Randy Nikkel Schroeder grew up Mennonite in Alberta's deep south. As a young man he fled for the High Arctic and, psychologically, never came back. He currently lives with his family in Calgary, where he snowshoes in the woods, watches birds, and plays guitar and mandolin for his band, Uncle Zugg. In his spare time, he is Professor of English, Cultures, and Languages at Mount Royal University.

Praise for Arctic Smoke:

"One: Schroeder has authored a novel that is undeniably Albertan. Two: Schroeder has authored a novel that is undeniably punk."
~ Vincent Potter, FreeFall Magazine

"A wintry and psychedelic elegy to that special Albertan brand of despair. An absurdist punk-rock adventure through counter-counterculture's most otherworldly spaces. Schroeder writes with urgency and grace, vividly describing a zombie capitalist wasteland where the strange becomes familiar and the familiar strange. Read this book."
~ Mike Thorn, author of Darkest Hours

"Unlike anything else out there. Nouns push against verbs in ways we've never seen."
~ Mike Resnick, Hugo Award-winning author of Kirinyaga and Santiago

"Arctic Smoke is a punk rock fever dream. Like Bruce McDonald channelling Anna Kavan, Schroeder's prose hotwires your brain and takes you on a surreal joyride through arcane Canadiana."
~ Greg Rhyno, author of To Me You Seem Giant