Posts Tagged ‘adventure’
going round and round!
The third book in my Urban Mystery Series, ‘Roundabout,’ is set in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In the last fifteen years, we have been introduced gradually to the idea of the traffic circle, also known as the roundabout. As of this year, there are nine larger roundabouts and a few smaller ‘chicanes,’ to calm traffic. In general, this form of traffic control is more economical than traffic lights and safer in terms of numbers of accidents.
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In my book, ‘Roundabout,‘ an artist sets out to capture the business of a city as expressed in the daily traffic of the Victoria Circle roundabout. Various events in the city are exemplified by her observations: for example, the numbers of tractors and work trucks indicate increased construction activity. The artist realizes there are patterns to the traffic and one of those patterns may indicate nefarious activity.
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Doing research for this book was lots of fun. My husband and I parked down by the Victoria Circle and took note of the number and types of vehicles, the interactions of pedestrians and traffic, and the way people approach and use the roundabout. One cyclist, a multitasker, made it into the book in words and a drawing.
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I hope you enjoy this book. The book is illustrated and includes a map of Victoria Circle. Traffic circles are almost everywhere; my interest in traffic circles began long ago when I used the Armdale Rotary in Halifax regularly. If you live in the Fredericton area, you will recognize a little of the city’s history and demographics. If you live elsewhere, I hope I will show you some of the interesting features of our beautiful city.
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‘Roundabout’ is available in Dog Eared Books in Oromocto, or, to order, just click here.
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
City Grotesque: what is a ‘grotesque?’
A grotesque is a type of architectural sculpture that represents a fantastical or mythical figure. A gargoyle is a type of grotesque directing and carrying water from a roof or other surface.
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At the Chubb’s Corner Building in Saint John, New Brunswick, there are 16 sculptural grotesques above the third floor windows. Although a couple of them seem to represent actual people who lived in Saint John in 1878 (when the building was constructed), most are strange, unknown figures.
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In my book, ‘City Grotesque,’ a contest is held to find modern look-alikes for the sixteen grotesques. The protagonist, a young artist working in the City, tries to find some of the grotesques with unfortunate consequences.
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This story is one of three Urban Mysteries I have written. To get a copy of ‘City Grotesque,’ visit Dog Eared Books in Oromocto or order from Amazon.ca by clicking here.
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I hope you enjoy learning more about some of the grotesques in the city of Saint John. For more information on the interesting uptown architecture, click here.
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
Office Green: a new urban mystery
I am so happy to have published the first in my Urban Mystery Series: Office Green. The book tells the story of Hannah and her plant care business. She goes from office to office in the city of Halifax, watering office plants and battling plant diseases, white fly, and nutrition problems. She also sees things she is not meant to see and gets herself into all kinds of trouble.
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So, what’s with the cockroach on the cover??? During her adventures, Hannah keeps a few handy ‘weapons’ within reach in case she gets in trouble. And what better scare-tactic than a huge African cockroach, rescued from the university biology labs. You’ll have to read the book to find out how that cockroach helps her escape from a few bad guys.
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If you like tending to indoor plants, if you love a quick read, and if you like reading about resourceful amateur detectives, you will like Office Green. You can get a copy at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto (Unit #218, 281 Restigouche Road). You can also order a copy from Amazon, just click here.
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All my best,
Alexandra Tims (a.k.a.Jane)
new: three Urban Mysteries
I have released three of my new books in the Urban Mysteries Series: Office Green, City Grotesque, and Roundabout. These three are set in the cities of Halifax (Nova Scotia), Saint John (New Brunswick), and Fredericton (New Brunswick). The stories are fiction, but the settings are real and illustrate the diversity of downtown Halifax, some of the interesting architecture of Saint John, and the traffic movements in Fredericton.
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Office Green is dedicated to Susan, good friend and co-worker, who operated a real business, watering plants in office buildings in a city out west. The image of her carrying her watering can through the streets inspired my story. The book is available here.
City Grotesque is dedicated to wonderful friend and author, Ana, a member of my writing group, Fictional Friends. Ana first introduced me to the ‘grotesques,’ sculptures on the Chubb’s Corner building in Saint John. The book is available here.
Roundabout is dedicated to my husband, Glen, a patient man and good friend. He sat with me for hours beside the Victoria Circle roundabout in Fredericton, to identify categories of vehicles and record possible elements for my story. The book is available here.
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All three books are available from Amazon, here.
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The next three books in the Urban Mystery Series will be released next year: Hollow Hotel, Dancing with Trees, and Hunting the Dragon.
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Enjoy the reading of these books as much as I enjoyed writing them. They are illustrated with my pencil drawings and a few personal experiences are included within the pages.
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All my best and Merry Christmas!!!!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
cover reveals for five Urban Mysteries
I have been busy, working on a novella series called Urban Mysteries. These mystery stories are quick reads, set in cities where I have lived or worked: Halifax, Saint John and Fredericton. Each story follows the adventures of a young woman whose interests get her into deep trouble. The books are illustrated with my pencil drawings and I create my own cover art.
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I will release the books in two groups, the first later this month. The first set of three books will be:
Office Green – Hannah’s work, tending to office plants in Halifax, means she sometimes sees more of the people in the city than she should;
City Grotesque – Eleanor decides to help the Heritage Conservation Group in Saint John to find look-alikes for sixteen sculptures in the city, and one of the look-alikes does not want to be identified;
Roundabout – Katie, making an artistic record of the travel in the new roundabout in the city, notices how regularly a particular van uses the traffic circle.
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The second set of books will be released next year:
Hollow Hotel – Helen goes urban climbing with her friends and must rescue them when they have a terrible accident;
Dancing with Trees – Katie is making a record of the trees in Fredericton and encounters an urban legend to be unraveled;
Hunting the Dragon (cover image not yet available) – Hannah tries to find the thieves of a local art installation.
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As you can see, I will be releasing the series under my pseudonym, Alexandra Tims.
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I’ll let you know as soon as the first three are available for reading!
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All my best! And Merry Christmas!
Jane Tims (a.k.a. Alexandra)
Meniscus: Reckoning … a new book of science fiction adventure
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The next book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series is now available: #13 … Meniscus: Reckoning. The series tells the story of humans who are brought against their will to the planet Meniscus and are determined to build new relationships, new lives, and new communities. Meniscus: Reckoning continues the story begun in the Rosetta Stone trilogy of how the Humans discover a way to overthrow the dominant alien Dock-winders and their cruel ways.
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Meniscus: Reckoning takes the Humans of Themble Hill on an adventure like no other. In Reckoning, a small group begins the arduous journey to El’ban where Dock-winders are still in control and have captured James, the leader of the Resistance Movement. With them is the Dock-winder child, Don’est, who continues to mystify the Humans with her false-empathy and strange logic. Others in the Resistance Movement, the brilliant Bleth’nan triplets, become part of the group and part of Don’est’s Human family.
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In the book, you will travel across the El’ban Elevations, and into the Hollows (a landscape made from the discarded cocoons of alien insect pupae). Then, the group must find a way to rescue James from the layered city of El’ban and its inescapable prison.
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Many of the main characters of the first twelve books in the series have returned to this story: Odymn, expert at parkour, Daniel, the Slain (a genetically enhanced Human), Belnar and his ridiculous ways, Kotildi, wolf-like and loyal, and the evil Dock-winder Garg who has antagonized the Humans of Themble Hill though all their adventures.
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Meniscus: Reckoning is available on Amazon.ca (click here) and from me, as I travel the three upcoming Book Fairs in Moncton (July 27, 2024), Saint John (September 14, 2024), and Fredericton (October 19, 2024). Only $12 for lots of adventure! And the e-book will be available soon.
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Enjoy the upcoming days of summer when reading is one way of escaping the black flies and taking yourself on an adventure out there among the stars.
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All my best!
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
new book coming soon! Meniscus: Reckoning
Today, after many hours of editing and formatting, I sent for a proof of my new book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. Meniscus: Reckoning will be out in early May. This will be the story of a perilous journey to a distant city, over difficult alien landscape, to rescue a member of the Human Resistance. The book is set in the El’ban District of Meniscus, a city mentioned but not visited in other books in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series.
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To find out a little more about the steps from draft to proof, have a look at the whole story here. Below is a peek at the first draft of the cover for Meniscus: Reckoning (the final cover will be a painting of the scene).
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All my best!
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
Wink in the Rain – new story for children
My new children’s book, Wink in the Rain, is now live on Amazon.ca. This is a story about Wink the elf and his search for an umbrella so he won’t get wet in the rain. In the book, you will meet Wink’s friends: a little girl and a red-backed salamander named Ribbon.
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Wink in the Rain teaches children the value of:
- perseverance (never giving up),
- friendship (valuing friends),
- innovation (finding new uses for things).
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You can find this book at Amazon.ca here. After April 15 it will be at Westminster Books in Fredericton and at Dog Eared Books in Oromocto. I will also sell them at the Moncton Regional Book Fair on April 22, 2023 at the Riverview Lions Community Centre.
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All my Best,
Jane
New Science Fiction book! Meniscus: Return to Sintha
It’s out!
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Meniscus: Return to Sintha
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You can order it now from Amazon.ca, in both paperback and e-book, here.
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Return to Sintha is the twelfth book in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series and number three in the Rosetta Stone Trilogy (beginning with Meniscus: Rosetta Stone). Abra, historian, uncovers a mystery in an ancient Dock-winder text and sets out to deliver the secret to all the populations of Prell-nan District on Meniscus.
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Also, Book Two in the Trilogy, Meniscus: The Struggle, is now available in e-book form.
Just click here.
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If you want to get a local paperback copy of Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I will have my order of paperback books no later than March 24 and after that they will be available from Dog Eared Books in Oromocto and Westminster Books in Fredericton. I will also have copies of all the Meniscus books at the Greater Moncton Riverview Dieppe Independent Book Fair at the Riverview Lions Club……. on Saturday April 22, 2023! I would love to see you there.
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All my best,
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
Meniscus: Return to Sintha … meet the characters
I have completed the final edits of my new book Meniscus: Return to Sintha and my beta reader’s comments are in. The book is heading towards its publication in early March, under my pen name Alexandra Tims.
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For this post, I will introduce you to some of the characters in the book. If you are a reader of the series, you will already know many of these characters, but some are new.
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In the book, Abra and Drag-on set out on a journey to deliver critical information about the Dock-winders to every population centre in the Prell-nan District of planet Meniscus. Abra’s friends, Tagret and Rist, set out in the opposite direction to help with the distribution of the information. The information will, they hope, end the Dock-winder hegemony, the enslavement of Humans and the indenture of Gel-Heads. That word ‘hegemony’ is known to me because my son is a political science major, but it may not be familiar to everyone:
hegemony: leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others.
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The main characters in the book are:
Abra: historian, who studies the languages of aliens on Meniscus; married to the Slain, Trath, she lives in the abandoned Museum in Prell-nan;
Trath: a Slain, a dealer in the illegal drug bellwort and an addict; Abra’s husband;
Drag-on: an alien native to the planet; looks like a forkful of spaghetti without the fork; telepathic and friendly to Humans;
Tagret: chemist, brought to slavery on Meniscus and freed by the Slain, Rist, who is now her companion;
Rist: a Slain, a courier, once married to a Gel-head named Semala; now companion to Tagret;
Semala: a Gel-head and Rist’s wife; died in an accident on the road to Sintha but she still haunts Rist and Tagret.
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In each city, our heroes must find the small group of Humans who work for the Resistance.
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The Resistance includes:
Aella: known as The Whirlwind, the one-woman resistance in Enbricktow;
Di-gett’ath Roth’: The Blood-Let, resistance movement in Prell;
Ora-nen Uth: Curfew Dark, resistance movement in Sintha, a spirited group who meet in the darkest of alleyways;
Ora-toll: Light Tunnel, resistance movement in Nebul-nan;
Marneth Hath-arn; the Shadow Builders, resistance movement in Bleth-nan, includes the triplets, Twilla, Titha and Trill who talk in their own secret language;
In De’men, the only resistance is a group of three street-sweepers;
In Tre’men, the only resistance is a wizened Gel-head named Weddle.
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Now that you know some of the characters in Meniscus: Return to Sintha, I hope you will read the book, to find out what happens and if the information changes the hegemony on planet Meniscus.
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On the release date, I’ll let you know where the book will be available. If you want to catch up on the series, you could begin at the first book in the Return to Sintha Trilogy — Meniscus: Rosetta Stone, available at Westminster Books in Fredericton, Dog Eared Books in Oromocto or on Amazon.ca.
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All my best,
Alexandra (a.k.a. Jane)
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