Two Winnipeg authors will share the spotlight at a unique book launch this weekend.  Although they are used to being around each other. 

Ann and Matthew Brough are mother and son, and they're also both published authors who have each just released a book. 

"We just happened to have books coming out at the same time within a few weeks of each other." They've decided to launch their books together even though the books couldn't be more different from the other.

Ann's book, The Welsh Guardsman, is historical fiction based on her own family's history. "It's based off my grandparents, who I didn't know. So I had to do lots of digging. But I knew they had an interesting past because there was always innuendo about my grandmother that we were not to talk about her or mention her when growing up."

The Welsh Guardsman is a sequel to her first-ever book, The Prussian Captain. 

Matthew's book is adventure fantasy and geared towards young readers, "although there are also lots of adults who read them and enjoy them," he points out.

His book is the third in the series, Del Ryder. In this latest, Del Ryder and the Emerald Sceptre, Del Ryder leads the Company of Light on a quest across the sea to the most ancient parts of Azdia, hoping their mission will bring them closer to discovering how to defeat the darkness.

Matthew says he had tried writing fiction several times, but it wasn't until he switched motivation that he suddenly found his inspiration flowing. "I have a daughter and she was just turning five-years-old . . . and I was thinking 'I would love to just write something that she would love to read.' When I got that motivation of writing for her, suddenly I had the first draft of a book within three months."

Matthew says that he didn't intend for the book to have any theological points, however he found that God seemed to simply write himself into the story. "God basically just showed up in the books . . . I had no plan to put Him into the story, and then suddenly there's this character showing up. I thought 'where did that come from?' and then I realized 'Oh, this is God actually putting himself into this story.'"

Book launch Saturday night

Ann & Matthew will launch their books together Saturday, October 27 at McNally Robinson (1120 Grant Avenue). 

The event will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Mother & son plan to interact, asking each other about the other's book. They'll also be reading excerpts, and books will be available for purchase and signing.