Hello! Should you be perusing works for 2025 awards, please consider my novella, THE DROWNED MAN’S DAUGHTER. Published by NeWest Press in September 2025.
Naia never wanted to be a goddess. But the legend of her as the miracle child of the ocean and a drowned man who washed up on the shore has overtaken her life, forcing her to lie to survive. Desperate to escape from the stalwart adoration of the people she loves, Naia longs to leave the island. But the ocean, filled with deadly mer, and the mainland, filled with noxious moss that drives anyone it touches to madness, block her way on either side.
There’s nowhere for Naia to go. She can’t keep pretending, and soon she is going to be found out…
Join C. J. Lavigne and guest author Premee Mohamed, along with NeWest Press, for the digital launch of The Drowned Man’s Daughter — September 24, 2025, at 7pm Mountain time (6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern).
Thrilled to share the gorgeous cover image for The Drowned Man’s Daughter, designed by Michel Vrana.
Naia never wanted to be a goddess, but everyone in her small island colony thinks that she’s the miracle child of the ocean and a drowned man who washed up on shore months before she was ever born. Naia isn’t special; she can’t actually command storms or call the waves, but that doesn’t stop everyone from asking. So she lies to survive, but the more the people she loves look at her with stalwart adoration, the more she wants to escape. But the ocean is full of deadly mer—and on land, the wicked moss creeps ever closer, wreathed in smog, carrying madness with it. There’s nowhere for Naia to go. She can’t keep pretending forever, and she’s going to be found out.
The Drowned Man’s Daughter will be available from NeWest Press in September 2025.
Thrilled to be working with NeWest Press again, publishing the adult dystopian speculative fiction novella The Drowned Man’s Daughter. Stay tuned for more!
Two stories by C. J. Lavigne have been reprinted in collections with some truly fantastic Canadian authors. Both books are available from major retailers.
State of the Ark: Canadian Futurefiction, edited by Lesley Choyce (Pottersfield Press, 2023) reprints “Side Effects May Include,” in which a woman who is running out of credits and options tries to find a job with the help of her holographic assistant.
Hello! I’ve published three stories this year, and I hope you enjoy them:
Dragon by by Linda BlackWin24 Jansson
“Choose Your Own,” Daily Science Fiction, April 2022
“You need to get to the market, but there are dragons waiting.
It’s all right; you know how to deal with dragons. You’ve been thwarting them all your life. You know the rules: don’t reveal too much flesh. Don’t try to hide. Don’t contradict a reptile when it is speaking, but assert yourself early, and often. Smile. Never smile too much, or too widely. Be polite. Be bold.”
They tell me that when you heard of my wedding, you shattered a goblet, fell to the floor in a swooning fit, and did not arise for three days. I hear that the entirety of the manor was wreathed in black. Really, darling, it seems a bit much. I’m fine.”
It was also getting more challenging to take the subway—though it was more pleasant, since people were starting to give her space. When the bees began flitting out from her pockets, forming an exploratory cloud around her in the car’s wet heat, Kelly found she had two feet clear on either side of her, even in the rush hour crowd.”
A woman finds a bee in her apartment. Everything escalates from there. Free to read.
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This is also my second year of eligibility for the Astounding Award. If you are kind enough to consider me for that nomination, you can find the rest of my stories here, as well as information about my 2020 novel, In Veritas. Thanks very much for your time.
This post will be updated with events as they’re scheduled.
August 13, 1-2pm Mountain. Workshop: Everyday Magic. When Words Collide. Registration is available here with more information at the conference website.
June 23, 6-7pm Mountain. Virtual Book Launch: Ezra’s Ghosts by Darcy Tamayose.Register here.
May 22, 7:30-8:30pm Pacific. Promotion for Introverts. 2022 Nebula Awards Conference. Available to registrants at events.sfwa.org.
April 20, 7-8pm Mountain. Online Readings with Alberta Literary Award Finalists. Hosted by the Writers Guild of Alberta. Recording available on Youtube.
Hello! This will be my first year of eligibility for the Astounding Award. Your consideration for my work is very much appreciated.
I published two short stories in 2021:
“Wednesday’s Child”, Fusion Fragment #7, July 2021
“It’s something my mom used to say. It only comes to me in snatches. I don’t know if it’s true. I actually don’t know what day today is. I want you to think about the necessity of parents, though: how nice it is when they tuck you in at night and scare all the monsters out from under the bed.
“I’ve already been on shift for three hours when the statue comes in. Some guy in a puffy coat holds the door for her.
She’s got snow crumbling off her head and shoulders, little rivulets of melt running down her carved hair. She’s grime-dulled marble, not well-maintained, with grey streaks running from her shoulder down through that hint of sculpted gown. Her face is young, but she is not; her hair is pitted, and there’s a crack running down her left cheek, just to the edge of her mouth. Her right wrist is chipped. Her nose is still pert and smooth, though, and her eyes have the unseeing gloss of a once-polished finish.”
This post will be updated with events as they’re scheduled.
April 19, 7pm Mountain. Triple Header — C.J. Lavigne, Jaclyn Dawn, and John O’Neill. A reading and Q&A hosted by Audreys Books. Register here for this Zoom event. May 29, 11:30am-12:45pm Mountain. Panel Discussion: Crafting POV in Fiction.Writers Guild of Alberta 2021 Online Conference. June 4, 3:30-4:30pm Pacific. Hometown Heroes: Working and Writing Globally. A panel at the 2021 Nebula Awards Conference.
Hi! This post is just to note that my literary urban fantasy novel In Veritas, published in May 2020 by NeWest Press, is currently eligible for the 2021 awards season. Thanks so much for your consideration.
In Veritas follows Verity Richards, a woman whose synaesthesia allows her to perceive multiple realities. As she learns to navigate the city of Ottawa and its many secrets, she tries to save a dying community and a hidden world.
More information about the novel is available here, or on the NeWest Press website.
