September 2026 Newsletter

“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates

Hello Everyone;

Hope you’ve had a wonderful summer. Welcome to autumn.

I have a piece of news to share in keeping with this month’s quote about building new, but first take a look at the following book cover.

Yup, my fourth novel, Disruption will be released in the fall. It’s been a long road for this novel which I started in 2019 when my third novel, Finding Callidora was published. I’ve gone through 20 plus rewrites with this baby, some of which involved setting aside what I had already written and starting from the beginning with a blank sheet of paper. The story has changed more than a few times along the way. Then there were all the edits. It’s been a ride but I hope I got it right. Fingers crossed.

My novel is a work of fiction but at the heart of all my work is a topical political or societal issue I’m grappling with. Disruption is my attempt to understand what increased surveillance means for us as a free society and what has happened in our world today where we are seeing the resurgence of far-right movements and the unlawful imprisonment and displacement of the innocent, including children. 

You will see references to old songs in my novel and how they were used to carry messages without detection. Songs were used in this way in Ancient Greece where paean were either songs of warning or of celebration during wars. The song Whistle While You Work which I also use in this novel has a dark history prior to being made famous in the Walt Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. During slavery, slaves were told to whistle while they worked. If the whistling stopped, the slaves were punished.

The other songs in my novel are old protest songs sung by Woody Guthrie, who was labeled a communist by his government. 

I am grateful that I can use this history in Disruption to raise the issues close to my heart today. Still, it’s unfortunate that we continue to live in a world that as my character, Kitianna in Disruption notes, “can’t learn from the mistakes of their past.” Stories remind us of what memory lacks. That is the power of story.

Writing:

I received further edits for my novel, Disruption and have incorporated many of those edits. I also continued working on Book 2 of Bouboulina, my graphic novel. I’m not great at juggling two writing projects at the same time, so Bouboulina has taken a back seat in July. It will have its day and time soon.

Reading and Publicity Events for Disruption:

My first reading event for Disruption will be in Vancouver on September 28th at 7 p.m. at Container Brewing which is located at 1216 Franklin Street in Vancouver.

I’ve been invited to participate on a radio show on September 29th at 2 p.m. Here are the particulars about The Hour Is Blue.

I will be reading at the Whistler Writers Festival on Saturday November 7th at 5:00 pm.

Other readings have been scheduled for Calgary (November 14th) and Edmonton (November 17th). I will be sending out details of locations, times and reminders as well as posting on socials as we get closer to these dates.

Hope to see you at one of these events or others planned in the future.

Writing:

I spent most of August on edits for my novel, Disruption. As a result I did very little writing in regards to Book 2 of Bouboulina, my graphic novel. I began Chapter 9, but that is as far as I got. Here’s hoping I will return to Bouboulina in September.

My friend and author, Janet Love Morrison has recently launched her new website Wordcraft Creative to offer support and industry insight to all scribes - from beginners to veterans. Congratulations Janet.

Upcoming Events:

Discover all of the exciting books and authors right here. And please read the complete tale of the origins and growth of the Whistler Writers Festival at the Whistler Insider, written by 2026 festival author bronwyn preece. The festival box office opens to members on September 14th and to the general public on September 16th. Please come and help us celebrate our 25th anniversary!

Book Recommendations:

Here are the books I read in August. 

In his latest book, Dr. Brian Goldman of CBC’s White Coat Black Art outlines the realities doctors and nurses face working in the emergency ward (ER) of various hospitals, large and small, across Canada. The stories in this book are engaging, and the situations well described, showing the reader the growing complexity of the work faced by passionate and committed doctors and nurses in the ER. An excellent although frightening read. Author, Linwood Barclay said it better than I can in his quote on the front cover of The Casino Shift, “A must read.”

This young adult novel focuses on two young men who become friends after they meet at a swimming pool. Their friendship helps them discover who they are and what they mean to each other. Beautifully written and certainly a wonderful read for all age groups. Here is a review from The Guardian.

Recommended by my friend and author, Genni Gunn this book is set during World War II and follows the life of Director, G.W. Pabst, who worked in the United States and France before returning to Germany to take his ill mother to a sanitorium. Pabst and his family get stuck in Germany because of the war and is forced to make films at the Nazi regime’s beckoning. As the author notes, “although this novel is largely inspired by the life stories of the historical G.W. Pabst and his family, it is a work of fiction.” Lots of characters and voices in this story which at times confused me, but beautifully written and another reminder of what we must never allow to happen again. Here is a review from The Guardian.

This graphic novel interweaves the present-day research of the main characters with the backstory of Bertrand Russell as he speaks at a conference about the “foundational quest” in mathematics. I very much liked the interweaving of the modern day story focused on understanding this history and the historical backstory told from Russell’s perspective. And the graphic format made this topic and history accessible. Here is a review from The Guardian. Oh, and in case you need any further reading recommendations, here is a link to an incredible letter I read earlier this month written by an American to his fellow Americans. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Thank you for reading my newsletter.

If you liked my newsletter, please share it with your friends. If you’d rather not receive the newsletter, no problem. Just email me and I’ll take you off the list.

Talk to you soon. Take care. Stella