Fresh Blue Ink released details today on its submissions policy and author payment schedule.
Our current open-to-submissions project, the short story anthology Space Lizards Of Canada, will follow this approach.
For more information see this link.
Fresh Blue Ink is proud to announce that author R. M. Kozan will be signing copies of his debut novel Breakaway: 1977 at Coles Books in the Parkland Mall in Yorkton, Saskatchewan on Thursday, May 8th, 2014, from 1 pm until 6 pm.
See map here.
Hope to see you there!
http://www.sears.ca/product/crosley-collegiate-usb-turntable/657-000557348-HT-800SP
The link above takes you to Sears.ca where the Crosley Collegiate record player is offered for sale. On that page, scroll down to the reviews section. The reviewer recommends reading Breakaway:1977 while listening to your LPs 
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Fresh Blue Ink table at the Ottawa Small Press Fair this Saturday. A special thank-you to purchasers of our first release, Breakaway: 1977, of which there were a few!
Congratulations to Joanna Simpson, the winner of our draw for a free copy of Breakaway: 1977!
Fresh Blue Ink‘s first release Breakaway: 1977 is now released!
Purchase Breakaway: 1977 at these or other retailers:
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Breakaway-1977-R-M-Kozan/dp/0992011906/
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/Breakaway-1977-R-M-Kozan/dp/0992011906/
Chapters:
BarnesAndNoble.com:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breakaway-r-m-kozan/1116792240?ean=9780992011901
4.5 Stars (of 5) “Recommended”
The review for Breakaway: 1977 on BookIdeas.com has now been posted!
See the link at:
http://www.bookideas.com/reviews/index.cfm?fuseaction=displayReview&id=7235
“Profoundly truthful”
“Fascinating”
The first review of Breakaway: 1977 is in!
Robert E. Wood, the author of Destination: Moonbase Alpha has kindly written a review (and also provided other feedback). His evaluation is now posted on the Fresh Blue Ink website (http://www.freshblueink.ca/b1977.html).
Recently I spent some time seeking pre-publication reviews for Breakaway: 1977. During this slow process I penned a few satiric reviews of my own work. Who better to write a review of your book than yourself? 
Some of the reviews below are “in jokes” you will likely not get unless you read the book, but all are whimsical.
FAKE Reviews of Breakaway: 1977
I give it four stars. OK, I work for the company, but still there is some quality there. It helps if you know a bit about SF and rock music from the 1970s. The story is about that uncomfortable point in teenage life but it also says a lot about popular culture and fandom. Ultimately, it is almost speculative fiction, with a late zigzag into murder mystery.
RATING: ****
Mick Mayos, Associate Editor, Fresh Blue Ink
.
Cool book. I think he didn’t do it. No way. Now I understand the cover. Thx!
RATING: ****
Paige Turner
Epistles, epiphanies, episodes, exclusions, exclamatives, exams, exculpations, emergents, and endings. School boy finds SF TV show, school boy loses SF TV show, school boy ignores besotted girl, people die and sh*t happens.
RATING: ***1/2
Samantha Renfield, M. Sc.
They made me read it and now I’m being judged on my grammar and consumer poise. Society sucks!!
RATING: *
Layton S. Delaney
Grade 9, El Banjo Institute
Why write about psychopaths?
Certainly they are horrible people not worth our time or effort. The same could be said for murderers, yet the strong popularity of murder mysteries remains evident in recent best-seller lists.
We, as humans, are fascinated by “Evil”, especially the unadulterated and guilt-free evil to which psychopaths are prone. And is there another word that better describes the sometimes petty, sometimes grandiose self-serving acts of personal destruction that psychopaths wreak?
Almost everyone has fantasized about doing something terminally unpleasant to their boss or mother-in-law but how many would be able to live with themselves afterwards? The psychopath worries only about being caught and what impact this might have on their own life. They do not consider collateral damage to society, to those ostensibly close to them, or to their own innermost soul (which might be entirely absent).
Psychopaths or sociopaths (we use these labels interchangeably) are individuals who are profoundly incapable of empathy. They represent a small but impactful minority in any society, causing a level of damage far greater than their small numbers might suggest. The PCL-R (Psychopathy Checklist, Revised, as developed by Robert D.Hare) is the gold standard for assessment of this syndrome. The modal psychopath is a superficially charming, grandiose, pathological liar who will manipulate everyone around them to obtain their goals, which are power, sex, status, and a life materially good yet not requiring consistent effort, focus, or work.
Some have said that certain psychopathic characteristics might be beneficial to various leadership roles or occupations. Consider the extreme ruthlessness and risk-taking required of the modern CEO. Here charm alternating with cold calculus produces a willingness to throw partners over the gunwale whenever advantageous. Consider the military sniper. Who better to ‘kill and forget’ than a psychopath? The average person would likely succuumb to PTSD and implode after even a short such career.
Psychopaths, like any group, are characterized by wide variation. Just as the personalities, goals, and capabilities of computer programmers differ, so too for psychopaths. While some use their charm and cunning to achieve status and power, others, likely with a more limited arsenal of charm and cunning, use their powers simply to maintain a parasitic lifestyle either as a kept spouse, low level fraudster, itinerant scam artist, or malingerer.
Bad behaviour makes for good stories. Who writes exclusively about good people working towards socially worthwhile ends by co-operating fruitfully with other good people? More importantly, who would read such tedium? Stories demand conflict: good versus evil. In many cases that evil can be supplied by psychopaths.
Psychopaths make perfect super-villians. They provide obstacles for our heroes. They are unpredictable. They lurk undetected before they unleash their chaos. They say charming things then perform unspeakable acts. The subterfuge and sabotage they deploy can be subtle or dramatic. They impede us by exercising whatever power, no matter how limited, they possess. They are serial killers and pet assassins. They spit in our soup. They refuse to validate our parking. They cause no end of confusion and pain.
Statistically speaking, you will be in the line of fire for several of these dangerous misanthropes during your lifetime. So to return to the original question: why write about psychopaths? Because knowledge is our first line of defense. Forewarned is forearmed.
You who are in the know, share your insight. We need to know.
If you have a short story related to this or one of the other themes stated at www.freshblueink.ca/subm.html, consider sending it to us!
Fresh Blue Ink has just released details for a new book-length collection of short stories to be published in paperback and e-book formats. See this link for details.