Category: REVIEWS

All of our fall 2014 books have launched and it’s great to see our authors receiving positive reviews across the country.  Elaine McCluskey’s Hello, Sweetheart was reviewed by Steven W. Beattie in the National Post this week and he says,

“The stories in Hello, Sweetheart are barbed and frequently sardonic – one of the best of them, “Two Truths and a Lie,” contains a twist in the tail that owes more to Roald Dahl than the kind of story Barthelme was referencing.But McCluskey also threads a vein of compassion through the collection; these are not satires, and no matter how desperate the characters are, they are always presented with a tone of empathetic understanding. “People can be wretched, you know,” McCluskey writes in “XOXO,” and though the stories in Hello, Sweetheart go some way to bearing out this thesis, they also remind their reader of the humanity that lies just beneath the wretchedness.”

Meanwhile our latest teen fiction release, Guardian, has a glowing review in the December 2014 edition of Quill & Quire.  Charis Cotter says that this first installment of Deen’s latest series is “a great hybrid of horror and mystery (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Veronica Mars), with oodles of potential for humour and terror – and Deen gets the most out of both.”   Ms. Cotter goes on to note “underneath all the fun, Deen has something important to say about bullying, and how understanding and compassion can lead to forgiveness.”

Congratulations to all of our authors on their success. We hope you consider all of the titles on our list this holiday season!

Colleen Nelson’s The Fall continues to garner praise from critics across the country.  The latest review comes from Resource Links:

“[Nelson] brings her careful sense of observation to bear on the development of her story and characters … a central theme that is highly topical is the misinformation Cory spreads about Ben on Facebook after the accident.  More than just his own sense of guilt and sorrow, Ben has to deal with escalating persecution from Cory and the entire school population.”

We are delighted to hear that Colleen Nelson will join Jan Andrews (author of The Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley) as a part of Thin Air this September. This International Writer’s Festival will feature many fantastic literary events – more details to come!

The Fall by Colleen Nelson was featured in the Winnipeg Free Press’ Books section on June 15th.

“[Colleen Nelson] has a sharp ear for authentic dialogue … The dragons Ben faces are gangs, drugs and alcohol, but they are just as real and much more menacing than medieval monsters.  Teens will relate to many things in this novel.”

Read the full review here – and be sure to pick up your copy!

You may have seen Bill Wright and Dave Craig in the news this past week.  Their non-fiction release, 300 Years of Beer, has generated much media attention across the province.  Connect with Bill and Dave on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about this exciting local release!