By Graeme Smith , 1 October 2025

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Twice Born - Canadiana Paranormal - Graeme Smith

Twice Born - Canadiana Paranormal

So one day (technically one evening) back in October 2024 I got an email from my Evil Publisher(tm) at BWL Publishing Inc. From time to time said Evil Publisher(tm) releases a Canadiana series. A set of books, one from each Province, each by a Canadian author, all with a common theme. So they've done Canadian Brides and Canadian Historical, for example. Now, there was going to be a new one - Canadiana Paranormal. And, for each Province, it had to be set around events that actually happened there. And since I write Fantasy (which is sort-of Paranormal, with a side order of maybe), the email told me I was 'volounteering to do New Brunswick! But my Evil Publisher(tm) (don't get me wrong - I love them to bits, but they're still Evil) knows how long it takes me to write a new book from scratch, so the good news was - the series wouldn't be coming out until the end of 2026. I could do that, right? Right? Er - right?

Er - gulp. Er, sure Evil Publisher Boss(tm). Gulp.

Then the next evening, I get the second email. It said 'Um, about that 'end of 2026' thing. Marketing say end of 2025. So are you done yet? OK. So they didn't really say 'are you done yet'. Probably...

You see that thing cowering in that dark corner, gibbering? Yes. That's me. Well, was me. Welcome to the joys of writing!

Anyway. Gibbering was one thing - Evil Publishers(tm) are another. And on October 01, 2025 Twice Born was released. And yes, it's based on real New Brunswick events. Or, at least, it ends there. But I think a lot of Canadian stories don't start in Canada. So this one doesn't either. It starts in the mountains of Friuli, in Italy, in 1835. Or maybe it starts in a castle in Ecsed in Hungary, where a Countess is taking a bath. Or maybe it starts at 350 Fifth Avenue and down (a rather long way down that nobody knows about) in New York. Or maybe... You see, that's the thing with stories. Because every story is really part of some other story, or some other stories. And every start is just some other middle.

Anyway. Enough of my blether (blush). Here it is. Twice Born.

There should have been thunder. There should have been lightning tearing the skies and the very heavens weeping. There should have been portents and comets and demons of fire riding skeletal horses of ice-white bone—but if there had been, this would have been a movie. Probably with very artistic lens flare. So there wasn’t. There was a cottage. And a future someone was going to make damn sure never happened. Once upon a time...

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