Guest Book
Welcome to Joe Beaton’s guest book
{31 Responses to “Guest Book”}
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Joe Beaton was born in Antigonish, NS in 1961 and spent his childhood and ‘coming of age’ years in Port Hawkesbury, Cape Breton. He fondly remembers many disparate individuals from that time in his life who made a profound contribution to his fictional characters. The creative writing bug struck late for Joe. He never put pen to paper, or in the modern context, finger to keypad until the year 1998 when he decided he would simply write a novel. Ignorance is bliss. Four years later he completed the first and only draft of a very bad manuscript. Realizing that either psychiatric counselling or some form of creative writing instruction was in order, he decided teach himself to write. This took the form of reading about writing and entering writing competitions. The comments from competition judges hinted at an underlying but unrefined talent that could be developed by enrolling in creative writing courses. Joe ignored that advice and completed the first draft of Contributing Factors on his owns terms. Many drafts later, and after thorough and welcome professional editing by Bryler Publications, Contributing Factors represents Joe’s ‘coming out’ as a published writer. Besides writing, Joe has a paying job. He has spent thirty years employed as a medical laboratory technologist and more recently as an informatics analyst with the entity currently known as Capital District Health Authority. He lives with his wife, Mary Lou and black lab, Abbey, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Hi everyone!
My name is Kathleen Healy and I have had the great pleasure of working
with Joe as his editor and helping bring Contributing Factors to life.
We have been met with several unfortunate delays due to a
heart-stopping technological glitch and hold-ups at the printers.
The good news is, the actual, physical book has been printed and is
just waiting on the cover. We have been able to recover from the
problem we had with our files and expect the cover to be in to the
printers on Monday.
Because we have not have confirmation from them on when we can expect
the books, I don’t want to give you another release date that may be
subject to change. As soon as the cover is in and we have the shipping
date in hand, I will be back on the guest book to let Joe’s fans know!
Thank you all for your incredible patience, especially Joe. The sad
truth of publishing is that delays happen, despite our best attempts
to avoid them!
I’ll be back soon with more news!
Best,
Kathleen Healy
Editorial Director, Bryler Publications
I just wanted to let everyone know that Contributing Factors has
finally arrived! It looks great and I can’t wait to read it again – in
book form this time! You can order your copy now, swing by the Bryler
office and pick one (or ten) up, or look for it in stores in the next
week.
Congratulations Joe!
What an interesting angle to write a story. I look forward to your
debut novel, and mayhap you’re working on your next? Congratulations
Joe, I’m glad to say that I know a novelist.
Joe , congrats on the completion of your novel . I look forward to
reading the completed version . A real murder mystery . Jim
Sorry for the short notice, but for anyone who’s interested I will be
reading from my novel Contributing Factors, and participating in a
moderated discussion/ Q&A with 3 other local authors, at the Economy
Shoe Shop in Halifax this coming Tuesday (Oct.18/11) between 7 and 9
pm. The other authors (and their books) who will be in attendance
include Richard Zurawski (Media Mediocrity: Waging War Against Science
), Mary Ediger (Mennonite Girl), and Jennifer Hatt (Finding Maria).
All 4 author’s books will be available for purchase.
I’m told there will be drink and food specials between 6 and 7 pm.
This event is open to all. I’d truly appreciate the support of anyone
who can make it.
Please inform as to how I can obtain Contributing Factors.
I’ve been asked a lot lately where Contributing Factors can be
purchased. Thanks to everyone for their interest and patience. The
novel can be ordered from the publisher at
http://www.brylerpublications.com/upcoming.php OR from Chapters on-line sales
at http://www.chaptersindigo.ca
As far as ‘off-the-shelf’ sales go the Chapters store in Dartmouth
confirmed with me today that they have 17 copies on order, but they
have not arrived yet. Perhaps the publisher can advise if orders have
been shipped to Chapters or other local independent book stores that
have agreed to stock it.
I’m pleased to confirm that Contributing Factors is now available off
the shelf, in the local interest section, at the Chapters in
Dartmouth. I understand that the Coles in Scotia Square and in
Bedford’s Sunnyside Mall is also carrying the novel, but I haven’t
been to these stores to confirm it. Thanks to everyone for their
patience and support.
Congratulations Joe!!
Loved this book! Great job Joe
I truly enjoyed the book, a great read. Having an autographed copy makes it even better. Can not wait for the next one!
I enjoyed reading the book. For a first novel it was good. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if there was more discussion on the murder itself-with a twist or two in it. There is a Scottish author by the name of Stuart McBride who after writing his first book which was a sci-fi novel was told that if he wrote a book which involved a serial killer he would go to the top. He went on to write 6 or 7 books in volving a cop called Logan MacRae and was very succesful. Who knows, you could do the same. Good Luck
You know I love mysteries. This book had a great concept, interesting characters and was very enjoyable to read. Congratulations.
Many thanks those who’ve read Contributing Factors and taken the time to comment either here on the guestbook, on facebook, or to me personally. I appreciate all the feedback. If you’ve been meaning to pick up the novel or just want to stop by and chat I’ll be signing copies from 2:30 – 4 pm on March 10 at Chapters in Bayers Lake.
Cheers,
Joe
I’d like to express my appreciation to Chapters for the opportunity to sign copies of Contributing Factors at the Bayers Lake location this afternoon (Sat. March 10), and to Bryler Publications for arranging it. The store staff were great, and thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat or purchase the novel. It was a most enjoyable experience!
Loved the book,and can’t wait for the second one
Great job Joe.
Joe , I just finished “Contributing Factors” . I read it in 4 sittings . I tend to read late at night and this story, with your intriguing style , kept me up quite late on two occasions in following Ronnie’s journey . I am glad it was only 290 pages so I did not get too sleep deprived . The story captivated me . I identified with so much of what your central characters experienced . A great read . You have a gift I was unaware of all these years . Congratulations on a project well done … I know there is an large audience out there who will enjoy this novel and will be looking for your next one . JIm Henman
I really enjoyed the viewpoint of this book as well as the story. Thanks for the “free” copy autographed no less.
I have just finished reading your captivating novel “Contributing Factors”, & have totally enjoyed it. Believe it or not there are many who have lived the life of Ronnie and the story is never told, at least until you have written this novel. When is the movie going to be released? Thank you Joe for sharing your gift of writing with such an exhilarating story.
We look forward to your next novel, I am sure you have a few tales/stories you cold tell from our PHYB days.
THANK YOU!!! Joe
Jeff Hartling
Just finished reading “Contributing Factors” this morning- I absolutely loved it. It was such a unique story and wonderfully told; the character development was excellent as well. It was neat to know the the places referred to in the book (Truro, NSCC, Halifax etc) and I enjoyed all the Maritime expressions. Nicely done. Congrats on your debut novel.
“Contributing Factors” is a great book club discussion book , thank you Joe for joining us as a special guest. it is always a treat to be able to discuss a book with the author .Enjoyed the book & meeting you , will look forward to reading your next one!
I have had your book and finally started reading it and finished it in two days. It was a great read and other than picking up the … (spoiler removed from here by Joe Beaton – sorry Kevin) …early, it kept me in suspense of what would happen next . Many thanks
Hi Joe, I read Contributing Factors on Negril beach in Jamaica. I went down to the ocean at sunrise and started reading your book, I couldn’t put it down until I had finished it. I really enjoyed the book, Thank You.
P.S. Looking forward to the next one
My sincere apologies to anyone who signed my guestbook since Sept 2013. I couldn’t find your much appreciated opinions about Contributing Factors to approve for the guestbook, because they were buried in approximately 18,000 computer generated spam postings. Just recently I figured out a reasonably quick way to identify and post the needles (real comments) and reject the haystack (spam). Your comments are now visible.
Anyone who wishes to sign the guestbook from now on will need to complete a simple math test designed to keep out the spam. Think of perusing and posting critiques to my website as a tuition free readin’, ritin’, and ‘rithmetic lesson in the comfort of your own home.
Abundant Blessings,
Joe
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book Joe. Boy can I identify with most of your characters in the book. Your character Ronnie was wonderful, he’s such a “badass” but deep down he was a little boy who had a terrible event change him in a profound way. Please hurry up and retire , can’t wait for your second book
Great job Joe. I am a big fan of your first book and looking forward to your next one. I had a hard time putting this one down once I got started. I was pulling for ole Ronnie all the way through and felt a real sense of satisfaction with how certain events unfolded in the end.
Thank you,
Andy MacTavish
I loved all of the characters in this book, especially Ronnie. Even though he and Scott had their ups and downs, they had a true friendship. Great drama throughout & a nice twist towards the end! It was rewarding to see certain characters get their justice. Reading references to Nova Scotia place names was also a treat. I agree with other comments about your next book Joe, hope to see another one.
Melissa Stepaniak
I recently read your book and truly enjoyed it. It
was a great read from start to finish. The characters were interesting as well as the story line. Look forward to your next book! Barbara
I thoroughly enjoyed the book Contributing Factors. It was interesting, entertaining and overall a great read. The local references to points in Nova Scotia were enjoyable, and I found the characters so believable. Ronnie was such a strong guy, and at the same time so sensitive, and I found myself having a lot of compassion for him as he struggled with the events of his life – torn about how to handle the choices that were presented to him. Joe did a great job of creating Ronnie, Scott, and all the characters in this book and the developing relationships between them kept me wanting to keep turning the pages. Would love to read another book of yours, Joe. Jackie Ruggles
Just finished the book this morning. Just started reading it yesterday. Could not put it down. I am paying it forward and sharing your book with two friends as well. Love seeing all the local towns mentioned in your book. A lot of suspense and well worth the read. Keep us posted when your next book is coming out.
Thanks again for the great read.
Contributing Factors…..hands down it never gets put down. More twists, turns, bends, and curves around every shade of good, bad and dangerous. Word for word the way it would actually go down and maybe it really did. Fiction or non, I can relate to it all. Real stuff about real people getting pulled down a dark dead-end street with no way out. It’s a great read and a great ride!