Can-Con 2025 Starts Today!

Hello Readers!

This weekend (Starting today!) is the wonderful Can-Con: Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature.

Jen and I will be in the vendors room (FREE to the public!) most of the time, selling awesome coffee, crochet, and books.

Vendor’s room hours:
Friday Oct 17: 5-8
Saturday Oct 18: 10-6
Sunday Oct 19: 10-4
Jen’s Schedule:
Saturday 4-4:50 pm – You Got Dragons in my Romance Novel
Sunday 11:30-12:20 pm – The Bond of Brothers: Writing Sibling Relationships

Hope to see you there!

Éric

It’s a day early…

Tomorrow is Kennedy’s birthday! She’d be 45 years old if she was a real person.

Something special is coming soon! Do you see it?

Assassins! Accidental matchmakers
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
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

Pocket Library – Kennedy and Jason edition

The Pocket Library template was made by @thebookishanimator_, and I thought it would be fun to make character editions of it! Here are Kennedy and Jason’s Pocket Libraries.

Read Kennedy and Jason’s books here:

Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers
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!

Shadowbox Ornaments: Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Shadowbox Ornaments: Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers

I got the idea to make shadowbox out of the cover image of our books, and I thought it would be fun for you to have access as well!

Materials:
Paper (or cardstock)
Colour printer
Scissors
Exacto knife
Cutting board
Tape (or glue)
Patience

Instructions:

  1. Print the template provided (PDF download above)
  2. Cut out the pieces using scissors
  3. Cut out the greyed out background with the Exacto knife
  4. Tape (or glue) the parts together.

Smith’s Falls Holiday Signing Tomorrow

We will be at The Book’s Better Bookshop in Smith’s Falls along with three other awesome authors (Emily Murray, Kate Cole, and Christine Krause) and we will have all our books on hand for personalized signings.

This will be our last in-person event before the holidays, so drop by and fill your loved ones’ stockings with books!

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!

Come say hello at Can-Con 2024

Hello Readers!

This weekend is the wonderful Can-Con: Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature.

Jen and I will be in the vendors room (FREE to the public, masks are optional) most of the time, selling awesome coffee and crochet.

Here are the vendor’s room hours

  • Friday 5-8
  • Saturday 10-6
  • Sunday 10-4

Jen will be on the “”The Pros of Being a Ghost (writer)” panel on Saturday morning (Nov 2nd) from 10:00-10:50.

Éric will be at the booth and chatting with people.

Hope to see you there!

Éric

Bookflix series: Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests

A parody of Netflix, Bookflix is where you can find our books and more like them.


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!

Discussion Questions for Monsters! Incidental Wedding Guests

Download the printable Discussion Guide

  1. It is said that Kennedy has been practising and taking martial arts lessons. How does that show in both her confidence and abilities when fighting the monsters?
  2. Kennedy has obviously been trying to integrate herself more into the Aetherborn Community. How well has she succeeded?
  3. Jason has changed his leadership style from ‘brooding and aloof’ to ‘happier and hands-on’. How do you think this will be received by the Community as a whole? Are there any indications of that in the text?
  4. In this book, Kennedy and Jason have a lot going on. Do you think that the monster attacks are adding stress or acting as stress relief?
  5. Lilah’s behaviour appears manipulative and controlling. Do you think this comes from her caring about the couple or about appearances?
  6. A major theme in the book is family relationships, especially healing. Which pair or character do you relate to the most and why?
  7. Repatriation of cultural artifacts is a heated topic. Do you believe that the living descendents have a claim to ancient artifacts?
  8. The person creating the monsters had their reasons. What do you think of those reasons, and were their methods justified?
  9. There are multiple examples of creation (eg. the lace, the dress, new fertilizer, museum replicas, etc). How does this help to create a more well-rounded setting? Why?
  10. Do you have a favourite secondary character? Who do you wish got more attention in the story?
  11. Suppose Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers became a movie or a TV show. Who would you pick to play the roles? (You can check out our dream casting for ideas) What aspects of the book would you want to see more of? What would be the most difficult part of filming?

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!