Underground is about the events that lead a Canadian soldier to fight in the Spanish Civil War. A journey of self-discovery, the story of Albert Fraser begins in the brutal battlefields of the Somme and then moves into the squalor and strife of the 1930s in Canada. Battle-scarred, Al searches for an answer to the question, Who am I? and, in a seemingly rash and

Both love story and social commentary, Underground examines the timeless human conditions of passion, conflict and hope. Cormorant Books will publish Underground in February 2009. June is represented by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.

The fight against fascism in Spain became one of the greatest rallying cries of a generation, and yet the 1,700 who volunteered from this country are Canada’s forgotten soldiers. One quarter of them died in Spain, but they are seldom named at Remembrance Day ceremonies and are given only scant reference in school texts. For more information about the Spanish Civil War, including photographs, see Shots of War: Photojournalism During the Spanish Civil War.

A former journalist and teacher, June's short fiction has appeared in Pottersfield Portfolio (she won its compact fiction competition), as well as in The Capilano Review, Other Voices, and Contemporary Verse 2.

Photo of June by Janet Baxter