Saltwater JOYS Series
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Books:
Books:
Saltwater Stranger
Saltwater Stranger
Coming Spring 2026
Third book in series
Third book in series
Coming Spring 2027
Saltwater Joys is set in Ireland’s Eye, a ghost town located on the edge of Newfoundland and Labrador—one of hundreds of fishing outports forced to resettle during the province’s confederation with Canada. The grave consequences of resettlement for the people and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador are illuminated in this intimate tale of one family’s experience across two generations. In the fall of 1965, John Lee, a young fisherman, makes a tragic decision that changes the course of his life, pushing him to a self-imposed exile and to the brink of insanity. Twenty years later, John must face the demons of his past when a young woman ventures to the rocky shores of Newfoundland in search of her roots. This work of literary fiction explores themes of love, suffering, survival and redemption through two parallel love stories—love for a woman and love for a province. The reader will come to know Newfoundland and Labrador and all it has to offer in its vast natural beauty, poetic language, close-knit communities, bountiful hospitality, ghost stories, folklore and colourful culture. Saltwater Joys is a mournful and haunting story that will surely captivate and call you home.
Saltwater Joys is set in Ireland’s Eye, a ghost town located on the edge of Newfoundland and Labrador—one of hundreds of fishing outports forced to resettle during the province’s confederation with Canada. The grave consequences of resettlement for the people and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador are illuminated in this intimate tale of one family’s experience across two generations. In the fall of 1965, John Lee, a young fisherman, makes a tragic decision that changes the course of his life, pushing him to a self-imposed exile and to the brink of insanity. Twenty years later, John must face the demons of his past when a young woman ventures to the rocky shores of Newfoundland in search of her roots. This work of literary fiction explores themes of love, suffering, survival and redemption through two parallel love stories—love for a woman and love for a province. The reader will come to know Newfoundland and Labrador and all it has to offer in its vast natural beauty, poetic language, close-knit communities, bountiful hospitality, ghost stories, folklore and colourful culture. Saltwater Joys is a mournful and haunting story that will surely captivate and call you home.
It’s been thirty years since the ocean claimed Evelyn’s mother in a heart-wrenching tragedy. Ever since, her father, John, has spent a life sentence in the resettled Newfoundland fishing community of Ireland’s Eye, haunted by the loss—and the ghost—of his first love.
It’s been thirty years since the ocean claimed Evelyn’s mother in a heart-wrenching tragedy. Ever since, her father, John, has spent a life sentence in the resettled Newfoundland fishing community of Ireland’s Eye, haunted by the loss—and the ghost—of his first love.
Evelyn thinks her parents’ past has finally been laid to rest, but when John takes the family to the haunted shores of Kelly’s Island in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, they fear they’ve unleashed something more sinister than any of the pirate legends that haunt the island’s shores.
Evelyn thinks her parents’ past has finally been laid to rest, but when John takes the family to the haunted shores of Kelly’s Island in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, they fear they’ve unleashed something more sinister than any of the pirate legends that haunt the island’s shores.
In this sequel to Saltwater Joys, Evelyn and her family face new threats, both seen and unseen, capable of forever altering the landscape of their lives. Some truths, once unearthed, refuse to stay buried.
In this sequel to Saltwater Joys, Evelyn and her family face new threats, both seen and unseen, capable of forever altering the landscape of their lives. Some truths, once unearthed, refuse to stay buried.
About Dianna Brown
About Dianna Brown
Dianna is a hockey mom, an elementary teacher and has a deep love of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a freelance writer with an expat column, 'Ties to Home,' in the The Downhome Magazine since April 2025.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Calgary and graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree from St. Mary’s University, Calgary. She has completed an Intensive Style and Grammar clinic offered through the University of Calgary, and has taken Advanced Fiction Writing courses through the University of Athabasca, as well as multiple writing classes with Newfoundland's writing coach, Matthew Ledrew from Engen Books.
She was born in Gander and raised in Kelligrews, Newfoundland. She currently resides in Calgary with her husband and two sons. She loves to play the piano, write poetry, plant flowers and read and write fiction.
Reviews:
Reviews:
Saltwater Joys is a fine first book by the author, Dianna Brown. Stories of love, death, grief, survival, and redemption illuminate the life of John Lee from the opening pages through to the final chapter.
Brown’s narrative invites us into the world of outport life and into a close-knit community of hardy people. The story begins with a retrospective about Newfoundland and Canadian Confederation. It goes forward, focusing on Ireland’s Eye, a remote location accessible only by boat, where John was born. It’s this rugged land and seascape, which underlines a history of diaspora and displacement. This deserted locale becomes a harbour for the kind of disorientation that only an imposed or enforced relocation provokes in both those who leave and those who remain. John Lee becomes an example and a symbol of that disorientation. He stays in Ireland’s Eye alone for twenty years, tipping toward madness. He is overcome until he alternates between reality and hallucination between the realms of life and death. He endures an existence rife with hardship, solitude, and starvation.
Saltwater Joys is a successful regional tale, a fiction, which is beautifully imagistic, and in which Brown uses her writerly grasp of the visual to show readers how place infects and consumes her characters. This novel is also imbued with Maritime superstition and with supernatural events. The mystery that results is intriguing for readers and life altering for the John Lee character.
- Anne Sorbie, author of Memoir of a Good Death & Alter Ego
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OMG!!!I just finished Saltwater Joys and it was brilliant... It kept me captivated and was hard to put down. Dianna did an outstanding job bringing the characters to life and the humble feeling Newfoundland offers. Made me homesick for Newfoundland. Hope for future books as Dianna is a amazingly talented author!!! 5 Stars hands down!
-Crystal Roach — 5 stars
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First-time author Dianna Brown has written an exceptional novel about love, loss, and redemption. This was no easy feat—years of writing and rewriting went into crafting every word. John and Annabel Lee will live on forever in my memory.
-Wendy Lukasiewicz — 5 stars
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Just finished Saltwater Joys! A terrific story! I have never visited the East Coast but the description and imagery felt like I was there! The characters are great! Tears were shed while reading this great story! I’m looking forward to the sequel!
-Nikki Virdee
Freelance Writing:
Freelance Writing:
-I've written for Magazines such as Mompreneur, and currently have a monthly column in Newfoundland's beloved Downhome Magazine, in the Back Porch section called 'Ties to Home.' Check out a sample of my work below.
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You can also reach me at diannabrown.tiestohome@gmail.com
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