June Bestseller!

THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY was a best-seller in June at Thunder Bay's independent bookstore, Entershine Bookshop!

Located on Algoma in the traditional Finnish Bay-Algoma neighbourhood (featured in both THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN and SILENCES), Entershine has created a wonderful community for readers and writers alike.

We look forward to future events with them.

An excerpt from THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY: "It was, Antti reflected, a difficult dilemma, to be known or not. In Gamlaby last week, no one knew him so no one would trust him. In Kokkola, many people had met or heard of his brothers--their ruthlessness, their brutality--and had made assumptions about Antti, incorrect ones. He'd taken care to show a face in Kokkola that was more intelligent and less wild than the faces of his brothers. Sometims it was less dangerous to be known and trusted, but sometimes it was easier not to be known at all."

The Devil's Violin NOW AVAILABLE!

"THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY is a story of surviving and thriving, of love and heartbreak, and of the wisdom of leaving past songs unsung."

For fans of historical fiction, Canadian fiction, Finnish immigrant culture, and stories of community and family, THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN is now available on shelves at Entershine Bookshop in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and through Amazon.

Two young men in Finland late in 1917: a tumultuous time, just as Finland declares its independence from Russia and the civil war for control of Finland's future begins. Their paths through the civil war, its aftermath in Finland, and in new lives in North America keep intersecting.

But the two men are very different.

Jussi Mantere has strong family connections in Gamlaby, the small community in Finland where he grows up and excels in school. When he emigrates to Port Arthur, a small town in Ontario, Canada, he builds a new community quickly.

Antti Myllysilta, in contrast, is born into violence and early learns he must kill to survive. Although he also chooses to settle in Port Arthur, his approach is different--he is a loner, an opportunist, a shrewd and extremely successful businessman.

SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR followed Jussi Mantere and his friends from Gamlaby through the war, to Canada, and through the summer of 1955. Now, THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY shows Antti Myllysilta's transformation into Andrew Millbridge, his path to success and determination to protect his family, and what's at stake for him that summer in 1955.

We Love Readers and Libraries!

In Canada, authors get paid when readers check their books out of libraries. It's called the Public Lending Right Program and is administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Although it's underfunded (click here to see The Writers' Union of Canada fact sheet), the program nevertheless provides a welcome boost to the income of all creators involved in a book--even audiobook narrators!.

It's just one of the reasons we encourage readers to check out books from libraries (or request that your library buy one of our books!). Beyond the fact that we believe that books should be easily accessed by members of the public, of course--which is one of the roles public libraries still play.

We're so grateful to readers and public spaces like libraries that encourage and support them.

For more about the Canadian Public Lending Right Program, click here.

How to Support an Author

If you've been to an airport lately, you've likely seen the same ten books for sale that someone else at an airport across the continent saw on the same day.

Nothing wrong with that! There are readers for lots of different kinds of books! But the best-seller lists aren't the only way for readers to find books they like.

Word of mouth--just talking with other people--is a great way to share a book with someone who hasn't read it yet.

So yes! People who've already read a book, or who want to read a book but can't afford to buy every book on the planet (::raises hand::) can still help.

Lots of times, starting a conversation about a book helps make it visible to potential readers.

If you've read one of our books, be sure to tell a friend or two, and leave a review! Goodreads, Chapters, Amazon--they all work, and you can post the review in more than one place.

And if you haven't yet read a book, that's OK. There are still ways for you to help support an author.

Check with your local library. Maybe they have it already. Maybe they've had a couple of requests and your request would help them decide to buy a copy!

If you haven't read it yet but are excited to, you could mention that fact--either at an in-person book club or on social media.

Books and writers need readers. We so appreciate all our readers and are grateful for your support!

SILENCES: January 23, 1918

Are there two sides to every story?

On January 23, 1918, the Finnish Civil War became real, in a whole new way, to the residents of the village of Gamlaby. Karl Solbakken had begun to help the widowed owner of Swensson's store after her husband had been killed by a small group of Red Finns.

That same small group of raiders--all brothers named Myllysilta--went to the Mantere farm to hunt down and execute its residents. However, Jussi Mantere and his father weren't there--only the mother remained. The raiders killed her.

Jussi came home before the raiders were finished. Recognizing quickly what had happened, he picked off the rest of the raiders and took the bodies into the village of Gamlaby.

Of course this incident affected Jussi and his father. But who else witnessed the killings and aftermath? What if Jussi hadn't killed ALL the raiders in the area--what if one of the brothers survived? And what if the Myllysilta brothers weren't the type of people to forgive and forget, no matter how many decades passed?

Readers of SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR have already seen one perspective on the way silences surrounding the Finnish Civil War played out decades later in Canada.

But there's more to the unhappy, violent tie between the Manteres and the Myllysiltas. Stay tuned for a new book that tells another side to the story! Coming this Spring!

Happy 2024! New Releases!

Welcome to 2024! Four years ago, we'd barely heard of a new virus, and now we have effective vaccines and lots of practice wearing masks.

During the pandemic lockdowns, Shuniah House Books launched a second title by Roy Blomstrom, THE ITERATIONS OF CAROLINE, and we recently made available again our first title, CRADLE OF THE DEEP: THE STORY OF A LAKE SUPERIOR COTTAGE.

We have a surprise or two in store for this year. Yes, new releases! The first has been in the works for years (but what book hasn't, actually?) and will come out in the first half of the year. Beyond that, you'll have to wait and see!

We look forward to sharing new work and celebrating our authors' previous publications with you in 2024!

Cradle of the Deep Again Available

We recently returned a link to our first publication, CRADLE OF THE DEEP, to the website.

The cover image: the author is in a red hat, front right

Subtitled “Memoir of a Lake Superior Cottage,” this book collects the personal reflections of Jeanne LeCaine Agnew. She was born in Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay), Ontario, in 1917.

Her father, H C LeCaine, built the family a cottage (known as a camp in Northwestern Ontario) on Lake Superior in 1924–a century ago next summer. The camp is still in the family and still stands in a sheltered bay, although many other people now enjoy that part of Lake Superior.

The book is available as an ebook and in print at this link.