Canadian Author and Artist 15th Anniversary Reunion

Fifteen years later-Canadian Association of Children's Literature Award Winner Lissa Calvert and Best Selling Author Sonia Birch-Jones merge their exceptional talents in the upcoming release of Trouble Seeds.

Victoria (B.C.) In 1993 author Sonia Birch-Jones and artist Lissa Clavert blended their creative skills and created a best selling children’s book Klee Wyck’s Magic Quest. Today, the dynamic duo have teamed up once again with the up coming release of Trouble Seeds (Rain Publishing Inc. Summer 2008).

Ms. Birch-Jones and Ms. Calvert have a long list of accomplishments.

Ms. Calvert’s plates and figurines have been commissioned by the world famous Goebel of Germany. Her work hangs in museums and galleries around the globe, along with working with corporations such as Imperial Oil. Calvert has worked as an art director for film and television, and is a recipient of the Canadian Association of Children's Literature Award.

Ms. Birch Jones penned the best selling release of Klee Wyck’s Magic Quest (illustrated by Ms. Calvert), A First Class Funeral that was used for four years in the educational program at the Camosun College, and contributing writer in the international journal The Malahart Review. Her stories have been read on CBC, published in the Acanthus Magazine, and wrote ten plus murder-mystery plays performed by the original “Whodunit Players” sponsored by CIBC, Wood Gundy, and Marshall and Lamperson Legal Firm in Qualicum Beach.

The upcoming release of the young adult fantasy Trouble Seeds is enhanced with exclusive art designs by Ms. Calvert. Ms. Birch-Jones states the illustrations “Capture the essence of the story and characters superbly!”

Parents, grandparents and children ten plus will fall in love with the heroes Zark, the great Magician, Thalia the beautiful spirit, Nodoff the old owl, and boo the tribe of Bellypots that invade their magical land and place Zark under a spell. The adventures and effect of the Trouble Seeds make this story an unforgettable tale that will be read under the covers with a flashlight, long after parents have called ‘lights out!”


Trouble Seeds is scheduled for release this summer (2008) - ARC’s will be available upon request. Trouble Seeds will be available at select bookstores and online at http://www.rainbooks.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/ once released.

Texas Teenager; Tina Griffith

Published at Nineteen

When publishing house rejection letters are churned out faster then oil is uncovered-this Texas teenager will have her first book release at nineteen.

Texas- “Other than Shadow Blight having been accepted for publication, I’m just your average teenager, trying to find my place in the world,” states Tina Griffith “Shadow Blight was in my head and had experienced various incarnations before the year I actually sat down and wrote this final version. It seemed the natural extension of being a writer: to write a book.”

It might seem like a natural extension, however for most writers, the only sure way of having a book published these days is to self-publish, to sign on the bottom line of a trade publishing contract is rare- especially considering Griffith’s age.

“Rain Publishing Inc. holds the traditional values of a trade publishing house” says CEO, Tilly Rivers, “However we are not so narrow sighted as to not look for the undiscovered gems today, which could very well be the next Stephen King or JK Rowling of tomorrow.”

And Shadow Blight certainly fits the blend of both these authors, there is an alternate reality that you might see in a fantasy setting, mixed with brutal gore of a horror novel. Although the Shadow, throughout the book, is described as a tangible thing, it truly is the shadow within the hearts of the characters that threatens to take them over.

“This book is really about loss” says Griffith “There is nothing wrong with grieving. Vengeance and hate, however, destroys a person. Every time.”

What is next for Ms. Griffith? “I graduated from high school with thirty-four college credits, and I didn’t let my ACL reconstructive knee surgery keep me from playing soccer again my senior year of high school. Now with this publishing contract, I’d say that’s not too bad for a nineteen-year-old.”
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Shadow Blight will be released in the spring of 2008- ARC’s are available by request. Shadow Blight will be available for purchase at select bookstores, and http://www.rainboooks.com/ & http://www.amazon.com/ upon release.