Pick of the Week

 Looking for something to read?

Here's one I know you'll like.

In Carlton, small-town life unravels as secrets and feuds ignite.

Police Chief Clovis McPhee, grappling with his past and a grim diagnosis, struggles to maintain order. A garbage feud between neighbors Garth Blackett and Eli Woodman escalates, while Mayor Jack Ledger obsesses over a Christmas display in July. Officer Libby Terwilliger confronts her own demons as she steps into Clovis's shoes, and Bonnie Campbell fights to save the local paper.

As tensions rise, the seemingly mundane events of Carlton reveal a community on the brink. Can these residents find redemption, or will their secrets consume them? For fans of character-driven stories, this small-town drama explores the complexities of life, loss, and the enduring power of community. Discover a world where everyone knows your name, and no one can escape the past.

What the author says about the book:

Something Happened in Carlton was the result of loving a past work enough to want to revisit it as most of the cast was first introduced in a novella called Nothing Ever Happens in Carlton. This was published in 2014 in my short story collection Sleepless Nights. And while writing it, I kept referring to it as my Seinfeld novel as it was a story about nothing. It begins with police dealing with a feud between neighbors. It also has Christmas decorations in July causing a rift between the sweet old Ms. Musgrave and Mayor Jack Ledger and many more goings on in this small-town dramatic comedy.

Author Pierre Arseneault.

Visit Pierre's website HERE.

Buy the book HERE.

Read his Scribbler posting HERE.

__________________________________

This one looks GOOD!

Calli's whole life has been about survival.

Being on your own in a post-apocalyptic wasteland can do that to a girl. So when a gorgeous stranger offers her food and a place to stay in exchange for help around his colony's farm, she's hardly in a position to say no. The farm may be her chance to finally have someplace permanent to call home. But the seemingly idyllic town has secrets, and it soon becomes clear that not everyone here is happy with her arrival….

As the leader of his people, Matt has always been strict about ensuring no one learns too much about who - and what - they are. The second he meets Calli, his carefully constructed rules no longer apply. Calli is his - he's as sure of it as his wolf is. Matt's need to protect her is tested as Calli's own past threatens to haunt her…and someone lurking in the shadows promises to destroy them both.

What the author says about the book:

Family is chosen. To show vulnerability in the face of fear is heroic. Even when the loss of another stains your soul, the act of overcoming extraordinary obstacles—internal and external—reveals the deepest truth of human strength. This is the essence of the Homani.

Author Sarren Scribner

Visit Sarren's Facebook page HERE.

Buy the book HERE.

_______________________________________

Here's something for all you poetry lovers!

A Maiden’s Perception, first published in 2015, is a collection of poetry that tells the story of the coming of age of a young girl who was becoming a young lady. These poems, reflective of her inner thoughts about love, friendships and of life as a whole, came from her collected notebooks and journals of years gone by. This second edition is presented with a renewed passion, as this young lady has now lived a life, complete with marriage, children, separation and especially tremendous growth in her own self-exploration and expression. Dive into a past full of her hopes and fears, of seeking the unknown and overcoming inner battles.

What the author says about the book:

"It is my sincerest hope that readers of this collection will find moments of recognition from their own past or present within its pages and will be inspired to read the upcoming collection, A Mother’s Perception."

Angella Cormier

Visit Angella's website HERE.

Buy the Book HERE.

One of Angella's visits to the Scribbler can be viewed HERE.

________________________________

Check this one out too, while you're here.

In 1979, when an introverted young man with culinary aspirations comes of age in Toronto after taking his first job at a private women’s club, he risks being devoured by the city’s elite.

Rory Rafferty embarks on a journey that will shape not only his future, but his very identity. A shy twenty-year-old from a Nova Scotian coastal town, Rory dreams of owning a seafood restaurant, but first he must navigate the glittering maze of Canada’s largest city.

When he lands a job as a busboy at an exclusive women’s club, he enters a world brimming with culinary delights, eccentric friends, and the pulse of the city’s nightlife. But amidst the glamour, Rory grapples with identifying and accepting his sexual orientation after assuming he didn’t have one during his teenage years…

What the author says about the novel:

My coming-of-age tale, GROW UP, RORY RAFFERTY, has been charming readers since late 2024. Rory's sidekick, Stephanie McMaster, will receive the star treatment in STEPHANIE MAKES A SCENE, a follow up novel set in the fictitious town of Landers Cove, Nova Scotia. It will be released in the late summer of 2026.

Author Bruce Bishop

 

Visit Bruce's website HERE.

Buy the book HERE & HERE.

_____________________________________

Here's another great novel to check out.

A mysterious signal from deep space. Mischief and murder at a military base.

Earth’s leaders are given an ultimatum: deliver Sam Sanderson to Logom, a planet known to house a hostile AI civilization, or face interplanetary war.

When Sam receives a strange letter drafting her into the Great Alliance for Interplanetary Affairs as a matter of international security, she expects to get answers. But instead of receiving a warm welcome, she finds that most people under the surface are distant, cold, and have built walls of silence. While grappling with her unique power and the consequences of her actions, she learns that the organization she’s supposed to serve has a chilling past and guards a dark secret.

“You better wish upon the stars they don’t send you to the Dark Galaxy.”

A harrowing journey into the unknown. An uncertain future.

While Earth’s scientists scramble to defend their world and the planetary alliance from the AI threat, Sam is forced on a mission to the Dark Galaxy. A place where dangers lurk, tensions run high, and things are never what they seem.

But will the journey change her forever?

A finalist for the 2025 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature.

★★★★★ FINALIST in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2023 (UK)

★★★★★ WINNER of the Literary Titan Gold Award (February 2024)

★★★★★ FINALIST in the Whistler Independent Book Awards (2024)

★★★★★ FINALIST in the 2024 READERS’ FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS (Young Adult – Thriller)

What the author says about the book:

Writing Journey to the Dark Galaxy was a thrilling ride. Creating new worlds and weaving interconnected narratives was challenging, but I had the most fun engaging with my characters. They were stubborn, reckless, and foolishly courageous. Yet they impressed me, too. They navigated difficult situations with creative solutions and clever thinking, often knowing better than I did. They taught me to have patience and do better. They refused to follow the path I had neatly laid out for them and forced the plot in new directions. It was impossible to steer them back, so I gave them tough love. I watched them persevere, transform, and grow. To this day, I don’t know if they’ll ever forgive me for all I put them through, but I grew with them, and I’m grateful to have learned from them.

Author Hannah State

Visit her Facebook page HERE.

Buy the book HERE. 

Read her post on the South Branch Scribbler HERE.

____________________________

Here's a Goody.

What if to have food on your table every day, you have to cross the line? Cheat, take bribes, and grovel before people in position of power and influence? Welcome to the “savage 90s”… A personal hell of Roberts Bergs.

To succeed you must play by the rules. Roberts learns the rules quickly. The system run by the Soviet-era ex-militia officers is a good teacher. Who you know counts for more than your abilities, qualifications, and knowledge. The system also doesn’t tolerate disobedience.

Roberts Bergs had to start making difficult choices early in life. With few options to choose from, he settles for available ones. Beggars cannot be choosers, is his motto.

His coursemates at the Police Academy dip their toes into adulthood while still living in the cocoon of their parental homes. For them, life is about parties, new experiences, and searching for their true self. For Roberts, it’s about poverty, hunger, and not being killed by a crazed drunkard with an axe during a patrol shift.

A patrolman of the Public Order Police patrol battalion isn’t Roberts’s dream job. But it is better than not having one. Trudging through the grim slums of the city, his interest in arts, history, and literature is what sustains him.

He believes in human dignity and freedom of choice. He wants to become a lawyer.

Despite the resistance from his superiors, Roberts keeps climbing up the career ladder. The contrast between those who play by the rules and those who believe in honesty and justice becomes starker. Luxury and self-indulgence for the first, and dragging out a miserable existence for the latter.

Is it worth it to remain true to his principles? Or is succumbing to the corrupted and merciless system the only way to survive?

What the author says about the book:

Writing “The Accidental Cop” was a unique experience. It was inspired by countless stories I’ve heard from different people over two decades and my own experience. Readers say that it was interesting for them to find out about the period of time in Latvia that they knew nothing about. One reader wrote in their review: “For Americans like me, this book is an important addition to our bookshelves, to teach us more about the rest of the world,” while another concluded: “It makes one glad to live in the west.” The “savage 90s” were a time of great turbulence for Latvia. It was challenging to try to portray this grim page of my country’s history without slipping either into the rose-tinted glasses outlook or utter disillusionment. Read the book to decide whether I have succeeded.

Author Eve Koguce

Buy the Book HERE.

Visit Eve's website HERE.

Eve was a previous guest on the Scribbler and you can find it HERE.

____________________________

I bet you'll like this one!

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. 

What the author says about the novel:

Carina’s story was such an adventure to write. I’m always searching for emotion, mystery, horror, and violence in the books and movies I consume, so getting to incorporate all those things into a sci-fi work of my own was satisfying, to say the least. The idea was conceived while finishing up my science degree, and it took shape in my notes app in the back corners of laboratories as I gathered inspiration. I’ve since traded my career in labs for one spent at a writing desk, but there’s something comforting about knowing I can revisit those years just by opening this book.

Author Erika LeClair

Visit Erika's website HERE.

Buy the book HERE.

Erika was a guest on the Scribbler recently and if you missed it, please go HERE.

____________________________

Here's a good choice for young readers (middle-age).

Bray and the Adventures of Zorkon follows the story of a ten-year-old boy who fights for inclusion and tackles a bullying problem at his school. The story unfolds with Bray entangled between a dream world and reality. However, the lines between the two worlds become oddly less blurred after Bray discovers a strange rock that transforms into a powerful Zorkon bracelet. The bracelet makes one capable of creating an invisible force shield bubble, a time-warping hologram named Zork, and a mysterious pair of goggles. Befriended by the riddle-speaking Zork, Bray (with a bit of help from his friends) must solve the puzzles and use the powers of Zorkon not only to stop the bullying against his classmates but to foil a plot to incite panic and chaos during his community's Diversity Day rally.

What the author says about the book:

When I set out to write my first middle-grade book, Bray and the Adventures of Zorkon, I knew I wanted to focus on themes that mattered deeply to me: bullying and the importance of cultural diversity. I explore these themes in a fictional fantasy setting, sprinkled with a touch of humor, in a way that young readers can easily connect with and understand.

The story also highlights the courage it takes to stand up for others, teaching readers that our differences should be embraced and that kindness and bravery can make the world a better place.

Author Joyce Rice

Visit Joyce's Facebook page HERE.

Buy the book HERE.

Good news: Joyce has published a follow-up to her novel - The Rise of Little Bear -  and you can learn more by visiting her FB page or watch here on February 28th when she will be the featured guest on the Scribbler with the Story Behind the Story.

________________________________________________________

Here's another for you to consider.

 

Altered States is based on a true story of a young child’s tragic beginning which leads to her ultimate vindication. You will quickly find yourself immersed on this heartbreaking journey of a shattered girl who struggles to fight against all odds to survive in a world full of heart break, betrayal and injustice. This novel opens your mind to the psychological development of a young child’s mind to adulthood as she tries to protect herself from the outside negative forces that relentlessly test her human spirit.

What the author says about the novel: 

“Altered States is the true story of surviving what should have broken me…but instead made me that much stronger!”

Author Angel Leigh-Fox

Visit her Facebook page HERE.

Buy the Book HERE.

___________________________

This is another to have a look at!

Jerry was prepared for the end of the world. He was ready to survive anything.

Or, at least, so he thought.

What is thought to be a deadly virus ravages the planet, leaving few survivors. In the aftermath, Jerry soon realizes that nothing could have prepared him to face the darkness of his own mind. He isn't ready for the group of strangers who look to him for salvation, and none of them are prepared to survive the horrors that await them as they discover that the end of the world is only the beginning of their nightmare.

Author’s NoteDear Reader,

Please read with care.

This book is intended for mature readers.

This work, and all of my work, contains adult and/or potentially distressing content, including but not limited to: mental health disorders, substance abuse, suicide, violence, child loss, distressing nightmares, child loss, and death.

What the author says about the book:

Dying Season holds a special place in my heart. It was my first leap of faith as an author, and it became my first traditionally published work. It follows the early days of the apocalypse through the eyes of two of my favorite characters; Jerry, a veteran suffering from PTSD, and Hannah, a young girl who has miraculously escaped her captor after twelve years of imprisonment. By the time the rights to the story reverted back to me in 2019, I had already decided that Jerry and Hannah's story was far from over. I'm excited to say that their journey will continue in my upcoming novel, Winterhaven, which I plan to release in 2026.

Author Rebecca MacFarlane

Visit Rebecca's website HERE.

Buy the Book HERE.

______________________________________________________________________________