There is nothing new in the world except the history we do not know.
Alchemy and Artifacts (Tesseracts Twenty-Two) is a collection of twenty-three amazing stories based on historical artifacts combined with fantastic historical fiction.
The stories meld culture, concept and incident into a rich collection of 'what if' speculations that provide warnings yet revel in the cultural celebrations we continue to observe today. They are the touchstones that resonate with all who listen to and learn from the past.
For, once the instigators are dead, the wars ended, and the political machines decayed, only artifacts remain. And it's through these cultural artifacts that we glimpse the possibility of what may have occurred in the past and may yet occur in the future.
You are invited to delve into the motivations behind the events of the past, the quests for power, the fights against repression, and the sacrifices to a greater cause -- human dramas that reflect the worst and best of who we are -- to see what satisfaction comes from sudden insight and awe.
Featuring works by these Canadian writers:
Colleen Anderson, Lara Apps, Leslie Brown, Katherine Cameron, Chris Patrick Carolan, Geoff Gander & Fiona Plunkett, Bev Geddes, Mary-Jean Harris, Geoffrey Hart, Kate Heartfield, R. W. Hodgson, Kurt Kirchmeier, Jason Lane, Halli Lilburn, Cat McDonald, Tony Pi, Mike Rimar, Bianca Sayan, Holly Schofield, Michael Skeet, Erik Jon Spigel, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Michal Wojcik
The stories in Alchemy and Artifacts (Tesseracts Twenty-Two) nourish those who wander in today's wilderness, and who, without the benefit of the past, are destined to plunge blindly along a path of ignorance, destroying all that has been, everything that is true and beautiful and that which nourishes our global community.
Author Biography:
Lorina Stephens established her own publishing house, Five Rivers Publishing, in 2008-a direct response to the changing face of publishing. She brings with her over 30 years of experience as a freelance writer, author and editor, and a commitment to publishing new Canadian voices which might otherwise remain silent. She is the author of three novels, a collection of short speculative fiction, two chapbooks of poetry, a cookbook, and a travel guide she wrote with her photographer husband. Her articles have appeared in regional and national print media, and her short fiction in Polar Borealis, On Spec, Neo-Opsis, Postscripts to Darkness, Deluge: Stories of Survival & Tragedy in the Great Flood, Strangers Among Us, and Sword and Sorceress X. In addition to her work in the literary arts, she has been a visual artist all her life, producing work primarily in water colour, but also pen and ink, oil, acrylic and textiles, as well as digital media. Susan MacGregor is the author of The Tattooed Witch trilogy, a historical fantasy set in an alternate Spain in 1550. The first book of the trilogy, The Tattooed Witch was shortlisted for the Prix Aurora Award. A prior editor of 20+ years with On Spec magazine, she has also edited the anthologies Tesseracts Fifteen: A Case of Quite Curious Tales, (EDGE) and Divine Realms (Ravenstone Press). Her short fiction has appeared in a number of periodicals and anthologies.
