We often hear of English historical exploits but less often from the cultures overtaken. Spirit Sight opens a unique and colorful window into Wales 1282—a historic moment when Edward Longshanks, the English king is bent on destroying the Cymry (the Welsh) and taking control of their land. Powell’s sensory description takes us there and keeps us there with emotional moments, adventure, romance, and an interweaving of history and imagination. Though marketed for young adults—as is the case with all excellent YA fiction—it will be of interest to an adult audience too. And the cover is beautiful.
The first book in the “Last of the Gifted” series, the tale is told by dualing teen protagonists—Hyw (16) and Catrin (14)—a brother and sister separated by war for much of the book. These two are the “last of the gifted” as both have supernatural powers. Hwy’s ability to merge his spirit with animals and birds makes him both a horse whisperer and a unique spy for the Cymry. As a hawk, Hwy is able to gain insights and strategies unknown to others. Inherited gifts from the maternal line, Hwy’s Uncle Gawain, has a similar ability with horses. At first, Hyw only sees through the hawk’s eyes, but as his gift develops he is able to physically shift with a “grinding of bone on bone” and transform physically.
Cat is a clairvoyant who is able to see the future in a drop of water. Her alarming psychic visions speak of the genocide of her people. A strong rebel warrior in the making, she gathers her girlfriends together to dress as boys and learn to fight outside the castle gates. Together, this brother and sister hold the key to squelching this impending terror. Their interweaving stories are colorful, emotional, and riveting and we want to see more of them.
These are the days when the Prince of Wales was a true Prince of Wales. Llewelyn ap Gruffydd united the country and was given that title in 1267, though Edward, the English king, continued to terrorize the Welsh people and castles. In 1282, Llewelyn’s younger brother, Dafydd, fought back and his attack escalated into a war. With plenty of action, we see Arthurian shades in the characters, culture, and quests.
In an initial heartbreaking scene, Llewelyn is executed on the battle field. Hyw runs to him and while staring eye to eye in a last breath, the prince’s spirit merges with the boy. And so, we share both points-of-view throughout the tale. This “circle of three” forms a powerful union to fight against the invading English.
Marie Powell is a professional writer, editor, and journalist with a long list of published books for children and young adults. Well researched and beautifully written, Powell keeps us riveted with this, her debut historical fantasy. History and magic are intertwined effortlessly to cast a spell over the reader. At the end, we are left with a castle under siege and a craving to read Book Two: Water Sight. Look for more at mariepowell.ca where you can watch a wonderful book trailer and learn more about “The Last of the Gifted” Published by Four Tails, June 2020
*As published in the Ottawa Review of Books, December 2020
With shades of Easy Rider and Bonnie and Clyde, in his latest crime novel, Dietrich Kalteis takes us on an archetypal magic flight through 1973 British Columbia. As Blake Snyder would say, it’s the Golden Fleece. Revamped and dirtied down, this “road movie” illuminates, not only the crime, but the character of the thieving protagonists.
Kalteis writes brash, raw, dirty, and gritty like no one else. So, it’s tough to have sympathy for the beautiful Bobbi Ricci, who hooked up with 60-year-old “Maddog” Palmieri or Lonzo, as the Italian crime boss likes to be called, because she likes the money and the “tough-guy routine”. To root for a character they need some redeeming qualities—Bobbi makes that hard and Lonzo makes it harder. Her descriptions of Lonzo leave us wondering if riding in the boss’s limo and high-end dining out in Vancouver is worth the price.
Apparently not. Five months in, Bobbi’s had enough of Lonzo with his “graying hair, combed in a swirl to hide the pink dome, bluish veins like a road map above his ankles, [and an] ass like a deflated tire.”
Not a woman to be trifled with (which might be one of her redeeming qualities) Bobbi plans her escape.
Enter Denny Barrenko. An American draft dodger who demonstrated against the Vietnam War then flew north, he landed in Vancouver and worked for a time as Lonzo’s limo driver—which is where he first saw Bobbi in the rear view mirror. Then Lonzo fired him and ripped him off. Seeking retribution, Denny breaks into Lonzo’s place in the midst of Bobbi’s escape. She catches him and forces him to help her run with two of Lonzo’s Gucci bags containing half-a-million dollars in secret cash. Bobbi’s drugged Lonzo and just to add insult to injury, they take his caddy. And so, fifty pages in, the magic flight begins.
None too smart and driven by emotion, Bobbi calls Lonzo from a pay phone in Squamish to gloat and get the last word—a mistake that gets assassin, Lee Trane on their tail.
A hair-raising escapade fueled by impulsive choices, this page-turner kept me up most of the night. I love any kind of road story, especially one that comes with down-and-dirty drama, a trail of stolen vehicles, a police chase, devious underdogs, and a map: Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Lillooet, Smithers, Ripley, and eventually, Killick, Alaska. It also comes with a fabulous 1970s soundtrack, all the details of the decade, and masterful descriptions, all in Kalteis’s casually clipped style.
I’ll leave you to discover for yourself what the title alludes to. Where’s The Cradle of the Deep? Do Bobbi and Denny get caught or do they escape the police, the assassin, and others they’ve met along the way? Does their relationship grow into anything more than mutual Lonzo-haters and escapees? And the half-a-million dollar question—what happened to the cash?
Writers in our Midst (WiOM) is a popular reading series of fiction, poetry, and performance hosted by the Port Moody Library.
Meet the Authors:
Erik D’Souza
Erik D’Souza is an author and the co-owner of the publishing company Timbercrest Publishing. In 2019, he published the anthology New Beginnings and raised over $10, 000 for SHARE Family and Community Services. He is on the Tri-City Wordsmiths executive committee, a member of Crime Writers of Canada and the Off the Page Speakers Group. During Writers in our Midst #16, he will be doing double duty as the host and a presenter. He’ll be reading from his first mystery novel, Death in Halfmoon Bay.
W. L. Hawkin
W. L. Hawkin writes “edgy urban fantasy with a twist of murder”. Her Hollystone Mysteries follow a coven of West Coast witches who solve murders using ritual magic and a little help from the gods. A lover of mythology and the mystical arts, Wendy has a background in Indigenous Studies and English literature. Although she’s an introvert, in each book her characters go on a journey where she’s travelled herself — except for her upcoming time travel adventure set in Iron Age Ireland, perhaps.
Seamus Heffernan
Prior to his writing career, Seamus Heffernan worked in education, journalism, policy, marketing and politics, and earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of the Fraser Valley. He was the former head of staff for a Member of Parliament and ran for office in the 2019 federal election. Presently, he is the author of the Thaddeus Grayle detective novels, published through Crooked Cat Books. His short fiction has appeared in The Raspberry and the Louden Singletree. Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, he has called several places home, including a lengthy stint in London, England. He currently lives in Port Moody, British Columbia with his partner Chelsey and his son James.
Debra Purdy Kong
Debra Purdy Kong has published more than one hundred short stories, essays, and articles for publications that include Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul, B.C. Parent Magazine, and the Vancouver Sun. Her criminology studies and work as a patrol & communications security officer, provided inspiration for her Casey Holland transit mysteries. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and a facilitator for the Creative Writing Workshop through Port Moody’s Parks & Recreation Program.
A.J. Devlin
A.J. Devlin grew up in Greater Vancouver before moving to Southern California for six years where he earned a BFA in Screenwriting from Chapman University and an MFA in Screenwriting from The American Film Institute. Cobra Clutch, the first entry in the “Hammerhead” Jed ex-pro wrestler turned PI mystery-comedy series, was nominated for a 2019 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery and won the 2019 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel. Book two in the series — Rolling Thunder — was published May 15th, 2020 by NeWest Press.
Winona Kent
Winona Kent is an award-winning author who was born in London, England and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. After moving to Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing. More recently, she received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School. Winona’s writing breakthrough came many years ago when she won First Prize in the Flare Magazine Fiction Contest with her short story about an all-night radio newsman, Tower of Power. Her short story, Dietrich’s Ash was an Okanagan Short Fiction Award winner and was published in Canadian Author & Bookman, anthologized in Pure Fiction (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) and broadcast on the CBC Radio program Ambience.
Here’s your way in: Click here to join us live tomorrow night. Don’t worry if you miss it. It’s being recorded so just check back when you have some time to kick back, relax, and watch some crime and mystery writers in action.
I’ll be reading from my latest book, To Render a Raven.
“A woman’s body lay on the wide stone step in front of the oak and stained-glass door. Copper hair. Pale face. A look of terror tainting her wide brown eyes. Red lips freshly painted. A white satin slip edged in lace. A red rose between her breasts . . .
Dubh’s fey senses were overwhelmed by the smell and taste of blood, yet he could see no wounds, no ligature marks, no bruises, no pooling blood. Perhaps, the poor woman had been asphyxiated. Crouching down, he tilted her head gently to the left and then to the right. No bruising, but two bloody puncture marks marred the right side of her neck. Someone was messing with Michael. Someone familiar with his vampire fetish.“
Join me for a glimpse Into the terrifying minds of mystery and thriller writers as we read aloud from our novels. For some of us, crime really does pay.
I bought the paperback edition of In Restless Dreams from Wren Handman in March 2020. We read together at an Author Reading in B.C. and she was so funny and entertaining, I had to buy her book. (Mini-spoiler: Wren read the part where Sylvia eats “the brownie” at a party—an act that shows her hero’s innocence.)
Written in casual first person, we spend the whole book in Sylvia’s head. She’s a normal teen with some extraordinary problems. Her parents are separated, so after her mother almost commits suicide, Sylvia and her thirteen-year-old brother, Eric, are sent to live with her rich attorney father in the Upper East Side, New York. Oh, to have such problems—a mansion, a father who doles out credit cards, and a hot chauffeur to shuffle you to and from prep school!
The first half of the book follows Sylvia’s challenges adjusting to the rich privileged, ofttimes, cruel kids at her new rich prep school. About half-way through the book, Sylvia eats “the brownie” and suddenly starts seeing things she shouldn’t—even given the nature of “the brownie.”
The back-half of the book chronicles her adventures as the new Phantasmer—a being who can change Fairy with her thoughts. She’s introduced to The Stranger from the Unseelie Court and the hot, blond green-eyed knight from the Seelie Court, and we are entertained with the history and complications of Fairy.
There’s a thread of Alice in Wonderland running through the text. My favorite quote: “Artists and thinkers imagine so strongly, they warp bits of the world to match their creation. Lewis Carroll dreams of Jabberwocky and somewhere a fae is born who truly hates Vorpal swords.” Sylvia’s entry into Fairy is much like Alice’s into Wonderland, and this is exactly what Handman’s done in this book—dreamed a Phantasmer and so she is born.
Judging by the lengthy set-up, I’m assuming this is a series. Hurray! There’s already a hint of a love triangle between Sylvia, The Stranger, and the Green-Eyed Knight.
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