When it comes to protecting her family, she is deadly serious.
Coming in November 2024:
River Faces North
The Beginning of Taggak Journey:
a trilogy on the themes of
dystopian devastation, courage, sacrifice, and hope
The year is 2036.
Much of the world lies in ruins, and a charismatic sect known as the Elect has taken control. In the shattered remains of rural Nova Scotia, seventy-eight year old Meredith Flora Hardy is documenting what might be, in her opinion, "the last history of the world", while managing the diverse individuals hiding out in her swamp and laying plans to save her family and defeat the Elect.
Flo has been assigned a task of great importance, one essential to the earth’s survival, and she will fight to her last breath to complete it. At times irreverent, always honest, Flo draws us into a dark world, shocking us while summoning us to hope and sometimes even laughter. She guards her son’s secret, and she is determined to save her granddaughter from a grim fate. She would face down hell for their sakes. This is her own story, documenting the times and her struggles within them, in which saving her granddaughter River will be the key to saving everything.
River’s journey, into the revolution and into her destiny, will unfold in the sequel She Becomes Shadow, coming in 2025. The culmination to this journey, She Reflects the Earth, will be released in 2026.
Much of the world lies in ruins, and a charismatic sect known as the Elect has taken control. In the shattered remains of rural Nova Scotia, seventy-eight year old Meredith Flora Hardy is documenting what might be, in her opinion, "the last history of the world", while managing the diverse individuals hiding out in her swamp and laying plans to save her family and defeat the Elect.
Flo has been assigned a task of great importance, one essential to the earth’s survival, and she will fight to her last breath to complete it. At times irreverent, always honest, Flo draws us into a dark world, shocking us while summoning us to hope and sometimes even laughter. She guards her son’s secret, and she is determined to save her granddaughter from a grim fate. She would face down hell for their sakes. This is her own story, documenting the times and her struggles within them, in which saving her granddaughter River will be the key to saving everything.
River’s journey, into the revolution and into her destiny, will unfold in the sequel She Becomes Shadow, coming in 2025. The culmination to this journey, She Reflects the Earth, will be released in 2026.
~~~Taggak Journey~~~
Taggak Journey is a story of sacrifice, courage, and hope set in a dystopian near future. I have used the word “taggak” because it describes the key aspects of River’s journey, which begins in this book told by her grandmother Flo. “Taggak”, according to Labradorimi Ulinnaisigutet: An Inuktitut-English Dictionary of Northern Labrador Dialect (August Andersen, William Kalleo, Beatrice Watts, eds. Nain, NL: Torngasok Cultural Centre, 2007), means “shadow, reflection in a mirror, north”.
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Progress Updates:
2024-04-30 - revised manuscript filed with editor
2024-04-22 - started receiving feedback on cover options - Thanks, everyone! Amazing insights!
2024-04-27 - started pre-publication promotion at markets
2024-05-05 - submitted revised cover design
2024-05-21 - anticipated return of edited manuscript with recommendations and the beginning of final revisions
2024-06-03 - Edited manuscript was returned exactly on schedule. Revisions have been made and the revised manuscript reviewed. The new file is uploaded for final proofreading.
IF ALL GOES WELL, WE WILL BE IN LAYOUT IN EARLY JULY!! (This will be for the interior; the cover is ready. I will not reveal that just yet.)
2024-06-22- The proofreading came back this week. I have reviewed the changes, and am giving the book one last reading before uploading it for layout. Wednesday, June 26th is my target date for entering the layout stage.
2024-06-26 - Interior layout has begun. If all goes well, the first round will be back in July, and we will have a better idea of the publication date.
2024-07-03- The first proofs arrived Wednesday evening. I am now reviewing these, and expect to be uploading July 12th. (I am behind, as we lost our beloved Flo that same evening.)
2024-07-12 - The revised proofs have been uploaded, and the designer is entering the revisions. This process should take about two weeks. Check in any time on this page, as they might be early . . . or late! Please feel free to contact me through my website with any questions. Just go to the "Ask the author" option on the main page.
2024-07-26 The second round of proofs has been returned, reviewed, and uploaded for final adjustments. When the revisions come back, I will review the last changes . . . and then we proceed to production! Once again, please feel free to contact me through my website with any questions. Just go to the "Ask the author" option on the main page.
I look forward to sharing the cover soon. Of the three sample covers, two received strong interest. One of these is the cover of RIVER FACES NORTH, and I am saving the other one as, based on feedback, it will be best suited for the third book!
2024-04-22 - started receiving feedback on cover options - Thanks, everyone! Amazing insights!
2024-04-27 - started pre-publication promotion at markets
2024-05-05 - submitted revised cover design
2024-05-21 - anticipated return of edited manuscript with recommendations and the beginning of final revisions
2024-06-03 - Edited manuscript was returned exactly on schedule. Revisions have been made and the revised manuscript reviewed. The new file is uploaded for final proofreading.
IF ALL GOES WELL, WE WILL BE IN LAYOUT IN EARLY JULY!! (This will be for the interior; the cover is ready. I will not reveal that just yet.)
2024-06-22- The proofreading came back this week. I have reviewed the changes, and am giving the book one last reading before uploading it for layout. Wednesday, June 26th is my target date for entering the layout stage.
2024-06-26 - Interior layout has begun. If all goes well, the first round will be back in July, and we will have a better idea of the publication date.
2024-07-03- The first proofs arrived Wednesday evening. I am now reviewing these, and expect to be uploading July 12th. (I am behind, as we lost our beloved Flo that same evening.)
2024-07-12 - The revised proofs have been uploaded, and the designer is entering the revisions. This process should take about two weeks. Check in any time on this page, as they might be early . . . or late! Please feel free to contact me through my website with any questions. Just go to the "Ask the author" option on the main page.
2024-07-26 The second round of proofs has been returned, reviewed, and uploaded for final adjustments. When the revisions come back, I will review the last changes . . . and then we proceed to production! Once again, please feel free to contact me through my website with any questions. Just go to the "Ask the author" option on the main page.
I look forward to sharing the cover soon. Of the three sample covers, two received strong interest. One of these is the cover of RIVER FACES NORTH, and I am saving the other one as, based on feedback, it will be best suited for the third book!
Welcome to Flo's Walk of Memories...
The trails in the new world are roughened by weather and time. In the open places, the heat beats down mercilessly on the elderly Flo as she struggles to complete the twenty kilometre journey through the apocalyptic wilderness on her monthly supply run. There is ever a scent of fire on the wind; the meadow is parched and the woods brittle. In winter, she faces icy rains, flooding, and raw winds. In all seasons, the trails are pitted and clogged with fallen trees.
And this is only the wilderness. The wasteland, as she says, is more dramatic.
The images above, so fresh and alive, are the scenes Flo holds in her memory, while she struggles to keep hope alive.
She is at all times meek and subservient in appearance, but they have threatened her grandchild.
They should not have underestimated the power of a rebel grandmother.
And this is only the wilderness. The wasteland, as she says, is more dramatic.
The images above, so fresh and alive, are the scenes Flo holds in her memory, while she struggles to keep hope alive.
She is at all times meek and subservient in appearance, but they have threatened her grandchild.
They should not have underestimated the power of a rebel grandmother.