"Real people in real places. What a great read! I picked up a copy of Shafted while visiting the grandchildren in Smithers last weekend. I could hardly put it down until I found out what happened. Thanks for sharing not only an interesting story but a look into the lives of everyday people."
Jock Mackenzie at http://jockmackenzie.wordpress.com
"As in the best theatre ensembles, there are no small roles, only small players, and every character created by Sheila Peters is immensely memorable, whether they are on the page for a few scenes or reappear as major players throughout the entire book...
...Another interesting aspect of this well-written book is the choice of April as the month in which all the action takes place. April in Smithers will resonate with many readers who experience four seasons of the year as, without a doubt, April is the cruelest month. It gets our hopes up for spring, surely just around the corner. Peters delivers April's uncontrollable run-off, collective mental teetering on the edge, freezing treachery and the first beautiful dry, bare patch in the yard with true panache."
Caroline Woodward on Goodreads.com
What people are saying about The Taste of Ashes:
"Peters is incredibly skilled at showing the many-layered ways we hurt the people we love unintentionally ... and worse, the ways some people intentionally set out to damage and destroy others. She’s equally adept, however, at showing that healing also exists ... that love endures, and grace—in sharp splinters of pain and light—can eventually pierce and change even the bleakest reality."
Ev Bishop Write Here, Write Now
"The Taste of Ashes is a redemption song about the resilience of the human spirit."
Margaret Thompson in BC Bookworld
"By tackling the sacred and the profane, the best and worst behaviours of humanity, [Peters] has offered us an ambitious first novel of great depth and complexity with memorable characters that will linger a long while after the ending, which is just exactly right for the story."
Caroline Woodward in Woodward on Words
"I just finished reading The Taste of Ashes. I should have written this yesterday but I was bleary-eyed from reading it until 1:30 in the morning! Absolutely loved it....It was rich and complex and drew me along needing to know what was going to happen to each character and making me want to reflect on each of their perspectives.
Wonderfully written – I loved the way you built the characters and their pasts in layers of revelations that reminded me (seriously) of Faulkner (Go Down Moses). I think he was a master of dropping bits of information in as you went along: like walking into the middle of a conversation and not quite getting the full picture until the penny drops at the very end.
Thank you so much for such a great read!"
Nancy Wise, Sandhill Book Marketing
"The writing is quite wonderful, but further, it is the psychological validity that I found appealing. Wow. I guess I loved your book."
Ruth McMonagle, Still Water Books
"Your novel is well-written fiction that maintains a balance between historical insight and sensitivity around complex human issues. I continue to be impressed with your rich descriptions....having the whole connection to Guatemala and Mexico made the novel so much more interesting. You did a great job explaining the contours of the violence, as well as Mayan cultural issues. I am so very impressed." Marie Manrique
" Very compelling story. Wow!!!"
"Your characters have a passion for life without the
rigidities of convention and niceties."
Wonderful descriptions of Smithers, UBC, Vancouver, and people in so many phases of their lives...I was touched by your descriptions of the flashbacks of the Father. And the possibility of grace....Thank you!
"...well described people, setting: a very good read."
Sheila Peters 