Books Tagged With author - canadian

Word Count: Click here to reveal83000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A hook-up gone bad can be purrder. Fresh from a breakup, deeply closeted freshman Zach jumps at the chance to housesit his family home and enjoy a long, horny summer free of both his ex and his religious parents. But when an old enemy turned hot hook-up falls to his death, Zach turns to the only true friend he's ever known-his cat, Grace Jones. With the dead man's phone and a knack for texting, she promises Zach help, for a price that will satisfy both their appetites. Does it matter if Grace Jones' powers draw on something far more ancient and sinister than a cell phone? "Get laid, Zachary. Get laid." Each new hook-up brings Zach darkly humorous discoveries about life, love, sex, and his own desires. But Zach knows it's only a matter of time before someone discovers his secret. Can he rely on his feline protector, or is he trapped in a hungry devil's bargain?

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: IMAGINE BEING the only un-magical kid at Hogwarts. That’s how sixteen-year-old orphan Jaden Raines feels as he enters Azunya High. He struggles to fit in, but he’s really a fish out of water. The magical isle of Azunya, where paranormal policing agency B.O.O. is headquartered, is shocking to Jaden after having lived his entire life in the American Midwest. Back there, his classmates were freaks, geeks and gangstas. Here, his classmates are genies, witches, healers… A whole pantheon of beings and monsters. And worse yet, he’ll have to read The Old Man and the Sea. Again. Jaden might be the new kid in town, but he’s still a teen. It’s love at first sight with handsome skater-boy Stiltz. They have three things in common: neither is able to use magic, they’re both petrified of water, and, lucky for Jaden, they’re both gay. They should bond, but their relationship’s stormy from the start. To try to fit in, Jaden hides his powerless state, accidentally creating the myth that he’s the most powerful being of them all. But when the entire school demands a demonstration, what’s Jaden to do? New lies and cruel deceptions leave Jaden and Stiltz stranded at sea in the middle of a deadly tropical storm. In order to survive, the boys must spill their secrets. It’s sink or swim for our heroes. Only the truth can set them free. And keep them alive.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Alan Mercier's life as a cop on Mars was years and two hundred million kilometers behind him. After his partner is killed he is ready to let others do the good deeds, play the hero, and suffer the consequences. He is ready for the wild, lawless world of flying a space junker.The toughest part of space junking isn't the it's keeping the find away from other space junkers, and staying on the good side of the beautiful station manager, Kate. Then there are the finds in some are duds, some extremely valuable, and some cause more trouble than one can imagine.It's the latter such find that leads Alan from orbit to a remote island in the Pacific, then halfway to Mars, and all the way back to facing what really drives him - even if it could get him killed. Cover design by Michelle Young(michelleyoungauthor.com) Editing by B.K. Ntouris(bkntouris.wixsite.com/my-site)

Word Count: Click here to reveal4000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Isolated on Mars, anyone could start going stir crazy… Katya should be on top of the world. She’s overcome a traumatic past and now she’s part of the first permanent settlement on Mars. So why do things feel so wrong? The colonists are confined to a small base on the surface of a hostile planet, so perhaps it’s only cabin fever. After all, she’s got great friends, an exciting career, and an ex-girlfriend who – she’s sure – would do anything to have her back… But with cracks appearing in the relationships between the crew and nothing but empty Martian desert beyond the safety of their domes, it’s far too easy for the mind to drift. And when it does, it can be difficult to tell what’s real, and what’s pure imagination… Past Imperfect is a short story set during Livid Skies, SI CLARKE’s second novel. It’s written for people who enjoy science fiction that challenges their preconceptions. This is a work of neurodiverse, culturally diverse, gender-bendy, socio-politico-economic, drunken-arguments-in-the-pub science fiction – not bang-bang-pew-pew science fiction. 

Word Count: Click here to reveal60000 (Click here to hide)

Summary:   Ian McDonald is trying very hard not to think about how the world might be going to hell in a handbag. After all, what’s he going to be able to do about it? He’s just this guy, stuck in a small town, pinned there by a load of student debt and a stalled writing career. Oh, and a wicked case of writer’s block. Or at least he was, until a dragon showed up in his bedroom. At midnight. Quoting Freud and muttering about the space-time continuum. So of course, Ian must Make a Choice and decide whether he wants to follow the dragon back into the Connectome and find his muse again, or stay in a house that surely wants to kill him, one repair bill at a time. And maybe, just maybe, he might find out that some things are worth fighting for. Even if all you have is a can opener.

Word Count: Click here to reveal85,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A school in turmoil over its senior play, a sly career as a teenage gigolo, an unpredictable girlfriend with damage of her own, and a dangerous housebreaker tied up downstairs. Any of these would make a great plot for budding filmmaker Eric's first movie. Unfortunately, they're his real life. When Julien, a handsome wannabe actor, transfers to Eric's class, he's a distraction, a rival, and one complication too many. Yet Eric can't stop thinking about him. Helped by Eric's girlfriend, Mary, they embark on a project that dangerously crosses the line between filmmaking and reality. As the boys become close, Eric soon wants to cross other lines entirely. Does Julien feel the same way, or is Eric being used on the gleefully twisted path to fame?

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

Word Count: Click here to reveal8,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: In 1962, in the western jungle region of Belize, Father Carl, an American missionary priest was found lying dead on the floor of his study. People from the nearby village of San José were blamed but, strangely, no one was ever officially charged or found guilty. Since then the village has been known as, “the village that murdered the priest.” This is only one secret within a carefully guarded web of desire, envy and guilt which torment and isolate people in this village. Thirty years later, with the introduction of water and electricity, satellite TV and the completion of the Western Paved Road, the village is connected to the outside world: people collide and their secrets unravel, sometimes tragically. Secrets of Ishtabay takes you into a world of mysticism and antiquity and introduce you to a people who are suspended between an eroding past of ancient lost cities, half-forgotten myths and subsistence farming, and a hostile present of encroaching global economics, illicit drugs, artifact smuggling and civil wars.

Word Count: Click here to reveal53000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: THREE YEARS out of grad school, anthropologist Adrian Thornapple is still stuck in that “temporary” office job. When his former mentor invites him on a rainforest expedition, he says he can’t. He has obligations. He has security. He has… a dead neighbor on his doorstep? It seems she’s fallen victim to a new and deadly designer drug shipping up from the rainforest. Accused of involvement in her death, Adrian suddenly gets that life is short, that civilized doesn’t mean safe, and that he should follow his dreams. Captain Thomas Ferrell hates the supernatural. When the Army kicked him out for weird behavior, he signed on with paranormal investigators Borderless Observers Org. Three missions in, Tom’s learned that B.O.O. does a lot more than observe. And that their paranormal investigators really are paranormal investigators. Sent to stop a drug operation in the Amazon basin, he’s unwillingly shape-shifted into a huge black jaguar. He believes he must regain his humanity before he can complete his mission. Is he wrong? Adrian’s expedition morphs into a nightmare of illegal drugs, slave labor and a terrifying quest through the rainforest and the spirit world. Worse yet, his companion and protector is a giant man-eating jaguar with whom he might be falling in love! Adrian just wants to go home… until he learns that saving the world is a lot more fun than returning to his corporate cubicle. SHIFT HAPPENS: A male/male paranormal adventure Full-length novel, approx. 300 pages. Available in digital and print formats. SHIFT HAPPENS received honorable mention in the Paranormal/Horror category of The Rainbow Awards.

Word Count: Click here to reveal101,085 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Attracted by passion, repelled by war. Can two shieldmaidens navigate battlegrounds of the sword and the heart? Sigrid the Valiant is legendary throughout the kingdoms of Norvegr for her heroic deeds, but her love has yet to find a home. Now, racing on the heels of her father’s murder, a neighboring kingdom’s raids signal an all-out conflict. Elyn is a young shieldmaiden with a score to settle, fighting her own insecurities along with enemies who threaten her homeland. However, she suspects a more menacing danger lurks in the shadows. When the two clash on opposite sides of their shield walls, sparks fly from both their swords and passions. But when they talk, the fierce women discover an antagonist’s plot has pitted their kingdoms against each other. Can Sigrid and Elyn move past their suspicions and differences to forge a binding love and foil the villain’s scheme, or will the enemy’s assassins end their search for the truth? Action, adventure, and intrigue ride together with romance in this enemies-to-lovers saga from the pre-Viking land of Norvegr. Award-winning, best-selling author Edale Lane brings history to life in this fast-paced sapphic novel. Grab your ax and rönd and join the quest!

Word Count: Click here to reveal76,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Abandoned by his werewolf lover, the only thing Reylan wants is to return to his vampire life of blood and beautiful boys. It’s a solid plan, until his first meal as a single man tries to kill him. Hoping to free his young would-be assassin from the religious zealots that sent him, Reylan enlists the help of Iain Grieg, a charismatic priest with unsettling knowledge of the night’s secrets. Surrounded by conflicting agendas and an army fuelled by hate, Reylan fights to secure his future, if he can only trust the mysterious priest and bury the ghosts of the past.

Word Count: Click here to reveal45,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Kyle, a young newcomer to New Orleans, is haunted by the memory of his first lover, brutally murdered just outside the French Quarter. Marc, a young Quarter hustler, is haunted by an eccentric spirit that shares his dreams, and by the handsome but vicious lover who shares his bed. When the barrier between these men comes down, it will prove thinner than the veil between the living and the dead…or between justice and revenge.

Word Count: Click here to reveal74000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Space: Where discovery and danger are two sides of the same coin. Meet Albert 'Buzz' Buchanan, a retired space marine now freelancing as a gun for hire, who finds himself accepting a deal too good to turn down, even if it's too good to be true. Meet Thomas Cutter, a star-ship engineer who's a lot more than what he first seems. He seeks knowledge and adventure, and the offer to team-up with the sexy space marine is just what Cutter's been waiting for. As our two heroes set out, they encounter more than they bargained for: a discovery of a lifetime, but only if they can escape with their lives. Will the galaxy reward them for their bravery, or will they fall victim to the great unknown? Join Buzz and Cutter in their very first episode as they journey across the galaxy, finding high adventure and untold dangers in the darkness of space ... along with discovering a friendship that promises so much more.

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Summary: They’ve been friends since childhood. But can their friendship survive adult reality? Confirmed geeks and childhood friends, Lem and Devon are looking forward to reuniting at a convention. Despite their diverging lives and their fair share of secrets, their shared love of cosplay and science fiction brings them together in ways that nothing else could. But not all friendships are perfect. When their old schoolfriend Nerys joins them for the day, rifts soon begin to show as the three realise how far they’ve grown apart. Struggling with Nerys’s insensitivity and her misguided approach to non-binary gender expression, the group are determined to make the most of their time together and embrace their nerdy selves. But with tensions rising, can their friendship withstand the dramatic ways their lives have changed? A short, thought-provoking backdrop to the author’s White Hart series and her forthcoming Starship Teapot series, Stardust Wake provides an insightful glimpse at complex issues while brimming with passion for all things geek.

Word Count: Click here to reveal82,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Moments have passed for Reylan since he crossed the barrier between worlds to rescue his werewolf lover, Jorgas. But on their return, nothing feels right. Faithful allies have vanished, and places that once offered solace are now derelict, filled with shadows and inhabited by evil. How can Reylan find his friends, and who can be trusted once they're found? The world Reylan and Jorgas returned to has destroyed the one they left behind. In this new reality, someone is playing a deadly game with time, and their fates are its prize.

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Summary: A short, sweet, sapphic adventure with western vibes... Sheriff Sarah Chen just wanted to keep the peace and live quietly in her little corner of the universe, but then something ancient and malevolent had the nerve to start stirring beneath the crust of New Montana.Now the good Sheriff is on the case, but she'll need more than a plasma nine-gun and a can-do attitude to whip this varmint's butt...

Word Count: Click here to reveal75,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Reylan is everything a Sydney vampire aspires to be: wealthy, handsome and independent, carefully feeding off companions plucked from the gay bars of Oxford Street. When one of those companions is killed by Jorgas, a hot-headed young werewolf prowling his streets, Reylan reluctantly puts his cherished lifestyle of blood and boys on hold to help a mysterious alliance of supernatural beings track down the beast. It can’t be that hard... not when Jorgas keeps coming after him. But there’s more to this werewolf than a body count and a bad attitude. As their relationship grows deeper and more twisted, Reylan tastes Jorgas’ blood, reawakening desires the vampire had thought long dead. And what evolves between them may be far more dangerous than some rival predator in the dark...

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Summary: What happens when you're face-to-face with a truth that shakes you? Do you accept it, or pretend it was never there? Award-winning author Mark A. Rayner smudges the lines between realist and fabulist, literary and speculative in this collection of stories that examines this question-what Homer called passing through The Gates of Polished Horn. We discover the cruelty of creating synthetic consciousness. A woman is worried that her husband is having an affair but discovers it's much, much worse. A time traveler uncovers a reality-bending fact while observing the death of Socrates. Waldo, of Where's Waldo fame, has an existential crisis. A traveling salesperson is killed on the highway, and this is just the start of his journey through the gates. Infused with comic insight and tragic vision, this collection invites readers into new realities thattouch on our shared humanity.

Word Count: Click here to reveal85,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: In a world of wizards and walled cities, Galabras Nachecko is a necromancer in the seaport metropolis of Golathreon, connecting the living with deceased relatives and associates to answer questions left unresolved at the time of death. Then he is tasked by Duke Simisson’s conniving seneschal to capture the ghost of a notorious land pirate scheduled for execution.  He snags the spirit but finds that the assignment has made him a man who knows too much. Nachecko is propelled into a new career—secret agent segueing into diplomat—that leads him far from home, plunges him into perilous adventures, and brings him both true love and tragedy.

Word Count: Click here to reveal51000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Escaping intergalactic kidnappers has never been quite so ridiculous. When Lem and her faithful dog, Spock, retreat from the city for a few days of hiking in Algonquin Park, the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by aliens. No, scratch that. The last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by a bunch of strangely adorable intergalactic bounty hunters aboard a ship called the Teapot. After Lem falls in with an unlikely group of allies – including a talking horse, a sarcastic robot, an overly anxious giant parrot, and a cloud of sentient glitter gas – the gang must devise a cunning plan to escape their captors and make it back home safely. But things won’t be as easy as they first seem. Lost in deep space and running out of fuel, this chaotic crew are faced with the daunting task of navigating an alien planet, breaking into a space station, and discovering the real reason they’re all there… Packed with preposterous scenarios, quirky characters, and oodles of humour, The Left Hand of Dog tackles complex subjects such as gender, the need to belong, and the importance of honest communication. Perfect for fans of Charlie Jane Anders’ Victories Greater than Death – especially ones who enjoy endless references to Red Dwarf, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. This book will show you that the universe is a very strange place indeed. Scroll up and grab your copy now!