Looking for something to read?
Pick of the Week!
Poetry Lovers, check this out!
A new collection of poetry from Sandra Bunting. Whether opening windows for the reader into musings and memories or taking us to faraway places, Bunting’s poems offer gentle and often poignant fragments that reflect our own experience. Evocative and powerful, images of the natural world are an ever-constant presence in this work.
Here's what the author says:
Poetry
nowadays can take the form of mini-stories, sharp observations or meditations
on a variety of themes such as family, nature and world events. It can explore
emotions and experiences. It can be a critique or a roar. There is always a
time for poetry but as we see our world upended once again, it is particularly
significant. The cover of the book features a flock of snow buntings, reference
to my surname. Continuing with the bird theme, the title challenges the cult of
celebrity and calls on the reader to step back, slow down to look with more
attention and closer observation. Sometimes it can be the small things that
turn out to be the most important. The book is divided into 8 sections to make
it easier to dip into. The language is accessible and clear. The poems
themselves are heavily influenced by Ireland, where I lived for many years, by
my life in eastern Canada, and even by some far flung places.
‘You herded us/ tried to keep us together/ wouldn’t let us stray behind/ checked to see if anyone was missing/ until we found we were missing you.’
From the poem Foggy Dew about the loss of a dog
Author/Poet Sandra Bunting.
Buy the book HERE.
Two for you to consider.
One Woman's Island
Running away from Canada, Maraina hopes to forget a failed marriage and the death of her husband by embarking on a whole new life. She moves lock, stock, and two cats to the small Caribbean island of Bequia. But the move brings more than she could have imagined. New friends ask her to help solve a recent murder in the expat community. And then there’s the problem of her neighbours, a young woman and her children. Seemingly abandoned by family and friends, Mariana believes they need her help! By becoming involved, Mariana is carried along from wanting to simply “live with the locals” to being overwhelmed by their culture, one so vastly different to what she had left behind in Canada that she doesn’t know who among her expat friends she can turn to for advice. So she carries on regardless and discovers that Bequia isn’t exactly the tropical paradise it had promised to be.
One Woman’s Island is the second novel in the Bequia Perspectives series that picks up again a few months in time after the first novel, Island in the Clouds
Island in the Clouds
The dead body in the pool is putting a serious dent in Geoff’s morning. An ex-pat property manager on the Caribbean island of Bequia, Geoff doesn’t want a spotlight shone on the secret past he left behind in Canada, but now he’s the suspect in a brutal murder. With no help from the inept local police force, he’s drawn into investigating the murder himself, to clear his name. As Geoff finds out more about the circumstances surrounding the killing, and he and his loved ones find themselves in danger, he begins to see a very dark underbelly of the place some people call paradise…
Part travelogue, part mystery, Island in the Clouds takes a long, hard look at the reality of living in a place that seems perfect — from the outside, anyway.
This is what the author says about the books.
I am continuing to write two more novels in the Bequia Perspectives Series that will follow on in the timeline, introducing new Bequia visitors to the story as well as involving familiar characters from the earlier books. I previously published a novella, That Last Summer, in eBook format only. I am also working on another novel, 2 novellas, and a number of short stories that I hope to collect into a volume with the title Stories From My Street.
Author Susan Toy
Website and Buying links - Please go HERE
This is another great pick!
"In dozens of amiable, frequently humorous vignettes... Mahoney fondly recalls his career as a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio technician in this memoir... amusing and highly informative."
— Kirkus Reviews
"What a wonderful book! If you love CBC Radio, you'll love Adventures in the Radio Trade. Joe Mahoney's honest, wise, and funny stories from his three decades in broadcasting make for absolutely delightful reading!
— Robert J. Sawyer, author of The Oppenheimer Alternative''
"No other book makes me love the CBC more."
— Gary Dunford, Page Six
Crafted with gentle humour and thoughtfulness, this is more than just a glimpse into the internal workings of CBC Radio. It's also a prose ode to the people and shows that make CBC Radio great.
What the author says about the book:
People sometimes ask me: how do I remember my work at CBC Radio in such detail? It's because I wrote most of it down when it happened. In this way, over the years, Adventures in the Radio Trade pretty much wrote itself. My mother said she had no idea what I did for a living until she read this book. But it's not really about me; it's about CBC Radio during that time in my life. It's history, really, of when techs cut audio tape with razor blades and legends like Peter Gzowski still roamed the earth.
Author Joe Mahoney
Website - please go HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
Our legacy is not always about money or fame, but rather in the way that people remember our name after we have gone. In these sixteen short stories we discover the reasons why special men and women will stay in the hearts and minds of those who have met them. Romance, revenge and sacrifice all play their part in the lives of these characters.
Kenneth watches the love of his life dance on New Year's Eve while Lily plants very special flowers every spring for her father. Martha helps out a work colleague as Norman steps back out into the world to make a difference. Owen brings light into a house and Patrick risks his life in the skies over Britain and holds back from telling a beautiful redhead that he loves her.
Meet Queenie and Rosemary who have both lost their husbands and must face a very different future. One that will take courage and the use of new technology.
Sonia is an entitled princess whose father has reached the end of his tether and Theresa has to deal with a bully in the checkout. Usher is an arrogant narcissist with a docile wife and is used to getting his own way and Vanessa worries about the future of her relationship with her teenage son.
Walter is a loner and is happy with just his dog for company, Xenia is the long awaited first baby of a young couple. Yves is a dashing Romeo who has the tables turned on him unexpectedly and Zoe... Well she can see into the future.
In one way or another all these characters will be remembered by those whose lives they have touched.
What the author says about the book:
Thanks very much Allan for featuring my collection. I love meeting new people and discovering more about them and I find their names particularly fascinating. Are they named after a family member as I was? Do they share a name with someone famous? Do they even like their own name? It is something we have little say in as it is decided by our parents, or even tradition. These stories are a tribute to some of those people I met and a celebration of their names.
Author Sally Cronin.
Sally's website - please go HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
Away on a bachelor party weekend getaway, Leo Clement makes the acquaintance of Peaches King while staying at Birch Island Resort. An odd friendship ignites between the young reporter and the enigmatic owner of the quaint vacation spot.
Leo starts to come to the island every Tuesday for lunch and a game of Scrabble with the eccentric octogenarian. He listens to Ms. King reminisce about her eventful past while nibbling on Neapolitan wafer cookies.
She shares details about her upbringing, her schooling and her marriage. However, the more Ms. Peaches talks, the more questions Leo has, including the disappearance of several staff members.
Hired by Peaches' own daughter to uncover the truth, Leo goes on a fact-finding mission that takes him from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts. By doing so, he uncovers more than he expected.
What the author says about the book:
Leo Clement meets and
befriends Peaches King, owner of Birch Island Resort. During his weekly visits,
the young reporter discovers there are secrets the eccentric old lady is hiding
from her adoptive adult children. Always up for a challenge, Mr Clement searches
for the answers to the disappearance of Arthur and Maggie's biological mother. Always up for a challenge,
Leo starts digging for the truth. What he uncovers is more than he expected.
Author Suzanne Casey
Visit her Facebook author page HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
Darkness is often the playground of the supernatural … the eerily unexplained.
Yeo House is a haunted country home in Eastern Canada’s beautiful province of Prince Edward Island. The stately seaside mansion of a shipbuilding magnate and his family in the 1800’s, it was given new life in the twenty-first century. During renovations something unusual was found hidden in the walls — a little toy dog on wheels. Now freed from his wall prison, it seems he’s still being played with by the ghost of the child who once owned him.
When little Della Sayer and her parents visit the historic Yeo mansion to see the famous Wheelie, the little girl makes a strange and powerful connection with the antique toy. It is an unsettling paranormal knowing, a kindred ethereal awareness….
Life for the Sayers will never be the same again.
What the author says about the book:
I was happy to be given the opportunity to write a book for The Paranormal Canadiana Collection (BWL Publishing Inc.), representing the province of Prince Edward Island. I’ve long loved the Island, and after coming across Wheelie, it turned out to be the perfect setting for my first foray into the paranormal. It was fun … and unforgettably creepy…
Author Eden Monroe
Visit her website HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
This book is being launched September 21st. at 3:30 pm at the Writers’ Federation of NS, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax.
You can be one of the first to read it.
This is a sequel to Jill's best-selling novel, The Arrows of Mercy.
The protagonist of The Arrows of Mercy, my first medieval novel, is Edmund of Flintbourne. The Arrows of Fealty tells the story of Haukyn, Edmund’s second son. As a serf, Haukyn owes fealty
to the lord of the manor and his life is tied to the soil, yet he craves adventure beyond the boundary stones of his village. In 1373, he leaves for John of Gaunt’s campaign in France. There, during five months of combat and loss, futility and atonement, he learns how armour-clad knights can be brought as low as any serf.
Home again, he is caught between two women, pretty Annabel and Ilotte of the sloe-black eyes. Neither marriage nor fatherhood tames his restless spirit. When a knight who was his sworn enemy in France becomes the new lord of the manor, Haukyn leads his neighbours in
rebellion against ancient custom and unjust taxation.
England’s southern counties march in open revolt to London, where Haukyn witnesses the king grant freedom to every serf in the country. Unimaginable freedom. A freedom that will bring
consequences.
What the Author says about the book:
So many readers wanted to know what
happened to Edmund of Flintbourne after they finished my first medieval novel, The Arrows of Mercy, that I felt I had
to write a sequel (standalone, in this case). The Arrows of Fealty tells the story of Edmund’s second son,
restless, fiery-tempered Haukyn, who clashes daily with his father and refuses
to accept the confines of a serf’s life.
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| Author photo by Niki Davison. |
Author Jill MacLean
Website - please go HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
Jill wants to thank everyone who supports her writing.
Watch the Scribbler on September 27th for an in-depth look at The Arrows of Fealty.
The Story Behind the Story.
From the author of the award-winning Sunflowers Under Fire, comes an inspirational book with personal memories and stories from the world of mental health.
Along Came A Gardener is based on the thoughts and ideas the author Diana Stevan gleaned from her 25 years as a family therapist combined with those she found working in her garden. Stevan shows us that even when life looks grim, there are tools we can use to meet its challenges and move toward a better future. This book explores the nature of loving relationships and the lessons Nature provides in our backyards and beyond.
DIANA STEVAN is the author of five novels. This is her first non-fiction book. She lives with her husband Robert on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
What the Author says about the book:
This was a difficult book to write, as I not only talk about my work as a therapist, and what I learned over the years, lessons I imparted to my clients, but I also reveal my own struggles.
When I first started helping others, I thought I had all the answers. I quickly discovered I had much to learn myself.
Like the Road Less Traveled or Eckart Tolle's works, this book shows how important it is to face our own demons and make room for change.
Author Diana Stevan
Diana's website: Please go HERE.
Diana visited the Scribbler before to share the good news about this book. If you missed it, please go HERE.
Buy Along Came a Gardener
HERE.
Are you ready to meet Miss Moonshine? Life may never be the same again…
It’s summer in Haven Bridge and Miss Moonshine is getting ready for a busy season. From the window of her Wonderful Emporium at the heart of the pretty Yorkshire town, she watches and waits, weaving plans to bring happiness to all who step through her door. For Miss Moonshine is no ordinary shopkeeper. She may not have what you want, but she will always have what you need…
Nine romantic novelists from Yorkshire and Lancashire, including bestselling and award-winning authors, have joined together to create this anthology of uplifting stories guaranteed to warm your heart. This magical collection of contemporary romances will make you laugh, cry and wish for a Miss Moonshine in your own life.
Here's what the author says about it:
I love short stories, always have. They are great for short boring commutes or whilst waiting for something important. My story in this anthology, GU 1909, is of particular significance to me because it is a story about a particular car. The car is a Wolseley E4 that one of my ancestors used to drive. He began his working life as a footman in service and became a professional chauffeur and mechanic. I wish I could have known him as a person.
Author Angela Wren.
Praise for Midsummer Magic.
I enjoyed every one of the stories in Midsummer Magic at Miss Moonshine’s Emporium, and highly recommend reading the book.
5 star review from reader Theresa Johnson
Angela's website - please go HERE.
Buy the book HERE.
Thanks very much for the opportunity, Allan. I hope your readers come to love Miss Moonshine as much I and fellow writers do.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Angela. Glad to showcase your stories, and those of your friends. Allan
DeleteA delightful idea to join talents and celebrate life.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Delete