I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the book Crushing It.
And I thought, why not share it with you?
Mood board of Crushing It. Pictures of a DIY vaccum, Ishihara plates, a bridge, the Toronto skyline, a robot labelled Door Tech, a promo image of the dinner theatre “Knights of Everdome”, a street sign indicating Westmeath to the right, a drawing of DNA, and a maze surround the image of the book Crushing It in various formats.
Summary
After an epic grounding for some bad decisions with even worse friends, Tommy is lucky to even go to the Door Tech March Break camp. There, he crosses paths with Carter Batudev, and chemistry isn’t just for the classroom. With love and a renewed interest in STEM, Tommy returns home to Parry Sound, where, to the relief of his parents, he makes better friends, and joins the STEM club.
When the club goes to the province-wide competition in Toronto, he’s reunited with Carter, whose team is also competing. Thus ensues a wild long weekend full of romance, hijinks, STEM, and singing.
Includes a novelette from Carter’s POV at the dinner theatre show Knights of Everdome.
Yesterday, Jen and I had our first signing at a big bookstore. We were signing Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers at Pinecrest Indigo.
There are still several signed copies if you hurry to the store!
We had a few issues getting the whole thing set up, our original date was back in February and then Indigo had some hacker issues and everything was postponed.
We had more issues today when we got there and they were surprised. Thankfully the staff were extremely nice and accommodating and got us set up with time to spare.
We spoke to a lot of people and even sold 6 books.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello.
I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the secondary protagonist of Crushing It, Carter Batudev.
And I thought, why not share it with you?
Mood board of Carter Batudev. Pictures of bread, a target, a throwing knife, a sillhouette of a martial artist, a rock, STEM image, a lightbulb outside of a box, and a heart in the bisexual flag colours surround a drawn image of a brown haired boy.
Carter Batudev
Age: 15
Date of Birth: March 5, 1988
Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin
Grade: 9
Favourite class: Science
Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario
The two protagonists of Crushing It are Tommy Fairfield and Carter Batudev.
Tommy Fairfield
Appearance inspired by Maxwell JenkinsAppearance inspired by Maxwell Jenkins
Age: 14
Date of Birth: May 11, 1988
Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white
Grade: 9
Favourite class: Math or Science or Music
Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario
Siblings: Older brother Phillip, married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza and MacKenzie. Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).
Carter Batudev
Appearance inspired by Max Torina
Age: 15
Date of Birth: March 5, 1988
Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin
Grade: 9
Favourite class: Science
Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario
If you missed the cover reveal video post last Friday, due to the email mess up, you can go see it here!
I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the main protagonist of Crushing It, Tommy Fairfield.
And I thought, why not share it with you?
Mood board of Tommy Fairfield. Pictures of a guitar, torn pieces of sheet music, STEM image, a rainbow heart, an icon reading ‘Best Leader’, and the interior of a bedroom surround a drawn image of a young blond boy. Art of the bedroom and boy are drawn by pinkpiggy93.
Tommy Fairfield
Age: 14
Date of Birth: May 11, 1988
Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white
Grade: 9
Favourite class: Math or Science or Music
Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario
Siblings: Older brother Phillip (who lives in Parry Sound), married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza (who lives in Toronto) and MacKenzie (who lives in Ottawa). Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).
Seriously, the first time I saw this cover was in SEPTEMBER.
On to the cover reveal:
The actors in this film are Dragon and Dragon’s friend. Pegasus attempted to assist.
They were given the task of completing an obstacle course similar to the one in the book. (Simplified, obviously, as these are not 14-15 year olds.)
The music was written by me (with heavy assistance from Bruce Gordon for the chords! I was so lost as to how to put chords to the tune in my head!), sung by me, and recorded by Éric.
Hello family, fans, people who randomly read this blog, and friends (both real and imaginary),
Just a reminder that the nominations close on April 22, 2023 just before midnight.
One of the questions I was asked about this was “When will I receive the package of downloadable works?” and I had no idea and thought it was an excellent question, so I reached out to ask. Here is their response:
“We hope to have the voter’s package out around the 20th of May. With nominations not ending until the 22 of April, we expect it to take about a month. We first have to confirm who is on the ballot, then it usually takes 2 to 3 weeks for us to get the works for the package and put it together and test. If it’s ready earlier then it will be announced but at this point later in May is the best time to expect it.”
Thank you all for your time, attention, and support. Wish us luck!
The Aurora Awards, which are for Canadian science fiction and fantasy writers and artists, are open for nominations! This means the LONG lists of eligible works are being narrowed down to 5-6 per category.
Once they have a list of nominated works, every single person who signed up and paid the $10 membership fee gets ALL the nominated works as downloads. That’s all the adult novels, YA novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and related works (usually anthologies), so about 36 works, for just $10 CAD, which is a great deal.
Getting nominated for an Aurora Award is a BIG DEAL in the writing community. You get a nomination pin (only once, so I’m terrified I’ll lose mine!), and you’re part of an elite group of people.
It would mean a lot to us if you’re willing to nominate us! (Categories are in alphabetical order by work)
Category 1 – Best Novel
Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Category 3 – Best Novelette/Novella
Birth of the Aetherverse by Éric Desmarais
Category 4 – Best Short Story
Ringing In The New Year by Jen Desmarais
Choose Your Own Adventure – Welcome to Westmeath by Jen Desmarais
Category 7 – Best Related Work
Nothing Without Us Too by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson (Jen has a short story Semper Ubi Sub Ubi in this one!)
Category 9 – Best Fan Writing/Publication
JenEric Movie Reviews by Éric Desmarais
The Travelling TARDIS by Jennifer Desmarais
In case you’re wondering why Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is not included in the best cover art category, it’s because our cover artist is Vietnamese! Only Canadian creators are eligible, unfortunately.
Thank you so much for your time, attention, and support!
Do you think that with half a martial arts class, a magic jewel, and a new suit, Jason should have been okay with Kennedy joining him for superhero work? Why do you think he agreed?
Jason falls fast for Kennedy. Does his vocalization of that come off as honest or creepy? How would it differ if their positions were reversed?
Kennedy is underestimated by both her boss and Jason’s uncle. Why do you think that is and how does she handle it?
We meet several Aetherborn, both with and without powers, some who look human and others who don’t. How do you think the political power dynamic is balanced? Are some better off than others? Why or why not?
Is Kennedy’s job at a boutique lingerie store empowering or fetishizing? When she chooses her outfits for the fashion show, do you think she felt pressured to wear certain items? How does her viewpoint make a difference?
Jason is not shy about showing his emotions. Do you find that realistic? Why or why not?
This book mixes urban fantasy and romance genres. Do you think it worked? Why or why not?
Jason’s behaviour varies depending on who he’s around. Does this make him seem disingenuous? With whom, other than Kennedy, do you think he is most himself?
Do you have a favourite secondary character? Who do you wish got more attention in the story?
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?
Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr/@flowerraven93 on Instagram
Read Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Last year, before my pain became too worrisome, Jen and I wrote a book called Faymous. While writing it, we added a character who showed up in flashbacks. The further along we went, the sillier her actions became, each of us adding every flashback.
The idea was that I’d write a short story at the end that would explain everything that had happened with the character, but then pain and worry about hurting myself got in the way.
I wrote it slowly, 200-500 words a session, writing 15 minutes here and there.
I was told by my occupational therapist that I could write a little more as long as I took breaks and listened to my pain levels.
So after ten months and almost 7000 words, I finally finished the story. It’s called New Year’s Eve… on repeat, and it’s another time loop, because I apparently like the challenge.
It was fun to pull together all the threads that we’d randomly spread through the novel.
We’ve received three very nice rejections for Faymous. That means I have no idea when it’ll be published, but I’ll let you know.
We are looking for beta readers. If you’re interested, let us know!
Hello family, fans, people who randomly read this blog, and friends (both real and imaginary),
The Aurora Awards, which are for Canadian science fiction and fantasy writers and artists, are open for nominations! This means the LONG lists of eligible works are being narrowed down to 5-6 per category.
Once they have a list of nominated works, every single person who signed up and paid the $10 membership fee gets ALL the nominated works as downloads. That’s all the adult novels, YA novels, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and related works (usually anthologies), so about 36 works, for just $10 CAD, which is a great deal.
Getting nominated for an Aurora Award is a BIG DEAL in the writing community. You get a nomination pin (only once, so I’m terrified I’ll lose mine!), and you’re part of an elite group of people.
It would mean a lot to us if you’re willing to nominate us! (Categories are in alphabetical order by work)
Category 1 – Best Novel
Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais
Category 3 – Best Novelette/Novella
Birth of the Aetherverse by Éric Desmarais
Category 4 – Best Short Story
Ringing In The New Year by Jen Desmarais
Choose Your Own Adventure – Welcome to Westmeath by Jen Desmarais
Category 7 – Best Related Work
Nothing Without Us Too by Cait Gordon and Talia C. Johnson (Jen has a short story Semper Ubi Sub Ubi in this one!)
Category 9 – Best Fan Writing/Publication
JenEric Movie Reviews by Éric Desmarais
The Travelling TARDIS by Jennifer Desmarais
In case you’re wondering why Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers is not included in the best cover art category, it’s because our cover artist is Vietnamese! Only Canadian creators are eligible, unfortunately.
Thank you so much for your time, attention, and support!
