Category: books

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“Maximum Efficiency” by Holly Schofield now out in Analog!

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SF Canada member Holly Schofield’s fourth story for Analog, “Maximum Efficiency”, is now out in the Nov/Dec issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine! The story involves a robot trying to make sense of the world:

Servos whining, K3RA crouches behind the brambles and examines the farmyard. The burnt remains of a house, not unusual post-Devastation. A handpump next to a rotting well cover, scattered trash, and, jutting above some flowering bushes, a small auxiliary building.

There is nothing overtly dangerous about the scene but better to run all functioning scans before approaching: even seven-foot androids trained to fight renegades can’t be too careful. Not out here, miles from the barricades, badly damaged, and armed with only a broken tree branch.

This issue also contains a “Biolog” of Holly, a one-page interview by Richard A. Lovett.

You can find the print version of the Nov/Dec 2022 issue of Analog in most bookstores that carry science fiction, and you can start a subscription in digital or print at analogsf.com.

Over one hundred of Holly’s short stories appear in publications throughout the world including Lightspeed and Escape Pod, are used in university curricula, and have been translated into multiple languages. She is currently a fiction editor at Solarpunk Magazine and hopes to save the world through science fiction and homegrown heritage tomatoes. Find her at hollyschofield.wordpress.com.

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New publications from Lisa Timpf!

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SF Canada member Lisa Timpf’s short story “Into the Ring” and her poem “From Cat, To Fiddle” are included in NewMyths’ Neosapiens: Best of New Myths Volume III anthology, which launched November 1, 2022.

Her poem “After the Quest is Over” also recently appeared in Eye to the Telescope Issue 46, Quests.

Lisa is a retired HR and communications professional who lives in Simcoe, Ontario. Her poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and book reviews have been published in a number of venues, including Star*Line, Future Days, and Dogs of War. Lisa’s speculative haibun collection, In Days to Come, is available from Hiraeth Publishing.

You can find out more about Lisa’s writing at lisatimpf.blogspot.com.

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Weekends Can Be Murder by Arlene Marks now out!

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SF Canada member Arlene Marks’ first paranormal murder mystery, Weekends Can Be Murder, has just been released by Brain Lag Publishing.

When murder mystery theatre becomes too real for comfort…

Firefighter Larry Holmes needs some time away. Out of other options, he agrees to take his cousin’s place at a crime fiction convention. Larry doesn’t like mystery novels, but he can enjoy the host resort’s amenities and stay out of the way. That plan goes out the window, however, when he arrives at the venue with the convention’s organizer, Selena Watt, and the close-knit Crime Club decides that with Holmes and Watt present, the game must be afoot.

Advance reviews have given this novel high praise:

“The story is brilliantly written. As a reader, I was lured in to the setting becoming one of the cast of characters.” – Bette Walker, Leacock Medal Award Chair

“I love the hunt for clues, the sleuthing for suspects, and I absolutely revel in the final solution. I definitely did my happy dance after reading Weekends Can Be Murder.” – J.M. Tibbott, author of The Pridden Saga series

“Georgian Bay provides an intriguing setting for this mystery within a mystery featuring a cranky old house, a cast of characters who aren’t what they seem and a talented bevy of amateur sleuths. Weekends Can Be Murder is a fun mash-up of haunted house, classic whodunnit and a gigantic game of Clue.” – Janet Kellough, Author of The Thaddeus Lewis Mystery Series

“A propulsive murder mystery with a haunting twist.” – Lori Crossan, Programs Coordinator at Collingwood Public Library

Arlene is the creator of the ongoing Sic Transit Terra space opera series, among other current and upcoming novels. Her short fiction has appeared in various publications, including H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, Polar Borealis, and Daily Science Fiction, and has most recently been gathered into a collection titled Imaginary Friends (May 2022, Brain Lag). Her website is thewritersnest.ca.

Get Weekends Can Be Murder at Brain Lag today!

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Jes Battis’ The Winter Knight featured on Buzzfeed!

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SF Canada member Jes Battis’ upcoming novel, The Winter Knight (April 2023) was recently featured in a Buzzfeed article on fantasy titles!:

“You’ll have to wait until spring 2023 to check out this fantasy/sci-fi/LGBTQIAP+ novel. Like Maas, the author pulls on favorite legends and lore and re-creates the narrative. The Winter Knight is a closer tie to Maas’ Crescent City, but once you know how that series is connected to ACOTAR the jump in time doesn’t seem that fantastical. Arthurian legends are given a fresh life in this upbeat queer urban fantasy, where the knights of the round table are alive in Vancouver. When one winds up suspiciously dead, Hildie, a Valkyrie and the investigator assigned to the case, needs to find the killer — and on her short list of suspects is Wayne, an autistic college student and the reincarnation of Sir Gawain. After finding himself at the scene of the crime, Wayne is pulled deeper into his own medieval family history, all while attempting to flirt with the charming dean’s assistant Burt — who also happens to be a prime murder suspect in Hildie’s investigation. Fallen knights, conniving runesmiths, and witches are pulled into the investigation while Wayne and Hildie struggle to find out the truth. The Winter Knight is fast-paced with queer and trans heroes and is decidedly a slow burn.”

Preorder The Winter Knight today!
And find Jes at jbattis.com.

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Charon’s Gold by Skyla Dawn Cameron now out!

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SF Canada member Skyla Dawn Cameron has just released of the sixth novel in her UF/adventure Livi Talbot series! Charon’s Gold sends Livi to the underworld.

Livi Talbot is no longer the woman she once was.

She has suffered great loss. She has been betrayed. And after failing to stop the greatest villain she has ever faced, she’s determined to never be blindsided again.

Her first priority is to rescue a suffering soul from the underworld itself. Though fellow adventurer Iluka Grantham is at her side to hunt down the gold coins that will allow her to cross the river Styx, entering the underworld through the deadly Pluto’s Gate in Turkey remains solely on her shoulders. Survival in the world of the dead isn’t guaranteed, even for Livi Talbot, and this journey will bring her face to face with her greatest failures, her biggest losses, and her inability to save those she loves.

And if she survives? The next goal is to go after every person responsible for the death that caused magic to bleed back into the human realm.

Even if they’re family.

Find Charon’s Gold HERE and find Skyla at skyladawncameron.com.

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New release by Krista D. Ball!

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SF Canada member Krista D. Ball has just released Book 3 of the Dark Abyss of Our Sins trilogy, The Sins We Seek!

Walter Cram had taken root amongst the very people who would see him burn. But after all he had done, they still needed him to hunt a rogue mage. So, he would stay and help his enemies. For now.

Captain Stanton Rainier stood between the demons and the innocent more than once now. As secrets revealed themselves, and as he questioned everything he’d been told, Stanton must accept that he is a good man, one of principle, who will protect the innocent with his body and sword no matter the consequences.

For, when Allegra makes a rather innocuous inquiry into the origins of magic, she sets off a series of events that will shake more than individual faith, but the very foundations of the Cathedral.

They all knew there would never be peace without truth, but in that hunt for knowledge, all they found was betrayal, and some of it amongst their very own.

Krista loves company! Visit her at http://kristadball.com or follow her on Twitter (www.twitter.com/kristadb1).