Coming Soon

Shuniah House Books is in a transition period! Changes on the way! Stay tuned!

INTRODUCING START WITH A SHOVEL: POETRY, PROSE, AND PLAYS

The latest Roy Blomstrom book, START WITH A SHOVEL: POETRY, PROSE, AND PLAYS is now on the shelves at Entershine Bookshop.

Another fantastic cover by H. Leighton Dickson!

The title comes from one of the creative nonfiction essays in the collection, comparing learning to write with his parents' experiences building a house (or two). 

Much of the work in this volume has been recognized in some form or another--such as winning awards from the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop's annual contest or being produced in the local 10X10 Showcase. 

The softcover is also available online here. The ebook version is still to come.

We're so pleased to make this compilation of short work available to readers!

About Iterating

We're still finalizing the cover for our fourth title, which is an iterative process of vision and revision, some things the same, some things not. Our author Roy Blomstrom wrote an entire book about the process, in fact.

In THE ITERATIONS OF CAROLINE, high school teacher David Williamson almost, but doesn't, run into himself in a mirror. After that, he experiences the same locations--in North America, from Thunder Bay to the west Coast, then down to Santa Monica, and home along Route 66--in different universes.

Along the way, he meets up not only with a woman named Caroline but also a former student, Bernie. In David's original world, Bernie was a brilliant and kind but socially awkward genius. When next David searches for him, Bernie has cracked quantum computing and can explain--or try to--what David is experiencing.

"Bottom line," Bernie said, his voice kind, "you've been experiencing some very strange things. For some reason, you travel among some individual universes of the multiverse. All that's real. I don't doubt you for a second. I know how the quantum computer works, though I don't know how this works.

"But I can tell you.... In the multiverse everything that can happen, everything that is possible, happens somewhere. It's not probable that pigs can fly, but somewhere in the multiverse, pigs have big wings and fly. If it's possible, it's out there, and you may end up visiting one of those places, so be ready for anything."

Luckily, David was ready for anything. And survived to tell the tale. As with our other titles, THE ITERATIONS OF CAROLINE is available online in print and ebook formats.

Praise For...

While we're finalizing the cover and interior of START WITH A SHOVEL: POETRY, PROSE, AND PLAYS, we're sharing the new page, below, from the front of the book.

We're proud of all the books we publish, and we're pleased when they resonate with readers.

Praise for The Iterations of Caroline

“[A] tour-de-force of imaginative writing… a rollicking ride.”

--John Pateman, Thunder Bay Source

 

“Part philosophy, part quantum physics, part hard-boiled mystery, and part love story … worth the read.”

--Paula Thiessen, The Walleye

 

Praise for Silences: A Novel of the 1918 Finnish Civil War

“[E]pic and intimate in scope and execution…. This is a splendid, engaging historical novel. Highly Recommended.”

--Michael Sobota, Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal

 

“Very absorbing, highly recommended.”

--H. Lewis Allways, reviewed at Amazon.com

 

Praise for The Devil’s Violin: Myllysilta’s History

“Blomstrom’s writing is smart, crisp, rich in detail and human emotions…. This is a gripping, fine, and rewarding read.”

--Michael Sobota, The Walleye 

 

“A forgotten page of history Blomstrom renders vividly.”

--H Lewis Allways, reviewed at Amazon.com 

 

New Title Coming Soon!

We're pleased to announce that Roy Blomstrom's next publication, START WITH A SHOVEL: POETRY, PROSE, AND PLAYS, is coming soon!

Just a few last details remain. But we hope by the end of the summer, you'll be able to buy this collection of Roy Blomstrom's award-winning writing: six plays, dozens of prose stories (fiction and creative nonfiction), and some forty poems.

We're proud of this collection and can't wait to make it available to readers!

At Thunder Bay Public Library!

We're happy that THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY has joined SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR and THE ITERATIONS OF CAROLINE at the Thunder Bay Public Library!

Even more exciting is that both of Roy's historical novels are part of the library's Book Club in a Bag program, where a book club can check out ten copies of the book for their discussion.

We love book clubs. Reading is an important skill to nurture during difficult times. Books let us consider how people chose to live in previous decades (through historical fiction) or how people might choose to live through unsettling and inexplicable change (through speculative fiction).

Discussing books is a way to get to know people--what makes them tick, what they value--in a setting that can create and strengthen communities.

And it's community that supports us as we stand up for those who need our strength.

Glowing Review!

Librarian and author John Pateman has a weekly Book Banter column in the Dougall-Media publication, The Source.

In the February 12 issue, he reviewed The Devil's Violin: "The Devil's Violin: Myllysilta's History by local author Roy Blomstrom is not only a very good novel. It is also full of history about the struggle between the Red and White Finns in Finland and Thunder Bay."

He especially appreciates how historical details are woven into stories about human beings, which has always been one of Roy Blomstrom's goals in writing historical novels.

It concludes: "Blomstrom has the gift of not only telling a great story but also bringing history alive."

We're very grateful to John Pateman for this specific review and for his efforts to support books and reading through his weekly column.