December Dash

Starting today, and running until the 7th, we are taking part in the December Dash!

What is that, you ask?

Great question!

This is the inaugural event, where indie fantasy authors make book bundles of their signed physical books (and bonus content!) available to you just in time for the holidays! Link to the website with all the authors here.

Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is the book we’re advertizing with the event. Check out the bundle options below. Please note that if you buy from our store, we will pay the tax, whereas if you buy from another store (Indigo, local bookstore, etc), you may not need to pay shipping. In both options, you will be able to get your hands on the bundle, but if you buy from another store, we will only be gifting the PDF versions.

Of course, you can buy other books from our store as well! We have some pretty great options (and we’ll throw in some bonus stuff for every book bought), including this one:

Note the free 2oz bag of coffee with that one!

We are really excited to participate in this event!

Want to see the full Assassins! bundle? Check it out on our website!

Bought the book elsewhere? Send your proof of purchase (image of the receipt with the book) to jenericdesigns@gmail.com

Thank you for supporting independent authors! We sincerely appreciate it!

Home Alone – JenEric Movie Review

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1990 film Home Alone.

Story

Completely improbable in so many ways but extremely entertaining. There is a lot of care taken to not waste time or story threads.

Score: 0.5

Characters

Little eight-year-old Kevin is innocent, resourceful, and mostly kind. I was worried at how brutal I remembered him being but other than the traps, he was a sweet kid. The same can’t be said about his family. They were pretty terrible.

As a kid I had a hard time relating to the mother and father and even watching this with my eight-year-old I had trouble.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

Other than the family that talks like an 80’s after school special on bullying, the rest of the dialogue is well thought out, funny, and clever.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

Most of the movie relies on practical effects, pratfalls, and a beautiful neighbourhood. It works and for a 34-year-old movie, it holds up extremely well.

The score is great and the Christmas music is fun.

Score: 1

Fun

I was worried watching this with my kids because of how violent I remembered it being. But other than the traps and pratfalls, it’s a pretty heartwarming movie and we all enjoyed it.

Score: 1

Overall

A nostalgic, silly, and cartoony film with lots of heart and some great dialogue. Definitely worth rewatching.

Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5

Red Day, Ere the Sun Rises – Chapter 11

The text, "Red Day, Ere the Sun Rises: A Sun Speaker Story" over a red sun.

Characters | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12


Chapter 11: Hal doesn’t die but it isn’t from a lack of trying

I have spent my life in the service of Sol. They are my God, my compass, and my reason for existing. The family I built around myself is my heart, soul, and reason for living.

As I stood there with an alien abomination’s hand through my chest, I didn’t think about Sol. I thought about Suzie, Adric, Janet, Hoff, and all the others who I’ve called friends. That’s what made me decide to live. I might have survived despite me but who knows.

I burst into flames, using the power to cleanse myself and heal. It didn’t usually work on anything beyond sickness but I knew it would work this time.

Coming out the other side, I was naked but whole. I much prefer being whole over having holes. 

I didn’t have much time to rest however. The beast who had perforated me didn’t wait long to try and do it again. The creatures weren’t just immune to the cleansing fire, they used its energy to make themselves stronger. I threw myself to the ground and Suzie took its head off with her sword.

Avoiding the fighting, I went to the locker on the far end of the cargo hold and quickly got dressed. There was no way I was fighting these things naked. Also under the seat was a bolt gun and Flare, my sword. I had recovered the sword on Venus during the civil war. Suzie had been doing her best to teach me how to use it.

The legend says that the sword was forged in the heart of Sol themselves and had been passed down to each Sun Speaker since. I hadn’t received it on account of being thrown out of the church as a teen.

The room was swarming with beasts but Suzie held them back, her blade whirling like death.

Zuri and Diamond were holding their own with bolt guns and fists. We’d all agreed on bolt guns since plasma guns just fed the beasts, not to mention what they do to a ship’s hull.

“Let’s get out of here and seal the doors,” I said and everyone started falling back to the exit. I pulled out the bolt gun and fought off those that were between us and the exit. They’d somehow managed to get in the cargo hold on the deck above and were moving down to flank us.

The void beasts are hideous creatures with melting flesh for faces that looked vaguely like if the black of space and molasses had a child. They smelled like rotting flesh; vaguely sweet, sour, and pungent. They were the things of my nightmares but they weren’t that tough or particularly good at combat. They relied on their numbers and the virus that they spread. We’d already been vaccinated from the virus but not the numbers. We were killing them easily enough but we’d tire eventually and then they would win.

Deep in the centre of my ship are my quarters. They also double as a panic room in case something like this were to happen. The room isn’t massive but it is reinforced and defensible. 

Over the coms I ordered, “Everyone retreat to my quarters.”

We were in the corridor and fighting for each centimetre of movement when Sol sent me a vision. It wasn’t pleasant and it also could have waited.

“Did you see that?” asked Zuri.

“I think so,” replied Diamond and he looked a little green.

I holstered my gun and drew my sword as I said, “Anyone else getting tired of seeing visions of my death?”

Zuri snorted and she shot a beast in the head. 

Diamond punched one and said, “I barely know you and I’m sick of seeing you die. Is all this normal for you?”

“Not really,” I replied.

“This is an escalation of normal but it’s not unprecedented,” Suzie said while chuckling. 

I sighed and quipped, “I guess I just have one of those faces you either want to punch or kiss.”

Suzie didn’t hesitate to reply, “It’s both. Always both.”

The other two laughed and fought harder. A large part of leadership is convincing people to keep going. If all it took was some self-deprecating humour, I was happy to lead. 

We made it to my room and found the rest of the crew there except for Janet. “Doc, where are you?” I asked, scared I would only get static.

After a second delay that felt like an eternity, she replied, “I’m in the medbay, but they have me trapped.”

We closed the big reinforced doors and I concentrated. When I was lucky, I could see if the teleporter would work. It only worked on biological matter ten percent of the time. “Shit,” I said when I realized it wouldn’t work.

“What?” Suzie asked as she cleaned her blade.

“The teleporter can’t save the doctor. It won’t work.”

It was Zuri that said, “Why couldn’t we force it?”

“What?” I asked.

She breathed out and started talking to me like I was a child, “Our visions see the future but they can also let us see the math of the future. All we need is to calculate the right program to teleport the doctor here.” 

I felt sort of dumb trying to understand what she meant, but Diamond summed it up better, “If we work together we can pick the best outcome from our visions.”

I grabbed their hands and we found the solution. Zuri put the math into the computer, and with a quick humming noise, Janet was standing in front of us.

I cheered and Sol showed me the outside of the ship. It barely looked like the Hey Sunny. It looked like a piece of candy covered in ants. It was just a matter of time before they cracked the gooey centre of our panic room.

I reached for the connection I had with Gwin and hoped she was close enough. I pushed my thoughts out to the universe, “Help us! Please.”

I prayed she could hear us.  

Read Chapter 12 (December 2024)


While you wait for the next chapter, check out the previous serial stories:

Shipping and Shopping

Hello Coffee Lovers!

The current Canada Post strike will affect us, but we have found alternative ways of shipping. Canada, USA, and International may be slower to fullfil, but we’ll find a way.

Coffee.JenEric-Designs.ca is still open for business!

Ottawa Shipping

For those inside Ottawa, we are now offering a discounted shipping cost of $10. We’re working with Trexity to get the packages into Ottawa and parts of Gatineau.

Coffee with Coffee Shop

For the holiday season we are offering a bonus 2 ounces of mystery coffee with every purchase of Coffee Shop Between the ‘Verses.


Good luck with your holiday shopping.

Éric

Time Cut – JenEric Movie Review

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Time Cut.

Story

A fun mixture of time travel and slasher story elements but with a paradox twist that isn’t normally explored.

Score: 1

Characters

I have a soft spot for smart characters. They are rarely found in slasher films and unfortunately the smart idiot trope happens a lot in time travel. Thankfully neither is the case in this movie. They act fairly logically and they are smart.

I do think the quiet nerd being picked on and being rejected turns them evil trope is a little overdone.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The dialogue is pretty good but I would have liked the slang differences to be explored more. Other than fashion, the main character didn’t seem out of place.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals are great. I like the choice of lighting and colouring to denote the decade. The special effects are minimal and mostly practical.

The music is oddly nostalgic for only being twenty years ago.

Score: 1

Fun

I was expecting a dumb movie and after really liking Totally Killer I didn’t expect to enjoy this one. I was happily wrong. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the ending.

Score: 1

Overall

An excellent time travel movie with mild slasher elements. It doesn’t shy away from fun or asking question. It’s nice to see a movie that feels like a rehash do something different with its conclusion.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

“Fanatics! Inevitable Honeymoon Crashers” is finished!

Hello Readers!

I’m filled with exclamation marks! (Sounds like a medical issue honestly.)

After a year and a month of writing, we’ve finally finished Fanatics! Inevitable Honeymoon Crashers.

This is the third of four books in The Gates of Westmeath series and honestly my current favourite.

Our characters are happily married and on a chase for all the peices of Kennedy’s magical gem. They’re not the only ones though, aliens and Fay alike are going to try and get there before them. It’s a treasure hunt and race across the world, with stops in Ottawa ON, Montreal QC, Hope BC, Parry Sound ON, Paris France, and the magical archives of the Library of Alexandria.


The next step for us is editing and sending it to beta readers. Once that’s done (hopefully a few months) then we submit to our publisher and if they like it, it should be published, if we’re lucky, in 2027 or 2028.

We’ve only been publishing one book per year and next year will be the thrilling sequel to Crushing It!, and in 2026 we have slated a book called Faymous, which is a fun portal/Fairy book.

If you’re interested in being a beta reader, and you’ve read the first two books, please contact us. We have two spots available.

Good Reading,

Éric

Until you get to read this awesome new book why not read the first two?

49th Shelf Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Indigo Books Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Archambault Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Amazon Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Rakuten Kobo Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
Apple Books Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers

Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests by Jen and Éric Desmarais is available now!

49th Shelf Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests
Indigo Books Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests
Archambault Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests
Amazon Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests
Rakuten Kobo Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests
Apple Books Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests

Add it to your “Want to read” on Goodreads here!

Queer Christmas Craft Fair 2024

We will be at the Queer Christmas Craft Fair tomorrow (Saturday November 16th!) Come join us.

🎄✨ Get ready for the Queer Christmas Craft Fair at The Good Companions – it’s going to be a holiday shopping spree like no other! ✨🎄

🗓️ When: November 16th
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 Where: The Good Companions (670 Albert Street) FREE PARKING!!

Prepare for an unforgettable day full of festive vibes, fabulous finds, and a whole lotta cheer! We’re bringing you 23 amazing vendors from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in and around Ottawa, all serving up an irresistible mix of treasures. You can expect dazzling jewelry, cozy knitwear, vibrant artwork, luxurious artisanal soaps, locally sourced honey, flavor-infused coffee beans, unique speedo’s and more. These one-of-a-kind gifts will have your holiday shopping done in style!

And while you’re shopping up a storm, treat yourself to our famous homemade chilli and cornbread combo for just $6.50! Not only will it hit the spot, but every dollar helps The Good Companions keep bringing diverse and inclusive programs to life.

This is the perfect event for everyone who loves to support, celebrate, and show up for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community!

Allies, friends, and festive souls,

Let’s make this season sparkle together – see you there! 🎁