell, much of my book Cinders is spent examining the juxtaposition between two crime-fighters personal lives and styles, not the case at hand. In that way, this novel is ‘about’ discrimination of capable women in historically-male fields: and Meas does a wonderful job crafting a thrilling adventure around that theme, whether she did so intentionally or not.
These are massive, deep themes that I could write an entire paper on — and may, actually. But even if you didn’t read the novel the same way, there’s an incredibly tense and gratifying story here. Meas is a gifted author, who knows the story she wants to tell and tells it well: theme and subtext are given their appropriate due, but never invade the narrative obtrusively, a trick many of the most well-respected authors alive today have yet to master.
Part social commentary and part psychological thriller, I’d easily say this is on my list of one of the top novels published in 2017 thus far. I urge everyone to pick it up and to keep their eye on Sambath Meas in the coming months and years and a rising star in the indie book market.
‘Other Indie’ is a recurring series of articles on Engen Books in which authors highlight the best in independent publishing, in the hopes of helping readers break through the cluster of books they may not be sure about in an age when anyone can publish via digital formats. Engen Books is an independent small-press publishing company based in St. John’s Newfoundland and is proud to highlight the talent of independent authors not our own. The Governor’s Daughter is © 2017 Sambath Meas. This review is © 20177 Matthew LeDrew. ‘Other Indie’ banner photo credit: Steve Lake.
June 20, 2017
Fantasy from the Rock Review by Sambath Meas!
[image error]Campfire Folklores
by Sambath Meas
“Fantasy from the Rock” is a collection of short stories from authors who love telling folklores about humans, fairies, trolls, dwarves, elves, witches, and fortunetellers. There are a few stories that don’t quite fit, nevertheless; due to their strangeness, they still fall into this fantasy genre. What they all have in common, however, is their entertainment value. The authors are experienced writers and storytellers and obviously, they love their craft. Many of the stories reveal moral lessons, which folklores of ancient time had often taught us. Like human beings, magical creatures have their negative and positive sides. They’re flawed just like us human beings. Those who allow evil and negative spiritual forces to dominate them threaten other beings as well as the environment in which they live and share with others. My favorite stories are the ones with moral lessons. Thankfully, many are teeming with them.
For example, “The City that Hid from Time Itself” shows that the world is a dangerous place and Zahn, Arvelle and Brayda must help Zahn’s brother, Antitus, to act as arbiters to protect the world and all the creatures within. As different species with different personalities they learn how to work together to accomplish their common purpose.
In “Snow White and Red Rose,” a mean dwarf gets his comeuppance, beautiful twin sisters with drastically different personalities and physical appearances get their princes at the end, and their mother—a woman who was abandoned by her lover and shunned by society for having a one night stand and having babies out of wedlock—witnesses her children happiness and live happily with them. Moreover, when you treat your offspring and other people kindly, you will be rewarded. The girls learn about kindness from their loving mother. Thus, “Their mother brought cuttings of both rosebushes with her when her family moved up into the grand old manor house. She planted them in lovely oriental pots and tended them as carefully as she had her daughters.”
Meanwhile, in “Quiet Cove,” a young woman finds out that, in the real world, she would never find the perfect man who loves her unconditionally and attends to her every need. She has only but one night to decide if she should stay in this hidden enchanted forest or go back to the real world. Which place must she choose? Will she make the wise choice?
These are just a few samples of the collection from “Fantasy from the Rock.” It’s like listening to the masters telling stories by the campfire. It’s magical, entertaining, and didactic. I highly recommend it.
[image error]
Sambath Meas is a alternate history detective fiction writer. Her latest book, The Governor’s Daughter, is on sale now.
June 18, 2017
How (NOT) To Write A Blog Post
Step 1) Think of a topic and start writing.
Step 2) Realize half-way through that you don’t like this topic as much as you thought you did.
Step 3) Think of new topic and start writing.
Step 4) Wonder if maybe the first topic was better and consider returning to it.
Step 5) Wonder if maybe there’s a third topic out there that’s even better than the previous two*.
Step 6) Wonder how you got that bruise on your leg – was it a chair arm? Corner of a table? It feels like it’s going to be a bad one…
Step 7) Consider writing the topic that’s been in the back of your mind, then realize that you don’t have time to get into it as much as you want, so put it back on the shelf where you’ll probably forget about it again.
Step 8) Get a glass of water, then promptly feel bad about wasting time wandering around when you should be writing.
Step 9) Wonder if maybe you should tease that you’re currently writing a short story/novella set in New Earth, but take a pass because you can’t think of any way to turn that into a full blog post.
Step 10) Wonder if maybe you should hype Chillers From the Rock, since they’re still accepting submissions, and time goes faster than you think it will so it’s best to get started ASAP.
Step 11) Start writing a fourth topic completely unrelated to any other topic you’ve previously thought about.
Step 12) Look at the clock. It’s getting late…
Step 13) Pet the cat that just crawled in your lap (he rarely does this, so you have to savor the moment, even if it’s inconvenient timing).
Step 14) Finish the post; check it over to make sure it makes sense.
Step 15) Post it and congratulate yourself!
Step 16) Swear that you’ll start next month’s blog post sooner**.
_______
*Literally my process every time. I have a ton of half-finished posts saved in a document.
**You probably won’t. C’est la vie.
June 15, 2017
Supernatural Causes | Critical Condition
How can a virus be attacking both vampires and werewolves in the same way?
It’s the mystery Liesel Andrews must solve. A mortal human with a knack for healing creatures her own kind can’t even see, Liesel needs to find the source of the outbreak before it’s too late. Working with the inscrutable vampire lieutenant, Jax Halloran, the pair are about to uncover secrets that are far more dangerous than either of them could imagine.
At the same time, all her evenings spent moonlighting in the underworld are having consequences for normal life as a student and for her relationship with her human boyfriend.
What she really could use is some time to figure things out. But time is the one thing Liesel doesn’t have.
Supernatural Causes: Condition Critical (eBook)
Amanda Labonté
[image error]
Purchase (eBook):
Apple iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Scribd
Kobo
Smashwords
Kindle
Title Information:
ISBN:
978-1926903569
Release Date:
June 15, 2017
Status:
Available
Book Type:
Electronic
Price (CAD):
$0.99
Page Count:
53
Related Titles
[image error]
[image error]
[image error]
Reviews
Supernatural Causes | Condition Critical
How can a virus be attacking both vampires and werewolves in the same way?
It’s the mystery Liesel Andrews must solve. A mortal human with a knack for healing creatures her own kind can’t even see, Liesel needs to find the source of the outbreak before it’s too late. Working with the inscrutable vampire lieutenant, Jax Halloran, the pair are about to uncover secrets that are far more dangerous than either of them could imagine.
At the same time, all her evenings spent moonlighting in the underworld are having consequences for normal life as a student and for her relationship with her human boyfriend.
What she really could use is some time to figure things out. But time is the one thing Liesel doesn’t have.
Supernatural Causes: Condition Critical (eBook)
Amanda Labonté
[image error]
Purchase (eBook):
Apple iBooks
Barnes & Noble
Scribd
Kobo
Smashwords
Kindle
Title Information:
ISBN:
978-1926903569
Release Date:
June 15, 2017
Status:
Available
Book Type:
Electronic
Price (CAD):
$0.99
Page Count:
53
Related Titles
[image error]
[image error]
[image error]
Reviews
