Rachel Sa is a professional writer, journalist and communications consultant based in Toronto, Canada.

Tradewind Books launches The Lewton Experiment

Novel pushes junior reporter genre into "Unforgettable Twilight Zone"

Toronto, ON (October 22, 2012) - Tradewind Books has launched The Lewton Experiment, its latest novel for young adult readers. The mystery-thriller follows 17-year-old Sherri Richmond, a Toronto girl who takes the job of student reporter at a small town newspaper in the age of texting and social media.

When Sherri arrives in the fictional Muskoka town of Lewton, instead of the bustling tourist town she expected, she finds deserted streets gripped by a dark secret. Are sinister forces at play? Determined to unravel the mystery, Sherri defies her editor, outwits a rival reporter and even stumbles into a romance as she launches her own investigation into a big box store run amok.

First time novelist Rachel Sa was inspired to write The Lewton Experiment during her year as a news reporter in Huntsville, Ontario.

"I love when fiction reflects reality," says Sa. "So, when I lived in Huntsville and interviewed Main Street merchants who were terrified that a big box store was coming to town, I wondered: What would happen if a big box store literally took over a town and its inhabitants?"

Sa wrote a first draft of the novel during the three-day 2004 Muskoka Novel Marathon in support of adult literacy. The novel took shape in subsequent years as Sa pursued her Master's in Creative Writing at The University of British Columbia.

Best-selling children's writer Susan Juby (Alice, I Think, Bright's Light) calls the completed novel: "Entertaining, tightly plotted, funny and terrifically creepy."

Governor General's Award-winner Glen Huser (The Runaway, Stitches) says:

"For anyone who has ever wondered if the greeter in a big box store might actually be brainwashed - and haven't we all - you will discover a shopper's special in Rachel Sa's Lewton. This is a sly and often funny first novel that pushes the junior reporter genre into an unforgettable twilight zone."

Rachel Sa is a professional writer whose work includes What Rachel Sa: A Field Guide for Parents, a collection of her newspaper columns and commentary.

 

About Tradewind Books

 

Carol Frank and Michael Katz started Tradewind Books in 1996. Their titles have been recognized internationally for their fine illustrations, award-winning writing and innovative design. Tradewind Books celebrates the work of authors from diverse cultures within Canada and around the world.  

 

Tradewind Books is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their titles are distributed in Canada through Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, in the US through Orca Book Publishers, in the UK through Turnaround Publisher Services and in Australia through John Reed Book Distribution.

 

For more information, to obtain a review copy or to arrange an interview, please contact the author directly:

Rachel Sa

416-902-0930

rachel@rachelsa.com

Writing

• News releases
• Reports
• Web content
• Key messages
• Fact sheets
• Prepared articles
• Commentary
• Correspondence
• Blogs
• E-blasts and bulletins

Editing

• Substantive editing
• Line editing
• Manuscript consultation
  
  

Media Training - NEW!

• Hands-on training to prepare for interviews and ace cold calls from the media
  

What's your story?

Clients are often so immersed in the intricacies of their own business that they find it difficult to get perspective, to answer the questions: Who are we? What do we do? What are we trying to say?

As a professional journalist, Rachel knows how to tease out your story and her passion for words ensures it leaps off the page.

By approaching your project with a journalist's eye, Rachel cuts through the layers to unlock the power of your story and craft communications tools that will grip your audience.

Rachel's is a regular contributor to Canada.com and her first novel, The Lewton Experiment, is forthcoming from Tradewind Books in Fall 2012.

Her writing has also appeared in the Toronto Sun, The National Post, The Huntsville Forester and in the international security publication, Future Lab.

Rachel's award-winning column appeared in the Toronto Sun and across Sun Media since from 1998 through 2012. A collection of her columns was published in the book, What Rachel Sa, in 2002 by Stewart House Publishing.

Rachel holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of British Columbia's prestigious Creative Writing Program. She is currently working on several fiction projects.