order our latest season of books!
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Pre-order our full 2022 season for $70.00 (4 books plus tote bag, reg. $98). $70.00 CAD. Ships MAY 2022.
A Snake in the Raspberry Patch
a novel by Joanne Jackson
It is the summer of 1971 and Liz takes care of her four sisters while waiting to meet the sixth Murphy child: a boy. And yet, something is not right. Adults tensely whisper in small groups, heads shaking. Her younger sister, Rose seems more annoying, always flashing her camera and jotting notes in her notepad. The truth is worse than anyone could imagine: an entire family slaughtered in their home nearby, even the children. The small rural community reels in the aftermath. No one seems to know who did it or why. For Liz, these events complicate her already tiring life. Keeping Rose in line already feels like a full time job, and if Rose gets it in her head that she can solve a murder… The killer must be someone just passing through, a random horror. It almost begs the question: where do murderers live?
A Snake in the Raspberry Patch is Joanne Jackson’s second novel. She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with her husband and a border collie named Mick. If you keep your eyes peeled you will see the three of them walking every morning come rain, or shine, snow, or whatever weather Saskatchewan might throw at them.
GOING TO Beautiful
a novel by Anthony Bidulka
International chef Jake Hardy has it all. Celebrity, thriving career, plenty of friends, a happy family and faithful dog. Until one day when a tragic accident tears it all apart. Struggling to recover, Hardy finds himself in a strange new world—a snow-swept prairie town that time forgot—a place where nothing makes sense. Cold is beautiful. Simple is complex. And doubts begin to surface about whether Jake’s tragedy was truly an accident after all. As the sun sets in the Land of Living Skies, Hardy and his glamorous, seventy-eight-year-old transgender neighbour find themselves ensnared in multiple murders separated by decades. In Bidulka’s “love letter to life on the prairies” he delivers a story of grief and loss that manages to burst with joy, tenderness and hope. Redolent of his earlier works, Going to Beautiful brings us unexpected, under-represented characters in settings that immediately feel familiar and beloved. Beautiful—a place where what you need may not be what you were looking for.
In 1999 Anthony Bidulka left his career as a corporate auditor to pursue writing and never looked back. His books have been nominated for several awards and Bidulka was the first Canadian to win the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery. When he isn’t writing or busy volunteering on boards, Bidulka loves to travel the world, collect art, walk his dogs, obsess over decorating Christmas trees (it’s a thing) and throw a good party. His motto: life is short, so make it wide! Please visit his website at www.anthonybidulka.com for further information about Anthony and his books. Anthony lives just outside Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Cashmere comes from Goats
a novel by S. Portico Bowman
Was it the death of her dog, Bloom, or was she just tired of her routine as a dentist? Or perhaps her depression was the result of her (mostly) unrequited love for her former piano teacher, Bruno? As Robin contemplates a sabbatical to see puffins in Newfoundland, a fateful google search puts everything on hold. When she *accidentally* finds Bruno’s grown son–or a younger double–living in France with a woman Bruno knew briefly many many years ago, Robin has a choice: stay in Canada and monitor her distant father’s suspected dementia, or accept Bruno’s demand that she go with him to France, and help him face fatherhood a few decades too late.
The structured chaos of a kaleidoscope is a soothing beauty and S. Portico Bowman’s favourite word. She writes to puzzle and play. Infinite structures of language craft the images for characters who have unpredictable and transformative lives. For the past twenty years Portico’s home was in a collage of places. She worked in Kansas as an art professor, art writer, and gallery director. Her love life is in California. Her father, family, writing community, and many friends are in Canada. She has completed her work in Kansas and now lives in San Diego full time with Tom and their cat Florence. Portico’s favourite art supply is glitter.
Letters to Singapore
a novel by Kelly Kaur
Growing up in Singapore, Simran always knew what was expected of her: to learn how to be a good mother and wife. The only problem? Simran has no interest in any of this. After a close escape (almost at the altar!), Simran earns a reprieve to attend the University of Calgary in Canada. Letters exchanged back home to her mother, sister and friends reveal that no matter which path women take, traditional or independent, life is fraught with conflict, hilarity and peril. Simran’s experience as a brave and hopeful young woman and a new Canadian will touch your heart; her thoughtful determination to chart her own course will inspire you.
Kelly grew up in Singapore, came to Calgary to get her degrees at the University of Calgary, and stayed longer than she thought she would. Universities appear to be her playground; as a university educator today, she must have taught over 10,000 students and graded over 60,000 essays. To take a break from marking, she decided to write her own novel. Kelly lives in Calgary, Alberta.