Please join Ottawa author Frances Boyle and very special guest, Calgary-based Susan Carpenter, for an evening of readings and cross-genre discussions. They will present their debut novels:  Susan's Bad Advice published in April by Now Or Never Publishing, and Frances's Skin Hunger, which is just out from Guernica Editions

About the Books

Skin Hunger: When passionate young animal lover Rowan Shea falls in with a group of radical animal liberationists, she must navigate fine lines between activism and extremism, and between sex and intimacy to learn where true connection can be found. Rowan’s estranged mother Evie struggles with mental health challenges and a conviction that her essence will harm her child, yet yearns to be re-united with Rowan. Skin Hunger deftly intertwines themes of motherhood and psychosis, human-animal relations, and the essential need for physical touch while exploring complicated friendships and infighting in a cast of well-meaning activists.  A story for our own age of activism and mental health awareness, Frances Boyle’s sensitively nuanced novel breathes life into community and connection.

Bad Advice:  Tess is used to untangling messy lives—her own included. A therapist in Toronto caught in the grip of a midlife slump, she’s no stranger to emotional fallout. But when a deeply troubled patient named Hal crosses the line, Tess retreats to her idyllic hometown in cottage country, hoping to find peace among familiar faces and quiet lakes. Instead, she finds ghosts. Haunted by memories of her first love and the unresolved grief of her mother’s tragic death, Tess’s return is anything but restful. And when Hal shows up uninvited, her safe haven turns sinister. Soon after, two people are dead—and Tess is at the center of a media firestorm. Branded a villain and watching her career unravel, Tess must confront buried secrets and painful truths that refuse to stay hidden. As suspicion and betrayal close in, she’s forced to choose: protect the people she loves or save herself. To reclaim her future, Tess will have to face the one person she’s never truly understood—herself. But the cost of redemption may be higher than she ever imagined. In Bad Advice, a gripping psychological thriller, trust is a risk, and the wrong choice can be fatal.

About the Authors

Frances Boyle (she/her) is the author of Seeking Shade, an award-winning short story collection, Tower, a Rapunzel-channeling novella, and three poetry collections, most recently Openwork and Limestone from Alberta's own Frontenac House. Her stories, poems and reviews are widely published, and her work has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards and prizes. Her volunteering includes Arc Poetry Magazine, The League of Canadian Poets, and Ottawa’s VERSeFest poetry festival. Born in Red Deer and raised in Regina, Frances has long lived in Ottawa on unceded unsurrendered Algonquin Anishinaabe land. Skin Hunger is her first novel. For more, visit www.francesboyle.com

Susan Carpenter is a writer, actor, and teacher whose short fiction has appeared in numerous publications. A graduate of Western University and the Humber School for Writers, she has taught memoir and short fiction, crafting and guiding stories rooted in real life with a sharp, humorous edge. When she’s not writing, Susan can be found camping in the Canadian wilds, playing tennis, or belting out show tunes. She lives in Calgary with her husband and their pony-sized rescue dog, and co-parents a blended family of five boys—her greatest source of inspiration and comic relief.