As the twinkling lights of the holidays start to line our streets and the sweet scent of cookies fill the air, there’s nothing quite like curling up with a good book by the warm glow of a fireplace. But what if this year, the stories that capture your heart and imagination could also bring a sprinkle of magic to your own community?
Join us on a literary sleigh ride through a wonderland of this year’s book releases by local authors. Bring joy to your family and friends while helping the stars of our local writing scene shine a little brighter!
Ghost Towns Of Ontario’s Cottage Country – Andrew Hind
From the northern shores of Georgian Bay to the eastern reaches of the Kawarthas, Ontario’s cottage country is littered with vanished villages, including settlement-era farm communities, railway whistle-stops, and logging hamlets. Within these pages, readers will venture into Ontario’s past to learn how these communities lived and died and to meet the people who invested their hopes and dreams in them. Dozens of photographs, many historical and never before published, bring these ghost towns back to life.
When they find Rollo Novak and his wife Katrina their bodies are nude and hanging side-by-side next to their pool… murdered. Enter Detective Lieutenant Ivy Bourque and her forensic team. It’s not going to be an easy case to solve. There are no DNA samples of anyone but the victims at the crime scene, and only footprints to show that anyone else had been there. The butler, a Slovene like Novak, heard and saw nothing.
Join Zoe and Zelda as they experience all the fun and magic a family cottage has to offer. From riding in a boat, making s’mores, and singing around the campfire to counting the stars, hiking in the forest, and swimming in the lake, Zoe begins to cherish the cottage and the great outdoors.
Don’t You Dare – Jessica Hamilton
When best friends Hannah and Scarlett meet Thomas in college—the chemistry is instantaneous. They grow closer while playing the Daring Game, where each dare is riskier than the last. As the trio’s friendship begins to cross boundaries between the platonic and the illicit, jealousy and secrets quickly develop. As tensions between the three grow, so do the stakes in the Daring Game, resulting in tragedy with Scarlett’s final dare to Thomas. When Thomas gets expelled from school and leaves without a trace, it seems like the Daring Game has finally ended.
Dave Swift (Swiffy) begins his life in the industrial north of England under traumatic conditions. Little did he know that matters could get much worse. Through a series of sad events at fifteen he is given a choice to join the Royal Navy or go to a boy’s prison which was the norm in Britain in the nineteen sixties. He is taught to be a ships diver where his toughness and resilience seems to shine. This tough individual with his many scars later becomes a deep-sea diver working on the oil rigs off Scotland. He soon realizes that he is tailor made for this type of extremely dangerous work. But for Swiffy even though he has faced his many fears it would not be enough.
Gallinger A Life Suspended – Fred Addis
Don Gallinger was a gifted athlete and a teenage phenomenon. In the fall of 1942, as a seventeen-year-old, he made the unprecedented jump from Junior B hockey to the Boston Bruins of the NHL. His career ended when he bet on NHL games and was suspended indefinitely at first, and then for like. Attempts to clear his name and have the suspension lifted were fruitless. He tried to build a life for himself and his family outside of the game but the odds were stacked against him. He lost his career and his fortune and in the end, his family and his health. In the history of organized hockey no one has ever walked in shoes quite like his.
Daddy: Open Doors That Only He Sees – John Belanger
“Welcome to Barrie, Ontario, the city of a new breed of wizards. My daddy can walk through doors that aren’t there! Through doors, we walked through enchanted doors for our eyes only.” Shelby is the main character. She did not have a clue that she was a wizard, a shape-shifter. A wizard with attitude; go, girl, go! A crown of flowers, an enchanted dress, a Grim Stone around her neck, and gifts from the Say-Waze. They were on a mission to save the Umbrella people, cursed by an evil witch. A five-hundred-year-old curse, as We-walker.
Vantage Point: Five Perspectives To Live A Better Story – Dan Barber
Are you living, but not truly alive? Yearning for a deeper purpose yet uncertain where to begin? Dive into “Vantage Point,” where life’s big questions find profound answers. Through personal tales and hard-earned insights from years of professional exploration, Dan bridges the gap between doubt and clarity. “Vantage Point” presents five illuminating angles to reshape your life.
Eggy Adventures: The Journey to Egg-ville – Elliot D’Souza
Meet Eggie, an inventor in the busy forest kingdom of Eggington. One day, he decides that he needs a change and sets out for Egg-ville, a quiet forest town far away. He makes some new friends along the way who help him on his journey, and he also runs into some challenges which he and his friend must overcome together.
Who knew? Growing Up in Thunder Bay Beach – Theresa Fama
Growing up in a tight-knit community as a local resident of Thunder Bay Beach, Theresa (nee Lefreniere) Fama shares her childhood memories of an unforgettable playground of beautiful sandy beaches, clear blue water (perfect for summing), hills for sledding, a bush area to play in, a bay to skate on and the benefits of living across from the McNamara Memorial Park.
Thanks to Severn Public Library for helping us create this list of local authors.
