The Story Behind the Story with Author Erika LeClair of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

A new author for you to discover.

I met Erika at the recent GMRD Book Fair last Spring where she was an eager participant.

She has kindly accepted my invitation to be our guest this week.

Her novel has received rave reviews and she’s going to tell us about it.

Read on my friends.

 

 

 

Erika LeClair is a dystopian science fiction author and editor from Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she lives with her husband and cat. When she isn’t working on her next book, Erika often spends her time reading horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Her debut novel, The Quarantine Drift, was released in 2022, with a sequel on the way.

 

Title: The Quarantine Drift

Synopsis:
Sixteen years ago, an alien ship crashed into Carina Linderoth’s home.
Sixteen years ago, she saw her twin sister for the last time.
Since that night, Carina has spent every waking moment searching for answers. What happened to her sister? Why did the aliens take Sonja and not her? And why do people keep telling her she never had a twin sister—that Sonja isn’t real?
Now, sixteen years later, Carina is approached by a mysterious genetic research company. They want her to work on a top-secret project, genetically engineering the human race with Eluridan—alien—DNA.
For any geneticist, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.
For Carina, it’s something more.
This is her chance to return to Mount Desert Island, the scene of the crash, home to the stranded aliens. Back to the place where this all began. This is her chance to finally learn what happened to her sister.
If Sonja ever existed.

The Story Behind the Story:

When I first had the idea for The Quarantine Drift, I was studying biology at UNB and drawing a ton of inspiration from my classes. Everything was so interesting, and I couldn’t help thinking of ways I could use what I was learning in a story. In my third year, I latched on to an idea I felt good about. I knew I wanted a dystopian setting, something dark and spooky and gory and set here on Earth, but with a more flexible, imaginative element—like aliens—that I could have fun with. Studying environmental sciences can give you a bit of a bleak outlook on the future, so that naturally wormed its way into the premise in the form of a global water crisis. I’m also a sucker for characters with heaps of emotional baggage (sorry, Carina), so that was an inevitability. That was also the year I joined my first writing group, which changed everything. Sharing my work and exchanging feedback with other writers finally broke my cycle of starting projects and not knowing how to finish them. It also gave me the perspective I needed to really study my writing and understand how I could improve. I eventually graduated and started working in laboratories, and those experiences gave me even more ideas I could use. Between the constant stream of scientific inspiration and my fellow writers pushing me to improve, the story kept transforming, and that was exciting as hell. I eventually left lab work to pursue writing and editing full-time, but this book feels a bit like a time capsule of those seven years of my life.

Website: Please go HERE.

Buy it HERE.

A question before you go, Erika:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?

Erika: My favorite spot to write: I have an office lined with bookshelves, a big desk, and a window with a view of the trees outside. At every opportunity, I have the window wide open to let in the breeze and listen to the birds chirping. It’s a great setup, but I sometimes get restless, so when the weather is nice, my favorite spot is outside on my balcony with my laptop. The fresh air and lack of distractions from my cat (who is almost always pawing at the glass, demanding I come back inside) make for the perfect writing environment. It’s also nice to get a bit of sun and feel like I’m sort of outside, since working from home means I don’t leave the house as much as I probably should.

My beverage of choice: My fun answer is an iced chai latte with oat milk, with a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top. My honest answer is water—no ice, no flavoring (I know, I know, I’m a monster, but at least I’m a hydrated one).



An Excerpt from The Quarantine Drift

“To start, I’d like to discuss your doctoral thesis.” Dr. Sarian leaned back in her seat comfortably and tented her hands. “I’ve read it twice, and I have to say that your vision for the future of genetics is exactly what we’re looking for.”

“Future?” Carina had to laugh. “I work in a government-run medicinal genetics laboratory. Not much hope for the future there.”

“True. A waste of your talents and a far cry from the content of your doctorate. Your focus was on the use of gene therapy to enhance human tolerance to changing environmental conditions.”

“Yes, but—”

“The climate continues to change, Dr. Linderoth. Humanity has struggled for decades to overcome increasingly uninhabitable conditions. In the last fifty years, over four billion people have died globally of illnesses related to a simple lack of water. The time for tinkering with medicinal therapies is long past.”

She’d waited years to hear another scientist utter those words. “If the government stopped restricting our research, we could solve the water crisis within the decade, without making changes to the environment.”

Dr. Sarian smiled. “I won’t dance around it. Genidex conducts genetic research—among other fields of study—not unlike what you’ve mentioned. In fact, we’ve already taken your idea quite a few steps further.” She smirked, her eyes searching Carina’s expression.

“What do you mean, further?”

“We’ve been working on the exact avenue of research you’ve been proposing for the last seven years. We’ve begun genetically engineering human DNA with that of other organisms. The organism we have in mind, however, is more advanced than anything you’ve proposed. What we aim to recombine with human DNA…” Dr. Sarian’s eyes flashed, and she grinned. “…is Eluridan.”

 

Buy it HERE.

 

Thanks for sharing an excerpt with our readers, a real teaser.

Your story sounds intriguing and I’m anxious to know how it goes.

Thanks for being our guest this week. We wish you continued success with your writing.

 

 

Thank you to all our visitors and readers

Looking for your next book?

 

Hello everyone.

I expect that if you visited my website today, you are most likely an avid reader, always searching for the next great book.

Well then, you’ve come to the right place and I intend to introduce you to a few terrific New Brunswick authors and their awesome stories.

Read on my friends.

 

 

One.

This has been one of my favourite reads from a NB author.

Well researched and a well written.

Amid the Splintered Trees

Heather McBriarty.

 

From Goodreads:

August 1914 - Emma has dreamed of becoming a doctor all her life, not an easy task for a woman. Will wants Emma as his wife, but she is worth waiting for. They both imagine a life together, a family, and a future of happiness - someday.

But suddenly, the conflict in Europe erupts into war, and they are asked to sacrifice everything. Nothing could have prepared Will for the death and devastation he faces in the muddy trenches of the Western Front. As his losses mount, he struggles to remain the man Emma knows and loves. Emma is forced to tackle her own obstacles as a woman in a man’s world of medicine, alone, without his support. From her patients to her classmates, it seems no one truly believes her capable. Just when she thinks things cannot get worse, a devastating explosion levels her city, and Emma is called to her own front line.

From the blood-soaked ground of Ypres, the Somme, and Vimy to the 1917 Halifax explosion, each of them are tested in ways they never could have imagined. Wounded in body and soul, can they find a way back to each other or will their future be destroyed by the Great War?

From the author of Somewhere in Flanders: Letters from the Front comes a sweeping novel of love, loss, and redemption during the First World War.

Buy it HERE.

Two.

I must admit, I have not read this novel yet but I have read all the previous Thief for Hire novels by this clever writer and I’ve never been disappointed. I do have a copy coming soon.

Lost in London.

Chuck Bowie.

From Goodreads:

Loic Wedden, a friend of Donovan has a problem. His daughter Áine has disappeared. He believes she is with friends, likely visiting art galleries in London.
Áine’s secret, however, is that she is on a mission to steal Irish artefacts from England and return them to their Ireland. Things change in the midst of the first theft, and now Áine is Lost in London .
Donovan must extricate her, while avoiding placing her friends in peril. The crimes begin to mount up, and he begins to suspect that all of the friends are indeed lost. The mess becomes more complicated, and an attempt at a rescue could force a choice between saving Áine, or saving her friends.

Buy it HERE.

 

Three

This is a well told story from a debut novel by another talented author. Published by Merlin Star Press and their #1 choice, it has received a lot of wonderful reviews.

 

The Widow and the Will

Rhonda Bulmer 

From Goodreads:

Lindy Hall has begun a promising career in Toronto with her boyfriend, George. When Grandma Runa, her only living relative dies, Lindy receives a shocking bequest—the d’Avray Manor Inn in Harmony Bay on New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy.

Lindy takes two weeks off to visit the inn. Locals call it The Widow’s Inn, haunted by the grieving widow of its first owner. She finds herself on a collision course with the proprietors, Tony and Anne Allaby. In the face of bankruptcy, Anne is bitter. Lindy is sure the couple is holding something back.

When a handsome tour operator vies for Lindy’s affections, and the ghost of Elizabeth d’Avray visits her, an impatient George urges Lindy to forget it all and come home.

Could Gram’s final wishes and The Widow’s Inn be the keys to unlock Lindy’s mysterious past—and her future?

Buy it HERE.

 

Four

This is a cozy mystery which I truly enjoyed reading, as I have with all his previous novels. This was book #2 from Merlin Star Press and it also is receiving great reviews.

 

The Romanian Cleaning Lady

Zev Bagel

 

From Goodreads:

Lizzy Bright has just opened her office as a private investigator and her first inquiry seems like a prank. When the case takes her into the murky world of prostitution and human smuggling Lizzy is in over her head, until retired Detective Inspector William Breasy appears. But Breasy also has his air of mystery, not least the fact that he was a friend of Lizzy’s father, who vanished when she was eleven. The shadows from her past weave through the darkness of the present, pulling Lizzy deeper into a web of dangerous secrets.

Based in the historic city of Canterbury in England, this is the first in the Bright & Breasy mystery series by Zeb Bagel.

Buy it HERE.

 

Five

This novel is another terrific read from an author more know for his scary tales but with a neat change in genre, he has spun another delightful story.

 

Something Happened in Carlton

Pierre Arseneault

 

From Goodreads:

Life in a small town can be hard, it's nearly impossible when the bonds between neighbors and friends begin to unravel.

People used to say that nothing ever happened in Carlton, but there is a lot going on in this small town, and Police Chief Clovis McPhee is in the middle of it all even as he struggles to let go of the life he worked so hard to have. Neighbors Garth Blackett and 93-year-old Eli Woodman's feud over garbage threatens to become more than a war of words as Garth runs into the reality that he's not as great as he thinks he is. Raylene McPhee is doing anything and everything she can to support the man she has loved her entire life, but at what price? Mayor Jack Ledger is furious that the elderly Ms. Musgrave has erected a huge Christmas display in her yard in July, and nobody but him seems to care how this will affect his reputation. Officer Libby Terwilliger must let go of the man who has been like a father if she's ever to step into his shoes while Bonnie Campbell desperately tries to keep the Carlton Gazette from failing before its time. The seemingly mundane and random events of this small town coalesce as something happened in Carlton.

Buy it HERE.

 

Six.

I love this lady’s stories. This novel is a winner and I’m sure you will enjoy it.

Birch Island: And the Secrets it Held.

Suzanne Casey

From Amazon:

Away on a bachelor party weekend getaway, Leo Clement makes the acquaintance of Peaches King while staying at Birch Island Resort. An odd friendship ignites between the young reporter and the enigmatic owner of the quaint vacation spot.

Leo starts to come to the island every Tuesday for lunch and a game of Scrabble with the eccentric octogenarian. He listens to Ms. King reminisce about her eventful past while nibbling on Neapolitan wafer cookies.

She shares details about her upbringing, her schooling and her marriage. However, the more Ms. Peaches talks, the more questions Leo has, including the disappearance of several staff members.

Hired by Peaches' own daughter to uncover the truth, Leo goes on a fact-finding mission that takes him from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts. By doing so, he uncovers more than he expected.

Buy it HERE.

Seven

I was familiar with this gentleman’s writing skills from his contribution to the Path Anthologies and eagerly awaited his debut non-fiction collection of essays. I was not disappointed. Good stuff!

This Rare Earth

Jeremy Thomas Gilmer

From Amazon:

This Rare Earth is a graphic account of twenty-five years working for some of the largest mining and engineering companies in the world. Much of this work was conducted in conflict zones where Jeremy Thomas Gilmer supervised the construction of dams, mine tailings structures, and oil and gas facilities. Through personal stories and detailed observations, he brings to life the daily realities of those caught in the crossfire of progress―miners, villagers, and local leaders who grapple with the promises and perils of development.

Gilmer describes nerve-wracking situations dealing with corrupt authorities, natural disasters, and project failure. He writes about his time in Northern Angola at the end of a bloody civil war, discusses building a gold mine in cartel territory in Colombia, and looking for water in the windswept pampa of southern Argentina. He writes about crawling a kilometer into a pipe in the high Andes to inspect damage and about night shifts at a vast Arctic diamond mine. He has driven through a blazing jungle in Eastern Bolivian forest fires and survived tense standoffs with armed Pork-knockers, or South American itinerant miners.

Gilmer writes from a place rarely heard from in the debate: an industry linked not only to the environmental challenges we face as a species, but to the very systems our lives― and economy―depend on. This Rare Earth is an unsparing, thought-provoking, and frankly confessional dive into the unseen costs of our technological and industrial addictions.

Buy it HERE.

Eight.

You like spooky stories? This gentleman knows how to tell a story that will keep you looking over your shoulder and to make sure the lights are on when reading it.

Tremendous storyteller.

The Boy in the Canvas

Cristopher Sweet

From Goodreads:

“You’ve gotta listen to me a second,” she said, her face suddenly serious. “If you can do what I do, you’re gonna find out not every painting is nice. Be careful about which ones you visit and which ones you jump to…Paintings are magical. They’re a reflection of the artists passions, dreams, and loves, but also their fears and doubts. I think there might be some things out there that thrive on that stuff. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see them. You mind them.”

When twelve year old Joseph tragically loses his mother, his world is shattered. Left with his angry, alcoholic father in their rundown apartment, he finds himself longing to be free of the life he’s been stuck with.

Staring into a generic landscape painting in the church basement at his mother’s funeral, he almost gets his wish; a mysterious girl in an Iron Maiden vest steps out of the picture, opening his eyes to impossible and incredible worlds. Joseph longs to follow her into the painting but before he can join her, he is ripped away and sent to St. Theodore’s Academy, a correctional school run by a sadistic headmaster.

Aided by his only friend, Odilon Mercier, Joseph will stop at nothing to escape St. Theodore's. His only hope at freedom is through the magical, strange, and dangerous worlds of the paintings he finds within the school.

But something else lurks within them. Something dangerous. Something hungry.

Buy it HERE.

Nine

Well, you know I can’t recommend some stories without including one of my own. So, forgive me for blowing my own horn. This is my favourite story to date. I loved writing it.

 

One Bedroom Ark

Allan Hudson

 

From Goodreads:

Jeb Coyne, proprietor of Coyne’s Confectionary, will have been widowed for two years tomorrow. Tending to his daily business takes his mind off the looming anniversary for a moment, as do his customers, whether cheerful or grumpy. But he’s never felt so alone. With the workday finished, Jeb is a few minutes from locking the doors. He goes out to bring in the sign board his father made and is interrupted by a tiny voice asking if he is closing. Olivia Fletcher stands before him, a teenager with wet strands of hair across her cheek, a baby in her arms. This chance meeting will change both of their lives forever.

Buy it HERE.

 

 

 

Like Porky Pig always said,

“Th… th… that’s all folks”

 

Thanks for visiting.

I hope you find your next read within this group and thank you for supporting New Brunswick authors.

You readers and visitors are the COOLEST!

Tell us about your favourite book, or author in the comment section below.

The Story Behind the Story with Author Kathleen Lippa of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

 

Looking for a terrific book?

 

Kathleen’s new book is receiving rave reviews. 

The  five stars are piling up.

She has kindly accepted our invitation to tell you about it.

 

Hello readers. I’m Kathleen Lippa, a Canadian journalist, and brand-new author of a true-crime book published by independent, Canadian publisher Dundurn Press. I grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and obtained a B.A. in English from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1998 before embarking on a career as a newspaper reporter and editor. I’m married to Arctic historian and author Kenn Harper, and we divide our time between Ottawa and St. John’s.

 

 

Title: Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North

 

Synopsis: In the 1970s, a young schoolteacher from British Columbia was becoming the darling of the Northwest Territories education department with his dynamic teaching style. He was learning to speak the local language, Inuktitut, something few outsiders did. He also claimed to be Indigenous — a claim that would later prove to be false. In truth, Edward Horne was a pedophile who sexually abused his male students.

From 1971 to 1985 his predations on Inuit boys would disrupt life in the communities where he worked — towns of close-knit families that would suffer the intergenerational trauma created by his abuse.

The Story Behind the Story:

I went to the Canadian Arctic to work for the Northern News Services in 2003, and the experience up there changed my life. I had a front-row seat on the creation of a new territory in Canada, Nunavut. I got to travel throughout the Eastern Arctic for my work as a reporter. And while I was spending time in the communities of Nunavut I heard about the crimes of Edward Horne, a compelling schoolteacher who hailed from British Columbia. Horne had won praise from his bosses in the education department of the Northwest Territories at the time, but in truth, in secret, Horne was a pedophile, and abused many children in the North over the 15 years he lived in the Eastern Arctic. The people of the North I met when I was a reporter often spoke of Horne like a mythological figure. A monster. Some wondered what ever became of him. He’d served prison time, but was he now a free man? There was mystery surrounding the Horne tragedy. I wanted to know more. It took me almost 20 years to finish writing the book that is now Arctic Predator. It was the most difficult long-form work of journalism I have ever done. I did it on my own time and using my own money. It was very challenging on every level to get this book out into the world, but most notably, it was emotionally draining - not just for me but the people I interviewed. But ultimately, we all believed it was an important true-crime story to document. And the Canadian public is fascinated – the book is a bestseller in Canada, and I’ve done a number of successful events at independent bookstores.

I wanted to work with a traditional publisher, and preferably Canadian. My manuscript was rejected by 12 different publishers before Dundurn Press in Toronto took it on. I’m very proud that Arctic Predator is printed and bound in Canada, and available across Canada, and internationally.

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Kathleen:

Scribbler: Where is your favourite spot to write? Are you messy or neat? Your beverage of choice?


Kathleen: I have been working in non-fiction for a long time, in my home office, located just off my kitchen. Home is best for the work I do, although I have always secretly envied people who can write in coffee shops!

The files and books I use for reference tend to pile up and create clutter around my desk. But I know where everything is. I can find necessary files and information rather quickly in those piles, in spite of how bad the clutter may look, and that is something I am rather proud of, to be honest.

I do drink coffee now, although for years I found strong green tea helpful in the mind-energy department. I blend my own mushroom coffee now with lion’s mane powder and real milk. I get to work early, like 5 a.m. every morning, and I find mushroom coffee gives me a warm boost.

An Excerpt from   ARCTIC PREDATOR

TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains descriptions of sexual assault and abuse of children

CAPE DORSET, January 23, 2003

A fire raged in the metal dump, yet no sirens blared. Townsfolk in sealskin and work boots, and women in fur-lined parkas with babies on their backs made their way up the hill to where firefighters had purposely set one of the community’s old school buildings ablaze.

Four hundred people, roughly a third of the community’s population, huddled near the flames, a reprieve from the cold in the minus 20 degrees Celsius temperature. Some people in the crowd were crying. Others picked up rocks and hurled them into the flames, yelling at the disintegrating structure as if it were the living embodiment of a name they shouted — Ed Horne.

Twenty years was a long time to live with the anger. Horne had left their community in 1983, but the emotions his name engendered were still raw.

As the schoolhouse and its secrets burned that night, a young reporter named Christine Kay was at her desk in Iqaluit working the phones. She called hamlet offices in the territory each week, hearing news and gossip that could be spun into features for her newspaper. This was the best a reporter with no travel budget could do. To actually visit a community beyond Iqaluit required an expensive plane ride. The phone was an economical way in. Christine was curious about the fire she was hearing about in Cape Dorset, but could only eke out a small story for News/North that appeared on February 3. The headline was “Piece of Past Up in Flames”. She reported that the burning was part of Cape Dorset’s settlement in a civil lawsuit against the governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The small structure, one of two portable units — free-standing classrooms not attached to the main school — was no longer in use. A year before this symbolic act was carried out, a multi-million-dollar settlement had been made between the two territorial governments, the employers of Ed Horne, and dozens of young men — once boys — who had been sexually abused by the disgraced teacher.

Tuugaaq* initially attended the burning, but left before the building was razed to the ground. 

“I did see people throwing rocks, but I wasn’t compelled to do anything because that wasn’t where I had the experience with Ed Horne. The older one where we first encountered him is still standing,” he said, many years later, explaining that a construction company was currently using that building. “There were two portable schools. The one that was burned down was from later, it was for the younger guys. To me it was like, why don’t they burn the one where it all started?”

Buy it HERE.

Thank you for sharing such a compelling story, Kathleen. I appreciate how difficult it must've been to write. 

I wish you continued success with your writing.

And a GRAND-CANYON-SIZE thank you to all our visitors and readers.

The Story Behind the Story with Tanah Haney of Ontario, Canada.

 

We are very happy to have Tanah join us this week as our featured author. 

I had the pleasure to meet Tanah at the 

GMRD Book Fair last April.

She was in attendance with Joe Mahoney of Donovan Street Press, her publisher.

 

She has kindly accepted our invitation to be with us today.

Read on my friends.

 

 

When not writing, Tanah Haney divides her time between playing the Celtic harp, teaching music, gardening and cat wrangling. She is a published poet and is co-author of Where the World Bleeds Through with her husband, photographer and digital artist Mark A. Harrison. The character of Aiden in Tanah’s debut novel, A Peculiar Symmetry, was inspired by Tanah’s own experience with neurodiversity. Late diagnosed with ADHD at age 50 but neurodivergent from day one, Tanah is determined to be a more vocal champion of everyone who has ever felt different, and for the free expression of same in a diverse, inclusive, and compassionate society. Tanah lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband Mark and a small but vocal menagerie.

 

Book Title: A Peculiar Symmetry

 

 

Synopsis: 

Aiden and Minnie. Two of the least ordinary people you’re likely to meet.

Aiden’s missing the first eight years of her life, yet she can play Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto without ever having been taught. Minnie can see people’s emotions, in vivid colour, no less. That doesn’t help much when she meets Aiden, who doesn’t seem to have any.

When British Intelligence sweeps in, along with belligerent spies and a half-brother Aiden never knew existed, Minnie soon discovers that whatever Aiden might lack, she more than makes up for in intrigue. Getting to know one another will have to wait, though; when bullets start to fly, and the bodies begin to pile up, the two young women find themselves caught up in a clandestine war for control over the human psyche…and their own lives.

 

The Story Behind the Story: 

Writing A Peculiar Symmetry was a much longer journey that expected, with countless side quests and dead-end paths taken along the way. The initial spark for it though, was two-fold: the concept of an accidental signal, and a single sentence: “It was too early in the morning for things to go so wrong”. The accidental signal idea was inspired by my own personal experience with OCD, the hypervigilant variety that has you checking things multiple times. I had been stuck in a bit of a loop, triple checking that all the doors were locked before bed, which involved flicking light switches on and off. It had me feeling more than a little foolish and wondering what that must look like from the outside. Which in turn brought to mind Mulder in the X-Files, signalling his desire to talk to the mysterious Mr. X, or rebel factions communicating across a river via shuttered lanterns. What if someone accidentally sent a signal out into the world that they didn’t intend to send, and someone received and acted on that? The rest of the story spun out from there. The idea of a rough start to the day inspired the two opening scenes, where we meet both of our main characters struggling through one of those mornings where nothing goes right, which gave them a kind of shared experience while simultaneously showing how different their lives and personalities were before they met.

  

Website: Please go HERE.

 Buy it HERE.

  

    

Where I like to write: Did a lot of cafe writing for many years, until the Covid lockdowns hit. Then it became a challenge, how to turn safe spaces, at home or outside, into a place I could feel truly inspired, could temporarily step away from all the pressing grown-up responsibilities despite being surrounded by clutter. I've started writing outside the home again, but I'll still often end up in the big room upstairs at my standing desk, with a mix of ambient music and nature sounds, windows wide open, with occasional interruptions from cats, or the birds in the apple tree out back.

 

Favourite beverage: Coffee still ranks at the top for sparking energy and creativity, sometimes black tea. But for long haul sessions and staying hydrated, it's a personal concoction of 2/3 carbonated water (that we carbonate at home), 1/3 spicy ginger beer, and some of those sugar-free flavour drops. My favourite at the moment is the strawberry-watermelon, goes surprisingly well with the ginger.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for being our guest this week Tanah. WE wish you continued success with your writing.

 

And another BIG thank you to all our visitors and readers. Feel free to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.