Jamieson Wolf
Aurora Award Nominated Author
Pride and Provocateur by Melissa Yi – A Book Review
Lixie Bi Bennet is an artist in need of a life.
When she is left her great aunt Aurora’s little house located in Dildo Newfoundland, it seems like her prayers are answered. Lixie piles everything into their dilapidated old car, as well as her five closest friends, drive across Canada to Dildo to take ownership of the bright yellow house. She doesn’t know what she will find there, but it has to be better than the life she is living right now.
Full of hope for what the future, Lixie is keen to get her art business on the map. She makes glass dildos of the highest quality. How perfect will it be to make dildos in Dildo Newfoundland? What she isn’t keen on is some of the locals. Almost as soon as they arrive, Lixie meets D’Arcy, a rich and entitled man who, for some reason she can’t fathom, sets her teeth on edge and her heart into rapid fire. Is it possible to hate and want a person at the same time? Lixie is intent on disliking him on principle.
And he’s not the worst of it. A man named Wilco Collins shows up and lays claim to the house, claiming that he is the rightful owner. He’s even more insufferable than D’Arcy. He is pompous, arrogant, rude and believes he is entitled to everything that he wants. He also makes a move on Lixie with the thought that women should be quiet and do what they are told. He has no idea who he is messing with and Lixie knows that she will have her hands full making herself as distasteful as possible to Collins.
Lixie was hoping that life in Dildo Newfoundland would be simpler. She has no idea how chaotic her life is about to become. Thankfully, as she gets to know the town of Dildo Newfoundland, she begins to finally know herself. But does she have what it takes to survive the growing affections of D’Arcy?
Only time will tell but time is something they are quickly running out of.
I love Jane Austen, but I love tributes to her work even more. I’m thinking of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Dawn of the Dreadfuls and Dreadfully Ever After. When I head about Pride and Provocateur by Melissa Yi, I was hooked right away.
I hoped that it would be a good romp within the world of Jane Austen with the occasional bit of Canada peppered throughout the novel. However, Pride and Provocateur is so much more. Melissa Yi has taken the storyline of Pride and Prejudice and made it something entirely her own. The story is full on Canadiana, and it is glorious.
All of Melissa Yi’s strengths are what make Pride and Provocateur so incredible. The world of Newfoundland comes to life and those that are familiar with the province will recognize certain sights and sounds. She creates amazing character that felt like my friends by the time I finished the novel and you root for them all to find their happily ever for now. I laughed, cried and hoped as I read this book. Pride and Provocateur takes you on a roller coaster of a journey and I for one am changed by it.
That’s the mark of good writing, when a writer can take the plot of a book I know so well and yet they go beyond that to create something their own. Melissa Yi has written something akin to perfection. I can’t wait to read this book again and fall in love with Newfoundland, Lixie and D’Arcy all over again.
Unravelling – A Poem
I have been trying to untie myself,
letting my mind gently unravel
as I try to find out
who I am.
Delving into the forest of
string, yarn, and pieces of ribbon
that has piled at my feet like water,
I grab hold of a thread
as if it were a touchstone,
something to bring me back outside myself.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve done this;
the unravelling fills the rooms of my mind
and I almost got lost within
when this started.
Each time I come back to the surface,
letting the unraveled string and pieces of yarn
f
a
l
l
away from my body,
like water or wind,
I take a breath as if for the first time.
Looking down at the palm of my left hand,
I hold another piece of thread,
yarn or string with a pretty bead,
made of plastic or pearl or a bit of glass.
Looking down at this gift,
I wonder what part of myself
will unravel
next.
Tarot for the Weekend!
I am so excited!
This Sunday September 13th, 2026 i will be reading Tarot at the Psychic Yoga Space from 1pm to 4pm.
Do you have a question for the cards? Come and get a reading from George Sabbagh and find out what Spirit wants you to know.
Also, there will be all kinds of decks for sale for $20 each! How awesome is that?
The Psychic Yoga Space can be found at https://psychicyogaspace.com/ and they are located 131 Bank Street on the 3rd floor.
Come and say hello and have your cards read!
I’ve Planted a Seed – A Poem
I’ve planted a seed
inside the dark soil
of my body.
As it grows
I’ll be able to feel
the roots digging deep
a whole world
sprouting within me.
I will know that I am ready
when I can feel the presence
of the leaves
pressing against the tips of my fingers
urgent to unfurl themselves
so that they can feel
the sun.
You Win Some – On Being an Aurora Award Nominated Author
If you didn’t know already, I am a huge book nerd.
I am almost always reading more than one book at a time. Currently, I’m reading Pride and Provocateur by Melissa Yi (almost done and so absolutely fantastic and it fills me with so much happy) and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (it’s my fourth time reading this gorgeous little book).
I collect books, live for words and I’ve lost count of how many books I have, or in some cases where I’ve put them. Books are portable magic. When I was a young kid, I would hold these books close, knowing that they held the keys to other worlds. These books showed me that anything was possible.
I’ve been an avid reader for so long and I knew that I wanted to be writer from an early age. Every time I read a book, I wanted to tell my stories even more. This continued into my teenage years. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read The Thief of Always by Clive Barker or all of Christopher Pike’s books (literally all of them; name one, I’ve read it). Books helped me breathe and still do.
I always enter my books to be considered by the Aurora Awards. As a hybrid author (traditionally published and self-published), you gotta fight for yourself, right? You never know. Every year, I have that feeling of imposter syndrome kick in as I’m entering my book. I mean, The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA) is so wonderfully diverse and the authors that are nominated every year are rock stars to me. You can learn more here: https://www.csffa.ca/
Every year, I’m thrilled to enter my work to be considered for the Auroa Awards for the nomination ballet. It makes me feel like a real author (I also know that I am already a real author because I put letters to paper, but you know what I mean). It just feels surreal to even enter. This year I was lucky enough to pass the nomination stage of the ballot and ended up on the short list.
I was now an Auroa Award nominated writer. I had never dreamed anything like that would happen to me. It felt out of this world to be on a ballot with Tanya Huff, Robert J. Sawyer, Julie E. Czerneda and Guy Gavriel Kay. See? Literal Rock Stars. There were so many incredible authors, and I was one of them on this ballot.
I posted a picture of a trophy that my friend Cait Gordon made for me (incidentally, she’s an AMAZEBALLS author). She said that everything should be celebrated. The nomination was a HUGE deal, and I had to celebrate it for the victory it already was. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. It deserves to be celebrated. It confused some of my friends and they were disappointed that I didn’t actually win, but thing is, I did win.
Something I had always dreamed would happen but never thought could happen did happen. If that’s not something to celebrate, I don’t know what is.
I didn’t get to say a thank you speech, so I hope you will humour a writer by letting me thank a few people:
I’d like to thank Rebel Satori Press for taking a chance on Minotaur. It’s wonderful that a novel about queer and disabled woman living in a labyrinth could find a home with you.
I’d like to thank everyone that’s read Minotaur and told me how much the story meant to them, and how much Roanne’s story has stayed with them.
Thank you to my friends and family who have supported me. You are usually the first ones to run out and buy my new book and then say what they love about it. You can’t know what that kind of support means to a writer. That kind of support goes beyond a mere thank you. All of you make my life better because I know you.
Thank you to my cat Anakin who was on my lap or by my side as I wrote Minotaur. It was such comfort to have you near while I was in the darkness for so long.
Finally, I’d like to thank my husband, Michael. Thank you for reading along with me as I wrote Minotaur and let me bounce ideas off you. Thank you for kindness, love and presence as I got lost in the labyrinth I created and calling me back home to you. Thank you for helping me to realize that true love is not just for the storybooks.
It’s been quite the ride with the Aurora Awards. I have felt like I’ve been riding a comet for a while and I had no idea where it would land. I may have not won Best YA Novel, but I won a dream come true and you can’t beat that.
Here’s to next time.
Buy Little Yellow Magnet from Amazon and Kobo!
Jamieson Wolf has written a compelling story about navigating multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. His story will touch your heart, make you cry, then laugh, and inspire you. A touching memoir with a bit of magic…and tarot! ~ Theresa Reed, author of The Tarot Coloring Book
