George Elliott Clarke, Beatrice Chancy (Polestar Book Publishers) $16.95

In 1550 in Rome, Italy, a privileged, beautiful young woman killed her despotic and debauched father, who had forced her into an incestuous relationship with him. Her name was Baetrice Cenci and her story has intrigued writers for centuries, including Mary Shelley, Alexandre Dumas and Percy Bysse Shelley. Poet George Elliott Clarke boldly reforges her story into a portrait of Canadian slavery in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. The daughter of a black slave raped by her white master, Beatrice Chancy is raised in her father's house. Her declaration of love for another slave sparks tensions that culminate in her rape by her father. Violence begets violence until Chancy is killed and Beatrice hangs for his death.

Born in the Black Loyalist community of Windsor Plains and raised in Halifax, George Elliott Clarke is the author of Whylah Falls, Lush Dreams, Blue Exile and Saltwater Spirituals and Deeper Blues. In 1998, he was the first recipient of the Portia White Prize, awarded by the Nova Scotia Arts Council for cultural and artistic achievement.

Lynn Davies, The Bridge That Carries the Road (Brick Books) $14.00

Lynn Davies' first collection of poetry surrenders to the demands of a fully experienced life with a remarkable sureness of tone and clarity. She chronicles the hilarities, struggles and innocence of family life, astonished with the fierce power of love. Throughout the book, the lonely beauty of the Maritimes is a vision of the most silent reaches of the self.

Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Lynn Davies lives and writes in McLeod Hill, NB. After leaving home, she milked cows in northern Norway, made beds in Amsterdam, and picked grapes in Southern France. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals, including The Fiddlehead, Grain, Pottersfield Portfolio and TickleAce.

Deirdre Dwyer, The Breath That Lightens The Body (Beach Holme Publishing) $12.95

Halifax native Deirdre Dwyer roams the Mediterranean and South East Asian terrain of Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Turkey, Greece and Spain as a foreign voyeur. In an attempt to capture the harmony and balance of Eastern mythology and the quiet spirit that infuses mind and body, she inhales a refreshing human breeze that carries with it a myriad of rich and pungent memories. Here is a traveller in the process of translating herself so that divergent cultures form a language not broken but braided.

Deirdre Dwyer's work has appeared in Arc, Canadian Literature, Fireweed, McGill Street Magazine, The New Quarterly, Room of One's Own, and others. She currently lives in Halifax, where she works as a tutor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

Maureen Hull, Righteous Living (Turnstone Press) $16.95

Righteous Living is a collection of short stories which portray the unique culture of the Maritimes. From the gritty coming-of-age story of a teenager visiting her cousins in Quebec during summer holidays to the tale of a quest by a sister to discover why her sibling left a lucrative career to become a fisher with her husband, these stories reflect the subtle humour and sensitive characterization for which Maureen Hull is becoming known.

Born in Cape Breton, Maureen is a former costumer of Neptune Theatre. When not writing, she works with her husband on the lobster boats and looks after their two daughters. Her work has appeared in The Amethyst Review, Chatelaine, Contemporary Verse 2 and Other Voices.

Martine Jacquot, Des oiseaux dans la tete (Humanitas) $16.95

In this new collection of short stories, we discover portraits of characters looking for a new definition of their identity as modern women, exploring cultures as artists, or questioning memory and history as human beings. As in Martine's previous books, we are in the presence of a fragile world, a feeling of time passing, an expression of revolt beyond fear.

Martine Jacquot is a journalist, poet and novelist living and writing in the Annapolis Valley. Her previous books include Cet autre espace and Les Glycines. She is currently writer-in-residence with Nova Scotia's Arts inFusion project and president of the Conseil Culturel Acadien de la Nouvelle-Ecosse.

Susan Sweeney, 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site (Maximum Press) $29.95

The more customers you attract to your web site, the more success you will have -- but how can you get them there? Susan Sweeney makes lots of suggestions on ways to target the customers you need and keep them coming back; optimize your marketing; make effective use of search engines, newsgroups, meta-indexes, ezines, webrings, cybermalls, and banner exchange programs; use competitor's sites to your advantage; and incorporate media and public relations strategies. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, corporate marketing managers, new media professionals and web site designers will all find this book invaluable.

Susan Sweeney is the president of Connex Network Incorporated, an international internet marketing and consultating company. Her real world experience has made her a recognized expert in web site marketing and promotion.