This season, consider buying books by these fine PWAC authors. The guide covers books published since 2012. Organized by genre, the guide gives title(s) and when provided, publishing info, description, and available locations or contact information. Browse the full guide below, or browse by genre using the menu.
Fiction and Poetry
Children’s Books
General Non-fiction
Non-fiction- Crime
Non-fiction- History and Biography
Non-fiction- Writing and Business
Non-fiction- Travel and photography
A Crack in the Pavement
Author: Georgie Binks
Publisher: Goodweather Publishing Inc.
Summary: When Sheila Traventi discovers she’s pregnant with her second child, she’s ecstatic. That’s until genetic testing uncovers a problem with her fetus forcing her to make a difficult decision. When it comes time to leave the hospital, she is overcome with grief and impulsively steals her dead baby’s body. As she travels the streets of Toronto with it bundled closely to her, she finds salvation among its street people. Sheila’s journey is revealing, humorous and, at times, heartbreaking. When her past reappears nine years later, she is forced to confront old ghosts and new demons.
SHUT UP! Stop Talking and Start Making Money
Editor: Ryan Parton
Author: Dave Warawa
Publisher: PROSALESGUY Training
Summary: SHUT UP! Stop Talking and Start Making Money defies what you think is required for success as a Professional Salesperson. The traditional ABC’s of Sales – “Always Be Closing” have changed to “Always Be Connecting.” This book fights society’s negative stigma of Professional Salespeople by giving them the tools required to help educate and inform their customers into making positive buying decisions. The greatest skill in Professional Sales is the ability to listen, not talk.
The Healer
Author: J. Michael Fay
Publisher: IslandShorts
Summary: In 1957, Danny is struck down with rheumatic fever and discovers a strange and frightening world on the children’s ward of the hospital. During months of recuperation his powers of observation are heightened and ultimately the time spent alone teaches him not only about survival, but about becoming the “big boy” the nurses constantly urge him to be, as he learns to accept the inevitable tragedies of life that surround us all.
Tenderness
Author: J. Michael Fay
Publisher: IslandShorts
Summary: In southern Alberta during the hot, dry August of 1909, young cousins meet again after a lengthy separation of their families. Tenderness is the bittersweet story of Luke and Rachel as they come to terms with their losses through learning more of a shared heritage.
The Whirlabout
Author: J. Michael Fay
Publisher: IslandShorts
Summary: The Whirlabout takes us back to America during the 1950s, when a quarter bought a movie ticket as well as a bag of popcorn, city neighbours gathered on front porches to listen to a ballgame on the radio while kids played in the street and, for an evening out, entire families climbed into their cars to go to the then-new drive-ins. Through innocent eyes, a young boy describes this time and place with precise detail and the memory of how he learned life’s lessons through the example of his own solid father.
Never Such Innocence Again
Author: History Today
Publisher: History Today
Summary: ‘Never such innocence again’, wrote Philip Larkin as he imagined the crowds of young men at the Oval and Villa Park, getting ready to head to the front lines. But history revealed a conflict that couldn’t be reduced to the certainties of good and evil, and their striving for a more complete and complex picture is apparent in this collection of articles on the First World War from the archives of History Today. This book offers an extraordinary range of topics and a real sense of the shifting historiography of the First World War, shifts that will continue as long as the War to End All Wars is discussed.
Raincoast Chronicles 22: Saving Salmon, Sailors and Souls
Editor: David R. Conn
Publisher: Harbour Publishing
Summary: Since 1972, Raincoast Chronicles, Harbour’s signature illustrated anthology, has been highlighting lives that defined the British Columbia coast. Raincoast Chronicles 22, gathered by guest editor David R. Conn, is inspired by givers, guardians, helpers and volunteers who have contributed to the making of our region.
Ted Grant: Sixty Years of Legendary Photojournalism
Author: Thelma Fayle
Publisher: Heritage House
Summary: Ted Grant, the undisputed father of Canadian photojournalism, has made a career out of being in the right place at the right time. Over his sixty years in the business, he has immortalized some of the greatest events in history. Based on over fifty interviews with the man himself, this book is an intimate portrait of the second half of the twentieth century, Canada’s coming of age, and the man who saw it all through the lens of his camera.
Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar
Author: Ashleigh Mattern
Publisher: Coteau Books
Summary: the Herstory calendar profiles the activities and accomplishments of women and women’s organizations from all areas of the country, from all walks of life, from all decades of Canada’s existence. The Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective has been researching and compiling the material for the annual Herstory calendar since 1974. Its mission is to make Canada’s history more reflective of the lives and achievements of the women who help to create and shape our country.
Rails Across Ontario; exploring Ontario’s Railway Heritage
Author: Ron Brown
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Summary: Rails Across Ontario will take the reader back to a time when the railway ruled the economy and the landscape. Read about historic stations, railway museums, and heritage train rides. Find out where steam engines still puff across farm fields and where train coaches lead deep into the wilds of Ontario’s scenic north country.
Backroads of Ontario
Author: Ron Brown
Publisher: Firefly Books
Summary: In his relentless quest for the unusual in a world of the mundane, modern-day explorer Ron Brown has traveled nearly every backroad in Ontario. This guidebook features 23 trips, each illustrated with photographs and accompanied by an easy-to-follow map. These trips range in length from afternoon outings to weekend excursions. And all lead to fascinating out-of-the-way places within easy driving distance of major cities in Ontario.
Top 125 Unusual Things to See in Ontario
Author: Ron Brown
Publisher: Firefly Books
Summary: In his relentless quest to discover the unusual, Ron Brown has traveled nearly every road in Ontario. Thoroughly researched and written in an inviting style, descriptions offer fascinating stories with background, location and accompanying color photographs. Most places are easy to reach from Ontario’s major population centers and bordering American cities and towns.
Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate
Author: Doreen Pendgracs
Publisher: Wizard of Words Productions
Summary: Chocolatour is all about chocolate travel in which the author takes the chocolate lover on a sumptuous journey around the world in search of the best chocolate, most passionate and innovative chocolatiers, and most exciting chocolate events and attractions. Chocolatour makes a great gift book and contains 61 color photographs. The book also contains chapters on the health benefits of chocolate, the personalities of chocolate, where and how cacao (cocoa) is grown, and chocolate pairings and recipes.
Radar the Rescue Dog
Author: Janet Love Morrison
Illustrator: Zuzana Riha Driediger
Publisher: Friesen Press
Summary: Radar the Rescue Dog is a fictitious children’s story based on a real dog. Three adventurous young skiers venture beyond the ski area boundary and find themselves lost on Whistler Mountain. Radar is their hero. The book has a simple plot to teach young skiers mountain safety, and a forward by Justin Trudeau.
America ‘Toons In: A History Of Television Animation
Author: David Perlmutter
Publisher: McFarland and Company
Summary: Animation has been part of television since the start of the medium but it has rarely received unbiased recognition from media scholars. More often, it has been ridiculed for supposedly poor technical quality and accused of trafficking in violence aimed at children. These accusations are often made categorically, out of prejudice or ignorance, with little attempt to understand the importance of each program on its own terms. This book is a serious look at the whole genre of television animation, from the early themes and practices through the evolution of the art to the present day.
The Singular Adventures Of Jefferson Ball
Author: David Perlmutter
Publisher: Chupa Cabra House
Summary: There never was a heroine like Jefferson Ball. She is, simply, the most powerful humanized female dog in a universe full of them. Faster, stronger, more attractive to boys. Unfortunately, her brains are not up to this quality, but don’t tell her that. About the only one who can is Major Hamilton Pomeranian, the diminutive ex-soldier who is Jeff’s best friend and conscience. When she gets too big for her limited clothing, Hamilton tells her what for. And it’s usually only after that point that they are able to escape from whatever situation they find themselves in.
The Pups
Author: David Perlmutter
Publisher: Booklocker.com
Summary: This is the story of the Pups, a popular canine comedy team who lead a double life as super-powered enforcers of justice. They, and most of the dogs of North America in this future time, are sentient beings created by “experimentation” by the U.S. government. Dogs now exist as a persecuted minority in the U.S. A road accident outside of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, and the sudden appearance of a meteor from outer space, was the source of their mysterious powers. Can the sextet of heroes possibly overcome the villain and save themselves from destruction? Stay tuned…
My Canada
Author: Sharon Bird
Publisher: Flying Frog Publishing
Summary: A children’s book for ages 4-8, My Canada contains Icons, Fun Facts and Famous People for each of the ten Provinces and three Territories. Want to know who invented the ice cream cone? Check it out in this fun book. Only available at Chapters/Indigo.
From The Shoe Box
Author: Sharon Bird
Publisher: Self-Published
Summary: a collection of photos from Burtt’s Corner, New Brunswick taken in the early 1800’s to the early 1970’s. The 200 photos that depict the lives of Burtt’s Corner residents are typical to many rural Canadians during this time period. Social gatherings, daily struggles, events, and tragedies will interest the history buff. Community residents will treasure it as a family heirloom. This coffee table style book is specially sewn to lay flat for viewing.
Timely Trends – A Book for Creative Leadership
Author: Cheryl Watts
Publisher: Professional Woman’s Network
Summary: Have you ever wondered why employees change their jobs, or how can a business owner keep their employees and make money at the same time? In this book, Cheryl Watts explains insights that are universal for all businesses. Some businesses focus on making money and lose focus on building relationships with its co-workers. If management fostered their attention on people, the bottom line would improve, and the company would make money. Timely Trends will provide strategies that businesses can use to improve staff morale and increase productivity.
Woman Power
Authors: Cheryl Watts and Linda Ellis Eastman
Summary: A must-read for every aspiring or current female leader. Written with an international perspective by coaches, consultants and leadership experts from all over the world. Topics include the power of emotional intelligence, business communication, risk-taking, and more! The global perspective within this powerful book will empower women internationally on many levels of leadership both personal and professional.
First Lady Nation
PWAC Contributor: Cheryl Watts
Summary: A powerful must-read written by Aboriginal women who share their journey through residential schools, abuse, and in several cases, addiction. Deeply moving, this book shows what can happen when a community and is forced to become integrated into a society which is so different from its own culture.
Solo, Yet Never Alone: Swimming the Great Lakes
Author: Laura E. Young
Publisher: Scrivener Press May 2014
Summary: The summer of 2014 marks 60 years since Marilyn Bell’s iconic swim across Lake Ontario. She has entered the Canadian collective consciousness. Since Bell’s swim, 74 people have made 66 crossings of Lake Ontario. Most of us have no idea who these people are, or what drives them to undertake such an ordeal. Well, Solo, Yet Never Alone: Swimming the Great Lakes fills us in. Laura E. Young interviews over 40 swimmers, including extensive stories and new interviews with the iconic swimmers whose names we know, plus reflections by the regular Canadians who also answered the challenge of swimming a Great Lake.
The Mafia: A Guide to an American Subculture
Author: Nate Hendley
Publisher: Greenwood
Summary: Whether it’s supplying illicit drugs, gambling, prostitution, or even loans to those with bad credit, the Mafia has established itself as a part of the fabric of American society, politics, and economics for over a century. The Mafia continues to exist because demand remains strong for what they offer. This book offers a deeper analysis of “the Mob” that provides historical, social, economic and cultural context. Fascinating biographical sketches that profile well-known Mafiosi such as Charles “Lucky” Luciano and John Gotti are also presented.
Steven Truscott: Decades of Injustice
Author: Nate Hendley
Publisher: Five Rivers
Summary: Imagine being a 14 year-old boy who takes a classmate on a bike ride one spring evening. In the days to follow, the classmate is found dead and you stand accused of rape and murder. There’s no evidence tying you to the crime, but that doesn’t matter. In a lightning fast trial you are convicted and sentenced to death. As far as the public is concerned, you are guilty and deserve to die. Such was the fate of Steven Truscott. Read the shocking true story of a terrible case of injustice and the decades long fight to clear Truscott’s name.
High Peaks Engineering: Rocky Mountain Marvels
Author: L.D. Cross
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing
Summary: Building transportation routes through the Rockies is dangerous. It always has been. In the nineteenth century, a vast country with a small population raised money (and more and more money) and overcame mountain summits, foul weather, and scandal to build the longest railway of its time- a railway that would unify the young nation of Canada from east to west. Today, oil and gas pipelines are pushing new routes through the Rocky Mountains. The physical challenges are similar to earlier eras, but high peaks engineering must also address the ecological impacts of pipeline corridors moving oil and gas through Rocky Mountain passages. It will be another test of Canadian resourcefulness.
Flying On Instinct: Canada’s Bush Pilot Pioneers
Author: L.D. Cross
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing
Summary: They were nicknamed Snow Eagle, Flying Knight, and Bush Angel. They worked in open cockpits and flew through cold, snow and fog without the benefit of radios or maps. They landed on glaciers and glassy lakes. Comrades of the wilderness, they were Canada’s early bush pilots. L.D. Cross brings us the incredible stories of the brave and enterprising pilots who rolled back the boundaries of western and northern Canada, delivering mail, medicine and miners. Climb into the cockpit with these pioneering pilots for an exciting trip into Canadian aviation history.
The Spanish on the Northwest Coast: For Glory, God and Gain
Author: Rosemary Neering
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing
Summary: They endured scurvy, deep fogs, adverse winds, and contrary currents. They spent years away from their homes and families, never knowing whether they would return. For more than two centuries, Spaniards ranged the coast of the Americas, penetrating almost to the Bering Strait from their bases in Mexico and charting the convoluted coastline of the Pacific Northwest. And they did it all for the honour of their homeland, the glory of God, and the promise of gain. In the end, Spain would not prevail on the Northwest Coast, but the story of their efforts is one well worth telling—and reading.
Vancouver Island Imagine
Author: Peter Grant
Photograoher: Boomer Jerritt
Publisher: Macintyre Purcell Publishing Co.
Summary: A visual guide to the scenic wonders and vibrant inhabitants of Vancouver Island, this stunning book of photography captures the diversity and beauty of the island and the cluster of smaller islands that surround it. A treasured keepsake for lovers of photography and geography, this collection brings Canada’s west coast islands to life.
This is Waterloo Region
Author: Jane Orend
Publisher: Lomic Books
Summary: This is Waterloo Region provides an excellent overview of one of Canada’s most dynamic regions. Waterloo Region is known internationally for its educational institutions and technology companies, but this is just the beginning. Learn all about Waterloo Region in this informative book including topics such as everyday life, business, sports, arts and health care.
The Complete Guide to Feng Shui Crystals, 2nd edition
Author: Terri Perrin
Publisher: Fine Art of Intention
Summary: One book that addresses the selection, care and use of multifaceted leaded crystal balls as Black Sect Tantric Buddhist (BTB) Feng Shui cures and enhancements. This book is a “Must Have!” for people who are new to Feng Shui and seasoned consultants, too. The most factual and complete guide to Feng Shui crystals ever written!
Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List
Author: Trudy Kelly Forsythe
Publisher: Bridgeross Publishing
Summary: Peek into the private lives of 18 professional writers from the North West Territories to Prince Edward Island in this anthology. The New York Journal of Books stated this volume “deserves to find a place in every public library collection…The tone is personal and intimate in a way that effectively bonds author and reader together, so that reading this book becomes a life-enhancing experience.”
Craft Beer Revolution: The Insider’s Guide to B.C. Breweries
Author: Joe Wiebe
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
Summary: Craft Beer Revolution distils six years of drinking and thinking into a tidy little volume that reviews the local history of craft brewing, profiles its most influential taste makers and brewers, and reviews the product and often the ambiance of just about every brewery, brew pub and taphouse in B.C.
It’s Not the Ships
Author: Philip Sherwood and Frederick H. Sherwood
Publisher: Philip Sherwood, lifewriters.ca
Summary: When 18-year-old Fred Sherwood joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1933 as a midshipman, he was looking for adventure. By the time he was demobilized in 1946, he had experienced more adventure then he could ever have dreamed of. This is his story.
Vanished – The Michael Dunahee Story
Author: Valerie Green
Publisher: Hancock House
Summary: In March 1991, Michael Wayne Dunahee was abducted from a Victoria, BC playground, virtually in front of his parents’ eyes. Police were alerted within minutes of Michael’s disappearance, and a full-scale search of the area was initiated immediately, but with no witnesses to the crime, law enforcement was stymied. There was no sign of Michael anywhere…
Please Let Me In
Author: Rhonda Herrington Bulmer
Publisher: Code Poet Media
Summary: Jill longs to make a home in the marvelous city of Adventus, where days are rich and life is sublime. But when her great journey concludes at the city walls, she finds that gaining entrance is not as easy as she’d hoped. Will they let her in, after all? Pictures and rhyme will appeal to kids between kindergarten and grade four, but this light-hearted picture storybook about self-perception and elusive dreams is meaningful for everyone.
Taylor’s Pneumatic Toys
Author: Stanley R Taylor
Publisher: self-published through LSI/Ingram Science
Summary: Stanley R. Taylor has designed pneumatic toys that elementary and secondary students can build using wood. The book Taylor’s Pneumatic Toys contains drawings and pictures of each toy, along with instructions on how to build them. These ‘toys’ do not require the skills of a carpenter- they are available for everyone to build and, with care, should last a lifetime.
It’s Time I Told You – Love Poems
Author: Dave Preston
Publisher: White Rose Content
Summary: Love can be a fleeting moment of deepest joy, or the journey of a lifetime. Here’s a collection of love poems from all stages of the journey, some illustrated by the author’s photography and artwork. The pieces range from finding and nurturing love, creating romance, through riding out the storms of a relationship, to acceptance of the relationship as being beyond control. Love hurts and heals.
All is Bright – A Yorkshire Lad’s Christmas
Author: Dave Preston
Publisher: White Rose Content
Summary: Derek Bradley’s just like any other daft young lad growing up in the 1960s – unique. Through his eyes and ears we recall what it’s like to celebrate Christmas past in a small Yorkshire village. The advent calendar in the Bradley household is full of adventures – Derek’s first crack at carol singing ends with his first kiss. Dad’s lost wage packet means a lean festive season, until a tiny law is quietly broken, and a search for holly leads to a ghostly encounter. In frosty bedrooms, damp village halls, and Santa’s Grotto at the CO-OP, all is not calm, but it’s certainly bright.
It’s how Christmas used to be – real, fun, and real funny.
Rain on a Distant Roof: A Personal Journey Through Lyme Disease in Canada
Author: Vanessa Farnsworth
Publisher: Signature Editions
Summary: Rain on a Distant Roof is the story of one woman’s battle with Lyme disease and her struggle to understand her illness in the face of insurmountable odds. But it’s more than that. It’s also the story of the enigmatic Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, the oddly elusive disease it sets in motion, a medical system that isn’t prepared for its arrival and which continues to have no idea how to deal with it. Bb is like nothing the world has ever seen before and yet it continues to strike throughout Canada, where it is giving rise to one of the most fractious debates our healthcare system has ever faced.
Mantracking: The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Man or Beast
Author: Nadine Robinson (co-authored with Terry Grant)
Publisher:
Summary: He was the face of the hit television show Mantrackers for six seasons. In the show, the Mantracker, on horseback, must find two people on foot as they traverse through wilderness areas to reach a designated finish line before being caught by the Mantracker.
Terry Grant has put his 40 years of tracking experience into print to assist anyone attempting to find or follow humans or animals alike. In this book, he uses real life examples with ample photographs to demonstrate the various patterns and signs that might be visible in a variety of conditions.
When Freddie Gardner Played, My Life and Times in Aberdeen Hospital School of Nursing 1951-54
Author: Mary Sheehan
Publisher: Marechal Media Inc.
Summary: When Freddie Gardner Played is a memoir of Mary Sheehan’s three years in nursing school, 1951-1954. It’s filled with nostalgia and romance, yet gritty with the harsh realities of the healing professions- the injured children, the patients who did not survive, and the personal challenges that befell the close-knit group of girls who toiled in a quest for the coveted white cap. The story takes us through the hallways of Aberdeen Hospital and its nursing school.
Beyond Blood
Author: Sharon A. Crawford
Publisher: Blue Denim Press.
Summary Dana Bowman has misgivings about starting the home-based Attic Investigative Agency with her fraternal twin, Bast Overture. Especially when the agency’s launch is preceded by a break and enter downstairs and a kidnapping at the Mini-Mall involving her son David’s babysitter, Debbie Sangwell. Especially when David is kidnapped and Debbie is murdered during the agency’s opening ceremonies.
Song of The Lilacs
Author: Jennifer Hatt
Publisher: Marechal Media Inc.
Summary: Her essence ached in frustration, relentless as the rain beating on her casket, the cars, his umbrella, unheard by the man too consumed in grief to notice. Grief that was her doing. Grief that could only be undone if he opened himself to his life ahead. Book Four of the Finding Maria series has as its heroine a woman who says ‘I do’ knowing she must return his deepest love, then leave him.
How to Start a Home Decor Blog: Profiting From Your Decor Ideas
Author: Malene Jorgensen
Publisher: One Door Press
Summary: Are you a lover of all things home decor? This book has been designed to help you start a blog and create income streams, so you can start making some money off your passion. “How to Start a Home Decor Blog: Profiting from Your Decor Ideas” gives bloggers plenty of tools to get started. This book will teach you how to make money from a product-based industry and show you how to publish your own books on the subject.
How to Start a Food Blog: Taking Your Food Ideas to the Next Level
Author: Malene Jorgensen
Publisher: One Door Press
Summary: Entering the blogging world can be a terrifying venture. It is important that you have the right tools and resources with you as you go. This book has been designed to help those who are eager to start a career with food in the online space. This book has been designed to teach people about the importance of websites, search engines, blogging etiquette, product development, sales and social media marketing.
How to Self-Publish Your Book
Author: Malene Jorgensen
Publisher: One Door Press
Summary: Self-publishing is a growing industry that has tripled over the past seven years. The internet has made it easy for writers to share their knowledge with the world, generate sales using online sellers and even building an empire with a single book. This book has been designed to help those with a book-publishing dream. This is the book you need to get your book on the market, to sell your book directly to your customers and to get worldwide distribution.