Both Parasomnia and Everdome’s Ebooks are available on JenEric Coffee’s store. They’re the same price as on the major sites but you save the tax and support an author directly.
Parasomnia
At the Aux-Anges institute, nestled in the woods outside of North Bay, they study and treat parasomnias, or sleep disorders. Ashley suffers from night terrors, Terrance sleepwalks, Kiri sleep-eats, and Paul sets fires; they are there for treatment. Adelaide took the job as a counselor to discover why she still has an imaginary friend. When they discover the secret hideout of an old club called the Dreamers, they are shocked to find that the five of them are connected through more than just the Institute.
S.M. Ardwur’s epic ten novel series and the world’s biggest MMORPG is a world fractured by a magical disaster and saved from destruction by a brave king and mad wizard. It is now formed of twelve floating continents with magical domes protecting them.
For thirteen lucky contestants, when a man dressed as a knight offers them the opportunity to visit their favourite fantasy world as an immersive reality show, there’s only one answer they can give: YES!
The level of impressiveness is beyond anything they can believe and some of them start to wonder why.
Abigail, James, Krista, Nicole, Richard, and Megan have to learn how to play the game and win; the fate of Everdome depends on it.
If you’re as excited about Winging It as I am then you probably wish you could read it right now. (I’ve read it and I want to read it again.)
Go Pre-Order it… Seriously!
Winging It by Jen Desmarais is available now! Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
While you wait, however, you can now buy the second printing of Everdome and learn about the world that will feature in part of the book.
Will YOU be Everdome’s next hero?
S.M. Ardwur’s epic ten novel series and the world’s biggest MMORPG is a world fractured by a magical disaster and saved from destruction by a brave king and mad wizard. It is now formed of twelve floating continents with magical domes protecting them.
For thirteen lucky contestants, when a man dressed as a knight offers them the opportunity to visit their favourite fantasy world as an immersive reality show, there’s only one answer they can give: YES!
The level of impressiveness is beyond anything they can believe and some of them start to wonder why. Abigail, James, Krista, Nicole, Richard, and Megan have to learn how to play the game and win; the fate of Everdome depends on it.
Samantha’s Sandwich Stand by Sonia Saikaley and illustrated by Nathan Caro Frechette (children’s picture book)
Samantha is bored. It is summer and her friends are on vacation. When she sees a lemonade stand, she wants to open one but her father convinces her to sell something different: her mother’s homemade Lebanese cream cheese and cucumber pita sandwiches. But can she convince others that her sandwich treat is just as refreshing and delicious as lemonade? When her friends return from their holidays and offer to help her, along with a very hungry eagle, will customers finally come and buy her sandwiches? Samantha’s Sandwich Stand is an inspiring story about believing in yourself, accepting help from others when something doesn’t succeed at first, and celebrating each other’s differences.
Coffee Shop Between The ‘Verses by Éric Desmarais (YA)
Jackie sometimes likes to have conversations with the characters, and as he reads five novellas in the small Ontario town of Baker…
In The Ridiculous Adventures of Felix Felicitous, the grumpy Felix is thrown into an adventure through time, despite his protestations.
In Only Human, Rachel has accidentally signed up for the University of Monsters.
In Wargrave Island, Inspector Riko Dulac has to find out who’s killing all her former high school classmates before there’s no one left.
In Database of the Ageless Kings, Sophia rebuilds an alien ship, only to find the galactic prince still inside.
In Devices of Desire, follow Artemis, Diana, and Ezekiel as they navigate secret identities, demons, and love in the kingdom of Cillian.
Are the characters Jackie is talking with real? Is he just talking to himself? Or is something else going on?
Beyond the Stone by Jamieson Wolf (queer paranormal romance)
After a schism renders the world unrecognizable, Magic comes out into the open.
Bane is a Supernatural who works for the Clocktower, the organization that is supposed to protect mortals from themselves. Jackson is able to teleport long distances and is also a clairvoyant, something that no mortal should be able to do. That’s the least of their troubles, however. Sparks fly when they meet, even if relationships between mortals and Supernaturals are frowned upon.
When they learn that the Clocktower is keeping mortals and Supernaturals prisoner, Bane knows that they will have to go against the Clocktower in order to break them free… but will they break themselves in the process?
Dissatisfied Me: A Love Story by Bruce D. Gordon (humour)
Rick “Dickie” Duncan is turning fifty. Meh.
On the eve of this mid-century milestone, he finds himself alone in his mother’s Ottawa basement, surrounded by gaudy decor and a carpet that hasn’t been raked in years. Grabbing some brews and frozen hotdogs, Rick rummages through the clutter that’s made up his dissatisfied life.
From the death of Santa to the last days of Scottish Rot, Rick meanders through the decades, mapping his existence amid the pop culture of the ’70s to the present day.
Marking key moments of his unsated misadventures and real-life dating disasters, Rick reminds himself that his journey is a love story. Sort of.
Artificial Divide, edited by Robert Kingett and Randy Lacey
Step into a world of rogue screen readers, Braille in fantasy worlds, a friend meeting an acquaintance after several years, and more.
This #OwnVoices anthology features fiction by Blind and visually impaired authors showing readers how they thrive, hurt, get revenge, outsmart bullies, or go on epic adventures. Artificial Divide is an own-voices story collection that captures the many layers of Blindness and, for once, puts visually impaired protagonists in the driver’s seat, letting us glimpse their lives.
When we think about it, we’re not really divided.
With stories by: Eunice Cooper-Matchett – Anita Haas – Rebecca Blaevoet – Tessa Soderberg – Laurie Alice Eakes – Melissa Yuan-Innes – Jamieson Wolf – Ben Fulton – Felix Imonti – Niki White – M. Leona Godin – Ann Chiappetta – Lawrence Gunther – Heather Meares – Fabiyas M V – Jameyanne Fuller
Shifting Trust by Madona Skaff-Koren
Tyler Demir left the RCMP after an undercover operation he was in charge of turned deadly. Refusing to make life and death decisions anymore, he now works as assistant head of security for a military funded Canadian nano-tech company. But when one of their scientists is kidnapped, the military send Tyler to England to retrieve him.
Not sure who to trust, Tyler uses contacts from his undercover days to get the scientist to safety. At every step, he sees the rescue crumble around him and again he has blood on his hands.
How the hell did he manage to go from a stress-free job, where lives didn’t depend on his split-second decisions, to this?
Something has been bothering me lately. The idea of whether a book can be bad and I think my opinion is going to be unpopular.
How a book can be bad
There are two ways I can see a book being bad.
One; they come to life and try to stab people. (Arguably the homicidal books could be considered misunderstood. If people tried to bend my pages and break my spine, I’d be pissed.)
Two; if the book was decomposing and had gone bad. (I swear I will never write another book on banana peels again.)
Academics and Morality
You can analyze a book and come to the conclusion that it’s not of academic importance. Its themes are weak, its ideas cliché, its language reductive, and it’s message garbled. You can then pass judgment on it as an example of poor writing and say it’s bad.
You can also analyze a books Morality and message and find it to be opposed to your beliefs. You can find books reprehensible in their message and morals. Does that make a book bad? Evil yes bad, I’m not sure.
There are examples throughout history of people finding a book academically wanting and of no importance and being horribly wrong. My classic example is Shakespeare’s plays, academics of his time dismissed his plays as useless and base. Same has applied to morality.
Reading is Good
There are a lot of arguments about whether or not the Harry Potter series, Twillight Series, or 50 Shades of Grey Series are good.
There’s one argument that people use to stop discussing their worth. “At least they have people reading.” As an Aspiring Author, this argument makes perfect sense financially for me. More people who read equal a larger possible audience. So consider me biased.
Let’s take 50 Shades of Grey, (sold over 90 million books).
Are there many people who picked up the series, people who have never read before? Possibly. I’d guess there aren’t as many as Harry Potter since it’s aimed at an older audience.
Are those people going to try and find more like this to read? Probably. Either because they were disappointed and wanted something else or because they liked it and want more.
Is a whole group of people looking for something else in the same style a bad thing? I don’t know. I haven’t read the books but from what my sources tell me there are some pretty wrong notions on gender equality and the nature of BDSM. I’m willing to bet that there are some great books in the same genre that would reinforce good ideas and that there will be more people who find them because of it though.
Is it bad for the publishing world? I don’t know and I don’t have an opinion on this.
How can something so crappy be so popular? You’ll hear all sorts of sexist comments on this subject. Try to not punch those who make them. (It’s not worth it.) Something was missing from society and publishing that people didn’t know they wanted until they had the chance.
Whether it was the fact that 50 Shades of Grey wasn’t hiding behind a curtain, or that it made people talk about sex and erotica, I don’t know. But I’m convinced that it wasn’t a fluke but an untapped market.
What’s your point Eric?
Wow you’re impatient today. It’s simple. In my opinion it’s better for people to be reading and getting passionate about books than to never read and not care.
Reading is a great way to relax, learn new words, discover new worlds, and learn more about yourself.
Reading is good. Telling people what to read is bad.
Eric’s Rule about Media
This is something you’ve been told your whole life and it’s simply this:
Consume all media critically!
I’m sure I didn’t come up with this idea. None the less, passively consuming anything is a bad idea. Question what you’re consuming and try to understand what makes you like or dislike something.
By understanding how something makes you feel and what it’s trying to say you are not only helping yourself but you’ll be able to give people a better idea why you like or dislike something.
One last thing
STOP attacking people about what they read!
STOP acting like your preferred literature is better!
And
Read! (Blogs, books, magazines, social media, newspapers, etc)
