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RECOMMENDED FICTION

Published by Cormorant

On a three-tiered stage in the Ontario countryside, the mellifluous voice of an auctioneer can induce grizzled farmers to buy broken shovels. His two sons help out with the business, but it’s his strangely mute young daughter who seduces auction-goers with her elaborate vintage costumes. When she disappears, the younger brother — now a Montreal film professor — begins an obsessive search that ultimately leads him to the silent, experimental cinema of Molly O. Certain his blog about her work will be a beacon, he tries to convince his brother that Candy is on her way home.

Reviewers said:

Fascinating, well-told&ldots; a wonderfully imagined piece of fiction

a darkly humorous tale of sibling rivalry and devotion (that) cleverly rocks the reader between present, past, and future, leaving us tipsy.

finely drawn characterizations, attention to detail and an elegance of writing

“You are not who you say you are.”

Years after Captain Scott Weatherhill returns home from Afghanistan, images from a firefight there are stirred up in his mind at a family campground. Demons are unleashed that spiral out of control, with devastating consequences.

David Price, the psychiatrist who wants to constrain him with drugs, and Ken White, the behavioural therapist who tries to remake him, become part of a growing tragedy.

After Weatherhill returns to society, the disappearance of first one co-worker and then another turns unwanted attention to his ongoing rehabilitation. His fate and those of his doctors are drawn together in ways no one could have predicted. This fast-paced psychological thriller and a troubling interpretation of post-traumatic stress disorder, is available from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Indigo.

Raised by their grandmother after their parents’ death, Chloe and Olivia Borders are now in mourning for Rose. The Alzheimer’s that forced them to be split into separate foster homes has taken their last living family member.

As a way to rekindle their friendship, the twins commit to a road trip— which spells their demise. Now the question is: What comes after, and how will they get back to life?

Benoit Chartier believes "Imagination is just the first step." His first science-fiction/fantasy, Red Nexus, was a finalist in the Foreword Reviews INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award.

Chartier also writes short stories, several of which have been published in anthologies compiled by Ottawa Independent Writers, for whom he serves as Communcations Manager.  

His website contains an entertaining blog as well as videos. 

New Planet, New World provides a counterpoint to the demise of modern civilization. Ian Prattis charts a new beginning for humanity, a communal hero’s journey to reconstruct society based on ecology, caring and sharing. This adventure is not without risk or cost, as power elites ignore their complicity in the destruction of life on planet earth.

This is the final book in a trilogy: Chronicles of Awakening. The first book, Redemption, was followed by Trailing Sky Six Feathers.

The final volume in this trilogy takes characters from the prior two books, placing them in the future on a new planet. Dr. Tom Hagen gives a blistering rant to the UN in 2080 that author Ian Prattis says he's love to deliver from the future. It is about the willful ignorance displayed by corporate and government cabals invested in the carbon/oil complex, while eco militias murder in the streets and social disorder is a norm.

Published by Manor House; available on Amazon, Indigo and Barnes and Noble, or from http://ianprattis.com/NewPlanet.html.

         Foreign correspondent Lola Wicks is livid. She’s been downsized from her Kabul posting. Her editor reassigns her to a stateside suburban beat formerly the province of interns. When she arrives in Montana for some R&R at a friend’s cabin, her friend is nowhere in sight. Even as she unravels her friend’s terrible fate, Lola Wicks joins many Americans in learning the hard lessons of a fraught economy – and that that human bonds matter more than fleeting career success.

          Author Gwen Florio is a veteran journalist who  covered stories ranging from the shootings at Columbine High School to the glitz of the Miss America pageant and the more practical Miss Navajo contest whose par. She’s reported from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somaliam and has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize and her short fiction for the Pushcart Prize.

Available now for pre-order from Amazon or
The Permanent Press

Read a review at: http://tinyurl.com/m46cdpz

        The Neglected Garden
        by Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair
     Ottawa area author and novelist

         I was surprised by The Neglected Garden because this is not the kind of book I usually enjoy. But Alberte's narrative swept me away immediately. Although I often become impatient with long descriptions, the pictures Alberte paints of this enchanted setting reveal the keen eye of a talented artist. The Neglected Garden speaks to readers on many levels, but especially to women who might be reluctant to travel or uncertain in new relationships. We watch with great satisfaction as Anne becomes more assertive, more joyful, and begins to heal from terrible abuse.

Visit Alberte's website at: 
http://www.albertevilleneuve.ca/

Theresa Jobateh is a survivor of an almost-fatal assault, but even before she completely healed, she turned to writing as an outlet.

She has a blog, Deep Blonde Thoughts, maintains a free online writing discussion group called Writ 'n' Read (at the Natonal Capital Freenet), and contributes regularly to a number of Ottawa area publications.

A tireless volunteer with Ottawa Independent Writers, we often wonder how she juggles those duties with a full-time job, as a single parent living with and supporting three grown children and two lazy cats.

The Year of the Rabbit is a young-adult novel which took four years to bring to write. It's fiction, written under a pseudonym, chronicling the relationship between a young priest and his precocious "love child," who discovers her paternity.

Those of us who read early chapters were captivated by the family connections (and disconnections!), how well Theresa has captured the 1970s in Ontario cottage country, and the enduring, positive message of the book.

Available from Amazon.     

        Aurora McAllister shows up at Three River Ranch tired, alone, and—oh, yeah—pregnant. Needing a fresh start from her two-timing fiancé, she answers a realtor’s ad for the guesthouse on the beautiful, serene ranch.
        Cowboy Carson Granger has enough trouble in his life without adding a pregnant woman to the mix. There’s the untamed mustang he’s prepping to release into the wild, plus his father’s crazy will, which stipulates that if he wants to fully inherit Three River, he’ll need to find a bride. Carson wants nothing to do with love or marriage and especially not children&ldots;but he soon realizes Rory could be exactly what he needs.
        Of course, love arrives on your doorstep when you least expect it&ldots;

This book has everything: wild mustangs, Labradoodle puppies, cowboys, babies and service dogs, from the author of Great Cat Stories: Memorable Tales of Remarkable Cats (Heritage House), which contains a chapter about Simon Teakettle.

See all of Roxanne's books HERE. 

Ruth Latta is an award-winning author based in Ottawa.

Her latest novel is a blend of humour, romance, history and adventure.

When Cleo, an artist in her early thirties, answers the door one October evening in 1998, she is amazed to find on her welcome mat her old lover, Leo Phelan, whom she hasn't seen for a decade.

Flustered, not flattered that he has looked her up, she wants no serpent in the Eden that she and her husband, Andy, have created.  As it turns out, Leo brings a different sort of danger into their lives.

The Old Love and the New Love is available directly from Ruth (email ralatta  at cyberus.ca) or from  Baico Publishing (email baico at bellnet.ca)

Find Ruth online at www.cyberus.ca/ or at:
http://ruthlattabooks.blogspot.com

 

Intriguing cat mysteries by Clea Simon:

The Dulcie Schwartz series from Severn House:
Grey Matters (March 2010); Shades of Grey (Sept., 2009)

The Theda Krakow Series from Poisoned Pen:
Probable Claws (April, 2009); Cries and Whiskers (Dec., 2007); Cattery Row (Sept. 2006); Mew is for Murder (Aug. 2005)

(Simon Teakettle reviewed Clea's first book, The Feline Mystique, on Amazon)

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS: