SILENCES Recognized

This year so far has been ... interesting. My wife and I are hunkered down, working on my next novel, THE ITERATIONS OF CAROLINE. We hope to release it at the end of the summer, pandemic permitting

Meanwhile, exciting news! SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR is on the shortlist for the Whistler Independent Book Awards.

My book is one of six recognized in this way. Three finalists will be announced in mid-July, with winners announced in October--pandemic permitting, I suppose.

To learn more about the awards, click here.

It's welcome news, to know that people are reading my book and (apparently) enjoying it.

And even as the sun and warmth returns, we're still mindful of the little we know about COVID-19, its prevalence--and I suppose its malevolence, although it's not fair to anthropomorphize. It's just doing what viruses do.

So sometimes we mow the lawn, sometimes we rake last year's leaves, and we always keep an eye on our view. This year, we have redwing blackbirds nesting down near the lakeshore, and they're brave to take on and chase away the ravens that plunder their nests. Meanwhile, the ravens (joined by gulls and even crows) harass the eagles.

They all, too, are just doing what birds do. People, though--we can do better. We don't have to kill each other. I think the characters in SILENCES, from Jussi to the Solbakkens to Jimmy, would all agree.

The Boy on the Cover: Onni Kokko

The cover for SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR was designed by Heather Dickson, aka H. Leighton Dickson, a Thunder Bay writer of science fiction and fantasy--and a fine designer.

Because the internet is a magical place, it's possible to find all kinds of photos of this time in history, which I drew on extensively in setting Jussi, Karl, and Ivor in various locations in Finland.

The image above is of Onni Kokko in his uniform as a soldier in the White Army. Just 14 when he was wounded in the battle of Tampere, he died in hospital. Before he died, Mannerheim granted him the 4th Class Cross of Liberty. He was the youngest to receive this award. A photo, available online, shows him lying on his deathbed, his head wrapped in bandages, with the award on the pillow beside his head.

Another photo, also available online, shows Arvo Koivisto, a thirteen-year-old boy who served in the Red Army.

Both Onni and Arvo informed the character of Ivor, who is barely fifteen when the fighting begins.

I was pleased--if that's the right word--that Heather suggested the photo of using Onni on the cover. I wanted readers to remember that this war tore apart families.