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.

The Story Behind the Story with author Peter Foote of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

Let’s welcome someone new to the Scribbler.

Peter is an established author but this is his first visit to the Scribbler.

 

He has been an active participant of the GMRD Book Fairs and always in a great mood.

He has news about his upcoming novel he wants to share.

Read on my friends.

 

 

Peter got locked in a bookstore as a child and has been reading his way to freedom ever since.

As a blue-collar sci-fi author, Peter tells gritty and personal sci-fi and fantasy stories of ordinary people placed in extraordinary situations that resonate with readers and provide much-needed escapism.

Title: “Encrypted Starpath”

Cover reveal soon!

Synopsis:  A HUSBAND AND WIFE WHO DELIVER MORE THAN JUST MAIL…

Liam and Rosario are couriers, delivering messages and cargo across the solar system. Officially, they’re just another small-time operation flying under the corporate radar. Unofficially, they smuggle secrets, disrupt supply chains, and undermine the mega-corporations that keep humanity under their thumb.

But when a distress call from Dr. Santos lands in their lap, the stakes shift from corporate sabotage to a far greater threat. She’s uncovered a dangerous secret—one tied to the Interstellar Gate orbiting Jupiter. And powerful forces will kill to ensure it never gets out.

A MESSAGE THAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING…

Hunted by corporate enforcers and facing threats from the unknown reaches beyond the Gate, Liam and Rosario must decide: leave Dr. Santos to her fate, or take a stand and risk everything—because some messages are too important to ignore.

 

The Story Behind the Story:

I’ve always been drawn to stories that put ordinary people in extraordinary situations, rather than “Superman” type stories. For me, being able to relate to the characters, normal people who screw up, fail sometimes, ask for help, etc… is what’s important, even more so in these uncertain times.

What had started out as a fun tale of a husband and wife team delivering mail around the solar system, grew into a fight against mega-corps using people as a resource. But Liam and Rosario's method of fighting isn’t epic space battles, it’s the little things that anyone can do. Helping that neighbour who just lost their child, slip that person some funds so they can pay their bills this month, or simply sit with someone as they have a rough day. I like to think of it as an avalanche of good intentions, and it’s the story I felt compelled to write.

It’s my goal to publish this book by year's end.

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Peter:

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

Peter: I have what I call my “writing nook”, a small desk in our den downstairs. The walls are covered in fan art, personal accomplishments and nerdy pieces that I’ve picked up over the years. I like to think of my spot as an organized mess. I have a stack of papers requiring my attention, my reference books at hand and a patchwork quilt of post-it notes with random thoughts and time-sensitive action items.

Thank you for being our guest this week, Peter. We wish you continued success with your writing. Looking forward to the new book.

And another BIG thank you to all our visitors and readers.

Leave us a comment. Tell us what’s on your mind.

The Story Behind the Story with Pierre Arseneault of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

Pierre is going to share the news bout his terrific latest story.

 The raves and reviews are rolling in and we are most fortunate to have Pierre back with the Scribbler. 

He’s been one of our most popular guests and if you missed the last post, go HERE.

Read on my friends.

 

 

The youngest of eleven children, Pierre C. Arseneault grew up in the small town of Rogersville, New Brunswick, Canada. As a cartoonist, Pierre was published in over a dozen newspapers. As an author, he has written solo and in collaboration. Pierre currently lives in the outskirts of his hometown again, near Rogersville in New Brunswick, Canada.

 

Title: Something Happened in Carlton

 

Synopsis:
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.

The Story Behind the Story:

This origins of this novel began way back in 2010 when I started putting serious thought into writing fiction. Flashforward a few years and I’m writing in collaboration with a friend and also writing solo as well. My first attempt at writing fiction is the same advice I would give any novice looking to try his hand at fiction. Start with short stories, which is what I did. Much of my early works ended up in a short story collection called Sleepless Nights, published in 2014. The last story I wrote for that book was a novella called Nothing Ever Happens in Carlton. This is the third story in this collection that is set in Carlton. However, the cast of said novella was the inspiration to go back to Carlton to visit with them again and expand on their stories. And so, I did just that. I went back to Carlton and before I knew it, Chief Clovis McPhee was standing in a backwoods driveway, staring at a mountain of garbage, while contemplating how to deal with the man who’d called in what would turn out to be the escalation to a feud between neighbors. A while later, I had written what turned out to be my very first dramatic novel.

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Pierre:

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

Pierre: Right now, I have a desk set up in a back room away from the hustle and bustle of home. It’s the best place I have at the moment to help me focus. However, clutter is my enemy and so I have to keep it as neat as I can. Right now, there is a stack of papers in a corner that are the notes (which I often ignore) for my latest crime thriller novel. It’s going well considering that I know how I want to end the book and have a plan. But the hard part is that I still need to write it.

As for beverage of choice? Coffee tops the list but only when writing during the day. At night, I prefer the ultimate decaf called water. It’s a common misconception that a writer must also be an alcoholic. That is more of a story trope than anything else.

Buy it HERE.

I’ve read this story and it’s good. I truly enjoyed it. I expect you will too.

Thanks for being our guest this week, Pierre. Wishing you continued success with you writing.

And thank you to all our visitors and readers. Leave us a comment if you have a moment.