Publications

Coming Soon!

Drinkwater

“Drinkwater” by Eric Hopkins

ISBN 978-0-9782026-6-8

Drinkwater was originally an English word given to someone who abstains from drinking alcohol. As a family name it represents sobriety, dignity and self-control.

Nineteen-year-old Amber Drinkwater knows that when life presents hardships, a responsible person meets them fairly, with a clear head and the willingness to work. her plans to start a new life in Toronto with her brother Guy are interrupted when their uncle fails to meet them at the train station, but she resolves to abide until he turns up—and when it seems their caretaker is gone for good, she accepts it as an unexpected but timely call to independence and adult responsibility, in spite of her dearth of money or friends in the city.

The sprawling city of Toronto represents a shining opportunity for Amber to prove herself through an old code of grim endurance and bold resignation, but she will find her simple work ethic is no match for its modern towers, dark streets and disjointed neighbourhoods. Drinkwater is a provocative story that blurs the borders between teenage empowerment and helplessness, between experience and naivety, and between optimism and blind hope.

The Cave and Other Works

Crackjaw Chapbook Series

Ciaran Myers’ “The Cave and Other Works”

#1 in the Crackjaw Chapbook Series

ISBN 978-0-9782026-2-0

The Cave, an original play by Ciaran Myers based on the concept introduced in Plato’s Republic, was first performed in Studio 180 at the University of Waterloo, February 2007. It will first appear in print in this collection, along with 14 poems by the same author. Myers’ poetry combines technical excellence with a lyricism reminiscent of the poems of the great Romantics.

Centaur in the City

Norman Dubeski’s “Centaur in the City: Exact Change Only!”

#2 in the Crackjaw Chapbook Series

ISBN 978-0-9782026-4-4

Follow the trail of hoof prints and muffin crumbs to a centaur’s tail of high adventure! Hughie the Centaur’s quest to find his human grandparents takes into the exciting, if confusing, world of the city, and he finds it behooves him to learn the human ways of doing things.

In Print

Norman Dubeski’s “The Master of God’s Domain”

ISBN 978-0-9782026-1-3

The Master of God’s Domain

Behind the medical mask, there’s a doctor. Behind a doctor, there’s a person. Behind every person there’s a story. Behind every person who wins your confidence is the story of how he got that way and where it’s going to take him.
“Anyone who looks perfect, isn’t.” So says Tristam C. Wagner. He should know. He can befriend anyone, gain anyone’s trust, and if you’ve met him, you already like him. That’s how he thrives in the daily war of all against all. He’s clawed his way up from a past so traumatic that he disassociates thinking about it. He’s your doctor. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to do the right thing — even if it kills you.
Some doctors are so vain they succumb to the “God Complex.” Some may wish to go beyond that — to do without God completely. Ultimately, ethical decisions have to be made by someone, and whoever takes complete responsibility for right and wrong and who thinks the ends justify the means sets themselves up as the new master of God’s domain, with all the risk that entails. To take all responsibility for morality, for every ethical decision, is ultimately to take on the whole world; one would need the heart of a saint and the recklessness of a madman.

Bubblegum Wishes

J.S. Longstreet’s “Bubblegum Wishes”

ISBN 978-0-9782026-3-7

Ever hear the old phrase, “You can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs”? That’s the sort of thing you never want to mention on a world like Pinfoot. People might get funny ideas and throw you in jail. Pumpkins, Lobsters, Animal Crackers, Bean Sprouts, and even Eggs live on Pinfoot. It’s the world of cuisine, after all.
Another old phrase is, “My fingers are kind of stuck together.” In this case, ‘old’ refers to something Malcolm Redfield said once. Malcolm is a wizard. To be exact, he’s a Marshmallow Wizard, fresh out of his first year at the Marshmallow Wizardry Academy. When a woman comes crashing into his life (literally), Malcolm finds himself walking across the country as a tour guide. Along the way he meets a Sweet Toothed Tiger and a nomad packrat. Together, they decide to seek out the Candycorn, hoping she’ll grant them each a wish. So, skipping down the Sticky Road to Gourd Valley, the group can hardly wait to see the Wonderful Wizard of — Oops… They can hardly wait to see the Candycorn! Such a golden opportunity lay ahead that they want to sing!
—But no musicals!

Erik Mortensen’s “Avenging Abe”

ISBN 0-9782026-0-0

Avenging Abe

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was shot. His body was wrapped in a blanket and transported on horseback to Washington, where it was quietly burned in an alley behind a government building. Capt. Jason Gosse narrates the story of one of the greatest cover-ups of all time, of the consequences of taking part, and of the satisfaction of vengeance for the murder of a man and an ideal.

*Review by Dr. K.J. James, Professor of History, University of Guelph:

Erik Mortensen has produced riveting fiction in this account of what the narrator, Capt. Jason Gosse, describes as possibly the greatest ‘government cover-up and conspiracy’ ever perpetrated. After Gosse and his fellow Union officer Kevin Hughes are seconded to serve as an honor guard for Abraham Lincoln, they find themselves immersed in a shady world of espionage in which simple divisions of Union and Confederacy and North and South dissolve. Political intrigue, deception and the gory violence of war fill this 84-page novella as Gosse and Hughes navigate their way through battlefields — and encounter even more grim and vexing terrain when they stray from them, and into a conspiracy so deep and wide that Gosse finds himself questioning not only his putative allies and enemies, but also the deep-seated convictions that led him to enlist. A fast-paced novella that underlines the ambiguity of even the noblest of conflicts and explores one man’s equivocal commitment to subterfuge in support of a principled objective — the morale of the Union army and its supporters — Avenging Abe marks a promising debut for a talented new author and imprint.

Erik Mortensen’s “Sir Cook, The Knight?”

ISBN 978-0-9782026-5-1

Higgins is a cook in the medieval age who finds himself unemployed. Strapping his cookery to himself for portability, Higgins goes off in search of a new position. His cookware armour and a general lack of intelligence amongst the townspeople lead many of them to believe that Higgins is a knight! Soon, Higgins meets Randall, a conman who seeks to profit from Higgins’ mistaken identity. The misadventures and laughs are unending as the unlikely duo makes itself a legend!

That’s Entertainment!

Erik Mortensen’s “That’s Entertainment!”

ISBN 978-0-9782026-7-5

Inside this book is a collection of scripts written by Erik Mortensen, owner and operator of The Mainstreet Players, including both his produced and yet-to-be produced works. Each play is introduced by Mortensen as he reflects on his inspiration, the writing process, and everything else leading up to opening night. The anthology offers a wide variety: one-act scripts to full-length productions, comedies of both a high and low nature, dramas dealing with contemporary social and world issues, and thrillers that will chill and excite. It’s all inside, and it will all leave you saying, “That’s Entertainment!”