Hello, my find furry friends!
Today is the last day of May, which also means it’s the last day of the unofficial Canadian month long celebration of my favourite author Andrew Pyper. This month I attempted (and failed) to read his other books I haven’t read yet! I managed to get two done…
The Homecoming (see link for review)
https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/the-homecoming-review-pypermaynia/
and
The Trade Mission (see link for review)
https://stevestredauthor.wordpress.com/2019/05/31/book-review-the-trade-mission/
I also was able to interview the man himself!
This was a total thrill and something I’ll cherish for the rest of time.
I still plan on reading the other three Pyper books I didn’t read in May coming up, so watch for those reviews!
May Wrap Up;
I’ve never done a monthly wrap up before, mainly because I do all of my reading on my Kindle, so I can’t post a picture of my book stack. So instead, here’s the books I read 🙂
We Sold Our Souls, Netherkind, Artemis-One-Zero-Five, The Homecoming, Ex Nihilo, Mr. Sticks, The Hungry Ones, Let’s Go Play At the Adams’, and The Trade Mission.
It’s odd to say this – but I only read 9 books, which is a really slow month for me. I currently am reading Impossible James, The Silence, The Targeter and Cydonia, so those will all be finished up by the end of next week.
Interview;
I was recently featured over on Sonora Writes, talking about writing The Stranger and just some general horror stuff! If you missed that, check it here;
Ask the Author: A Q&A with Steve Stred
Which leads me into;
The Stranger
The Stranger arrives TOMORROW!!! HOLY HELL!
Thank you to the 24 folks who purchased the limited edition hardcovers. That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. 25 total were printed, one of those bad boys are mine!
As well – TODAY IS THE LAST DAY YOU CAN ENTER THE SUPER LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER CONTEST FOR THE ALL BLACK THE STRANGER!!!
For full details check this link;
{Giveaway} Your chance to win an extremely limited edition copy of The Stranger by Steve Stred.
Winner will be announced tomorrow!
The Stranger ebook is available for pre-order still – it will arrive tomorrow, but the paperbacks are now also live!
What I’m jamming;
This one is gonna be super varied haha!
Chadwick St. John did the artwork for The Stranger. He also did the artwork for the new Darkthrone album, which drops today! The artwork he has done for their release is also stunning. Check out the first two videos released for the album.
Above & Beyond feat. Armin Van Buuren – Show Me Love
If you’ve followed along you know my love of Above & Beyond. I enjoy the energy they bring and the positive message. They are also my son’s favourite group and every time I hear them I think of him. This new song is fantastic and if it doesn’t make you tap your toes and smile then listen to it again!
Collective Soul – Right as Rain
Collective Soul have been a band I’ve loved since I first heard Shine when it was released way back when. Solid Hard Rock with a bit more musicality than the standard fare, they’ll always be one of my favs. I saw them in Abbotsford about 15 years ago and really need to see them live again. This is their newest track off of their next album and Ed Roland and crew deliver again!
What’s happening in life;
May was a busy month. At the start of the month my mother-in-law moved down to Edmonton from Fort Mac and it’s been fantastic having her so close. Auryn loves it as well. I grew up with my Poppa and Nanny just down the street from us and I’m so happy he’ll be able to grow up with (for now) one of his grandparents so close.
Speaking about Poppa – at the end of June we’ll be travelling back to Nakusp/Burton area to attend his memorial. He passed away at the end of 2018 but it was decided to postpone his memorial until the Summer, allowing people to make it and not have to worry about winter travel. Auryn met Poppa a few times. Yesterday my wife showed me something really amazing – Auryn was able to pick out Poppa in a photo and even called him Poppa! Blown away.
As for Mr. Man, we attempted to have him to outdoor soccer this month. He really had enjoyed indoor soccer over the winter, but alas outdoor soccer wasn’t to be. The lure of the playground next to the field was too much for him and so we went to two sessions and that will be it. We will see if it is something he wants to try again next year!
Finally in closing – the only other thing happening here is once again Alberta is on fire. Currently there are 28 significant fires burning in the province. Here in Edmonton we are under an air quality advisory. Last night the air quality level reached a level of 72 on a scale of 1-10.
Take a look at some video footage;
And some pictures;
We aren’t in any risk from the fires burning, just affected currently by the air quality, which reached levels seen typically in Beijing.
The loss of houses and land is significant already and it’s just going to get worse before it gets better once again this year. Here’s thinking of the safety and health to all of those impacted and to those fighting the fires.
Until next week!
Steve
Steve Stred - The Official Website 
I don’t care for Darkthrone’s early “classic” black metal stuff. I typically shy away from the poorly produced, really crappy sounding black metal all the guys were doing back then. I used to own their first CD, Soulside Journey, which was straight up death metal. I think thy newer Darkthrone is definitely what I like. I listened to Circle The Wagons from 2010 and liked it. It was like black metal/rock sort of. I listened to some of the newer ones you posted, and I definitely like those a lot better!
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