Alex Tilley writes fiction that wanders the borderlands between folk horror, magical realism, dark fantasy, and the psychological. His books include Meshkwadoon Books 1 and 2, the novella Mr. Strong, and the forthcoming Sefira’s Gloom. Before self-publishing, he spent years devouring everything from The Lord of the Rings to Shakespeare, Anne Rice, poetry, and Jane Austen. He was in the Canadian Armed Forces for five years, where he earned a humanities degree while working full-time in his trade. He wrote as a hobby when he was in my teens, but the belief that he could write a full book didn't come to him until 2019. When he’s not writing, he’s usually buried in research on mythology, religion, occult traditions, and the supernatural.

Today we are mostly discussing Meskkwadoon, Book 1, which I had the opportunity to read in audiobook, available on Audible.

Spoiler discussion begins at timestamp 1:05:45

Jason Shannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. His seventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew of mercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists in alt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Taming the Laser Leopard Coming soon

Upcoming events:

Manitoulin Island Comiccon June 13

Espanola Comiccon June 14

Picton Comiccon June 28

SaultCon

Friday July 10, 3pm-8pm

Saturday July 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday, July 12, 11am-4pm

Flamborough Book Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Blueberry Blast Festival in Nipigon August 14, 15, 16

Cogs and Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Can*Con, October 16-18

Follow my social media @harujinshounds

Arthur Barillas is the author of the Sisterhood of Light Series, an ongoing series featuring teenage vampire hunters growing up in a world of vampires, ghosts and demons. There are currently 3 books in the series: Legend of Apocalypse, Legacy of Darkness, and Lament of Badblood.

Reading from Legend of Apocalypse at 58:30

Buy the books here: https://www.amazon.ca/stores/author/B09VKZKQWH/allbooksArthur's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abarillas999/

JasonShannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. Hisseventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew ofmercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists inalt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Upcomingevents:

IntriguingBookish Market in Peterborough May 30

GanonoqueComiccon May 31

ManitoulinIsland Comiccon June 13

EspanolaComiccon June 14

PictonComiccon June 28

SaultCon

FridayJuly 10, 3pm-8pm

SaturdayJuly 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday,July 12, 11am-4pm

FlamboroughBook Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

BlueberryBlast Festival in Nipigon August 14, 15, 16

Cogsand Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Followmy social media @harujinshounds

A.J. Calvin is a science fiction/fantasy novelist from Loveland, Colorado known best for The Caein Legacy series and The Relics of War series. A former microbiologist, A.J. lives with her husband, along with a turtle, a bearded dragon, and a salt water aquarium.

When she is not writing, she enjoys scuba diving, hiking, and playing video games.

AJ's links:

Website - https://ajcalvin.net/

Newsletter - https://ajcalvin.net/newsletter/

Twitter/X - https://x.com/AJCalvin

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/ajcalvin.bsky.social

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/authorajcalvin/

AJ's upcoming events:

Cheyenne Fantasy Market (September 16)

Front Range Fantasy Festival (September 26)

Jason Shannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. His seventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew of mercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists in alt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Upcoming events:

Intriguing Bookish Market in Peterborough May 30

Ganonoque Comiccon May 31

Manitoulin Island Comiccon June 13

Espanola Comiccon June 14

Picton Comiccon June 28

SaultCon

Friday July 10, 3pm-8pm

Saturday July 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday, July 12, 11am-4pm

Flamborough Book Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Blueberry Blast Festival in Nipigon August 14, 15, 16

Cogsand Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Followmy social media @harujinshounds

May 14 virtual party ⁠https://www.facebook.com/events/1670005701128555/⁠

Melissa Yi is an emergency physician and award-winning writer, best known for writing the Hope Sze medical thrillers featuring the titles Code Blues, Terminally Ill, Graveyard Shift, and White Lightning, among others. Today we are talking about her newest book, Pride and Provocateur, a modern, queer, sex-positive and slightly tongue-in-cheek retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. In Provocateur, the setting is updated to modern-day, featuring five friends who relocate the Newfoundland town of Dildo, located about an hour’s drive from the capital of St. John’s. Elizabeth Bennet,Austen’s protagonist, is recast as Elixane Bennet, a glass dildo artist.

Pride and Provocateur just completed a Kickstarter, and released to the wider public on May 12th.If you are listening to this on the day of release, May 14th,Melissa is hosting a Facebook live release party at 7pm EST.

Melissa has previously been recommended by The Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and The Next Chapter as one of the best Canadian suspense novels for some of her Hope Sze books. She was shortlisted for the Derringer Award for the world’s best short mystery fiction. Under the name Melissa Yuan-Innes, she also writes medical humour and has won speculative fiction awards.

Melissa does a reading from the first chapter of Pride and Provocateur at timestamp 49 minutes

All book links for Pride & Provocateur https://books2read.com/PRIDEdildo

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/199875863X

Website

http://www.melissayuaninnes.com/

Social media: https://linktr.ee/melissayi

Jason Shannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. His seventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew of mercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists in alt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Upcoming events:

Intriguing Bookish Market in Peterborough May 30

Ganonoque Comiccon May 31

Manitoulin Island Comiccon June 13

Espanola Comiccon June 14

Picton Comiccon June 28

SaultCon

weekend of July 10-12

Flamborough Book Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Blueberry Blast Festival in Nipigon August 14, 15, 16

Cogs and Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Follow my social media @harujinshounds

After 13 years of development and writing, Emma Couette’s epic trilogy The Fidalian Chronicles is now finished. Book 3, Season of Ruin, just released on May 1st, and the entire trilogy is being released in special edition hardcovers on Kickstarter right now. The Fidalian Chronicles are around 1400 pages worth of epic high fantasy, sword and sorcercy, young adult fiction. From now until May 21st, you can catch up on the series and get all three volumes on Kickstarter—ebook, paperback, and the special edition, sprayed edges, ribbon bookmark hardcovers that come with colourized maps, new cover art, and scenes from the book depicted as images therein. Emmaand I chat about the Chronicles, how this has been such a big portion of her life, how the series was thoroughly edited and written from its original vision to the final product, and we get into all the details of the campaign itself. Link for that is in the shownotes. Kickstarter is one of the most direct ways to support an author or creator.

Reading from Book 1: Summer’s Revenge, at timestamp 47:30

Support the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elginhousepress/the-fidalian-chronicles?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=emma%20couette&total_hits=1

Emma's website: https://www.emmacouetteauthor.com/

Emma's IG: https://www.instagram.com/emmacouetteauthor/

Upcomingevents:

IntriguingBookish Market in Peterborough May 30

GanonoqueComiccon May 31

ManitoulinIsland Comiccon June 13

EspanolaComiccon June 14

PictonComiccon June 28

SaultCon

FridayJuly 10, 3pm-8pm

SaturdayJuly 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday,July 12, 11am-4pm

FlamboroughBook Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Cogsand Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Followmy social media @harujinshounds

JA Merkel is the author of the Fall Gauntlet novella series, as well as The Fourth Portal, a dystopian science fiction novel kicking off the Song of Saudade series. Here we mostly discuss the Fourth Portal, set in a distant future on another planet, where love itself has been criminalized. We talk about him, his process, editing, and how the Fourth Portal can be read as a commentary on individualistic vs communal societies. JA, as I found out, spent three years living in South Korea as an ESL teacher, and I just had to pick his brain on that because of the trip I took to Korea in the autumn of 2024, so we spend a few minutes discussing Korea.

Reading from The Fourth Portal at timestamp 1:06:20

Author website: https://jamerkel.com/

Author store: https://store.jamerkel.com/

Amazon storefront:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.-A.-Merkel/author/B0CCNM9DKB

J.A. Merkel in the media!: https://jamerkel.com/media-press-kit/

Join J.A.’s Street Team: https://store.jamerkel.com/pages/street-team

Newsletter Sign-Up: https://jamerkel.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Jason Shannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. His seventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew of mercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists in alt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Upcomingevents:

NorthBay Comiccon May 2

HuntsvilleComiccon May 3

IntriguingBookish Market in Peterborough May 30

GanonoqueComiccon May 31

ManitoulinIsland Comiccon June 13

EspanolaComiccon June 14

PictonComiccon June 28

SaultCon

FridayJuly 10, 3pm-8pm

SaturdayJuly 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday,July 12, 11am-4pm

FlamboroughBook Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Cogsand Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Followmy social media @harujinshounds

VKThiran is a Tamil-Canadian author of 3 books: When LighteningStrikes, The Accursed Venge Seeker, and Us or Them: a Venge Seeker’sTale. He has been obsessed with books of various genres ever since hewas a child. His vivid imagination spurred him to weave worlds andintricate storylines filled with morally grey anti-heroes with tragicbackstories. VK reads anything he can gethis hands on, from gothic to historical fiction, but he is mostinterested in writing dark fantasy, romance, and action-adventurestories, particularly with themes of vengeance and betrayal. Asidefrom reading, writing, and studying, VK Thiran enjoys spending timewith his family and friends, going to the gym, and going for longwalks on nature trails.

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/vkthiran/

Website:https://vkthiran.wordpress.com

We discuss his writing, how hisworlds have been inspired by history—specifically the Sri LankanCivil War—his process, and what life is like in the self-publishingworld. VK does a reading from The Accursed Venge Seeker at the end ofthe episode.

JasonShannon is an indie Canadian author of science fiction and more. Hisseventh novel, Tiger Blues, is available now: “A plucky crew ofmercenaries must keep a doomsday weapon from the Maoists inalt-history 1948 Tibet.”

Upcomingevents:

SudburyComiccon April 25

NorthBay Comiccon May 2

HuntsvilleComiccon May 3

TrentonCC May 9

IntriguingBookish Market in Peterborough May 30

GanonoqueComiccon May 31

ManitoulinIsland Comiccon June 13

EspanolaComiccon June 14

PictonComiccon June 28

SaultCon

FridayJuly 10, 3pm-8pm

SaturdayJuly 11, 11am-8pm

Sunday,July 12, 11am-4pm

FlamboroughBook Fair at the West Avenue Cider House July 26

Cogsand Clockwork Steampunk Festival in Fergus, Ontario September 12/13

Followmy social media @harujinshounds