Letterswitch Publishing

Treat your shelf to a great book.

The story

One's life is, in its essence, a series of stories.My best story is how I came to know my wife, Alison. In the summer of 2000 she was at home in Nova Scotia looking up a friend who lived in Massachusetts on ICQ (shout out to the elder millennials out there, everybody else can get caught up here) who was also named Justin Freeman; only, rather than typing MA for Massachusetts, she made a typo and entered MO instead.For Missouri.Where I was sitting, thankfully having put off going to bed.That case of mistaken identity sparked a conversation, which led to another, and another. Then to postcards from abroad and calling card-fueled long distance phone conversations, but not meeting in person. I was a farm boy marooned in the Ozarks, and the shores of Nova Scotia may as well have been a moon of Neptune. Life continued conspiring by all its twists and turns in keeping us from meeting......until fifteen years later.We had stayed friends all that time, in and out of contact, and then the stars aligned such that we were able to meet each other. It went well enough that I sold everything I owned that wouldn't fit in three suitcases and moved sight unseen to the Yukon, where she was living at the time. A year after that we eloped on a lark on the beach; two years after that our daughter Molly was born; three years after that our son James was born, after we'd made the cross country move back to where it all began.I try not to dwell on the fact our entire subsequent family tree into perpetuity hinges on the delicate happenstance of Alison having mistakenly pressed a key with her right finger instead of her left.One switched letter has spawned stories large and small in the thousands, and will inspire legions more as successive generations pay their homage to it. As I pursue a childhood dream of writing by founding a micropublisher, I thought there was no better way to keep a sense of gratitude kindled for the power of a good story than to call my endeavors Letterswitch Publishing. Our aim is to offer beautiful books that educate, encourage, and entertain, from voices with unique and important things to say. I hope you'll stay in touch as we work to provide a space for great writing to flow from, where else, the beautiful shores of Nova Scotia......hopefully with fewer typos this time.

the Books

A Little Grieving

For the first time, your child has experienced the death of a loved one. How do you even start trying to explain what's happened?A Little Grieving lays out a process parents can use to frame conversations during a grieving process with young kids. Written in collaboration with pediatric crisis counselor Samantha Renner and full of helpful anecdotes and practical advice, A Little Grieving is a map for navigating one of childhood’s - and parenthood's - most trying seasons.Whether you have recently suffered loss or are looking ahead to an inevitable talk to come, A Little Grieving will empower you to have straightforward conversation about death with your child with a method designed to develop insight, empathy, and resilience.

Launching November 28, 2026:
Commander Alexander and the Big Race

Alexander Moss knows he's not the fastest kid in his class. His classmates Kent and Dusty know it too, and are happy to remind him at every opportunity. But when a summer fun run gets announced at school, Alex decides that winning isn't the only reason to show up at a starting line.Over the course of the summer, Alex builds an obstacle course, learns to run properly, faces down a pair of determined rivals, and gets a dose of wisdom from an old shopkeeper that echoes in a moment of truth.The race itself brings everything to a head in a finish that asks Alex to make a choice with nothing to gain and everything to lose - and discover what it really means to earn a title.Written in a warm, comic first-person voice that captures the logic and wonder of early-elementary childhood, Commander Alexander and the Big Race supports developing readers with short chapters, accessible vocabulary, crisp illustrations, and high-energy pacing - all while delivering age-appropriate themes of perseverance, integrity, sportsmanship, and the value of mentorship.

Launching November 28, 2026:
One Veggie

Every night, the same battle: one plate, one parent, and one child who has decided that vegetables are simply not on the menu.In One Veggie, a weary but endlessly creative parent tries everything, including elaborate imaginary games. What if you were a giant stomping through broccoli forests? What if your mouth were a landing pad for corn pilots and turnip rockets? What if you were a banker locking coins of squash in your safe? But the little one isn't budging, and the white flag is looking closer every minute.Then, at last, a flash of inspiration appears in the pantry - from a very unlikely source.With bouncy, read-aloud rhymes and a refrain kids will be chanting by the second page, One Veggie is a funny, warm-hearted celebration of picky eaters, persistent parents, and the small victories that make family life so memorable. Perfect for ages 3 to 7, and for anyone who has ever bargained over a bite.

In Development

R. Justin Freeman is proud to be the lead content writer for Bloodwork, an upcoming tabletop RPG board game slated for release in 2027. Bloodwork is a dark fantasy co-op board game for 1–4 players, set in a world shattered by the death of its Goddess and the cosmic corruption unleashed in her wake. Lead a party of Guild Mercenaries through a branching dual‑faction campaign, choosing to side with the Xalgaran Knights or the Orcish Tribes as your decisions reshape the missions ahead. Survive perilous travel filled with ambushes, relics, hazards, and fleeting opportunities. Face tense grid‑based battles where positioning, asymmetric abilities, and risk‑reward choices define every fight.

When a delirious nineteen year old woman traveling alone is carried off of a stagecoach in the tiny town of Sagebrush, Montana Territory, rancher James Anderson is tasked with solving her mystery. When tragedies begin to strike the town in the wake of her arrival, though, his work takes on an urgent new importance - but saving his fellow citizens from a new unseen threat will require vanquishing some of his own ancient demons first.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who are you, anyway?

Mostly me: R. Justin Freeman. I've done a little bit of everything - grew up on a cattle farm, sold shoes, worked in a warehouse, been a groundskeeper, built miles of barbed wire fence solo. I was a police officer once upon a time (not that kind of police officer), and had a stint as a pastor after that (not that kind of pastor - it's a long story). For the past decade or so I've been a freelance writer, but seeing my kids learning to read gave me the itch to create something less ephemeral than articles and blog posts...so here we are.There have been and will be a variety of helping hands dipping in and out of view over time - hence my use of "we" and "our" on the site, lest I delude myself into taking all the credit - but the day to day operations are my doing.

What are your credentials?

In terms of the credentials informing the topics I personally write about most, I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and am a former POST certified police officer for the Springfield, Missouri Police Department, where I worked in the Patrol Division. I was also honored to win a Shorty Award in New York City in 2013 for a wry essay on the futility of evading arrest.Otherwise, my writing is informed by my lived experiences in immigrating to Canada and living in remote Yukon Territory, being an at-home dad to two, founding a non-profit once upon a time, and a host of other things. When it comes to my non-fiction work, if a subject would benefit from additional perspective - such as Samantha Renner brought to our debut book A Little Grieving - I have no hesitation in bringing other voices into the discussion.

Do you accept manuscript submissions?

We really appreciate any interest you have here, but will have to defer it for the time being. While this is very much on the roadmap, at the moment we don't have the bandwidth to consider outside submissions for publication. Please feel free to introduce yourself, but the timeline for opening to submissions is best characterized as long-term rather than short or moderate, so if you have a complete manuscript that belongs out in the world, we're not currently able to give it the attention we know it deserves.

Contact Us

We've been told we're good listeners - see if you agree:

PO Box 2108
Liverpool, NS B0T1K0[email protected]

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