opportunity for writers with a BC connection

Call for Submissions from writers who live in BC or have spent time here! Jodie Renner is getting some extremely well-written, high-quality contributions for her upcoming anthology, VOICES FROM THE VALLEYS. She hopes you'll consider sending in a short story, creative nonfiction piece, or poem. Deadline is Oct. 31 (may be extended), and proceeds go to Doctors without Borders. http://jodierennerediting.blogspot.ca/…/voices-from-valleys…

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

A Pius Stand by Declan Finn: Elma Schemenauer's Review

In Declan Finn's novel A Pius Stand: A Global Thriller, the pope is an African and the United Nations is an enemy of the Catholic Church. The UN "had declared it an outlaw entity guilty of war crimes—against women, Islam, gays…and had declared all their properties forfeit."

 

Church buildings are vandalized, not only Catholic but of "all varieties of Christians." US President Barry is disdainful and dismissive of Catholics and the Christian right. The Soviets form their own religious order, in line with their beliefs and values. A jihadist website presents a "wonderful plan to wipe out the Catholics in Europe."

 

All this anti-Christian sentiment gels into a major military attack on the Vatican. The "armies of darkness" close in, aiming to steal art treasures and destroy the Church.

 

Its defenders prepare for the onslaught. They're fewer in number and not perfect. But as one of them says, "God doesn't need a saint to pull off miracles—God can use whoever he likes."

 

They believe they'll win in the long run, even if they die. In the words of one: "I believe we can win because I believe in God, and with God, man is invincible…. I prefer that if I must die, then I die in the name of God."

 

Do the Church's defenders die? You'll have to read the book to find out. It contains too many characters and too much violence for my taste. However, I found A Pius Stand: A Global Thriller entertaining and thought-provoking. It's part of a trilogy by Declan Finn. The other two are A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller and A Pius Legacy: A Political Thriller.

 

 

 

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

protecting one's rights to e-books: Robert Bacon

Editor & writing/publishing guru Robert Bacon publishes the free electronic newsletter The Perfect Write http://www.theperfectwrite.com/ . Here’s what his latest issue says about protecting one’s rights to e-books:

 

In the past I've discussed digital rights management (DRM) and its various ramifications for both writers and readers, and since plagiarism will always rear its ugly head I don't believe the importance of attempting to protect content is an issue that can receive too much attention. Digital watermarking is something that most folks outside of IT personnel know little about, and while I don't want to sully the material that's out there with my layman's drivel, anyone typing "watermarking in digital publishing" on a search engine will immediately come upon many links to material that explain digital watermarking in a way that is clear and relatively simple.  This information is important for anyone who is self-publishing or considering this route, and the information will clarify why a DRM decision has to be made by any writer who is also considering a digital release of material via Amazon or anywhere else.  Here's an article on watermarking and DRM in general that explains ways to protect content. http://digitalpublishing101.com/what-is-drm-digital-rights-management/

An aspect of DRM that must be understood is that it's also used by firms as a medium for buyer sourcing.  Hence, why we at times receive what can be considered either odd or propitiously timed advertisements in our in-boxes, which seem to come out of nowhere.  I'm always getting requests to receive car insurance quotes, for example, with my Zip code and vehicle info to tease my interest.  However, ignoring these petty annoyances, if a watermark can legitimately protect intellectual property to one degree or another, I have to lean heavily toward supporting the technology.  Still, this should be an individual decision (as should everything involving publishing), and my goal in this section is solely to make folks aware of watermarking if they are considering or using a digital medium for book marketing, distribution, or sales.

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

new literary agent in Aurora, Ontario

Many more literary agents are US-based rather than Canadian-based. Here’s a new one at an agency in Aurora, Ontario

Sue Miller is an Associate Agent at Donaghy Literary Group, with a special love for young adult books, fantasy and literary fiction. Her publishing career began in Toronto working with Fidalgo Books in PR and in sales at Scholastic Canada. She holds a BA in English from York University along with a Publishing Certificate from Ryerson University. She is seeking: Young Adult (all genres), Literary, Upmarket and Commercial Fiction, character-driven Romance (all subgenres). How to submit: Sue is currently accepting queries through the Donaghy Literary Group submissions page.

 

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

chokecherry syrup & gluten-free pancakes

I made chokecherry syrup for the first time this year. The chokecherries were courtesy of our own tree. Then I needed pancakes—gluten-free since I`m sensitive to gluten. Here`s the recipe I developed:

-1/2 cup flour—mixture of gluten-free flours like sorghum, buckwheat, rice, tapioca, corn, etc.

-2 tsp. Baking powder

-Quarter tsp. Salt

-2 eggs

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-Enough buttermilk to make a fairly runny batter—about 1/2 cup

Mix dry ingredients well. Beat liquid ingredients together, add to dry ones, and stir to form batter. If it`s not runny enough, add more buttermilk. Fry as usual for pancakes.

 

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

small-time authors & consignment

Tracy Krauss discusses whether it`s worthwhile for small-time authors to get their books into stores on consignment: http://www.tracykraussexpressionexpress.com/2015/08/consignment-is-it-worth-it.html .

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

Canadians more religious than we thought

Canada apparently hasn't abandoned religious faith as much as we thought. The current issue of the magazine Faith Today includes this interesting article by Reginald Bibby, expert on social and religious trends: http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20150708?pg=26#pg26 .

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .

 

CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS at House of James Bookstore, Abbotsford. BC

 

Elma at the House of James Bookstore in Abbotsford, BC. Her novel CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS is there now. Lando Klassen & wife, Kathy, own this lovely store & coffee shop: http://www.houseofjames.com/about.html .

 

 

 

Elma Schemenauer CONSIDER THE SUNFLOWERS: 1940s-era novel about love, Mennonites, faith, & family. Set in Vancouver & rural Saskatchewan. Order from Chapters online http://tinyurl.com/ny8smwk or Borealis Press http://tinyurl.com/lfdo9pf  . More info at http://elmams.wix.com/sflwrs  .