Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: It’s dark times, and we need stories that remind us of unexpected community and the possibility of resilience. David Giuliano’s literary novel, The Upending of Wendall Forbes, does just that. David, could you introduce us to your book?

David: Set in the remote northern town of Twenty-Six Mile House, The Upending of Wendall Forbes follows Wendall and Ruby Forbes, an aging couple grappling with memory loss, isolation, loneliness and the rapid encroachment of dementia. When a fierce blizzard descends, bringing with it an extended power outage, a group of six eclectic strangers take refuge in their home.

As the storm rages outside, inside, a tender and surprising exploration of intergenerational hope, grief, and the quiet power of human connection.

The cast of strangers, and a talking lynx and a foul-mouthed raven, restore Wendall and Ruby’s hope for the future and for humanity. It’s a novel that is at once funny, wise, and full of heart.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

David: Three things initially inspired The Upending of Wendall Forbes. First, I was sixty-two years old, on the cusp of the fourth quarter of life. I wondered what the next twenty years might be like if I live that long. What does it mean to be an elder?

I am riding on the tail end of the boomer generation, and I am painfully aware of how capitalism, greed and disregard for the natural world have failed the climate and our grandchildren. 

Also, I was reading post-apocalyptic novels, which left me asking if the complete collapse of the world is our only hope. Is there redemption for this world possible? 

I started the novel exploring those ideas and questions. Of course, it took on a life of its own as the story unfolded.

Zilla: If you weren’t a writer, what do you think you’d do instead?

David: For thirty years, I published short essays and poems. I have always been a writer, and like many writers, I did other things.  I was a minister in The United Church of Canada, the Moderator (spiritual leader) of the national church, an expressive arts therapist, a spiritual director, served on the national Indigenous ministries’ council, and am an activist. My writing is inspired and informed by all those experiences. I have been a “full-time” writer for almost a decade.

Zilla: What’s the secret to editing?

David: Editing takes time. For me, for every hour of writing, there are four hours of editing. If there’s a secret, it would be taking pleasure in making what I’ve written better. The “Aha!” when I find a better word, sentence structure, or plot line that polishes what I wrote in a flow of spontaneous creative ecstasy. 

Another “secret” is finding a good editor who understands what I am doing. I take their recommendations very seriously. I accept nearly all of my editor’s changes. A good editor is gold. Be grateful. 

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

David: I’m working on a third Twenty-Six Mile House novel. I’m no James Joyce, but I identify with him saying, “For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.” Twenty-Six Mile House is a highly fictionalized version of the town where I have lived for forty years. By getting to the heart of it, I hope to get to the heart of universal human experiences. 

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

David: The Upending of Wendall Forbes is available at bookstores, online and from Latitude 46 Publishing. You can find me on my website, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube.

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: I’m always here for some fantasy—and romantasy!—so we got Karen Eisenbrey in to talk to us about her works. Karen, can you tell us about your writing?

Karen: I write fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero novels. My current project is Tales from Deep River, which comprises a cozy fantasy adventure trilogy and two cozy romantasy interludes for a total of five books. The trilogy can be read with or without the interludes; the interludes can also be read on their own or in series order.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Karen: A Quest for Hidden Things (Tales from Deep River Book 1) was inspired by a brief dream featuring two wizards and at least three plot twists in a scene that seemed to occur late in a story. In working out what happened before and after, I accidentally built a world and populated it with characters I wanted to know better. It took me 25 years to get that first book right, which allowed plenty of time to write sequels and spinoffs.

Zilla: Unfortunately for authors, we know that writing is only half the battle—then we need to edit. What’s your secret to editing?

Karen: I don’t know if this is a secret, but you have to accept that writing the book and editing the book are two different jobs. It helps me to set the work aside for long enough that I can come at editing as if the writer was someone else. It doesn’t pay to be too precious about a beautiful passage that doesn’t fit the tone of the book or the experience of the point-of-view character. (But it’s okay to save the beautiful passage in another document, in case it can be used later.)

Zilla: Who did you imagine reading your book as you wrote it? 

Karen: Although I wasn’t actively writing it as young adult (YA), I imagined writing this series for a bookish 14-year-old girl like I was. In reality, even for my overt YA titles, most of my readers have been adults. That’s okay; there’s no upper age limit on young adult.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Karen: After I wrap up the fifth book in the Tales from Deep River, I plan to work on book 3 of my St. Rage garage rock/superhero series. It is currently a thin, messy draft that I look forward to sorting out and plumping up. After that, I have plans for another fantasy trilogy, this one using teen comedy tropes in a high fantasy setting. We’ll be doing Accidental Roadtrip, Fake Dating, and Save the Rec Center.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Karen: Website: https://kareneisenbreywriter.com/my-books/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7577611.Karen_Eisenbrey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenEisenbreyWriter

X/Twitter: @kareneisenbrey

Bluesky: kareneisenbrey.bsky.social

Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Zilla: We’re delighted to have Jeffrey Vernon Matucha here to tell us about the punk scene—starting with the music and going from there! Your latest book stars two punk musicians who meet an unexpected visitor. Can you tell us about it?

Jeffrey: Trieste is the story of power punk couple Miranda and Preston, and how the appearance of a pixie punk upends their world, as their bygone fast lane living days rise up to confront them about past sins. It’s a tale, not just about the punk scene, but also the culture of the working class.

Zilla: What inspired you to write this book?

Jeffrey: This work is based on a true story, something that happened to a friend of mine. When you live a wild club and music life, especially when it’s rife with drugs and booze and lots of fooling around, the past can come back to haunt you, especially in unexpected ways. I would say more, but I don’t want to give away too much before people have a chance to experience the story.

Zilla: What would it be like to meet your characters?

Jeffrey: In a way I have met them. Not them literally, but Preston and Miranda are based on the many punks, musicians, and wild burnouts I’ve known over the years. Miranda is loosely based on my late friend Marian Anderson, the singer of The Insaints. Marian has been the inspiration for many of my hardcore characters throughout my writing career.

Zilla: Who is your favourite fictional character someone else wrote? 

Jeffrey: Dre from Dani Dassler’s PR is my favorite character from the genre of punk fiction. Her book has been a big inspiration for my writing, especially when it comes to the subject of culture clashes. One of my favorite scenes from my novel A Long Slow Aftermath, when Preston takes his blind friend to her first punk show, is based off of a key scene in PR.

Zilla: Why do you write?

Jeffrey: I was a wild clubber back in eighties and nineties San Francisco. I have way too many stories to tell, and not just wild rock and roll stories. I’ve been in the trenches with the working poor, those living in poverty, and I know the struggles of the homeless. There’s so much more to what I’m writing than crazy club and drug stories. I’ve opened the eyes of some of my readers, and I want to continue to do so. I also would like to tell the muggles what it’s like to do a stage dive, or mosh in a circle pit, or collect all your loose change so you can have some Top Ramen for dinner.

Zilla: Who did you imagine reading your book as you wrote it?

Jeffrey: I appeal to a lot of scenesters, old and not-so-old punk, goths, and musicians when I market my books, but my stories just remind them of their own lives. They do get the satisfaction of seeing their world in the written word. But the people I really want to reach, who also happen to be the kind of people who appreciate my writing the most, are the civilians who don’t know what these worlds are like, the realms of crazy punks, of drug addicts, and of the working class. Those are the people I want to reach. I want them to experience these cultures through my works.

Zilla: What’s your next writing project?

Jeffrey: I currently have the manuscripts for books six and seven of my Skye Wright series prepared, and I am writing the manuscript for book eight. I launched a Kickstarter in January 2026 to help fund the launch of these books—funds for professional editors, cover art, and book design. I also set it up so that it can take late donations after it expires, if people want to contribute.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Jeffrey: All of my books can be found on my website. The book itself is here: https://needlepictures.com/tbd/book/trieste/