A Mythical Mystery From the Cold North Cold is a brilliant example of Indigenous literary fiction. A powerful storyteller, award-winning playwright, columnist, filmmaker, and lecturer, Drew Hayden Taylor infuses this mythical mystery with nuggets of knowledge, literary allusions, and humour (black…

Inkheart: For Those Who Love Books About Books I If you’ve never heard of Cornelia Funke, you must find this book and read it. Funke has been called the German J. K. Rowling. Both women have written a fantastical series featuring a child protagonist. Funke’s is a trilogy: Inkheart (2003), Inkspell…

Don’t Let the Forest In . . . This terrifying twisted tale, set at a fancy boarding school in Virginia, USA, will keep you reading until the bitter end. Why? Because, well, you just have to know what’s really going on. Are these macabre monsters real? And if so, how will they be contained? CG…

Hazelthorn: Gothic Romantasy at its Boldest As I read Hazelthorn I searched for the right words to describe it: unique, original, addictive, disturbing, psychologically horrific … tragic. It’s has “a terrible beauty” as Keats or Yeats might have said. It’s the most superb gothic romantasy I’ve…

The Practice of Witchcraft (Not Quite) Today As some of you may know, I practice the craft in a very low key, quiet way on my own. Estrada, Sensara, and Hollystone Coven are not quite that quiet and practice their theatrical rituals together as a powerful coven in a nearby wood by a lake. Over the…

Curious About a Magical Curiosity Shoppe? Wouldn’t you love to own a curiosity shoppe crammed with all sorts of treasures, perhaps some that are even magical? This is what our feisty seventeen-year-old hero, Willow Stokes, inherits when her father dies. The problem is, nothing seems the least bit…

New YA Horror from Canada’s R.L. Stein Reader Beware: This fast-paced Young Adult novel contains several graphic, disturbing scenes of indescribable gore and violence. Actually, I shouldn’t say “indescribable” because it’s Sutherland’s sensory play-by-plays that push it over the edge into the…

Braiding Sweetgrass into Hope This book is subtitled: “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.” It’s a wonderful book; one I’ll add to my library. It’s about changing attitudes, rediscovering nature, and learning gratitude. If anyone can save the planet and ameliorate…

Rediscovering the Complex Worlds of Deborah Harkness I read A Discovery of Witches years ago but it wasn’t the right time for me. Reading can be like that. Something you read and love today might not work for you five years from now. In my case, it was the opposite. I consumed this lengthy,…

Step Into Canadian Feminist Gothic with Vanessa F. Penney Phaedra Luck may be no Greek princess like her mythical namesake, but she’s one fierce female protagonist. When we first meet “Fade” she’s sleeping rough in a cemetery. Like her missing great aunt Madeline, Fade survives on society’s…

Join Me in Vancouver Next Saturday!

Rambling Through Memories with Mary Oliver Some time in your life you must have been hugged by a poem written by Mary Oliver. Upstream was published in 2016, not long before her death on January 17, 2019. It is both a memoir and an homage to her chosen town: Provincetown, Massachusetts. She moved…

Let Stephen King Entertain You This Samhain Stephen King is a little like cilantro—you either love him or hate him. Maybe he even tastes like soap to some people … or something worse. Personally, I think he’s brilliant. I read The Green Mile the past five nights before bed (430 pages). He is a tad…

New Witchy Fiction from the Mistress of Complications From the masterfully crafted opening line to the cheeky last comment, The Never Witch will keep you spellbound. McLean has a talent for creating unique supernatural worlds, so real they could actually exist in contemporary Vancouver. In this,…

My First Winter Market in Coquitlam Friends and Neighbours. I hope to see you at my first winter market this year! I'll be chatting with readers, as well as signing and selling books.

Emma Sharpe Strikes Again and This Time There’s Blood Two years later, thirteen-year-old Emma Sharpe is back aboard The New Adventure (having saved her parents from the Poor House and set them up on a farm using her share of the cursed loot) when they’re attacked by a French ship. Emma awakens on…

How Does a Girl Survive the 18th Century with Pirates? Atkins says his inspiration for this middle-grade adventure novel was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and I can believe it. The narrative sounds akin to novels of that era. The diction and tone strike me as similar to other Victorian…

A Legendary Christmas Market in Coquitlam Explore the maze of local vendors as you shop for the holidays. I'll be signing books over the whole weekend. This market is a Lower Mainland Legend!  Read more here.

Urban Fantasy at its Best I've adored Holly Black's books since her Valiant Series in the early 2000s. This book is similar in language and story—the collision of humans and otherworldy beings in a lavish natural world. There are several cruel princes in this book: Balekin, Dain, and the youngest…

Celebrate Reading with Tri-Cities BC Authors It's always exciting to see how many published authors live in the neighbourhood (Port Coquitlam - Coquitlam - Port Moody. The Port Moody Library celebrates these authors by including their books in their White Pines Collection. Each year, they hold a…

Explore the New Reflections Through Books

Untitled This is my first summer vending at Pagan Awareness Day in Vancouver and I'm excited! If you're curious about Wicca or Druidry or just love all things spiritual and metaphysical, this is the place to be on August 23rd. I'll be there with my Hollystone Mysteries and a few print copies of…

The Cure for Drowning is Magic I was sucked into the current of this unique and memorable historical novel when I heard the author read the beginning aloud at a gathering of local writers in B.C. “It was a bitter afternoon, during one of the worst winters the province had ever seen. A ten-year-old…

Love & Blessings to you this Summer Solstice Greetings from the sun-dappled BC south coast as we roll towards the Climax of Light. The Solstice connects us, as it occurs all around the Earth in the same instant. It’s only our manmade calendars that separate us. And, of course, because of the…

My New Favorite Book I don’t know how I missed reading this book. I’ve been a huge fan of Louise Erdrich’s work since the 1980s. Love Medicine, one of my other all time favorite books won the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award. I also loved Tracks (1988). Erdrich writes of a fictional…

Travel to the Okanagan This Summer Season with Bill Bill Arnott’s latest “Season” memoir takes the reader on an emotional armchair journey through British Columbia’s iconic Okanagan Valley. But it needn’t be armchair for long. This delectable morsel may inspire you to shift from recliner to car…

Meet Me in Chilliwack on May 10th

Read Aloud @ My Local Indie Bookstore

Happy Spring Equinox. Read my latest seasonal newsletter at substack.com/home/post/p-... There's a cover reveal!

👩‍💻Author Branding Explained: What It Is & Why It Matters open.substack.com/pub/virtuall...

Slide into this Mysterious Satire Most Canadians will pick up Thomas King’s latest novel, check out the cover, and think the story involves a tragic accident on a lonely mountain highway caused by an invisible frozen glaze on pavement. Haven’t we all encountered black ice at some point on a…

It's launch day! In September, I was inspired to rebrand my series. Find it on Kindle Select and in paperback at your favorite retailer. www.amazon.com/Witch-Killer... #mysterythriller #urbanfantasy #serialkiller #lgbtq #witches #irishmythology #vancouver #spicy

Okay, agent friends, it's #MSWL time! I'm an Associate Editor at Penguin Workshop, looking for middle grade and YA, as well as graphic novels in both categories. I love historical fiction, fantasy, and mysteries, and if you have something that combines those elements in a clever way, send it to me!

Next Agent + Editor #MSWL Video: Erica Bauman, Aevitas Creative Management! @ericabauman.bsky.social Erica is looking for Middle Grade, YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Horror Genre Mash-Ups, Mystery, Historical, Memoir, Biography, Science & Nature + More! View here: youtu.be/4TTAlk2Accs

Next up with our #MSWL Agent + Editor Video Series, we have @johnmcusick.bsky.social! John is looking for MG, YA, NA, Romance Plus, Cozy Fantasy YA + more! youtu.be/KspobEsO9Uo #MSWL Like many of our videos today, it includes a quick lesson--this one is on what "plus" means for genre.

Just in time for Valentine' Day! Winner of a National Indie Excellence Award, finalist for UK Wishing Shelf awards, nominated for an Eric Hoffer Award, Crowned Heart review, InD'Tale Magazine. "Haunting, thoughtful, and passionate . . . a must-read romantic thriller" —Anthony Avina

#MSWL call out for #YA YOUNG ADULT/TEEN @evernightteen.bsky.social For 2025 I’d love to see YA subs on themes of: 🏚️ broken families/foster care 💉addiction 💊 mental health rep 🫂 friends who cross boundaries 🤐🙅 being cancelled/alone MCs 16+ Att: Sofia www.evernightteen.com/submissions/

We’re happy to welcome @weaverliterary.bsky.social to ManuscriptWishList.com! Bethany is looking for adult, young adult, and select middle-grade speculative fiction. Read more here: www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/be... #MSWL

Happy #MSWL BlueSky! I would love to connect on romance: romcoms, paranormal, suspense, something new but different; cozies; young adult and self-help that makes me think in a new way. Excited to see what's out here!

Hello Friends! Welcome to #MSWL Day 2025! 🎉 This is our first #MSWL Day on Bluesky, and we have new features to share! Rather listen than read? Here’s a how-to! vimeo.com/1055984106 Here’s our Bluesky search guide: youtu.be/LnZt1MCjKZE?...

#urbanfantasy #murdermystery #serialkiller #LGBTQ+ #Wicca #Vancouver #magic #teen #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #launch #writerslife #comingofage

Eerie. Cryptic. Lyrical. Read my full review. www.goodreads.com/review/show/... #bookstagram #ghosts #Northwest #LGBTQ #queerghoststory #bookstagrammer #queercomingofage #teen #youngadult #horror #romance #mystery

Hello Writing Community! We are delighted to announce our First Official Bluesky *** #MSWL Day *** February 12, 2025. 🎉🎉🎉 Agents + editors can post what they ✨wish✨ they had in their inboxes; writers can find their next best fit for querying. Learn more here: manuscriptwishlist.com/the-next-off...

Read my latest writing article on Medium. medium.com/@harpercarra...

@ormelling.bsky.social I'm here too under a new pen name. Harper Carr!

What Makes a Bad Cree? How and why does a Cree become a “bad” Cree. Johns explains in this, her debut novel, but be forewarned. You’ll need to sit back and hold on because this story will catch you like a crow’s claw to the gut and drag you through the elements. Bad Cree is the story of a…

What's your favorite winter activity? Mine is curling up in my quilt with a good book. #read #write #winter

“I was not happy as a child, although from time to time I was content. I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” —Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane