Category: Our Events

Toronto author, Ann Shortell will be in the store on Sunday, May 6 to launch her new novel, Celtic Knot. Shortlisted for a 2017 Arthur Ellis ‘Unhanged Arthur’ Award, this re-imagining of a shocking event in Canadian history is a riveting read for fans of historical fiction and mystery lovers alike.

About the book:

“1868 Ottawa
D’Arcy McGee is assassinated. As John A. Macdonald cradles his friend’s bloody head, he blames transplanted Irish terrorists: the Fenian Brotherhood. Within a day, Patrick James Whelan is arrested. After a show trial, Whelan is publicly hanged.
That much is history. Did Whelan do the deed?

What if Clara Swift, a mere slip of a girl, sees the trace-line of a buggy turn off Sparks Street, moments after the murder? What if housemaid Clara understands her dead mentor’s shorthand, and forges an unlikely alliance with the Prime Minister’s investigator? And ends up being trusted by the condemned man’s wife — and by Lady Agnes Macdonald . . .

Celtic Knot.
It’s reimagining a crisis that tested a nation.
It’s history with a mystery.
It’s A Clara Swift Tale.
And it all begins with a shot in the dark.​”

Be sure not to miss this great event!

Local author Lisa Khera will be in the store on Saturday, May 5 from 12:00-2:00pm to sign copies of her new co-authored book Women Who Inspire.

About Lisa’s chapter, “Lessons from the Core”:

“In the Women Who Inspire book, Lisa Khera’s chapter on wanting to make a change to her business (life) and not doing it until she is forced to through events outside of her control is so relatable. She shares her story of going back and forth about slowing down and changing certain aspects of her business but not doing them until one day a faithful accident happens that makes it so she can’t teach anymore. Her story of overcoming what could be a wholly negative experience is a reminder that things happen ‘for us’ not ‘to us’.”

Join local author David Goldfield for the launch of his novel Into the Volcano at the Rideau Sports Centre (1 Donald Street) on Friday, April 27 from 6:00-9:00pm.

“Set in Latin America, Into the Volcano is a novel inspired by true events that occurred over the last ten years. The story follows the chilling exploits of a husband and wife who commit a series of murders, targeting expats and their properties in several countries across Central America. At the same time, a populist president uses his own ruthless tactics to deepen his own pockets and consolidate power. The story is a grim reminder that greed and corruption exists at all levels in society…”

We’ll be there selling books, so be sure to stop by the book-selling table to say hi…and to buy a book!

**THIS LAUNCH HAS BEEN POSTPONED**

That’s right, the weather has gotten the best of us today, so our launch with Linda Wiken will now be taking place on Sunday, April 22 from 3:00-5:00pm instead of today. We hope to see you all then!

Local mystery author Linda Wiken will be here on Sunday, April 22 to launch Marinating in Murder, the third book in her Dinner Club Mystery Series. The launch will take place 3:00-5:00pm, complete with snacks, refreshments, and a reading!

Linda is also the author of The Ashton Corners Book Club Series, penned under her pseudonym, Erika Chase.

Local author Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair will be in the store on Saturday, April 7 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm to sign copies of her new book, Muses from the Blue Shack. As a regular contributor to publications such as True North Perspective, Canaan Connexion, and Perspectives Vanier, this first collection of Alberte’s essays and articles covers a wide range of subjects and includes some of her all-time favourite pieces.

About the author:
“Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair is a retired teacher turned writer who loves to explore all facets of life, people and relationships through the written word. “Muses from the Blue Shack” is the sixth book for this local author who has written and published novels and children’s books in both languages.”

Ontario author and debut adult novelist, Jean E. Pendziwol will be in the store on Thursday, March 29 from 5:00-7:00pm to sign copies of her new book, The Light-Keeper’s Daughters.

About the book:

“Elizabeth’s eyes have failed. She can no longer read the books she loves or see the paintings that move her spirit, but her mind remains sharp and music fills the vacancy left by her blindness as she ruminates on the secrets in her family’s past.
When her late father’s journals are discovered on a shipwrecked boat, she enlists the help of a delinquent teenager, Morgan, who is completing community service at the senior home where Elizabeth lives. An unlikely relationship develops between the two as they work to decipher the books and are drawn into the musty words he penned more than seventy years before as he manned the lighthouse on Porphyry Island.
In the process they come to realize that they are both connected to the isolated island, their lives touched by Elizabeth’s enigmatic twin sister Emily and the beautiful but harsh Lake Superior environment. While the discovery of Morgan’s connection sheds light onto her own family mysteries, the faded pages of the journals hold more questions than answers for Elizabeth, and threaten the very core of who she is.
Combining an emotional story of human connection with a mystery spanning decades, this tale of family, identity, and art will captivate and resonate with readers.”

This promises to be a fun literary evening for all, so we hope to see you there!

Double the authors, double the books, double the fun!

Visit us on Wednesday, March 28 between 6:00pm and 8:00pm to meet Vancouver authors Andrew Battershill and Suzannah Showler! They’ll be here to launch their newest releases, Marry, Bang, Kill and Most Dramatic Ever, respectively.

Andrew Battershill’s novel, Marry, Bang, Kill, is about a young man named Tommy Marlo who, though he spends much of his time mugging people for their laptops, is really not a bad guy. Unfortunately for Tommy, nice guy or not, when he rips off the daughter of a notorious motorcycle gang member, he gets a little more than he bargained for. Now, having seen things that have put him in the line of fire, Tommy must up the ante in order to save himself and get out of town unscathed.

“What follows is a revisionist crime thriller, a page-turning hybrid of literary and genre fiction for fans of Elmore Leonard or Patrick de Witt.”

Most Dramatic Ever by Suzannah Showler is an exploration of the show that gave birth to modern reality TV – The Bachelor, which debuted in 2002.
“She argues the show is both gameshow and marriage plot — an improbable combination of competitive effort and kismet — and that it’s both relic and prophet, a time-traveler from first-gen reality TV that proved to be a harbinger of Tinder. In the modern media-savvy climate, the show cleverly highlights and resists its own artifice, allowing Bachelor Nation to see through the fakery to feel the romance. Taking on issues of sex, race, contestants-as-villains, the controversial spin-offs, and more, Most Dramatic Ever is both love letter to and deconstruction of the show that brought us real love in the reality TV era.”

This promises to be a lovely evening full of great books, fascinating people, and intriguing discussions, so don’t miss it! We look forward to seeing you!

Local author, Elie Nasrallah will be here on Saturday, March 10 from 11:30am to 3:00pm to sign copies of his book Hostage to History.

Check out the following links to find out more about Elie Nasrallah and his work!

Elie’s essay from the Ottawa Citizen:

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/nasrallah-lets-stop-the-myth-making-around-multiculturalism

This is a great article from Ottawa Life Magazine in which Elie Nasrallah is named one of the top 25 people in the Capital:

http://www.ottawalife.com/2016/09/meet-the-16th-annual-top-25-people-in-the-capital-2/

Local children’s author Valerie Buko will be in the store on Saturday, February 24 from 10:00am to 1:00pm to sign copies of her new children’s book, Winter Olympic Athletes.

If watching the PyeongChang Games has sown Olympic dreams in the young ones in your life, be sure to come visit us on Saturday to meet Valerie!