Inkwater Press

Last week we featured some great non-fiction reads.  This week we’ve turned the page to suggest a few works of fiction for all ages and preferences.  If you are going to the beach or just planning to relax at home, the following books should keep you and your children entertained:

• A new book from Inkwater Press heads up our list.  If I Catch You Reading This is a sophisticated book reader’s dream, a book of contemporary short stories by author Jeremy R. Benjamin that are as witty and ironic as any we’ve read.  
• Repeat Business is a heart-breaker of a book with an occult theme and a happy ending.  Author Joe Carufe set much of the book in a beach town in Florida, and this book is the next best thing to being there .  
• Author E. A. Sunden has written a book teenage girls will love with Domain of Illusion.  A fantasy with a strong female protagonist, the book has all of the elements great fantasies share.  
• Mike Reiss of The Simpsons wrote City of Hamburgers, a read-aloud picture book that both you and your children will enjoy. Imagination, as well as ketchup and mustard, flow through this delightfully quirky book.

All of these books are available at inkwaterbooks.com and other popular online retail outlets.

Is it such a stretch that an RCMP constable could put aside her life of crime-fighting to delve into the fantasy world of a warrior princess trying to save her people from extinction?

British Columbia newspaper The Abbotsford Mission Times  poses this question in its lead-in to a highly positive article on Inkwater author Sonya Roy and her newly released book, Tinay the Warrior Princess: the Initiation. Published in February, the article describes the process the author used writing this first novel, which chronicles the story of a 14-year-old girl, a descendent of the people of Atlantis.

Sonya Roy has plans for six more books in this series, and we are looking forward to each one of them.

Ellen Sunden of West Lafayette, Indiana, just published her first novel, Domain of Illusion, with Inkwater Press. A fiction piece that uses symbolism to explore the health effects of tobacco use – Domain of Illusion wasn’t easy to get on the market. Ms. Sunden’s hometown newspaper, the Journal and Courier, wrote a recent article describing the challenges authors face getting published today and used Ms. Sunden’s success as the lead in the story.

With advice from Jeremy Solomon, Inkwater Press president as well as other experts in this field, the Journal and Courier article recommended that new writers join creative writing groups, write regularly, and understand that it takes patience to get published. You can read the complete article here.  

Glenn A. Terris of Scappoose, Oregon, took 40 years to write Genesis: Revisited. Published in November, the buzz about this science fiction novel cropped up almost instantaneously.

A long-time fan of Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, Glenn was hospitalized for a year following an accident in his twenties. He wrote a first draft of Genesis:Revisited as he was recovering. Several local newspapers and a radio station in Glenn’s hometown in Vermont are covering this inspiring story.

Genesis:Revisited draws on classic science fiction themes such as extraterrestrial life and dramatic leaps forward in human evolution. On another level, Genesis:Revisited is a book about personal relationships: marriage, divorce, love and steamy sex show the human side of scientists, engineers and flight crews. As the story evolves, so do these characters. They make wiser decisions based on what’s right or wrong, not what’s easiest or fastest, a distinction Glenn draws from his own experience.

WCFR, a classic hits radio station in Windsor County, Vermont aired an interview with Glenn on December 10. The Camas-Washougal Post-Record will feature a story on Glenn and his wife Linda this month, as will the Blackriver Tribune in Springfield, Vermont. Two other Northwest newspapers and an online science fiction magazine are also talking to Glenn about possible stories.

So, what does this first-time author offer up as advice to new writers? “Do not give up. Hold on to the belief that you have something to offer that is worth whatever it takes. It took 40 years for this to come true for me. It will not take long for the second book.”

We think these words are particularly wise coming from Glenn.

Domain of Illusion, by Ellen Sunden

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Colleen Welch
(503) 968-6777
colleen@inkwaterpress.com

Domain of Illusion – Health Educator Publishes First Novel

PORTLAND, OR – OCTOBER 13, 2008: E.A. Sunden’s debut novel Domain of Illusion reveals a fantasy world in upheaval. Once a bright and beautiful oasis, the Valley of Tsura faces bleak times. The assassination of the High Emperor followed cruelly on the heels of Empress Zaiya’s unexpected death after the birth of her first child, Naora. Now, strange smoke phantoms are openly attacking the small agrarian village. Three mysterious, unknown illnesses are striking the people of the valley. With the strange disappearance of the High Emperor’s eldest son, it is up to his younger twin brothers Arel and Kozai to unravel the mysterious plot against the valley before the malevolence of a hidden power destroys everything.

Local author E.A. Sunden initially wrote Domain of Illusion in 2001 as a Health & Kinesiology student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. In carefully constructing this thrilling tale, Ms. Sunden included an underlying health message for all inclined readers to decipher. A reader’s guide has been prepared for such purposes and is available upon request.

After graduating in 2005, Ms. Sunden saw an incredible opportunity to bring her chosen health issue to life in a fresh new way: through fiction. She worked to finish the unique project that she had begun back in 2001, and is currently working on a sequel to Domain of Illusion.

Published by Inkwater Press, Domain of Illusion is available online at InkwaterPress.com, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com.

The author is available for events and interviews by telephone or in person, depending upon the location. For more information, contact Colleen Welch at Colleen@inkwaterpress.com

About the Publisher

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Inkwater Press has published more than 400 titles, including fiction and nonfiction, poetry and children’s books. Inkwater Press is a division of First Books, which was founded in 1988. The company is committed to a sustainable future, printing on recycled paper and using no animal-based products.