Join local author Alanna Rusnak on Tuesday, April 29, as she discusses her poetry books and performs her poems in front of the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library fireplace.
Rusnak announced the release of her highly anticipated novel When the Trees All Burned, the first book in a gripping new trilogy, launched on April 1, through Chicken House Press. The paperback will be available wherever books are sold, with the ebook exclusively available on Kindle for the first ninety days.
The April Fool’s Day release date was no coincidence but rather a calculated choice that underscores the novel’s central themes. In When the Trees All Burned, humanity dismisses the warnings of eccentric billionaire Rajiv Montgomery Noah as entertainment, folly, or delusion—only to discover too late that he was telling the truth all along. The April 1st release reinforced this narrative of ignored prophecies and misplaced mockery, asking readers to consider: Who is the real fool—the one who warns of danger, or the one who laughs at the warning?
Set primarily in Canada’s rugged northern landscape, the novel centres around Rajiv Montgomery Noah’s ‘Eden’ —a sophisticated survival dome constructed over the abandoned Rabbit Mountain Mine near Thunder Bay. As the world faces imminent destruction, Noah’s prophetic warnings become the foundation for a chilling exploration of humanity’s response to catastrophe.
The novel’s rich Canadian backdrop becomes more than setting; it transforms into a central character as Rusnak weaves together multiple storylines across the country, from Toronto’s Leslieville to Thunder Bay’s historic Prince Arthur Hotel. The story examines how different communities prepare for—or deny—the approaching apocalypse, showcasing the resilience, doubt, and hope that emerge in the face of extinction.
At its heart, When The Trees All Burned poses powerful questions about survival: What makes someone worthy of salvation? What would you sacrifice to ensure humanity continues? And what becomes of those left behind when the unthinkable actually happens?
Rusnak lives on a little patch of untamable land in small town Ontario with her husband, children, a rude cat, and a vintage van she’s far too excited about. Her debut novel was a finalist for the 2018 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and named one of the top reader-recommended titles of 2017 by cbcbooks.ca. She writes fiction in her office, an old chicken coop that has been renovated into a beautiful work space where she also runs an award-winning publishing company and a literary arts magazine called Blank Spaces.
The Library’s Fireplace Chat program highlights authors in our community. They take place in the Carnegie level of the Library from January to May on Tuesdays, 7 – 8 p.m., and Thursdays, 2 – 3 p.m.
For more information, visit https://osngupl.ca/fireplace-chats/
