Susan Bohnet

Part of our mandate here at Five Rivers states specifically that we give voice to Canadian authors. Part of that mandate includes giving voice to new Canadian authors. It’s difficult enough as a writer to elicit the notice of publishers, and despite the fact we periodically are swamped with unsolicited submissions, we really don’t want to change that if at all possible. So many presses, whether large or small, close the doors, work primarily with pitches made in elevators and convention rooms, and while some of our deals have come about in that fashion, certainly others have occurred because an author gathered up their courage, polished their work, read our guidelines diligently, and sent their query out into the ether to us.

So it is with great delight we’re pleased to announce yet another new Canadian voice will be published in 2013 through Five Rivers, Susan Bohnet.

Bohnet has an Associate Degree in Arts and Letters with a major in psychology from Ricks College, and a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Human Resource Development from Brigham Young University. She lives in Alberta with her husband, five children, and a cute (but rather naughty) Yorkshire terrier. She has written a newspaper column called Family Frenzi for 18 years, and has had two short stories published.

Bohnet came to Five Rivers with a YA novel, My Life as a Troll. It’s a story that should resonate with the 12-14 year old crowd, one that has Jared — who is dealing with family crisis, a school bully, and the discovery of girls — seeking refuge from the confusion of his life in an MMORPG known as Lavascape. It’s the hottest new game around.  Everyone’s playing. Jared loves it, finds himself spending more and more time in it to the point people are beginning to throw around the word addicted, which he would dismiss were in not for the fact every time he looks in the mirror he seems more and more, well, troll-like.

My Life as a Troll is scheduled for release in both trade paperback and eBook in 2013.