Ruth Anne Latta

 Copies of my new novel, "Forty Mermaids" are available from me, from Baico Publishing of Ottawa (info@baico.ca) and from The Spaniel's Tale bookstore on Wellington Street in Ottawa. ($37) The Ottawa Public Library, Emerald Plaza branch, has a copy. A family member told me it's the kind of book that made him want to read on. A friend in Cornwall said she wanted to go on reading past the end to see what else happened to the main characters. I sent a copy to a Toronto playwright who has written a play about some of the real life people who inspired my novel, and am eager to hear what he thinks of it. Read it and tell me what you think about it, and I'll post  your comments.

My new Canadian historical novel, Forty Mermaids , has been published. The back cover blurb reads: Growing  up in a privileged Montreal family in the 20th century, Merle Glenn had a social conscience, a talent for painting and a dream of love, marriage and children. Through the Roaring Twenties, the Dirty Thirties and the Second World War, she tried to balance the things important to her. Forty Mermaids (Ottawa, Baico, 2026, 978-1-77879-019-5, $37)  is the bittersweet story of Merle's experiences in the art realm and in marriage.

  . Outworn by Ruth Latta 34 minutes ago 3 min read “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” Our writing instructor presented this sentence to us as an example of flash fiction. Although he was sure none of us could surpass this gem by Ernest Hemingway, he advised us to seek publication in this burgeoning market. He always chose as his examples of good writing someone from the male-dominated literary canon, though the class included ten women and two men. Earlier, he’d told us Hemingway’s philosophy of leaving out what a reader can imagine, to create a stronger story. About his one-line tale, Papa Hem had said, “It’s the saddest story ever told.” “The reader infers that some ill befell the baby,” our teacher continued. “Either it was a blighted hope, or a life nipped in the bud, or it died before it needed shoes to walk. It also It shows that, in spite of his cultivated hyper-masculine image, he was a sensitive guy.” My lip twitched. The great white hunter had definitely been caught ...