The Fart Party Sampler

"[C]ollects the acclaimed and controversial web comic and zine. The foul-mouthed and hilarious stories here follow the life of Julia, a twentysomething woman living in San Francisco" from publisher's blog

From Random House of Canada Limited, a must-read collection of this fall’s best fiction. It is our richest season yet, and we’re thrilled to share a taste of some of our most dazzling, engaging, and compelling fiction titles with you. Be transported from the boulangerie-lined streets of Paris to the tension and uncertainty of the Vietnam War to the magical coast of East Africa; see moments in time through the grey eyes of Aristotle’s daughter, a day in the life of a woman longingly awaiting her adventurer husband’s return home, and the reflections of Mary, years after her son’s crucifixion; experience suspense like never before in thrillers so deliciously chilling, they’ll stay with you long after the last page is read; and, get to know a new generation of Canlit humour that will take you from the most famous address in the country to a place beyond this world—and every place in-between. Boasting only the best in fiction from literary stars like Governor General Award–winning Linda Spalding, Annabel Lyon, Colm Tóibín, Ian McEwan, Vincent Lam, Justin Cronin, and Shauna Singh Baldwin, as well as showcasing some of Canada’s brightest voices, among them Kim Thúy, Linwood Barclay, Terry Fallis, CS Richardson, Christine Pountney, Tanis Rideout, and Linda Svendsen, Best of Fiction Fall 2012 will capture your imagination and spark your curiosity, and introduce you to some of this season’s most charming, haunting, and enjoyable reads.

Cover Flap This is the eighth novel in the “Maya’s Aura” series. This naughty novel of magic and mayhem begins with Maya visiting Nana, her great grandmother, who lives alone on an island in Boston Bay. Nana, a historian, is using Maya’s psychic aura to visualize the memories of their long dead foremother, Britta. The psychic memories are so vibrant, so real, that Maya looses herself to them. Britta is a new immigrant to America who’s forced labor is auctioned on the dock to repay the cost of the ship’s fare from England. Thus she becomes a redemptioner, an indentured servant, a debt slave. Worse, because she is a comely young debt slave, everyone assumes that her body is for hire. Welcome to the adventures of a teen working at a dead end job in a coffee shop to pay off her debts. This in an era when the economy is bad because of the cost of wars and a banking crisis. An era when multinational corporations are putting locals out of work and banks are foreclosing on the unemployed. An era when the only men getting richer are the bosses who run the smuggling, the slavery, and the drugs. Welcome to Massachusetts in the era of the Boston Tea Party. About the Author Skye Smith is my pen name. My family convinced me not to use my real name because my stories are so critical of predator males. You'll understand and forgive me this as you fall in love with sweet Maya, my main character. For those of you who like stories about vampires, witches, and magic, you won’t be disappointed by my very different, more realistic take on it all. My vampires are parasites wearing business suits. My witches are healers ignored by the modern world. My magic is based on aura’s, and everyone has felt or seen an aura at least once in their lives. Other Novels By The Same Author: The Hoodsman – 12 historical adventures set in the Norman conquest. Knut – many historical adventures set in the Viking Era. The Pistoleer – 9 historical adventures set in the English Civil War. Maya’s Aura – 8 new age adventures while tripping around the world. 1. “The Awakening” - She discovers her strange aura. 2. “The Refining” - She learns how to use her aura. 3. “The Ashram” - She searches for answers in India 4. “Goa to Nepal” - She follows a quest into the Himalayas 5. “The Charred Coven” - She fights black craft in England. 6. “The Crystal Witch” - She learns psychic craft in England 7. “The Redemptioner” - Psychic dreams of her ancestor Britta. 8. “Destroy the Tea Party” - Britta’s adventures in Boston in 1773.

Everyone loves food. But did you know that every day is a national food or drink holiday? It's true! There's National Bloody Mary Day, National Cheese Lover's Day, and even National Blueberry Pancake Day—just to name a few. Based on the popular blog Almanac of Eats, Eat the Year is a tribute to food-lovers everywhere that introduces a national food or drink holiday for every day of the year. From National Martini Day to National Chip and Dip Day, this book includes tasty recipes, food history, and a variety of food holidays that are as diverse as they are delicious!

In 2004, Julia Wertz began a series of funny, irreverent autobiographical comics she called "The Fart Party." After posting these comics online to acclaim and controversy, she eventually started collecting these comics as self-published minis which found their way to Atomic Books in Baltimore, who thought they ought to be collected into a proper book so as to garner Julia more laughs and hate mail. As these things go, the first volume was so successful, there was a second volume. Both are now out of print, but Museum of Mistakes collects them into one book, plus numerous pages of Julia's early comic work, unpublished and/or previously uncollected comics, short stories, illustrations, process pages, hate mail, sketchbook pages, tear stains and more.