Matt (Matthew) Hughes writes fantasy, space opera, and crime fiction. He has sold twenty-four novels to publishers large and small in the UK, US, and Canada, as well as nearly 100 works of short fiction to professional markets. His latest novels are A God in Chains (Dying Earth fantasy) from Edge Publishing and What the Wind Brings (magical realism/historical novel) from Pulp Literature Press. He has won the Endeavour and Arthur Ellis Awards and has been shortlisted for the Aurora, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Endeavour (twice), A.E. Van Vogt, Neffy, and Derringer Awards. He has been inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association's Hall of Fame.
Praise for The Emir’s Falcon “One peregrine falcon raised in a breeding facility, to be released into the wilds of northern Alberta. Three older teens from different cultures, their lives already mapped out by parental expectations. An impulsive action by one places that falcon at the crux of a potential international incident and brings all to the brink of catastrophe in the wilderness. A fascinating and insightful read.” - Alison Lohans, author of Timefall, Don't Think Twice, and twenty-eight other books for young people and adults “The Emir's Falcon is a rich story that soars with action, drama and detail. It raises important issues of cultural and environmental conflict and still entertains and surprises right to the last sentence.” - Arthur Slade, author of Dust, winner of the Governor General's Award
http://matthewhughes.org
Gayle M. Smith, author of Thickwood, grew up on a mixed subsistence farm in central Alberta where, as a young child, she developed a love for animals, especially horses, and a love for reading and writing illustrated stories. In 1989, Gayle married a Saskatchewan farmer and settled into rural life to raise three children, numerous crops, purebred and commercial cattle, and horses. In 2011, Gayle was accepted into the 2011 Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild Mentorship program, where she wrote the first draft of Thickwood, which then became her master’s thesis in 2015, when she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Master of Fine Arts in Writing.
Yearly wilderness pack trips in Northern Saskatchewan with her horses inspire her writing. She also rides in the mountains, competes in numerous equestrian events, and owns and operates a horse boarding facility. Gayle’s love of the environment, history, and adventure shines in her writing. She daily interacts with her beloved partner, her family, her horses, and her rural home, while contemplating and exploring through her writing the struggle and dilemma of being human.
About the book Raised on a ranch in Saskatchewan’s rugged Thickwood Hills, where the prairie transitions to forest, Willomena Swift, home from playing for the Rockford Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, finds a precious foal killed by a rogue stallion. The stallion’s owner, once Willo’s baseball coach, now chairs the committee heading up the new cooperative pasture—a pasture that is set to swallow her family lease, where she grew up, learned to love and understand horses, and dreamed of returning to raise them. Facing numerous challenges with both the stallion and his owner, Willo remembers her past years playing professional baseball as she struggles to realize her dreams in the present. Amid romance and tragedy, Willo must find a way to stand on her own and assert her rightful place in her beloved Thickwood.
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