RuFF

by Rod Carley

Rod Carley is back with another theatrical odyssey packed
with an unforgettable cast of Elizabethan eccentrics. It’s a
madcap world more modern than tomorrow where gender is
what a person makes of it (no matter the story beneath their
petticoats or tights).
Will Shakespeare is having a very bad year. Suffering from a
mid-life crisis, a plague outbreak, and the death of the
ancient Queen, Will’s mettle is put to the test when the new
King puts his witch-burning hobby aside to announce a
national play competition that will determine which theatre
company will secure his favour and remain in business. As
he struggles to write a Scottish supernatural thriller, Will
faces one ruff and puffy obstacle after another including a
young rival punk poet and his activist-wife fighting for
equality and a woman’s right to tread the boards.
Will and his band of misfits must ensure not only their own
survival, but that of England as well. The stage is set for an
outrageous and compelling tale of ghosts, ghostwriting,
writer’s block, and the chopping block.
Ruffly based on a true story.

293 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2024

About the author

Grin Reaping is award-winning author Rod Carley’s highly-anticipated third book. His second novel, KINMOUNT, won the Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the 2021 Independent Publishers Book Awards and was one of ten books longlisted for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour. His first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in Cloud Lake Literary, Blank Spaces Magazine, Broadview Magazine, the anthology 150 Years Up North and More, the Carter V. Cooper 2022 Short Fiction Anthology, and HighGrader Magazine. Rod was short-listed for 2021 Exile Quarterly’s Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize. He is an alumnus of the Humber School for Writers and resides in North Bay, ON. www.rodcarley.ca.