GREENSTONE, ONT – WhiskyJack Publishing today announced the publication of The Annals of Goshen as a trade paperback. It is available immediately in Greenstone and will soon appear in Thunder Bay outlets. “Most people think of me as a writer of histories,” said author E.J. Lavoie, “but I also write about contemporary events.” Lavoie is a retired teacher in Greenstone who now writes full-time. His published works include And the Geraldton Way and a debut mystery novel, The Beardmore Relics.
For a number of years, Lavoie wrote a weekly column for the local paper. The narrator, who called himself EJ, imagined himself observing the world from a mythical Northern community named Goshen. These stories and essays are now collected into a series of books subtitled The Chronicles of Goshen. The first volume, The Annals of Goshen, has several articles still highly relevant in 2012.
One story, titled “How the Smirk Stole Christmas”, describes an American character named Santa Prez. He bears a remarkable resemblance to former President George W. Bush, who spoiled the season of joy for a lot of kids and their parents.
Another story, “Caveat Emptor”, describes how Canada’s government devised a plan to dump radioactive nuclear waste in and around Goshen. The people of Goshen listened respectfully to the pitchmen, and then made a decision. Several other communities in Northwestern Ontario are now listening to the same pitch.
“Pike’s Peak” refers to that iconic mountain in the American West, and a matching prominence in the Land o’Goshen. The narrator describes his very real journey there to scatter the ashes of a friend.
Different chapters employ different approaches: There is often humour, sometimes biting social commentary, and occasionally spiritual epiphany.
WhiskyJack Publishing is the imprint of independent publisher Edgar J. Lavoie, writing as E.J. Lavoie. One version of The Annals of Goshen is available on Amazon.com as a Kindle e-book. Further information is available from the website WhiskyJackPublishing.ca and the blog EJLavoie.WordPress.com.