A COOL INDIAN NAME: FICTIONS
In a striking first collection of stories, Brent van Staalduinen leads the reader through tales that echo with loss and redemption, discovery and fear, tumult and victory. Where three young children create a Christmas in July for their bedridden mother, a military wife tries to help her son answer life’s toughest questions, a homeless man convicts an entire church congregation of their prejudices, and a baby cries in the midnight hold of a smuggling ship. A boy discovers the magic in Union Station while a terminally ill girl finds magic in laughter. From the title piece, “A Cool Indian Name,” which explores the dark remnants of abuse in a residential school and the limits of friendship, to “Buddy’s Mirror,” where a medic sent on an ill-fated peacekeeping mission is forced to ask how far he will go to protect those under his care, van Staalduinen’s fictions force us into difficult places and situations and, afterwards, demand we account for ourselves. Click here for paperback, or Click here for Kindle, or Click here for Kobo. FINDING DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS TALES
A collection of six holiday stories that carry the reader to new places in search of a perfect December. In "Finding December," a lonely traveler in a strange and foreign city discovers a bit of humanity; in “Our Own Voices,” a family faces a first Christmas after unspeakable tragedy; in "To Love Everyone," a cantankerous man tries to find an argument at the local church, but discovers a greater narrative at play; a young boy discovers that even great people are humans too in "A Command Performance"; in “Next Door,” even private neighbors can shine for each other at the holidays; and "Tupperware and a Christmas Star" finds Joseph on Mary's doorstep for a first Christmas date. Click here for Paperback, or Click here for Kindle, or Click here for Kobo. |
NEWS"THE BEAN COUNTERS" ONLINE! Click here. ACCEPTED! Jan. 21, 2013: I received formal acceptance to the MFA of Creative Writing program at UBC! WRITING WORKSHOP: Brent will be leading a writing workshop as part of the Hamilton Public Library's 2013 Tween summer writing contest at the Ancaster branch on Tuesday, July 9 from 2:30-5:30pm. December 2012: Published A Cool Indian Name. December 2012: "The Bean Counters" appears in Biz Magazine. October 2012: BORDERLESS, Brent's new column in The Christian Courier August 2012: "East of James" in urbanicity July 2012: Ablemuse Absolute Write Quarter Finalist: "Creche" December 2011: Contest Finalist: "Buddy's Mirror" Published: Finding December Oct. 19-23: Surrey International Writer's Conference Success! Published: "A Command Performance" |
