The Venturers is a new book to be launched soon by Chronicler Publishing for Charles
 O. Goulet. This is a reprint as the original was published by Saga Books.
Since it is part of a series, The Marin Family Chronicles, I felt that it would be better if all the books were published by the same publishier.
Chronicler Publishing has published The Traders, The Raiders, The Warriors, and The Avengers so it was only fitting that they publish the first book of the series.
Soon, The Wanderers, the sixth book in the series will be published.
All the books are the story of the Marins as they spread out from Port Royal, Acadie, New France to all parts of North America.
The original settlers where Pierre and Francoise Marin who came to Port Royal in 1670 shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Breda between the French and the English who were rivals throughout the known world at that time.
The Venturers and the other books are available from the Chronicler Publishing bookstore on their website and also from Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Books a Million, and many other book stores.
If it's not in your favourite bookstore, ask them to order it.

With the recession publishing is experiencing tough times like most other business, but the future does look bright because when money is scarce people look for less expensive forms of entertainment and books are just that.
Compare tp movies, hockey, baseball, or football, books are a real bargain so very likely the book industry will see an increase in sales if not a boom.

     The only way to become a writer is to write. That requires a great deal of self-control and dedication, not only writing when the urge is upon you but even when it is not. That requires seeing the words flow onto the blank page or blank screen.

     Force yourself to sit at your desk or in front of your computer screen and write something, anything until the ideas begin to flow, and flow they will. You will soon learn that what you write when the urge is not there will be as good as when the impulse is strong. Later, when you reread what you wrote, you will be unable to tell what was a struggle or what was an inspiration.

     Stay before the bare page or empty screen until it is full. One page is not impossible, and once that page is full, you will find that it is easy to fill two pages or more. Write as quickly as you can think. Do not disrupt the flow of ideas and sentences with concern about grammar, syntax, and other rules.

     This is not the time to rewrite. Write quickly, ignoring spelling and punctuation. That can be corrected with rewriting as is the use of the dictionary and thesaurus. The important action is to put words to paper or to screen, to explore your thoughts, to brainstorm, if necessary.

     More important is the development of self-control, of dedication, of persistence, and of a work habit. All productive writers have acquired this determination.

Hi Everyone,
This summer had been a busy one for me. Since my appointment as Editor of Chronicler Publishing, I have been reading submitted manuscripts and editing in preparation for the Fall schedule.
One of the problems is the number of manuscripts that do not fit our guidelines. We are a very selective niche publisher, yet many writers ignore that and send us mss. that are not suitable.
We try to give every submission a proper scrutiny in the hope that a gem will turn up.
To the present that has not happened, but we have a few that we think we will publish.
We publish Canadian historical novels and novelists. Our preference is novel featuring Canadian history, but we will look at Canadian authors who write historical novels even if they don't feature Canadian history.
Please visit our website to find out about Chronicler Publishing; the URl is
http://www.chroniclerpublishing.com, and if you have a suitable story, let us see it.
We just might publish it.

If a writer considers writing to be a task, he/she is doomed to failure. Since it cannot be a task, then what is it? It is a discipline. What does that mean?

A discipline means development, and that means preparation. So a writer must prepare to be a writer and that means study, study of the English language—its words, its structure, its syntax, and its style. That is the groundwork that a writer must follow all his/her life. This implies training.

Where does a writer obtain this training? From many sources—workshops, seminars, courses, reading, and connection with other writers. Every day becomes part of a writer’s training. Every moment adds to the writer’s store of information, ideas, topics, and themes.

Discipline means the cultivation of input, of broadening the writer’s outlook, of developing something to say, and of creating a way to say it. Without effort there can be no output—at least no yield that readers are willing to add to their store of thoughts and ideas.

Discipline means practice. A writer is not a writer until he or she puts words to paper or screen and this is the application of the training that preceded it. All of this implies a love of the art, and if that is not present, then it becomes a task, and writing can never succeed as a chore.

Discipline means exercise, which means action, which means the act of writing, of sitting before the blank page or screen and filling it. This is the time of labor, but it must be a labor of love, a desire, a need, an addiction, in fact, to expressing oneself. Of course, this action can take many forms—poetry, essays, short stories, articles, novels, and non-fiction books—but it must be treasured and desired for its own sake before it is presented to readers.

Without discipline, writing becomes nothing more that a job to be completed leaving the author unfulfilled and wanting.

            Many writers stare at the blank page or clean computer screen and wait for inspiration with a feeling of hopelessness. That white page or screen is always a struggle to fill, and it probably will always be for most writers.

            Writing is fatiguing work because it is the source of great stress, great concentration, great thought, and a great expenditure of energy—mental, emotional, and physical.

            Writing is stressful because it requires the writer to be aware that others will read what one writes and thus pass judgment on it. Writing is stressful when ideas and thoughts will not come to fill that blank page. Writing is stressful if the writer feels that he must write and yet cannot write. Writing is stressful because the writer is never sure of how effective the composition will be.

            Writing requires thought. The writer must think of many elements as he writes: grammar, syntax, topic, theme, punctuation, spelling, and all the other factors that are required for effective, useful, and favorable writing whether it is fiction or non-fiction. In addition, this rational process must happen simultaneously as words are put to paper or screen.

            Because thought requires concentration, and concentration requires effort, and effort requires discipline, the writer is under a great deal of pressure when he or she is working to express an idea in the most effective way. Writing is never easy although it may be easier at one time and not at another.

            With all these impediments to conquering the blank page or screen, what must a writer do? The writer must start writing one word at a time until the flow comes, and then the page or screen can be dominated—not easily—but it can be controlled. With its filling, the agony diminishes.

            Rejection slips are the bane of all writers, yet they are inevitable. The most successful of writers had their share of them, and even get them now that they are prosperous.

Although rejections are inescapable, they should not be considered maleficent; they should be considered helpful. Though when first received, they can be disheartening, they should be contemplated as a valuable learning experience. Even if they come as form letters, they can serve as valuable lesson in determination.

            Look at it this way: One more “no” is that much closer to a “yes”. Each time a manuscript comes back, the quicker it should be sent to the next market prospect, and the writer should get on with the job of writing. Hesitating will only prolong the period of time before the piece is accepted for publication.

            If the rejection notice has a personal message attached with a critique from the editor it should be studied carefully and heeded. If that happens, the writer knows that the composition had merit, and with a little more work can be placed.

            Once the “work of art” is further improved, it is time to send it on its way again. When the writer is confident that it is the best that can be produced, then it is ready to return to the eyes of editors, whether it is an anecdote or a mammoth saga. It must be out there to be considered.

            Perseverance is the writer’s best virtue. If at first you do not succeed, try and try again.

            As Anaïs Nin says in her autobiography “Beware of allowing a tactless word, a rebuttal, a rejection to obliterate the whole sky” that should be a writer’s philosophy about rejection slips.

            If you want to be a writer, then you must write—you must write something every day.

            If possible, have an established time to write every day. Budget your time to make that period available even if it is only a few minutes. You will be surprised how much you can write in a short period of time. This writing should have a dual purpose: first, to improve your writing skills, and, second, to record your ideas.

            As well, a special writing place is also helpful. It should preferably be a spot where you are free from the distractions of daily living—a corner of a bedroom, living room, or even kitchen, but it should be your writing site. Of course, an office of your own would be a preferred location. It is surprising how the mind can develop creatively if given the chance.

            To write every day requires a plan; it requires a time; it requires a location; it requires a focus; and it requires a reason. The first two have already been dealt with, so what is a focus plan? A focus plan is a decision of what kind of writing one will do: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, articles, short stories, etc.

Here, the writer has to find his/her voice. Do not spend the writing time thinking about it; the important thing is to write and the voice will come.

            Of course, a focus requires a reason for writing. Is it for personal satisfaction and enjoyment only? On the other hand, is it for public consumption and financial augmentation? Perhaps both. Usually, though, one writes to share one’s thoughts and ideas with readers.

            What about ideas and topics? Without them, a writer is lost. In writing every day, the goal is to express whatever comes to mind—a memory, a gripe, a desire, a feeling, an incident, or grammatical exercise. It really does not matter; the important activity is the writing. Once started the words usually flow.

            So, write something every day.

Virgil, the great Roman poet, wrote “Practice and thought might gradually forge many an art.” From this we can assume that practice comes before thought, and so it is with present day writers.

What must be practiced? If one is to be a successful writer then one must be able to practice good grammar. In order to practice good grammar, a writer must know the rules of good grammar and therefore must study the rules of good grammar. Most editors reject quickly those writers who do not know how to construct a proper sentence with at least a subject and predicate.

Besides knowledge of a simple sentence, a writer must use compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. In order to perfect the ability to use these sentences, one must practice their use until it becomes second nature.

Once a writer—through practice—has mastered the sentence then it is time to work on the paragraph. Again, composing a unified, effective paragraph requires practice so that it has unity, coherence, rhythm and acceptable syntax.

English syntax can only be learned by practice, particularly the practice of reading. A “wannabe” writer must be a reader—one who reads voraciously and eclectically so that good syntax will come naturally. However, this reading must be done studiously with awareness of the writer’s style and composition, because syntax is the way in which one puts the words together. Now the writer must practice and develop his own style of syntax.

This brings us to the next practice: the use of the dictionary and thesaurus—not the dictionary and thesaurus that are found with most word processors. Although they are helpful, they are not as beneficial as a complete and unabridged dictionary or thesaurus. If a writer depends completely on the dictionary and thesaurus found with most word processors, one’s writing will be full of mistakes.

Finally, but not the least, is punctuation. Although most punctuation is a personal preference, there still are basic rules that should be learned and practiced.

In all case of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and syntax, the writer must know the rules before he breaks them. Moreover, the only way to become proficient in their use is by continual practice.

Once the basics are acquired, then the writer can proceed to writing fiction or non-fiction in poetry, articles, essays, short stories, etc., again practicing until one has develop a personal voice or style.

Hi Everyone
It's been a while since I last posted. I've been away to the US from Dec 20 to Jan. 31 so I'm just getting back to routine here.
That doesn't mean that I didn't write while I was away because I did, but not as much I would have liked to.
I worked on the latest book in my series on Alberta, and presently I finished Chapter 5 today.
This novel uses the years 1905 to 1925 as the base from which my characters operate. It is the story of a young man, Albert Provincial, who is involved in many of the events of Alberta history during that time period.
The working title of the novel is "The Drifter" as my protagonist move about the province involved in the historical happenings.
Presently, he is in Edmonton in 1914 just before the beginning of WWI.
I'll will start Chapter 6 on Monday.