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It’s been quite some time since I have been able to say that I’ve read a horror novel that is serious competition for today great author’s of the genre. Being a fan and great lover of all things macabre I thought I had read some of the best and have verbalized my disappointment in any new horror fiction lining bookstore shelves doubting there was anyone out there who could possibly give the (enter names here) a run for their money. I’m about to eat my words.

Joseph D’Lacey’s Garbage Man is by far some of the best horror fiction I have read in many moons. He moves the readers seamlessly through several story lines, stories that will eventually bring the characters all to one very disturbing and unsuspected ending.

Once Joseph D’Lacey leads the reader to the first climax he is relentless and doesn’t allow you to catch your breath for the rest of the way through. When the horror begins you will remain on the edge of your seat up till the last word, of the last sentence of the last page. The weak of heart should not pass go but find there way directly to page 345. For the rest of us, savor every moment and prepare yourself, the Garbage Man is out there and he’s hungry!

Bio
Joseph D’Lacey was born in London and has spent most of his life in the midlands. He is the author of MEAT and Garbage Man.

“My mother warned me never to tell stories that aren’t true. It’s been great fun ignoring her advice.”

By day he runs an acupuncture practice (sticking needles into people and making little dolls scream). Between patients (victims) he writes all manner of disturbingly entertaining fiction.

He lives in Northamptonshire with his wife and daughter.

With lines such as “The air was completely still and odorless...” Richard S. Todd seems to be a writer who could just as easily slip into poetry and govern it as seamlessly as he does crime fiction. This is a book I was recommending five chapters in.

The death of Jimmy Raincloud seems to open up old wounds between the native population of Scanlon Creek and the rest of the town. Detective Hank Gillespie steps across borders with the weight of Scanlon’s strange history in his blood. At the root of the tension is a terrible massacre. Reverend Walter Tillman, took the lives of his native parishioners, then escaped while in police custody. When Jimmy becomes the first of many Native murder victims, Hank feels that the spirit of the Reverend is somehow behind the evil that has poisoned his town. Along with his new partner Stephanie Whirlwind, Gillespie tries to quell racial tensions and solve this multilayered crime.

This is not your typical crime novel. Raincloud could easily be appreciated as a new form of noir legend. A book to read in mist, a book to read in a rainstorm, one is easily lost in the haunting small town of Scanlon Creek.

Bio:
A magazine writer and pop composer living near Toronto, Canada, Richard S. Todd is a fervent champion for those fighting to overcome personal struggles and make choices to resist the perpetuation of racial isolation. Raincloud is his debut novel.

His next novel, The Orphans of the Creek, is currently in development. Description: When a small town DJ's only goal is to satisfy his voracious appetites, he sets himself onto a path of violence and destruction. A book that must be read to be believed, it serves as testimony that not all DJs are just about the music. Based on a true story? You be the judge. Click on the Books tab for a preview!

Richard is also the founder of Sky Lake Entertainment, an organization dedicated to promoting literacy to the Greater Toronto Area.

When was the last time you read a book that moved you? Made you laugh one minute, cry the next, question yourself after reading a passage or had you think hard about your own mortality? The last book that moved me this way was ‘The Lovely Bones’ by Alice Sebold. You Never Know, a biographical story, about the traumatic events that changed Romy Shillers life for ever, is the book that took me on that turbulent roller coaster ride.

As the reader, you are taken along on the journey with Romy. She allows you a glimpse into her life, past, present and hopefully her future. As you ride along you will laugh, cry and clap for this extraordinary woman. Her story makes you think hard about how precious life is and how it can change in a fraction of a second. Many would have crumbled under these circumstances by Romy Shiller raises to the occasion over and over again.

You Never Know is an inspirational book that everyone should read, as it proves to you, that determination and a will to rise above should never be doubted and Romy Shiller will prove it to you.

Bio
Romy Shiller is a pop culture critic and holds a Ph.D. in Drama from the University of Toronto. Her academic areas of concentration include film, gender performance, camp and critical thought. She lives in Montreal where she continues her writing.

Watch Romy on CBC News: Sunday at www.cbc.ca.

Naked Lens reads like an encyclopedia of Beatnik Cinema. If you are looking to learn about the crème de la crème of the artists who brought Beatnik Cinema to life, this is a great resource book to have on your shelf.

Author Jack Sargeant is very detailed when discussing such greats as David Cronenberg, William S. Burroughs and John Cassavetes. The book is also full of classic snapshots from many of the movies mentioned, in depth interviews and witty dialogue.

A great resource, Naked Lens shouldn’t be overlooked, but before you pick up a copy be warned, this book isn’t for the average bear, rather, more for the die hard lover of Beatnik or student of Cinema. As I said earlier it does tend to read more like an encyclopedia, but the information inside is brilliantly organized and lends the reader the ability to grasp why the Beatnik movement became so popular.

Biography
Since 1995 Jack Sargeant has written and contributed to numerous books on underground film, including: Deathtripping: The Cinema of Transgression, about Cinema of Transgression filmmakers such as Richard Kern and Nick Zedd, Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, and Cinema Contra Cinema, a collection of essays on alternative film. He is the editor of the journal Suture, and has co-edited two volumes Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of the Road Movie (with Stephanie Watson) and No Focus: Punk on Film (with Chris Barber). In 2007 Deathtripping was republished by Soft Skull Press.

He has contributed to numerous books on subjects ranging from Andy Warhol movies to road rage and car crash songs and his work has been included in collections such as Mikita Brottman's Car Crash Culture, Mendick & Harper's Underground USA, Wollen & Kerr's Autopia, among others.

He has also authored and edited true crime books including Born Bad, Death Cults, Bad Cop Bad Cop, and Guns, Death Terror'. These books have featured contributions from Monte Cazazza, Michael Spann, Andrew Leavold, John Harrison, Simon Whitechapel, Chris Barber, and others.

Jack has written introductions for Joe Coleman's Book of Joe and photographer Romain Slocombe's Tokyo Sex Underground.

He has contributed to publications such as Headpress as well as Panik, The Wire, Fortean Times and Bizarre magazine, as well as academic journals such as Senses of Cinema and M/C.

Between 2001-2003 he was film editor at large for Sleazenation. Jack has written cover notes for DVDs by various underground and independent filmmakers, including the British Film Institute's DVD release of Kirby Dick's film Sick: The Life And Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist.

Jack has appeared in numerous film and TV documentaries on culture and film, as well as having cameos in underground films. He has also appeared on recordings by the experimental group I/O.

He has promoted and organized shows for filmmakers and artists at the Horse Hospital in London and Cinematheque in Brighton, UK, and has also toured film festivals in America, Europe, and Australia, including the New York Underground Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, Melbourne Underground Film Festival, Brisbane International Film Festival, and Sydney Underground Film Festival. In 2002 and 2003 he collaborated with Simon Kane on The Salon, an annual event that has featured performances by David Tibet, Cosey Fanni Tutti, and Cotton Ferox.

He is currently curator of the Revelation - Perth International Film Festival 2008.

Enter a masked man. Not your averaged masked man, but a masked man who not only has a mask tattooed on his face but has a mask sewn over top the first mask. Captain Nothing isn’t your typical superhero, no he is psychotic, unconventionally violent, and doesn’t feel the need to jump right in when he sees someone in danger. He waits out the perfect opportunity, like merging into traffic.

Nothing To Lose has a definite 1930‘s Pulp Fiction feel to it as the texture of the dialogue was dark, gritty with a twist of vintage. Pulp fiction as a genre is always very colour in it’s language and it’s use of hero’s. It was most popular during the Depression and WWII, a time when the world needed hero’s the most. Nothing To Lose, uses a similar style of writing that would make Pulp Fiction writers of the lost era proud.

The chap book itself is broken into three stories. "The Glint of Moonlight on Broken Glass," "Lamprey Fellatio," and "The Meat Axe of Love." I found the first two stories fun and intriguing, with both having connecting characters and of the three stories, the first is definitely the best. I was disappointed with the third story as it didn’t have the same momentum as the first two. I was hoping the hero of the story Captain Nothing would have stirred up more violence, but he didn’t and for me was a let down.

Bio:
Born and raised in the woods of Northern Ontario in a little town called Capreol - an old word that roughly translated means "The place where the railroad tracks cross and nothing else happens". I grew up full of stories, heard from my grandfather and told by the railroad men and fabricated out of whole cloth from the weavings of my snowbound mind. First practical use for storytelling - to escape the bullying of larger tougher kids I wrote plays and cast them in the various roles thus guaranteeing them an easy mark with minimum effort. Survival of the crafty, Darwin probably never dreamed about this.

I moved to Nova Scotia when I was seventeen. Came to visit my mother, Madge Chatelois - the storytelling lady of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Came and stayed, because I fell in love with the Atlantic Ocean.

I've been right across Canada since then. Have worked as a factory hand, house painter, field worker, tree planter, roustabout, woodworker, artist's model, fiddlehead picker, blueberry raker, woodchopper, warehouse strawboss, snow shoveller, garden digger, environmental criminal and anything else that paid a buck. I currently make my living as a professional tarot and palm reader. Come visit me in Halifax, Nova Scotia at Little Mysteries on Barrington Street.

The smartest choice I ever made was marrying Belinda Ferguson, Halifax's best bellydance instructor and the toughest woman on the planet, (she's able to put up with me). She's my light and inspiration and my very best friend. I live in happiness with Connor, my stepson and costar and occasional guest appearances by Sarah Skye Vernon, my daughter and best creation, and Morticia, (Tish for short), a black cat who thinks she's a dog. Add to that my family of blue jays, Belinda's clan of crows, and a half dozen stray cats who think that my yew bush is a perfect place to mark their turf, and you will witness a perfectly Feng Shui'd masterpiece of magnificent chaos.

Sewn through the pages of this website you'll find snippets and excerpts from a few of my fifty odd (and I do mean odd) short stories. If you like what you read, check out my check out my novella LONG HORN, BIG SHAGGY, from Black Death Books.

The first chapter of Reproduce and Revolt starts you off with ‘A Brief History of the Reproducible Political Graphic,’ a section explaining to the reader, that “Every single image compiled here is intended to be reprinted and reused by activist, organizers, artists and designers committed to social justice and a radical restructuring of our society.” The entire book, is a how to for the potential or already well versed activist.

The book itself is filled with black and white art, written in both Spanish and English and it’s eleven sections (Social Welfare, Labor/Capitalism, Repression, the Environment, Transportation, Gender/Sexuality, Culture/Media, War/Peace, Solidarity) contain works of artists from several countries including Canada, US, Mexico, South America, and Europe.

One of the important messages of this book is how to make social change and Reproduce and Revolt has a very simple step by step on how to do this, step one being determine your audience and the final step explaining how to distribute your ideas to your audience. Starting a revolution has never been easier.

Determining your audience is definitely something this book has done. It contains a great mix of graphics that anyone can use to get their messages across. A perfect book for true believers and activists alike.

Bios:

Josh MacPhee is a street artist, designer, curator, and activist. A street stenciler and poster maker for over a decade, he also runs a radical art distribution project, justseeds.org, as a way to develop and distribute t-shirts, posters, and stickers with revolutionary content. He organizes the Celebrate People's History Poster Project, an ongoing poster series in which different artists create posters to document and remember moments in radical history. He also collectively organizes agit-prop cultural actions with ad-hoc groups of artists under various organizational names such as Department of Space and Land Reclamation and Street.Rec. His work has been profiled by publications such as Clamor Magazines, In These Times, Utne Magazine, and many others.

Favianna Rodriguez is an Oakland-based printmaker and institution builder,
Her dynamic political prints and posters tell a history of social justice, capturing the daily sentiments of a people in daily struggle, to document their efforts and celebrate their victories. Favianna's work attempts to reclaim public space – community centers, streets, billboards – and to redefine that space through art, through youth workshops, and through the establishment of collective cultural spaces. Favianna is co-Founder of the EastSide Arts Alliance (ESAA), a third world collective of artists and activists working to empower the Oakland community through art and culture. She is also the co-owner of Tumi's, a multi-service technology and design firm. Implementing advanced graphic & web technologies with a social consciousness, Tumi's seeks to use multimedia to engender global communication between oppressed communities and to promote political technology and open forums of expression. In 2003, Favianna co-founded the Taller Tupac Amaru, with the mission of producing and distributing screen printed political poster. With her signature energy and zeal, Favianna travels to share her inspirational work with others abroad. She has lectured numerously in Tokyo and Mexico City about the role of art and culture in community building.

Along the highways of the Southwestern, USA you will find hundreds of crosses signifying shrines for the dead. Occasionally you will see mourners at these shrines trying to contact the dead. The Redemption Roadshow is the average human’s chance at doing just that. After being introduced to the main characters, Dolan Gibb, a lone highway patrolman, Reverend Boscoe, The Long Cool Woman and the Redemption Roadshow’s ragtag fleet, you are quickly emerged in a story of spiritual journeys, regret and redemption.

The characters of the Redemption Roadshow instantly entice you into the smooth flow of the emotionally charged story. You find yourself empathizing with the main character Dolan Gibb’s plight to settle his inner demon’s when he realizes his entire life may have been a waste causing him to stir on the edge of how to fix it.

I read this book in an hour and a half and was left wanting more. I closed the book thinking what a wonderfully written story it, but, I want more, needed more. Of course I mean that in a good way, in a greedy way. I was so entranced with the Long Cool Woman, her legend and her mystery, that I want to know more and hear more stories. The Long Cool Woman is a character that could one day become one those urban legends that always starts from a great story. I am really hoping that the stories do continue as I would love to see where the Redemption Roadshow bus goes.

Bio
Weston is the author of the novels Scarecrow Gods, Recalled to Life, The Golden Thread, Vampire Outlaw of the Milky Way and a slew of short stories and articles that have appeared in comic books, professional writing guides, magazines and anthologies. He won the Bram Stoker award for Superior Achievement in First Novel in 2005 for Scarecrow Gods and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize for Fiction in 2003. He lives in Southern Arizona with his wife, Yvonne Navarro, and Great Danes, Pester Ghost Palm Eater and Goblin Monster Dog. For entertainment he races tarantula wasps, wrestles rattlesnakes, and watches Border Patrol Death Race 2000.

I embarked on my very first online book with Shawn Parker’s “Night Has Fallen”. Sure I had a copy, but could I find it? No, not until yesterday. Now that my online book cherry has been broken, I look forward to the next.

“Night Has Fallen” is a suspense novel done with a slight nod towards “Deliverance”. Four friends, out for a pre-marriage adventure in the woods, find themselves fighting for survival. Shawn does an excellent job at convincing the reader first of the friendships of the four men, and then later, does even more justice to the unravelling and revealing of how superficial their bond actually is.

However, there is a subplot surrounding one of the characters whose identity is slow to reveal. This becomes cumbersome for most of the book until the latter half, where the imagery is so haunting, it starts to overshadow the main plot line. Two images have stuck with me vividly. First, boys in a mud puddle cheerfully tearing apart a venomous snake. The other image is of the main couple, under netting sleeping side by side with so much repellant piled on their legs to combat bugs and parasites, that they cannot touch each other, lest a layer is lost.

As a result of this subplot, the character it surrounds is poorly developed in the main story and forgettable for most of the book. The final chapter is also confusing and I even wonder if it was meant for the same book, or should it have been listed as an afterword? Or is this one giant blonde moment brought on by reading small print on my I Touch? Since the main story is so strong, I question why Shawn Parker included the other bits at all, it can well stand on it’s own.

Bio

Shawn Parker is an accomplished screenwriter and this is his first novel. He works in Toronto but lives someplace else. He likes the Atlantic ocean, Robert Goulet and tickets to the gun show. He does not like pirate hookers, Ron Burgundy or the letter Q. He is left handed, right brained and was fond of bleaching his hair for a time. It is now graying and that disappoints him. His second novel is coming in 2008 whether you like it or not. He is hoping that you will.

Clarissa is not only a young man's obsession, but the perfect tragic figure in a short story written by Mike Page.  Mike aptly pulls the writer into the quick pace of the story through easy to follow details and story line.  Using multiple characters and chaos right from the get go, it catches the readers attention immediately with the momentum building right to the end of the story.

Teenagers, crushes, unrequited love, angst and tragedy are all part of the story and normally sounds like the perfect synopsis for a horror movie, and it is all the things that make From Clarissa a defined tale of horror. Most of today's successful horror movies are cast with teenagers or young adults and Mike Page uses this to his advantage in his short story.  

You can check out his story at www.fantastichorror.com, a website dedicated to tales of horror.

Bio
After a few successes and many, many failures, Mike Page's goals haven't changed much over the years: to write stuff that makes people say, "Yes! Awesome!" while touching the heart and stimulating the mind and all that crap. Enjoy.

Mostly True, instantly throws the reader into the fascinating world of the life of the boxcar hobo through fascinating newspaper ad, articles, photos of wood carvings and hobo graffiti. As I read deeper into the book I was reminded of footage from the Depression era showing hobo’s living along side of the railway and building communities around barrels of fire. During the 1930’s there was a slew of movies depicting ‘Tramps’ as the folly that kept police constables busy.

Mostly True: The West’s Most Popular Hobo Graffiti Magazine lives up to it’s title, each page is full of interesting stories, interviews, art and photography. Though the book itself is perfect bound (a type of binding technic for books), it reads more like a magazine or zine that may have originally been sold in separate editions. Whether or not it is the case Bill Daniel is expert at keeping the flow of the book fresh and exciting from cover to cover.

Mosty True treats you to many aspects of a Hobo’s life on the rails including documentary style snippets of both historical and modern tales and photo’s. However, the most interesting parts of the book are when you get a taste of the graffiti of graffiti legends Colossus of Roads, and Bozo Texino.

Mostly True is a great read that you will likely re-read a few times. Like a great photo or piece of art you will find something new in the graffiti each time you look at it.

Bio
Texas-born, San Francisco exile, and confirmed tramp, Bill Daniel continues to experiment with survivalism and bricolage in his attempts to record and report on the various social margins he often finds himself in. Working without an art or film school education, he endeavors to make work that connects with an outsider audience. His work began in 1980 as he participated in and photo documented the blossoming punk rock scene in Austin, Texas. Since then his subcultural documentary subjects have included bicycle messengers, radical environmentalists, hobo graffiti artists, swap meet guitar players, rural drag racers, and "water squatters"--outlaw anchored live-aboards. His study and love for documentary photography and filmmaking has given Daniel the charge to create work that communicates across socioeconomic boundaries. Drawing from his backgrounds in studio photography, experimental media and the construction trades, Daniel builds site-specific viewing environments as a method for deploying non-linear documentary material within an allegorical, interactive setting. 

Daniel's work has received awards from Creative Capital, Film Arts Foundation, The Pioneer Fund, Texas Filmmaker Production Fund, the R & B Feder Charitable Foundation, and The Western States Media Alliance. He was a Wattis Foundation artist-in-residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where his installation "Souls Harbor" was exhibited in Dec. In 1999 he was in-residence at The Headlands Center for the Arts where he produced several multi-projection 16mm film installations, including "Trespassing Sign" in collaboration with the late Margaret Kilgallen. In 2001 his hobo campfire installation "The Girl on the Train in the Moon" was included in "Widely Unknown" at Deitch Projects in New York. A veteran of the touring scene, Daniel has programmed, booked and exhibited several mobile art shows, including the Lucky Bum Film Tour with partner Vanessa Renwick. In 1997-98 he curated a weekly screening series, Funhouse Cinema, in Austin, that also regularly screened in Houston and San Antonio. Daniel is also recognized for his work as cinematographer and editor for filmmaker Craig Baldwin. Other endeavors include publishing two zines--The Western Roundup, a punk fanzine in 1981-82, and Detour, a situationist journal in 1986. He is also the creator of an experimental sports league, The Texas Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Hockey Association.

A typical saying in Southern Italian culture is that there are no homosexuals south of Rome. It's a macho statement about who the real men are. Female homosexuality isn't something discussed past "Aunt Rosa never married". Coming out in this environment entails the possibility of not only losing one's family, but also losing one's culture.

Cristy C. Road's "Indestructible" follows Road's high school experience and her sexual awakening within the Miami Cuban community. Cristy lives in a world where men are macho, women are curvy and sexy and that is all. There is little wiggle room to be different, let alone to be a bisexual punk. Her sexuality raises questions in her about being Latin in the queer community and whether her queerness makes her too "white". Additionally, she bristles when she is referred to as a "dyke" or a "lesbian" since these labels don't apply to her either. As the book progresses, we see Cristy become less and less hard on herself and more and more accepting of who she is until, through tragedy, she eventually realizes that she needs to let herself be alive.

Written with incredible honesty, wit, and insight, "Indestructible" tells a compelling story about a quest for identity and self-acceptance. While the book concentrates on Cristy's sexual awakening, it is also a story about finding one's place in the world when one's personality doesn't fit into a nice box. It's the story of every misfit who is trying to navigate their own feelings while trying to avoid being pigeon-holed and stereotyped.

Bio
Cristy C. Road has been illustrating ideas, people, and places, ever since she learned how to hold a crayon. Blending the inevitable existence of social principles, cultural identity, sexual identity, mental inadequacies, and dirty thoughts- Road thrives to testify the beauty of the imperfect.

Cristy Road, a Cuban- American from Miami, FL, went to Ringling School of Art and Design, wher many arguments on commercialism and the representation of women in Illustration took place. Her endeavors in illustrating and publishing began when writing a punk rock zine, Greenzine, for ten years. While today, Road has moved onto illustrated novels, taking both writing and visual elements a step more seriously, her visual diagram of lifestyles and beliefs stay in tune to the zine's portrayal of living honestly and unconventionally. In a spread featured in Curve Magazine , Jocelyn Voo notes "At 14, the Florida native started Greenzine, an alternative zine that focused primarily on the politics of punk rock and the honesty of adolescence. Roughly nine years later, Greenzine (and Road too) has evolved to encompass maturing ideas of gender, race, sexual liberation, and cultural identity." However, Voo enthuses, "Greenzine is far from the only thing on this dynamo's plate. Road's illustrations, each one a detailed manifesto, have appeared in various magazines and as contributions to punk rock bands."

Cristy Road graduated in 2004 with bachelor's of Fine Arts in Illustration, whether or not the administration at her school irritated her. Roughly two years after that, her repertoire consists of ten years of independent publishing, two graphic novels, and countless illustrations for a broad slew of magazines, record album art, concert posters, and political organizations.

In early 2006, Road released an anomalous illustrated storybook, entitled INDESTRUCTIBLE. It's a 96-page narrative about her experience as a teenager, where Road tackles the themes of being Latina, class, rebellion, gender, queerness, mental health, and death; all beneath the topical umbrella of being a teenage Floridian punk rocker in the early 90's. Road has recently completed a Collection of postcards featuring art from 2001-2007, entitled DISTANCE MAKES THE HEART GROW SICK [Microcosm Publishing]. Road just concluded BAD HABITS, a fictional illustrated novel due out in the Fall [Soft Skull Press]. Road toured with SISTER SPIT in 2007, and has been featured in various literary anthologies. With no means to slow down, Road currently draws, paints, writes, obsesses over pop-punk bands, and hibernates in Brooklyn, NY. She is a Gemini.

There are many types of Jazz, ranging from smooth to free style. It’s a style of music that has been around since the late 1800’s that is ever evolving. In order to play Jazz music successfully you need to be well honed and educated in your skill. The same goes for poetry. I’ve read some bad poetry in my time right along side the amazing stuff and Dale Percy definitely fits in the category of amazing.

Jazz and poetry tend to go hand in hand. Both are rhythmic and melodic and should sound beautiful when either spoken or done in a sing song type tone. Many Jazz musicians are poets and many poets have become Jazz musicians. When listening to poetry being read out loud you have often heard the phrase ‘music to my ears’ being used and there is good reason for that. Listen closely, poetry is music. Everyone’s Everyman is definitely poetry to these reviewers’ ears.

Dale Percy’s set opens with the smooth workings of Jazzoetry, quickly moves us to the blues with romantic flows of Loveless Blues and Jennie on the Road and wraps up with Overnight, a poem that I can imagine being read with a strong percussion in the background. Each poem moves seamlessly from one to the other, making you want to continue to move to the next without ever stopping to put the book down, never needing or wanting a break. With each poem I could easily imagine what kind of beat or musician would be playing along with it.

Though Dale Percy doesn’t consider himself a musician, his poetry is as beautifully written as any Miles Davis tune you will find out there. Pick up a copy of Everyone’s Everyman, throw on your favorite jazz tunes and enjoy.

Bio
Dale Percy is a Writer - professionally and personally. Professionally, Dale is a Creative Writer, who has been penning radio commercials, promos and the like for year. This has brought him income, professional satisfaction and even garnered him an industry award. Personally, Dale is a Jazz Poet, letting all his true feelings, thoughts and emotions out on paper, trying to echo the phrasings of Jack Kerouac, Charlie Parker, Langston Hughes, Robert Johnson, Kenneth Rexroth and Miles Davis, to name a few. What does this mean? Nothing. It is all speculation about one man, provided by the author himself. Truthfully, you'll take away what you want when you read this book, or if you know, hear about or ever meet him. However, for all his quirks, inabilities and strangeness of personality, there is one thing he would like you to remember: Dale Percy is a Writer.

Along the lines of the The Chronicals of Narnia, Anika and the Magic Top is the tale of young twelve year old girl named Anika who goes on a magical adventure after finding a magical portal. In Anika’s case it is a spinning top in her mother’s garden. After spinning the top she is transported off to the land of Animalia. In this magical land where she makes many new friends and one dire enemy. The top is Anika’s only way back to earth and when the evil Opossum King steals it from her, Anika must match wits with him in order to get it back so she can return to earth and her family.

Though Anika and the Magical Top is categorized as a children’s book, adults will enjoy it just the same. It’s refreshing to read books that take children on mythical type journies. We have writers such as C.S. Lewis, Ronald Dahl and J.K. Rowling to thank for inspring writers such as Caroline Blaha-Black to create such wonderful characters as Anika, Cleo, Max and Zarr. There are more children’s books forthcoming from Ms. Blaha-Black and we look forward to reading them.

Bio
Caroline Blaha-Black is a pen for hire and a woman who spends her days writing, travelling, doing karate, bytching, eating artisan breads and playing with her pets. She has written a ton of articles for online and printed publications, topics ranging from environment, how-tos, and spirituality to personal essays, slice-of-life and many other topics. She is also an avid fan of entering writing contests and winning them (well, sometimes). She is currently shopping her two children's books to publishers and agents. Check out her blog at www.karolinablahablack.blogspot.com.

A good autobiography is candid, smart, insightful and honest. BFF (Brainfag Forever) by Nate Beaty is candid and honest, but doesn't provide the reader with the type of self-examination that one would expect. Beaty seems to expect that readers -- or at least critics -- will be disappointed, though, since the copyright notice states, "Thou shalt not steal my comic except little bits to accompany your scathing review". When you start off like this, where can you go?

BFF quickly shuffles the reader through the years before the publishing of the first issue of Brainfag and then drags the reader along Nate Beaty's self-deprecating and somewhat obsessive reflections on the eight years after that.

It's pretty rare that anyone gets a glimpse into what goes on in the mind of an artist, but Beaty does a good job of giving the reader that glimpse. He shows how his work affects those around him (current girlfriends jealous of his depiction of ex-girlfriends, for example) and how those around him affect his work (bad breakups fuel his juices, good relationships dry them up). At times, BFF is almost philosophical: Beaty poignantly describes the frustration of pouring time, energy and soul into a creative piece, only to have it almost universally disliked.

Unfortunately, the mind of an artist can also become obsessive. While it is interesting to see Beaty's inner dialogue behind his quest for a unique personal style, it drags on at times and becomes tedious, making it difficult to keep reading. The cramped writing, sometimes crude drawings and stream-of-consciousness style is more akin to a writer's block diary than an autobiography.

The book relies too much on the petty details of day to day life and not enough on thoughtful self-examination to make it a really satisfied read. The narrative can get confusing because of the often cramped writing and disorganized pages. While interesting in starts and spurts, only the most die-hard Ned Beaty/Brainfag fan may really get total enjoyment from BFF.

Bio
BFF: Brainfag Forever! collects nearly a decade of Nate Beaty's self-published comics. Brainfag is a medical term for "brain fatigue," culled from a turn-of-the-century Grape-Nuts ad. Nate uses comics to explore self-expression, love and love lost, urban existence versus living off the grid, balancing art and coding on the computer, and generally maintaining sanity in a world gone mad. Featuring extensive new material explaining each issue, including the first 25 years of his life in five pages! Climb inside the head of a cartoonist using comics as cheap therapy.

Invincible Summer: An Anthology II is the next installment to nicole j. georges original and brilliantly written graphic novel Invincible Summer. Both volumes are a complication of her individual zines (volume II includes zine issues nine through fourteen), zine that are representative of nicoles life through art, poems, stories and anecdotes.

Volume II includes stories that take you through the next four years of nicoles life. With each zine we experience her trials and tribulations of life as though we are standing beside her. I found myself (as many will) empathizing with nicoles wanting to get ahead in life, love of all things furry, and trying to maintain a life that makes her happy.

I have many favorite pieces, but the most memorable was in issue 12 called Witchery. Of all her stories this one hit home the most with both emotion and humour. A friendship ended due to deception and when the other party starts having bad things happen to them, you find yourself cheering nicole on for getting revenge with a little help from karma.

As with Volume I, these are books to be cherished by women of all ages. Both speak volumes about how using our voice, whether it be verbal, written or artistic, can make a difference. nicole has a continuous solid message reminding us to be kind to animals and to do what we can to stop unnecessary abuse.

One thing that I wish there was more of in volume two, is the vegan recipes. I enjoyed how they popped up like candies found on a treasure hunt through out Volume One. If nicole does a Volume Three I hope she decides to include more of them.

Bio
Nicole J. George's captures her adventures and thoughts in unique, heartfelt illustrations & stories. Five years of dog mothering, chicken raising, coffee-shop crushes, drama, low paying jobs, heartbreaking romance, inspiring friendships, Vegan snacks, & more! This exhaustive collection will take the reader on a whirlwind tour through Nicole's personality, wit, and charm! This second edition collects issues #1-8 of her zine and features 38 new, additional pages! Recently featured on the Sister Spit tour!

Welcome to the world of DIY bike repair. Written by two professional bike repair experts, this book screams at you to ‘get er done’ yourself. No longer will you need to wait days for the return of your thrifty wheels from an over priced shop, rather, the very detailed how to guide gives you all the necessary information, including a very thorough list of all the tools of the trade you will ever need, to repair your own bike.

The authors of this book are not only professional bike repair experts, but artists as well. (This being very obvious throughout the second half of the Chainbreaker bike book). The zines in the book are apparently reprints, as all the originals were lost during hurricane Katrina. You will find stories of New Orleans cleverly weaned through out the pages.

Most DIY repair books tend to be long winded and complicated. Chain Breaker breaks the monotony of such things through sometimes anecdotic explanations of how to’s and what you needs. If you are an avid rider or someone who likes the occasional Sunday ride, this book is something you may want to consider to have on your shelf.

Invincible Summer is a compilation of several of Nicole J. George's journal entries that were incorporated into zines and are now in the form of this truly wonderful book. Inside you will find the first 8 issues of Nicole J. George's quirky and emotionally charged autobiographical stories, that are perfect for the punk rock soul or the everyday individual who is searching for their path in life. Coffee, dogs and romance will always be found cleverly knitted into many of the well written and beautifully illustrated tales.

Being a cookbook geek and junkie I thoroughly enjoyed the Vegan recipes intertwined within her stories. Also included amongst her illustrations are photos of the rescued animals she met during her internship at the Animal Sanctuary in California. Nicole's adventures at the animal sanctuary will definitely pull at your heart strings.

This is a book that is meant to be read on a hot summers evening, on a patio, porch or balcony, with a big mug of coffee in hand. Invincible Summer will sometimes make you giggle out loud, or make you feel anger towards society's treatment of our four legged friends, but this book will definitely leave you wanting more of her continuing legacy of coffee, dogs and romance.

Nicole also has several other zines that can be found at www.microcosmpublishing.com including Invincible Summer II, a book I am looking forward to read.

Bio
Nicole J. George's captures her adventures and thoughts in unique, heartfelt illustrations & stories. Five years of dog mothering, chicken raising, coffee-shop crushes, drama, low paying jobs, heartbreaking romance, inspiring friendships, Vegan snacks, & more! This exhaustive collection will take the reader on a whirlwind tour through Nicole's personality, wit, and charm! This second edition collects issues #1-8 of her zines and features 38 new, additional pages! Recently featured on the Sister Spit tour!

It's no secret that when it comes to depicting teens in comics, they are most likely to be both troubled and confused, both by society's desire to pigeonhole them into a suitable lifestyle or pattern and their own desire to figure it out on their own. Perhaps that isn't a totally new topic to deal with, but Liz Baillie's graphic novel "My Brain Hurts" illustrates this pendulous time perfectly, with echoes of personal struggles ricocheting throughout the story. The main character and her best friend try their best to figure out where they belong not only struggling with sexuality and school bullies but also alcoholism and drug experimentation. What saves this graphic novel from being another angsty piece of self-indulgent fluff and elevates it above most in its genre is that Baillie's comic style allows the reader not only to voyage with the characters as they journey towards self-enlightenment, but also maintains a humorous edge which is badly needed considering some of the content. She deals with some heavy issues surrounding adolescents and growing up, and she does it with wit and chuckles and a few good one-liners. Cannot wait for volume two.


Bio
Liz Baillie was born and raised in New York City and currently resides in Brooklyn with her husband and dog. She holds a BFA in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts (ooh, fancy!) where she graduated in 2002. Her main hobbies are sleeping, eating, and reading, especially about gender/sexuality theory and LGBT history. Anything to do with martial arts is also a winner.

If you're interested, there is an hour and a half long podcast interview with Liz at Indie Spinner Rack (issue 82). You can either listen to it right on your computer at that link, or you can get it by searching for "Indie Spinner Rack" in the podcast section of your iTunes.

When one reads the poetry of  Carla Hartsfield you can clearly sense a woman who is in touch with her  Feminine side, the Goddess and the Wolf. The reference to a woman's period, time of the month or curse, which must have been a term defined by a man, is poetically explained in a way that shows the real side of our monthly cycle, thoughts and feelings regarding a thing that is advertised in a blatant disrespectful way, yet talked about it hush whispers with secret words to explain in a politically correct way.
 
I particularity associated with "Period" and was immediately brought back to that uncomfortable time when it was all new, and unexplained, the foray into womanhood, the awkward receptacles in the washroom, the cardboard uncomfortable-ness.
 
my period is me
 
dot dot dot
 
A very well written journey to an everyday occurrence in the world of woman. This reviewer highly recommends Blood.

Bio
Carla Hartsfield is a classically trained pianist, singer/songwriter, visual artist, and poet. She has published three major collections with Vehicule Press (Montreal) and Brick Books (London). Her first book, THE INVISIBLE MOON, was short-listed for the League of Canadian Poets Gerald Lampert prize. More recently, YOUR LAST DAY ON EARTH was long-listed for the BC ReLit Awards. In March 2008 LyricalMyrical books launched BLOOD, a hardcover sequence of poems about the female body, motherhood, abortion, genetics and love. During the next academic year Carla will be a visiting scholar at Queen's researching and writing a new novel.

reviewed by October Young

This collection of short stories is one of the best examples of what good science fiction should be. Ranging from idyllic social structures to bizzare and slightly off kilter personal relationships, each story speaks to the reader and leaves them slightly unsettled. At first glimpse, the stories appear to be too short to have any real impact upon any sort of audience however the language used and the concepts introduced within each story betray the fact that these are tight stories without any excess words. The author has enough confidence in her ability to tell the exact story she wants to tell that she doesn't clutter up the clean lines of each tale she spins. A fantastic read and definitely a writer worth watching the shelves for.

Bio:
Jennifer Pelland is a science fiction and horror short story author whose debut collection Unwelcome Bodies was released by Apex Publications on February 29, 2008.  It contains her short story "Captive Girl," which is a 2007 Nebula Award finalist, and made the 2007 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards short list.

reviewed by Carolina Smart

Apparently that calculus we hated in high school is something you will actually use one day. Not just in baking either. According to Cindy Lu you will be using it in the dating world as well. Brilliantly written, this dating self help book not only has you giggling out loud at some of Cindy’s dating examples, but has you getting pen and paper out to do some romantic math.

When I first started reading the Four Man Plan, I thought, in order to give this book a proper review, I would actually need to try out "The Four Man Plan". Then I started to do the math. The thought of having to date four men at the time was an exhausting thought on its own. But it’s not just dating, there is work to do, you need to keep a graph, do some quizzes, keep track if the man is a quarter man, half man, whole man, 2 1/4 man or a 3 1/2 man. Yes there is such a thing as a quarter man.

My favorite part of the book, The Break Up Ladder. You have five categories, The Ickies, Drop Out, Squeezed out, “Chuck”ed out, and the ultimate Ineligible. It makes breaking up so much more organized. But it also helps you understand why these relationships aren’t working.

Ok, what this book does is a bunch of really positive things. By dating several men, you build your self esteem, weed out those who don’t fit your criteria and in the end, help YOU understand what you want out of romance. Though all the math references, charts, graphs and ladders may seem a little scary to some, it actually simplifies and helps you make sense of the dating and romance in your life. I only just finished reading the book and I now have a clearer picture of what it is I am looking for. So, go pick up a copy, I’m off to start adding quarter men to my chart.

reviewed by October Young

A twisting tale of darkness and redemption, ‘Words Written Backwards’ manages to do something other than entertain. Blending Native folklore with angelic history, the reader is caught between two distinctly different views on how the angels fell. Drawn into their personal stories, the reader cannot help but feel sorry for Judy, as we sense right at the beginning that she is not what she appears to be. The other main character, Joe, is equally as broken as she is; between talking to the spirits and questioning his own motives he finds himself in a dark place that only Judy can help him out of. The only question is, will she? A utterly fantastic read whose only fault is that it isn’t long enough.

Bio:

Gemma Files was born in 1968 in London, England, the daughter of actors Elva Mai Hoover and Gary Files. Her family relocated to Toronto in 1969, where she resides today. Files graduated Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1991 with a degree in journalism; various freelance assignments eventually led to a continuing position with entertainment periodical eye Weekly (www.eye.net), where she gained local repute as an insightful commentator on the horror genre, independent films and Canadian cinema. She was listed by Cameron Bailey of NOW Magazine as one of the Top 10 Coolest People In Canadian Cinema for 1996. She has also written reviews for www.film.com and for the Canadian horror magazine Rue Morgue. In 2000 her award-winning story "The Emperor's Old Bones" was reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Thirteenth Annual Collection (ed. Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow).

Files was married in 2002 to upcoming science-fiction and fantasy author Stephen J. Barringer. They have one son, Callum Jacob, born in September 2004.

Be Good flows like romantic poetry, beautifully intertwining several complicated characters with strategic mastery. If I had to wrap up my review of the Stacey May Fowles novel here I would. But this is a book review so I do need to say at least a few more words.

I can’t say enough good things about Stacey May Fowles debut novel, a story of several twenty somethings attempting to find their footing in life. The story carries you gracefully from one character to the other, keeping you in constant need to continue reading, to find out how they make out at the end of their journey. We get to ride along with the emotional ups and downs of each character, feeling both empathy and sympathy for the trials and tribulations of life and love each must endure.

Reading Be Good made me nostalgic for my twenty something years and I am sure it will do the same for you. Pick up a copy of this amazing novel, I am sure you won't be disappointed!

About the Author (from www.staceymayfowles.com)

Stacey May Fowles’ written work has been published in various online and print magazines, including Kiss Machine, Girlistic, The Absinthe Literary Review, Hive and subTERRAIN. Her non-fiction has been anthologized in the widely acclaimed Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity and First Person Queer. Her first novel, Be Good, was published with Tightrope Books in November 2007. She currently lives in Toronto where she is the publisher of Shameless Magazine.

The world is ending and the RCMP’s top secret branch that is dedicated to investigating the paranormal have been given the the thankless deed of saving the planet. The only problem is those who have been given charge of our destiny are a drunk, a womanizer and their abusive boss. Throw in a sarcstic, administrative assistant, a mysterious receptionist, a lonely old lady and cult that stamps you with a 666 symbol. You have, well, one of the funniest scifi tales out there.

Timothy Carter keeps us entertained from cover to cover with the adventure of Howard Plank and Johnny Tall. Two of the RCMP’s former top cops are sent to the bowels of the RCMP when they screw up time after time. Of course that doesn’t stop them from risking their lives to save man kind.

Timothy Carter was born in Farnham, England during the week of the final lunar mission, and he turned 13 on Friday the 13th. He is a novelist, screenwriter, movie lover and Transformers fanatic.

It’s very hard for anything I read to disturb me. I was raised on Stephen King, John Saul and some of the most terrifying horror movies of all time and my hero is Morticia Addams. See where I am going with this? That all changed when I read Apple Of My Eye. I have to admint, I have never been this disturbed by any horror stories, ever. 13 stories of unique macabre, creepiness and sometimes revenge. Amy has a unique story telling style that draws in the reader, keeps them on the edge of their seats and then takes them through the ultimate dark journey.

Apple of My Eyes stories range from the wicked tale of a Daddy’s girl in Apple of My Eye, to the perfect revenge on a man who regularly abuses women in Prevention to the ultimate disturbing end result of one man’s infidelity in Cold Comfort.

Each one of the 13 stories are equally intriguing, dark and horrifying. Amy Grech quickly moves you into the uncharted territory of fear and what treads behind that unopened door. This book is a must read for all horror story enthusiasts.

Bio
Amy Grech has sold over one hundred stories and three poems to various anthologies and magazines including: Apex Digest, Bare Bone, City Slab Magazine, Flashshot: Year One, Funeral Party 2, Inhuman Magazine, Red Scream Magazine, Shadow Writers - Volume 2, Spider Words, The Book of Dark Wisdom, The Horror Express, The Late Late Show, and many others. Her novel, The Art of Deception, is available at http://amazon.com. Her chapbook Cold Comfort is available from Naked Snake Press http://www.nakedsnakepress.com/CATALOG.html. Two Backed Books http://www.twobackedbooks.com/catalog.asp recently published her collection, Apple of My Eye.

Stories are forthcoming in: Mind Scraps, Space & Time, The Blackest Death III, and The Three-Lobed Burning Eye Annual Vol. III. She is an Active Member of the Horror Writers Association who lives in Brooklyn. Amy Grech is also a talented Copywriter/Search Engine Optimization Specialist. Visit her website: http://www.crimsonscreams.com for a good fright.

bio is from http://amygrech.livejournal.com/profile

Are you ready for some excitement! Jeff Cottrill not only knows how to draw his readers in, he knows how to shock them. Gifted at writing clever and smooth tales with twisted endings, he has become a quick favourite of this reviewers. The reader is quickly drawn in by this light and fun story lines than BAM big bloody endings. A man after my own heart!

The continuing series ‘The Fiver’ quickly caught my attention, the favourite thing about the Fiver is the Volume II Eedin-berg. I was reading this story on the subway and started laughing out loud during my train ride. My Grandmother was Scottish so I appreciate the humour around the pronunciation of the city’s name.

The further you read into the chap book the more you realized that Jeff is not only a clever writer, but an intuitive one. In Hemingway’s Lost Chapter, Jeff has a knack for recreating Hemingways run on sentences and repetitive descriptive. A good giggle was had without the beer and pretzels.

All I can say about Guilt Pasta is go to the Burning Effigy webstore and buy it. You won’t be disappointed.

About the Author
Jeff Cottrill is a satirist, fiction writer, and spoken-word performer based in Toronto. His stage act often uses elements of performance poetry, comedy, theatre, storytelling... even the occasional puppet. With a darkly comic flavour, he likes to make audiences laugh, cringe, or (preferably) both.

He has featured in many local literary shows and toured twice with the Perpetual Motion Roadshow, which brought him to such cities as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Montreal and Vancouver. In June 2003, he performed two full sets at the Open Eye Festival in Seaforth, western Ontario. He has also headlined for shows throughout England as well as in Ottawa; Detroit; Windsor, Ontario; Toledo, Ohio; and Rockford, Illinois.

He was the co-host of Strange Tongues, a popular monthly spoken-word series (created by monica s. kuebler) that ran from February 2002 to June 2004. He has also been an occasional guest host of other open stages, including WordJam!, Cryptic Chatter, Coffeehouse Cabaret, Every Buddha Plays and Cafe at the Centre.

Jeff has also written arts reviews, interviews and articles as well as (gasp!) relationship self-help. He is the former Assistant Editor of Divorce Magazine and has appeared in The Detroit News, Canoe.ca, Vu, Exclaim!, The Village Post, OWL, The Richmond Hill Post, Glued, Jagged, Wordsmith, The Independent Weekly and The Varsity.

He has authored two chapbooks of fiction and satirical monologues, Cruelty and Kindness (2002) and Karaoke Dogs (2003), published through Burning Effigy Press. (His third, Guilt Pasta, will be launched in April 2007.) In June 2005, he released his first CD, Cracktastic!, through Moody Loner Records.

Jeff likes movies, travel, and puppies.

Jeff’s bio is quoted from toronto.coffeehouse.ca

About the Press

Burning Effigy Press was founded in 1999 as a way to bring fringe poetry, prose and fiction out from the trenches and onto the pages of chapbooks and anthologies. The driving force of Burning Effigy has always been that we are writers publishing writers. That said, we ain't in this shit for the bucks, we're in it because we love books and we love the scene. More so, we love writing that moves, frightens or forces us to think in different ways. We love words that scream and bleed from the pages and demand to be heard.

In March 2007, Burning Effigy relaunched with a new brand new genre focus and many big surprises in store. Timothy Carter's novel Section K kicks us off with a unconventional sci-fi comedy guaranteed to entertain. To be followed shortly by our brand new line of horror chapbooks. Stay tuned for all the bloodcurdling details.

I want Jennifer McCann to start making my lunches... I'm serious. Jennifer runs a blog called The Vegan Lunch Box (http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/), she makes vegan lunches for her little guy. This kid not only has the coolest lunch box, but the worlds best lunches. I bet his class mates gather around each lunch to see what is inside the blue box! She has just released a cookbook called ‘Vegan Lunch Box’ and you can buy it at the website www.veganlunchbox.com. Sometimes paypal is way too convenient! I now have the book in my possession and can’t wait to start making up some of my own Lunch boxes.

There are tonnes of yummy recipes and lunch box ideas through out the book. There are also glossy full colour photos to compliment said recipes. Whether you are making lunches for you kids or just yourself. This book is well worth it.

Dark, sensual, sexy and hot. These are a few words I would use to describe the first book of poetry by Myna Wallin, but a few are not enough. 75 pages long, and purse size, this book travelled with me on the subway, during my rush hour tours from work to home and back again. I’m glad it was in my purse.

This book is cleverly broken into four chapters. In the Throes, Casting Call, Off Limits and An Ariel View. Each chapter as profound as the one before it.

One of my favourite poems is Screen Vixen. Every little girl dreams of being one and Myna has put into perfect words those hidden emotions. My next favourite is the fantasy of Secret Lives and the very classy Even Diva’s Get the Blues.

Pick up A Thousand Profrane Pieces and put it in your purse or knapsack and have it handy for those long tedious subway rides. It’s a nice escape.

Clever and contraversial, Misogyny takes us through a journey of time, from the beginning of civilization, to the witch hunts, to the suffragette movement and right up to current times. Throughout this journey we are given a history lesson of men’s mistreatment and contempt for women. Jack Holland’s extensive research is very apparent through out the entire book, making it an interesting read and a book that is hard to put down.

When I first picked up this book I wasn’t sure what to think. A book on misogyny written by a man was probably his attempt to justify it. Jack Holland does the exact opposite. Not only does he show, through the ages, just how wrong it really is, he himself is shocked, when people are shocked that he isn’t writing a book trying to justify the wrongs of Misogyny.

Powerfully written and in great detail, this is a must read for all women.