Stealth Stickering

In these pandemic times, we still don't go indoors often, even though Northwestern Ontario has no active cases of the coronavirus at present.

Last week, though, we made it to a place that carries SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR. The copies they had on hand now proudly bear the sticker proclaiming that SILENCES made the shortlist of the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBA). Over the next few weeks, we'll check in at other in-person sales locations for more stealth stickering.

Recognition and feedback mean a lot to writers--and to publishers. We're grateful.

 

Silences: WIBA Evaluation

One of the benefits of the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBA) is that you receive a manuscript evaluation.

Writers routinely share drafts with other writers for feedback, and we all know that some responses are more helpful than others. With SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR the first WIBA entry from Shuniah House Books, never mind the first to make the shortlist, we weren't sure what to expect.

The evaluation was incredible--thorough and completely fair. Here are some excerpts:

"I am a reader who dislikes war scenes but here was something that made sense, even to me! The horror of war was well represented but due to the care with which he presented each scene and the feelings and thoughts of his characters doing the fighting, I enjoyed even the most awful parts."

"I found this to be a thoroughly engaging read, partly because of my interest in the country, the fact of a war I had never heard about, a connection to my country, Canada, and especially the well developed personalities of the characters."

"A very satisfying book to recommend to my friends."

Thank you, anonymous evaluator--we appreciate your kind words and that your willingness to recommend the book to others. (Thanks too about your comments about maps--we went back and forth on that, and the difficulties of locating a mythical village proved too difficult to puzzle out.)

To anyone who's on the fence about submitting a book to WIBA, why not try it once? We've found the experience well worth the entry fee.

Whistler Independent Book Awards Shortlist!

The shortlist for the Whistler Independent Book Awards (WIBA) includes SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR!

This award is presented by the Writer's Union of Canada. Each book entered receives a critique, and the award is open only to books independently published. We had many good reasons to enter SILENCES, and it's wonderful to be among such august company on the shortlist.

One of the highlights of this pandemic year has been the recognition for SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR, even as the world is locked down. Although SILENCES isn't a finalist, we're grateful for the work of those who put together awards programs.

Safe at Home

Like everyone else, we're staying safe at home. But we're still working to bring you another book.

This time, it's speculative fiction, asking you to imagine life as another version of you.

Although it's difficult to predict when it might be released, we're aiming for summer. Rather like the weather, these days--aiming for summer, but not there yet.

Stay safe.

About that Finnish Civil War...

Roy Blomstrom, author of SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR, will be speaking to the Writer's Circle, a Thunder Bay writing group, on November 27 at 7 PM at the Waverley Branch of the Thunder Bay Public Library.

Among the topics: why write about this war and how did he do it, and why set half of the book in the summer of 1955 in Port Arthur.

And, underlying all of them--how do you DO it? How do you write a historical novel?

His answer:

Start with an event in history that you are, yourself, interested in. Read a lot about it.

Then develop a central character who will be changed by this thing. Who is he (or she), where does s/he start, and where does s/he end.

Then do more in-depth and focused research on the time period and places.

It's that easy, and that complicated.

New Projects

Most writers love autumn--the school supplies alone serve as bewitching reminders that blank pages invite new work.

Autumn is also harvest time, when the work of sun and water (and minerals and and and and) bears fruit.

We've got some new, fun projects on our calendar for 2019. Stay tuned!

 

Finn Fest 2019

Roy Blomstrom, author of SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR will speak this Saturday at FinnFest.

He is part of the 11 to noon time slot, in conversation with Liisa Kovala and Mark Munger. All three have written historical fiction based on the North American Finnish community, so it promises to be an engaging and rewarding time

All presentations are in the former Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, now part of Lakehead University's law school, just at the top of the hill beside Waverley Park in the heart of the north ward.