Fika with Vicky’s guest this week is Shane Joseph. We’ll be focusing on his novels Empire in the Sand and Circles in Spiral, as well as delving into the story of his Blue Denim Press. Yes, Virginia. There are still publishers that accept manuscripts without an agent. Shane Joseph is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers. He is the author of seven novels and three collections of short stories. Shane’s second novel, After the Flood, a dystopian novel of hope, released in 2009, won the Write Canada Award for best novel in the futuristic/fantasy category. His short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in literary journals and anthologies all over the world. His blog at www.shanejoseph.com is widely syndicated, he has a monthly column in The Sri Lankan Anchorman journal, and is the Book Reviews Editor for Devour Art & Lit Magazine. His most recent novel, Empire in the Sand, was released in September 2022. Shane is the owner and publisher of Blue Denim Press (www.bluedenimpress.com), a literary press he founded in 2011. He is responsible for editing, formatting, cover design, production, distribution, and promotion at his press. To date, the press has published over 40 titles (fiction and non-fiction) in paperback and e-book formats. In particular, Shane loves editing to release the story from within the words. More details on Shane’s work, blog and book reviews can be found on his website at www.shanejoseph.com. He maintains an active presence on social media via Facebook, Instagram, Linked-In, Twitter and Goodreads. He has a growing collection of YouTube videos produced by him on book launches and author discussions.