Newfoundland author Gary Collins has written a total of ten books now; one of his most recent was Left to Die (2014 Flanker Press), the compelling account of the SS Newfoundland sealing disaster of 1914 in which 78 of 132 men stranded on the ice died. He is also the co-author (along with his granddaughter Maggie …
St. John’s Newfoundland writer Michelle Butler Hallett is the author of This Marlowe (2016, Goose Lane Editions), an excellent historical fiction novel set in Elizabethan England.
When Islandport Press sent me a copy of Ghost Buck to review, I was a little apprehensive about reading it for it is centered around an activity I have never participated in: deer hunting. I’m not even much of an outdoors person, but this book is not in actuality about hunting or wilderness skills. It is chiefly about family and the traditions that they cherish.
Chuck Bowie is the New Brunswick author of three novels, all in the “Sean Donovan: Thief for Hire” series. He has just released Book Three: “Steal it All“. Chuck took a few moments to answer my questions about his influences, where and when his Sean Donovan character was born, and how Book Four is coming …
Inanna Publications always has something different to read, so I often look to them for a book that is a change of pace from the norm. While browsing their website, I noticed Bear War-den (2015) by Vivian Demuth. In the brief description on the Inanna site it stated: “Told in an experimental style that mixes realism …
We have a saying up here in the Miramichi: “the very best” (but you have to run all three words together to say it correctly). Typically, it comes in response to “how are you?” or “how’s the family?” and so on. I thought it would make a great award title for the best books that the …
Moncton, New Brunswick native Sheryl Gordon has curated a very interesting book that defies categorization. It is entitled A ReWORDing Life: Finding Meaning in the Wor(l)d and it is an accretion of words and their meanings contributed from over 1,000 Canadians from all walks of life. It is all dedicated to raising awareness of (and …
Editor’s note: there is a more recent interview with Rick Revelle here. It was by sheer happenstance that I came across Rick Revelle and his two historical novels: I am Algonquin and Algonquin Springs (2013 and 2015, Dundurn Press). I was in Kingston (Ontario) visiting family when an article in that day’s edition of the Kingston …
Miramichi New Brunswick author Valerie Sherrard has written more than a dozen novels for young people, including Counting Back from Nine, which was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award and The Glory Wind. Her work has also been shortlisted for numerous Canadian awards, including the Ann Connor Brimer, Red Maple, and Snow Willow Awards. Valerie’s …
Harbour View (2009, Quattro Books) deals with the small inner world of a Halifax nursing home (called Harbour View Centre) in which each character adds notes of wistfulness, sadness, lightheartedness, even tragedy to be combined in a singular literary-musical tapestry that reaches through to the heart and to the mind. Ms. Brennan’s follow-up volume of …
Since the author personally sent me this book to review, I am hesitant to say anything bad about it, but I thought the story was going to be different somehow. I was under the impression that this novel was about a woman’s journey across Canada to ‘find herself’ and that the subject matter would be …
Above are just some of the books I have reviewed in the past four months. As you can see, I love to read, and many authors and publishers have been kind enough to send me review copies and ARCs (advanced reading copies) for consideration. I thank them all for their support and for your (the East …
[dropcap]Each [/dropcap]year thousands of visitors head to southern New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy area to visit the Hopewell Rocks, and I doubt any one comes away unimpressed by this natural rock formation enhanced by the extreme variation of the tides. When the tide is out, you can descend the stairs to the ‘ocean floor’ and …
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