Introducing, Anna Blauveldt

Broken Keys Publishing & Press is proud to announce a new author has signed onto our label!

Ottawa is rich with literary talents and it is our honour to welcome Anna Blauveldt.

Born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick. After enjoying a long career with the federal government, Anna was appointed Canada's Ambassador to Iceland before retirement.

Anna has authored a children's book ("Kat and the Meanies," 2016) - which we are hoping to get back into circulation, under the new umbrella of Broken Keys Publishing KIDS.

Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including "A Two-Four of Tales" (2019), "Short Stories for a Long Year" (2020), "Conversations" (2022), and "Ghosts and Other Chthonic Macabres" (late 2022 release). She is also the author of the novella "To Play At God" (2021).

Her newest novella, tentatively titled "The Leavetaking," will be released late 2022-early 2023.

Broken Keys Publishing's editor, Joseph Sayers, has this to say:

"A woman learning of her terminal illness decides to celebrate her final birthday with her old college girlfriends over a spa getaway.

"Decades old secrets, harboured and hidden, surface and come to the light of day.

"It is a story of taking control and decisions; non-cliché love and compassion; friendships and betrayal. It is about saying your farewells, letting go, forgiving and coming to terms with yourself and the world you leave in your wake.

"As a society we have all weathered and suffered the pandemic's damaging and ill consequences. Nearly without exception, all stories, movies, shows, and writing has avoided the pandemic as we were not ready to be reminded of its grim reality, experiences and our losses. But in its odd and peculiar sort of way, this book inadvertently brings a ray of hope. Firmly and inextricably steeped in these exiting days of the pandemic, it signals our time to move past Covid, and, I suspect, will be the beginning vanguard of new literary writings.

"As all literature becomes an historical record, a reflection of our society and its values, so too does this send a message.

"Set in the scenic Ottawa in the here-and-now, it is so much more. It will set a standard to what I believe is to come: Hope.

"This book will make you gasp. It will bring tears to your eyes. It will bring you to its character's soul-crushing and darkest moments, and it will lift you up to an inescapable hope.

"This is one must-read story."