Joint Book Launch on Gabriola

 Joint Event Launches Coming-of-Age Books with Historical Themes

Charlotte Cameron and Gloria Levi are launching their newest books together at the Gabriola Arts & Heritage Centre on August 20, from 2 to 3 p.m.

The Hotelkeeper’s Daughter, Levi’s fictionalized memoir spanning the period from the late Depression to 1948, is a moving account of Levi’s childhood in an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, and her disrupted life as the “hotelkeeper’s daughter” in a series of Catskills and New Jersey hotels rented seasonally and later bought by her entrepreneurial mother to pull the family out of poverty. This coming-of-age story is told from two perspectives: through the eyes of Gilda, the youngest in her family, who clashes with her mother, and through the eyes of the author on Gabriola as she reflects on the life lessons she has learned over her nine decades.

Cameron’s contemporary coming-of-age novel, Love and Courage in Troubled Times, tackles the persecution of the Cathars in 13th-century France from the perspective of a Vancouver teen. When she is forced to accompany her family to a Cathar village in the South of France so her father can finish his book on the Cathars, she starts seeing flashes of the tragic events that happened centuries earlier and gets caught up in a series of adventures that remind us that troubled times are always with us.

Join Cameron and Levi at what is sure to be a lively and engaging event.

Celebrate Gabriola authors at the Museum!

 

An outdoor bash with lots of local Gabriola authors and publishers at the Gabriola Museum. Music and food. Should be fun. Hope you'll join us!

A 3-star review by CM Materials

 "Unique and engaging"

⭐⭐⭐✰✰

"An interesting and distinctive story that successfully brings the plight of the Cathars to life for a young audience."

"Recommended" by CM: Canadian Review of Materials.

Full review here (CM Association).

Cloning Miranda goes to Korea!

A first foreign sale for a Fictive Press title!

A Korean edition of Cloning Miranda (Fictive Press, 2017) will soon be published by Sakyejul Publishing. Young Korean readers are in for a treat with this thought-provoking sci-fi novel for middle grades!

Congratulations to Carol Matas and her literary agent, Amy Tomkins, from Transatlantic Agency, on the sale of the Korean rights to this book.

Plaudits for Love and Courage in Troubled Times!

"What's your father's book about again?" Megan asks.

"It's about a crusade and inquisition in the South of France that happened hundreds of years ago. People called Cathars were stuffed into churches and burned alive because of their beliefs. I don't know why he is even interested in such horrible events. What happened way back then was awful, but it has nothing to do with today. It's totally irrelevant."

But of course Lesley, the narrator, is mistaken. The horrible events of long ago are relevant. In fact, long ago is still happening. Long ago is today...

Phyllis Reeve, Gabriola Island's book reviewer extraordinaire, describes with great eloquence what makes Charlotte Cameron's new YA novel so special. Click here to read the full review.

Print copies are now available on Gabriola Island at the bookstore of:

Now available at Pages bookstore on Gabriola

A Coming-of-Age YA Novel

“Gripping and informative – a perfect combination.”

“A tale that will not only thrill young readers but also reveal the strength of the human spirit.”

“What happened in the Age of the Troubadours becomes relevant to our own Troubled Times.”

GET YOUR PRINT COPY AT PAGES BOOKSTORE ON GABRIOLA ISLAND, BC

Why Science Fiction is So Important

Carol Matas talks to Cantastic Authorpalooza about her long career writing #sciencefiction and why it so relevant to young people today.

A New Thriller by Carol Matas

Short and snappy.
A fast-paced thriller
with a paranormal twist. 

After the shocking murder of her husband, Ros and her baby relocate to her childhood home to live with her parents. Palm Springs, California—full of sunlight, small and safe—should be the perfect place to bring up a child. But things are not always as they appear.

Soon, an unexpected tragedy sets a dangerous series of events into motion. Someone, it seems, is out to get Ros. As she struggles to uncover the identity of her mysterious enemy, Ros finds herself looking for answers in the most unusual places. Could the attacks have something to do with her increasingly disturbing dreams? And how many people close to her need to get hurt before she figures it out?

Inspiring Book Launch for Gloria Levi

It was standing room only at the Gabriola Library on August 13, 2019 for the book launch of Gloria Levi's memoir, Kissing an Old Dream Goodbye. 

This poignant memoir deals with the struggles of a young couple as they try to integrate into the newly created State of Israel in the 1950s. It is multilayered account that pits her Zionist idealism against the realities and complex challenges that she and her husband encounter in this very particular time in the history of the Jewish State. It’s a fascinating, intimate story, beautifully told.

BOOK LAUNCH AT GABRIOLA LIBRARY AUGUST 13, 2 P.M.

Tucson Jo Listed in Top Middle Grade Historical Fiction

Ezvid Wiki, the world's first video wiki, has selected Tucson Jo by Carol Matas for its top 10 "Engaging Works of Middle Grade Historical Fiction. 

P.J. le Pooch Goes to the Knowlton Literary Festival!

P.J. le Pooch and his author, Morri Mostow, are excited to be participating in the Local Author's event that kicks off the 9th edition of the annual Knowlton Literary Festival in Brome Lake, Quebec, on October 11, 2018. 

Morri will be talking about her series for kids 8 - 12, set in a fictionalized Brome Lake, particularly the newest book in the series, P.J. le Pooch & the Haunted Inn, published in 2018. 

P.J. le Pooch # 2 Now Available to Order!

A GIRL & HER DOG ... THE MAGIC CONTINUES!

In this second instalment of the P.J. le Pooch series, it is now autumn in the charming Quebec village of Brine Lake, a season of mists and magic in which the mysterious Lola Lamour continues to cast her spell. P.J. le Pooch, now a trusted “store dog” at Coin Héritage, helps 12-year-old Millie McTwitter and her best friend, Cassandre Bédard, solve a crime and discover something surprising when a ghost at the inn asks for their help.

Order P.J. le Pooch & the Haunted Inn in your favourite format:

Trade paperback (5" x 8", 154 pages): 

ePub and other digital formats: $8.99 USD

ATTENTION GABRIOLA RESIDENTS/VISITORS:
The P.J. le Pooch series is available at Page's Resort and Marina Bookstore on the south end of Gabriola Island.

Sibling Rivalry and Favoritism

Sibling rivalry and favoritism is the subject of Janet Heller's children's book, The Passover Surprise (Fictive Press, 2015), as Heller explains in this personal and insightful video interview.

New Title, New Cover for Sci-Fi Thriller by Carol Matas

JUST RELEASED—A BRAND NEW EDITION OF CAROL MATAS' SCI-FI THRILLER FOR MIDDLE GRADES

Carol Matas' sci-fi thriller for middle grades is now available with new cover art and a new title that convey exactly what the book is about: cloning! 

Readers 10 and up will love this fast-paced, thought-provoking novel about the possibilities and perils of this leading edge technology. 

A Fitting Tribute to an Extraordinary Man: the Ralph Hancox Memorial Scholarship

Ralph Hancox,  1929—2017
Portrait by Patrick Fitzgerald

With the support of Simon Fraser University, the family of Ralph Hancox has established a Memorial Scholarship in Ralph Hancox's name. A scholarship fund for students in the Master of Publishing Program will be established to honour Ralph’s commitment to the publishing industry and his dedication to his students at Simon Fraser University’s Master in Publishing Program. The purpose of the scholarship will be to support a master’s student education recognizing that Ralph valued education, writing and a wondering mind and his students who demonstrated these qualities.

Ralph joined the SFU staff and worked as Adjunct Professor in the late 1990’s. He worked with Anne Cowan-Buitenaus and Rowland Lorimer in the newly established Master of Publishing Program. Ralph served as Adjunct Professor and Professional Fellow Emeritus at Simon Fraser University where he published a textbook on ‘Managing the Publishing Process’ for the Canadian Center for Studies in Publishing. There, he was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Service for 10 years of teaching before he retired again at the age of 80, in 2009.

For more information or to contribute to the Ralph Hancox Memorial Scholarship, click here.

Ralph recently published three works of fiction with Fictive Press: his crime duology, Con Job and Scandalous, and his novel of social commentary, The Ape & the Peacock.

P.J. le Pooch Fans

It's great to have readers around the world. These P.J. le Pooch fans are from Great Britain!

Book II in the P.J. le Pooch series – P.J. le Pooch & the Haunted Inn – is now in production. Stay tuned!

OCTOBER FERRIES TO GABRIOLA LAUNCHED IN STYLE!

It was another full house for Charlotte Cameron at the Gabriola Library for the launch of her play, October Ferries to Gabriola. Thank you to everyone who attended and the actors who dramatized two scenes.

P.J. le Pooch Gets Top Rating from CM!

Click here to order in print or ebook 

★★★★/4
Highly Recommended
by CM: Canadian Review of Materials*

It doesn't get much better than that! 

I'm working on P.J. le Pooch's next adventures for middle-grade readers, so it's very gratifying—not to mention, motivating!—to have his first novel get such a glowing endorsement.

*CM: Canadian Review of Materials is a prestigious online publication, from the University of Manitoba, of particular interest to teachers and librarians.

Surprise your Kids for Passover!

"Janet Ruth Heller’s The Passover Surprise is a nicely illustrated chapbook for young readers with clear print, great chapter titles, well-placed black-and-white illustrations, and a pleasing lesson well-told. The story’s set around 1960, when civil rights hit the schoolroom and the news, fathers might have served in the Second World War, and girls were still not supposed to like the same things as boys. It’s a deceptively simple tale in which life isn’t fair, but love and trust, with a measure of kind communication, might ease the pain. 

"Readers will learn about sibling rivalry and parental mistakes, while absorbing the joys of stamp collecting, Jewish Sabbath and Passover, and family love. As Lisa learns of the world’s many faults, her own problems fall into pleasing perspective, and her mother’s advice proves wise and comforting.

"A great book to build good family relationships (complete with a neat discussion guide), and an intriguing window into the world, The Passover Surprise is highly recommended." —Sheila Deeth, author of Psalm Stories and other books