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Great Reviews of The Hollow Boys by Douglas Smith!

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SF Canada member Douglas Smith‘s latest release, The Hollow Boys, has garnered glowing reviews from Blueink Review and The Ottawa Review of Books.

“Smith has created a dramatic, vivid fantasy world for his characters to inhabit. … The Hollow Boys is an assured, confident novel with strong world-building, sharp dialogue and the perfect balance between action and emotional growth for its main characters. Secondary characters … are equally well-rounded. And who can resist Will’s “Doogle” Brian, a fantastical dog that helps him search in the Dream world? In short, this is a must-read story for YA fantasy fans.” —Blueink Review (★ Starred review)

Fans of superhero comics will enjoy Smith’s Dream Rider Saga, but The Hollow Boys should also appeal to the general fantasy reader. Indeed, elements reminded me strongly of Gaiman’s Neverwhere. … I enjoyed The Hollow Boys a great deal, turning pages long after I should have been abed. Smith has produced the best Canadian superhero adventure since James Alan Gardner’s Dark vs. Spark novels. I trust we’ll see much more of the Dream Rider Saga . . . and I can’t wait for the movies.
—Reviewed by Robert Runté for Ottawa Review of Books

Find out more about this thrilling series and about Douglas at smithwriter.com .

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Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic by Day Leitao now out!

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SF Canada member Day Leitao’s Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic has just been released!

Romance, magic, mystery—and dragons!

In this thrilling sequel to Frozen Hearts and Death Magic, loyalties will be tested, relationships will be shaken, and secrets will be revealed.

This is the conclusion of the duology Of Fire & Fae, a YA romantic fantasy series for lovers of forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, family secrets, and drama.

Find Iron Hearts and Dragon Magic at various booksellers and find Day Leitao at their website.

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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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New Flash Fiction from Rhea Rose!

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Nothing stayed buried this Halloween! Crystal Lake Publishing’s Shallow Waters series, released Oct. 31st, contains “The Red Scarf” by SFC member Rhea Rose.

The publisher says: “This anthology is perfect for fans of Halloween books, flash fiction, scary stories, classic horror tropes, horror books, mystery thrillers, horror anthologies, and mystery and suspense flash fiction stories. With a bit of dark humor and candy sprinkled over the top.”

Rhea Rose has published many Canadian speculative short-fiction stories and poems. She is a four-time Aurora Award nominee and is the editor of Polar Starlight, an online zine of speculative poetry by Canadian authors.