Sci fi/fantasy author Stephen B. Pearl is from Hamilton, ON, but his novel, Tinker’s Plague, contains a brief mention of our own Janetville:

Dan tossed a piece of wood on the fire then leaned back and watched the stars appear overhead.

“Where did you grow up?”

“Little place called Janetville, just a few klicks outside the Otonabee province of Novo Gaia.”

“You’re not Novo Gaian?”

“Not hardly. A tinker recommended me for the basic skills training program. Spent two years learning me trade, and a few other things then they kitted me out and sent me to wander. Checked in once a year ’till I paid off me cart and loans. Haven’t been back since.”

Tinker’s Plague is a post-apocalypse story entwined with environmental/climate fiction and a dash of a plague outbreak. (You might think was written in 2020, but Tinker’s Plague was published in 2016.)

The story is set in southern Ontario, now known as Novo Gaia, in a world where the oil reserves were depleted, which caused society to collapse. A few places were able to keep modern technology, but everyone else has to rely on the Tinkers.

This story follows Brad Cooper on his route to Guelph when he finds himself at the epicentre of a plague outbreak.

Stephen B. Pearl’s writings focus heavily on the consequences of the worlds he crafts. In writing the Tinker series of books, he has, among other factors, drawn on his training as an Emergency Medical Care Assistant, a SCUBA diver, his long-standing interest in environmental technologies, and his first-hand knowledge of the Guelph area.

Tinker’s Plague (2016)