Check out these great local authors
John Appleby’s new book Night Runners of the Winter Seas is now available. ($24.95)
Night Runners of the Winter Seas
JollyJupiter’s new book Beers & Beards an Adventure Brewing ($25.00 each)
Derek Wolff’s new book A Child’s Antidote To War ($20.00 each).
Elisa Melville’s children’s book Canine Symphony ($15.00 each)
Ed and Sandy Shook’s children’s book With Thanks to Mother Goose with no thanks to COVID (12.00 each)
Cary A. Conder’s book From the Ashes ($20.00 each)
Jacqueline Paul’s new book Nuhquim, The Little Red Puppy: A Star And Bumblebee Book. ($30.00 HC, $21.00 SC)
It’s All Because Of The Virgin: Twisted Tales From The East. ($24.49)
Retired empty nesters Raccoon and his wife Trixie became late in life converts to the joys of independent travel. Over the course of several trips taken during the twenty-teens these wanderers take us on strange adventures to off the beaten path destinations in Asia.
They would find out as much about themselves as the peoples and backwaters that they would visit. Wherever they went they found friendliness, resourcefulness, shared values, spontaneity, that renewed their faith in the goodness of people. Oh yes and they found humour, there was humour everywhere.
Randi-Anne Dey’s new book The King’s Mystic. ($22.00)
Paula Carter’s new book Magical Nature Friends. ($12.99 for softcover and $21.00 for hard cover)
Marie Powell’s fantasy books Last of the Gifted Spirit Sight and Water Sight. ($20.00 each)
Lilian Grace Myles poetry book The Vulnerable Truths of an Anxious Mind. ($18.95)
Douglas Wilson’s book Learn to Play Chess by Reading the Comic Book ($19.95)
Richard Ogilvie’s book Necessary Measures ($22.95)
Thomas Reed’s book Everything I wish I Could Tell You. ($20.00)
Rud Verhagen’s youth book The Last Green Dragon ($15.00)
Xavier Langford’s book Go Northwest – A Journal Off the Grid ($20.00)
Janine Hunka’s book Successful Aging for Women over 50.
Owen Roberts book What It takes.
KG King’s new book Rescue at Royals Field, $18.00 each.
Lorraine Shaw’s book Going to Nanoose Bay and Where Are Nana’s Glasses?
Bryan Cavan Doyle’s book You and Tarot – How to Read the Cards ($21.99).
Annette Irene’s poetry book The Wind and The Sky and everything else for sale ($20.00).
Frank Talaber. The Joining and The Mystery of Ms. Teak – The Ainsworth Chronicles book 1 & 2. Urban Fantasy and Paranormal thrillers set in Victoria.
Kent Brown’s book Nyanga, looks like a great science fiction read ($19.95).
The small crew of the Starship Intrepid, with its newly developed and untried experimental computers and faster than light engines, head into space and are led to the planet Nyanga by a mysterious radio beacon emanating from millions of miles away. After a perilous landing on the planet, they discover two civilizations, one under the dictatorship of an evil, all-powerful entity ruling the city and its people, while the other lives peacefully and harmoniously with nature. Danger, feints and double-crosses await John, a former Scout Service spaceship pilot, and his crewmates, Brian, a Space Merchant Corp veteran and owner of the Orion’s Belt Bar, along with Susan, the executive secretary to an eccentric billionaire, on the roller coaster
adventure of a lifetime.
Chelsea Richardson – The Dog with the Crooked Tail ($10.00)
Chelsea Richardson, a local Westshore author, recently released her first book – a children’s short chapter book for ages 7-9, entitled The Dog with the Crooked Tail. This book is the first in a four-part series. Buddy, a small rescue dog, breaks into a local school and chaos ensues! The book is illustrated by Meghan Taylor, who is also from Victoria.
Chelsea’s two eccentric small dogs, Buddy and Ladybug, inspired her to write this chapter book series. She began writing the story one winter by the fire, put the opening chapters aside for about three years, and with encouragement from a good friend, self-published the story in 2022.
To learn more, follow Chelsea on Instagram @dogwiththecrookedtail or Facebook @dogwiththecrookedtail – or visit her website: dogwiththecrookedtail.com
Chelsea would love to hear what you think about our story!
Jamie Goyman beauty flowers
Growing up in both Baffin Island and Ontario her young imagination was allotted the space to create strong roots in the mind.
Having always had a knack for writing and music the statement “I’m going to write a book one day” didn’t seem far off and was supported by those who saw her drive and talent.
Always with a pen and any form of paper on hand, high school was where her drive and confidence was set in stone through the English Departments in both schools (Ontario and NT) and her own accord. After graduating in Yellowknife, NT the move to Victoria, BC was a natural space for the seventeen year old wide eyed youth who had seen enough winter days that towering trees and larger than life floral displays was an easy choice.
Camosun College – Creative Writing Department 2006, was where countless books began becoming full, all laying in wait for their moment to be activated.
2021 and beyond.
This first book, …beauty flowers…, is the combination of the top picks of poetry from the first two books written (ages 19-22). This will be an ongoing theme in the upcoming books to be released which will have writings from 22-26, 26-33, until reaching recent writings 33- ongoing. The purpose is to show the growth and changes in an author as they grow. Each book is to either be free of charge or a charge can be made with a donation to local charity in lieu of payment to the author.
“ I want my art to be uninhibited, when money crosses hands there is an immediate pressure placed to create something specific, art is for the wild heart to find respite on paper not for structured schemes to manifest ” – Jamie Goyman
Some great new books from local author Vanessa Canevaro and friends.
Canada: The Case For Staying Out Of Other People’s Wars by local author William S. Geimer ($15.00).
Canada did not “come of age” on the world stage at Vimy Ridge Her wars have always been fought based on the interests of of the U.K. or the U.S., never on an independent assessment of Canada’s own interests. That dangerous and unhealthy dependency continues today. The proof is in the stories of all Canada’s wars as told in Canada: The Case for Staying Out of Other Peoples Wars, by army veteran William Geimer.
George Mercer is a former Gulf Islands National Park Warden and Vancouver Island-based author.
Harking by George Mercer is now available ($16.00).
After her parents’ divorce and the discovery of a series of cryptic notes left behind after her father is killed in an avalanche, Harking Thompson struggles to come to her own understanding of love, loss and what really matters. Caught up in a battle to save a mother grizzly bear and her cubs, Harking’s fight to protect the wildlife and wild places she loves teaches her a brutal truth: sometimes saving a life might mean losing another you love even more.
Dyed In The Green – $16.00
Dyed In The Green is part of a six book series about national park wardens and their exploits with poachers, developers and bureaucrats. Initially set in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, the “Dyed In The Green” series will follow main character Ben Matthews, across Canada with the second book set in Wood Buffalo National Park (northern Alberta and the NWT) and the third and fourth books alternating between Jasper National Park and an African national park. Book Five is based in British Columbia’s Southern Gulf Islands and the final book in the series will come full circle and end in Newfoundland. These books are works of fiction with elements of mystery and suspense, set in some of our country’s most iconic special places.
Wood Buffalo – $16.00 Wood Buffalo is book two and is set in Wood Buffalo National Park (northern Alberta and the NWT).
Jasper Wild $16.00 Jasper Wild, is book three and is set in Jasper National Park.
Fat Cats – $16.00 Fat Cats is Book Four in the Dyed in the Green series. Set in British Columbia’s Gulf Islands Nation Park Reserve.
Brianna Snider – Sailor Anna Goes to Sea ($10.00)
Sailor Anna loves sailing the seven seas. Join Sailor Anna, her brother Kash and his dog Max on their first journey to the Arctic Ocean to explore new places and search for marine life along the way. Watch out for Captain Catfish as he will try to steal their dads ship called the Singing Mermaid at every turn.
The Gatewatch and The Everspring by local author Joshua Gillingham ($20.00 each).
Torin Ten-Trees and his closest companions, Bryn and Grimsa, set out to join The Gatewatch and become trollhunters. When a troupe of meddling dwarves throws them off course they are captured by trolls and taken as prisoners to a secret gathering deep underground. There they learn that an ancient giant has crowned himself king of the trolls and plans to utterly destroy The Gatewatch. Their perilous journey back to the land of sun and stars will stretch their strength to the limit, strain their wits, and demand an unspeakable sacrifice. But will it be enough to defeat the Troll King?
The Gatewatch is a young adult fantasy adventure inspired by the Norse Myths, the Icelandic Sagas, and the unforgettable landscape of the Rocky Mountains. Myth, history, and imagination fuse together in an epic troll-hunting saga written for young adult readers.
In The Everspring the saga of Torin Ten-Trees continues.
Grace Bogaert’s books Shiver and The Girl from Mena Creek.
SHIVER A supernatural thriller
Rescuers find five-year-old René frozen on the lake outside his family’s home. 
He is rushed to hospital where his body temperature is restored to normal and his heart starts pumping again. But he lingers in a coma. His parents, Anna and Xavier, pray for his recovery, but René’s doctors say there is no hope and recommend removing René from life support. In a last ditch effort to save her child, Anna begs her aunt, a native spiritualist, to perform a secret shamanic ritual, making a bargain with the spirit world to restore her son’s life. At first it se
ems that the ritual has not had any effect, but when the ventilator is switched off, the boy begins to breathe on his own and recovers fully. Anna is overjoyed, but unease soon clouds her happiness. She suspects a connection between her son’s revival and a serial killer she once helped go free. Strangely, the killer’s talisman, a carved figurine of a woodsman, keeps turning up—even after the object has been burnt in the fireplace—a sign of the persistence of evil and of the frightening odds Anna faces. Even though she knows the killer has since died, she feels his presence lurking everywhere, and she lives in trepidation, knowing his reign of terror is not over.
The Girl from Mena Chreek – An Australian love story inspired by true events at historic Paronella Park
A debut novel by Victoria author Grace Bogaert
In 1927, Talia, a young Spanish girl, travels to Australia where her father has been eking out a living cutting cane. After several years of bracing cyclones, disease, and poverty, Talia’s family moves again to another part of Far North Queensland. This time, they settle at Castillo Candela, the wealthy domain of fellow Spaniards, and life becomes a little easier. It is also at this beautiful estate, nestled along Mena Creek, that Talia first meets Alwyn, a mixed race Aboriginal boy. Initially, Talia finds him a little strange but after working side by side, she grows to understand him, and eventually to admire and love him. But when she and Alwyn decide to get married, Talia is dismayed that her family will not allow it, even though Alwyn has proven his worth time and again. In a desperate move to gain Talia’s parents’ approval, Alwyn joins the Australian forces in the battle of the Pacific, but soon disappears following his capture by the Japanese.
In her loneliness and despair of not knowing Alwyn’s whereabouts, Talia looks for solace in painting the landscapes of her adopted homeland, clinging to the hope that someday Alwyn will return.
Carol J. Pettigrew’s new book Rootstock ($15.00)
Bill Gallaher’s book High Rider ($10.00).
Bill’s eighth novel, High Rider, is the fact-based fictionalized account of John Ware who was born a slave on a rice plantation in South Carolina and through the sheer force of his will and skill at the cowboy trade became one of the most successful independent ranchers in southern Alberta. But there was much adventure on the long road that took him from South Carolina to Texas to Montana and finally to Canada. High Rider is a compelling story of a great Canadian.
Jim Miller’s book The Redemption of Rabbi Hawkins ($12.00)
Sandy Cumberland – Circling Butterfly ($15.00 each)
Sandy has been named one of the Emerging Local Authors for 2021 by the GVPL https://www.gvpl.ca/virtual-branch/emerging-local-authors/
Madama Butterfly. The heartbreaking tale of love and loss. Even the non-opera-goers amongst us can name that one, and, if pushed, can probably come up with a close approximation of the story. A young geisha in turn-of-the-20th-century Japan falls in love and marries an American Naval officer. She knows the marriage is arranged, but thinks their love is genuine, so when he returns to America she waits for him. Three years later, he returns, but with his beautiful American wife in tow. Butterfly discloses that they have a son together. He and his wife offer to take the boy back to America. Butterfly kills herself. End of story.But… But… What about the stories around Butterfly. What about her faithful maid, Suzuki? Sharpless, the US consul who befriends the husband? And what becomes of Butterfly’s little boy that she prophetically called Sorrow? We meet them all in the opera, but only as fleeting glimpses. What of their lives? What of their pain?It’s the triptych of these three stories that are told here. The lives that surrounded, loved, and mourned the delicate Butterfly. The stories of Suzuki, Sharpless and Thomas. Knowing the depth and breadth of their lives and their relationships with our heroine and each other brings fullness to Butterfly’s life as well, and makes her story all the more tragic.
Heather Ball – The June Bug Catcher ($21.00 each)
The June Bug Catcher is a novel about a young woman in search of herself. Emma Drei thought she had a sparkling future awaiting her. Her adoring fiancé seems keen to build with her a life of fulfilled dreams. That is, until an unexpected development throws a painful wrench into these plans, leaving Emma shattered. Yet, life can turn on a dime, as Emma learns when she makes an impulsive decision to leave her native Victoria, BC, home and seek a fresh start in Australia. Her bold move Down Under delivers all manner of unexpected pleasures to her reinvented life, including friendships, romance, and a new appreciation for God. Here is a story about second chances, and the way a new life can rise out of the ashes of lost opportunities. Journey with Emma into enormous adventures in a spectacular physical environment, exploring the fresh bliss found as much in her relationships as in her faith.
Mei-Li Lee – Potlatch Blanket for a China Man ($19.95 each)
Mei-Li Lee is a first generation Chinese-Canadian. Her father immigrated from China to Canada at the beginning of the twentieth century and was forced to pay the discriminatory Head Tax. Her mother did not leave China until 1948 when the Exclusion Act was repealed and less restrictive entry of Chinese into Canada permitted. Potlatch Blanket for a China Man is Mei-Li’s debut story. She lives with her family in Victoria, BC
Robert Battistuzzi – Under a September Moon ($20.00 each)
Robert’s new book Under a September Moon is the final story of the trilogy that started with The Boys from North Dakota and The Boys of ’63. The first two stories were a blend of fiction and fact about Randy, Gerry, Art and Robert in their teen years. Robert felt that carrying this relationship forward into their adult lives would be a good way to end the trilogy.
Ron North – Building Inspector Memories ($19.99 each)
What’s It Like To Be A Building Inspector. Read About The Funny, Scary Or Just Plain Weird Things That Happen To Inspectors.
Margaret Wells – The Amazing Adventures on Turtle Pond ($10.00 each)
Karen L. Adams – Woman in Scarlet ($20.00 each)
An inspirational memoir of one woman’s 28-year journey from aspirations of becoming one of the first female officers within the fabled Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to overcoming the harsh realities of discrimination, injustice and personal violation.
Shirley Wilde – Secrets of Gracefield Manor ($19.95 each)
An account of the history of the Grace House on Duke Road. What is a Southern Plantation Colonial doing in a rural area just outside
Victoria, BC in the Municipality of Metchosin? This house, and the original owners, have been a mystery to many people since it was built in 1942–43. Who were the people that built the house on 74.5 acres of sea view property? Were they really Americans from Chicago? What was their background (history)? Were they a wealthy family fleeing from Chicago, a city that had a long history of organized crime? Gracefield Manor has been a house of great interest since it was built. In later years it has been referred to as “The Haunted House” because of its rundown condition and the overgrown fields. The condition of this house sent a message that no one lived here but Mrs. Grace did. This old house has been restored by the current owner, who is the second owner, and who won an award from the Heritage Society for restoring the house and returning the land to a working farm. Gracefield Manor is listed as a Heritage House in the Municipality of Metchosin, BC. It is the private residence of the current owner.
Tom Cullen – Forgive Me, Mr. Hunter – $15.00
Axel spends his days pedaling around his neighborhood, secure in the knowle
dge that his watchful and caring mother is always looking out for him. As a four-year-old, Axel’s whole world fits in the span of his neighbourhood. The highlight of his daily routine is visiting Mr. Hunter, who always lets Axel help with his handyman projects, kindly and patiently taking his suggestions and sharing words of wisdom.
Axel’s life is carefree and simple. He feels like it could go on forever like this until his carefully thought-out plan to do something good ends in disaster. Young Axel’s simple, happy life is torn apart and changed forever.
Shirley Martin – A is for Amphitrite $19.95 Grandma & Granddad’s Binoculars $12.95
Ernest Paul Murray – Voices from the Cardboard Castle – Twelve Tales of Fiction – $13.00
Ermest Paul Murray was born in Ottawa Ontario, raised in Gatineau Quebec, and resides on beautiful Vancouver Island BC, where he is currently working on his next short story and poetry collection.
Bart van den Berk – The History of Leechtown Part I: The VIEE and the Discovery of Gold on the Sooke and Leech River $19.00
The History of Leechtown is a comprehensive look at the area up to 1864, when gold was discovered on the Sooke and Leech Rivers by members of an exploration group. Times-Colonist Newspaper article November 23, 2014
