Tell us about the book.

Arctic Naturalist is the first biography of the late J. Dewey Soper. Dewey (193 – 1982) was Canada’s foremost naturalist and a meticulous and fearless explorer. Greatly respected by his peers, Dewey Soper re-drew the maps of Baffin Island, he discovered the Arctic breeding grounds of the blue goose and he compiled a complete catalogue of Alberta’s mammals. In addition, Dewey donated thousands of fauna and avifauna specimens to museums and universities as well as donating hundreds of his own water colour paintings.

How did you come up with the title?

The title for this one was quite obvious to me from the start. Arctic Naturalist, the life of J. Dewey Soper says it all. I wrote that line down before I had even started the main research.

Tell us about the overreaching theme.

The moment I saw Dewey Soper’s name on a passenger list for an HBC ship heading for the eastern Arctic in the 1920s, I was hooked. Beside the name was one word: Naturalist. Once I learned that no one had explored Dewey Soper’s life in print, I was determined that I should do it. I obtained permission from his family and from the University of Alberta Archives and I began to dig. The more I read about this incredible Canadian, the more fascinated I became. Dewey was incredibly dedicated to his craft, almost to the exclusion, at times, of his immediate family. Having lived a life in exploration, and having visited the Arctic on many occasions, I was able to relate to Soper in a way that most other writers, perhaps, could not have done. The book became a labour of love for me.

What was your first publication?

About 1980, or ’81, I wrote a travel article with the title of Timbuktu: myth and reality. It was published with half a dozen of my colour photographs as a full page spread in the Edmonton Journal newspaper. I was paid $250. My first book was a biography of an extremely popular ‘Welsh’ author and adventure sailor. Wayward Sailor, in search of the real Tristan Jones, was published in 2003. In 2004 it was long-listed for the Wales Book of the Year Award.

What is your next project?

I am just starting research for a book about Hudson Bay, that’s the body of water, not the company. With the working title of HUDSON BAY, in history and literature, the book will explore all aspects of the great bay, including the geography, indigenous peoples around its shores, the wildlife – in the water, on land and in the air, the early explorations and the literature that has resulted.

We passed a lot of ruined monasteries – destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and came at last to the central plateau and the palace of the Dalai Lama.  An interesting story: the India sage composed a lot of texts – and he used the local Tibetan dialect – writing it in a Sanskrit script.  He buried the texts just before he died, saying that they would be unearthed when they were needed.  One of these was found, many centuries later and it’s called the Bardo Thotrol.  In the West, we know it as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

It’s a series of chants to be read over a person as they die (and for the 24 hours afterwards) to ease them into the next incarnation (it’s apparently a bit of a worrying time).  The discarded body, meanwhile, is given a sky burial.  It is taken to a sacred spot and chopped up into pieces with an axe.  Then the birds of prey carry off the bits and pieces, scattering them to the winds.  

My video podcast of the Tibetan Book of the Dead is now on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PilgriminthePalace

Or, even better.  On itunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=344689204

Beside the checkout display at McNally Robinson Booksellers prior to the launch.

Although many of the best-known UFO sightings have taken place in
North America, amazing stories of witnesses’ encounters with strange
disc-shaped objects – and their occupants – have come from every
corner of the globe. One of the world’s most active UFO researchers,
Rutkowski takes readers on an investigative journey into some of the
most interesting and mysterious cases making headlines around the world.

Winnipeg’s Chris Rutkowski is a science writer with a background in
astronomy and education. Since the 1970s he has devoted much time
to studying reports of UFOs and has written numerous books on the
subject, including Adbuctions and Aliens and The Canadian UFO Report.
Our mailing address is:
McNally Robinson Booksellers

1120 Grant Avenue

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3M 2A6

Michael Blair and his newest mystery The Dells, which was released in December, recently received high praise from Jim Napier of The Sherbrooke Record.

“The Dells is nicely paced, with a fine sense of place and crisp dialogue … In the past few years Michael Blair has matured into one of Canada’s most accomplished crime writers, with a confident hand and a strong voice. The Dells is an insightful and evocative tale, with a tone reminiscent of Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill A Mockingbird; I recommend it highly.”

Wow! Way to go Michael!

And readers won’t have to wait long for Michael’s next mystery. Depth of Field, featuring photographer Tom McCall, will be released in February.

 

Humour aside, the important thing to keep in mind is that not all web 2.0 sites are for everyone but it is still vital for authors to ensure they are available on different platforms so that their readers can reach them.

The Star Phoenix had a few good things to say about Valerie Sherrard’s latest junior and teen fiction novel, Speechless, which revolves around young Griffin who is shy and absolutely terrified of making a speech in front of the class.

“Speechless, a new young adult novel by Valerie Sherrard (Dundurn Press, paperback, $12.99), is a good choice this Remembrance Day for readers who wish to increase their emotional intelligence regarding world affairs.

Griffin’s 115-day “protest of silence,” under the guise of raising awareness about child soldiers, begins as an attempt to escape an oratory assignment in school. How he deals with his ever-growing guilt over the ruse, and eventually turns in earnest towards this international cause, makes for a psychologically intriguing read.” — The Star Phoenix, November 10, 2007

“Hoshowsky has a pleasant and unobstrusive writing style that brings an easy eloquence to what could have been either an incredibly dry text or an over-flowery tale of sensationalism” – Luke, Bookclub9

Check out the full review here or if you’d like to learn more about the book, listen to a past radio interview between Peter Anthony Holder and Robert J. Hoshowsky!

The War Room was reviewed this past weekend by Christina Blizzard of the Toronto Sun who seemed to have some pretty good things to say about Warren Kinsella’s latest book.

“Kinsella’s book is full of old political anecdotes, like the inside story on the ill-fated Tory ad in 1993 that lampooned Jean Chretien for his facial disformity.

His book is a must-read for political junkies.

I suspect the people who need to read it most are John Tory and his entire campaign team.” — Christina Blizzard, The Toronto Sun

Check out the full review here or go to Warren Kinsella’s blog and see what he thinks!

Mahtab Narsimhan, author of The Third Eye, was on OMNI2 yesterday (Sunday, November 11, 2007) in a Hindi news-magazine programme called Badhai Ho (which means congratulations). Don’t worry if you did not have a chance to catch it on air at 11:30am yesterday! The show will air again on Wednesday November 14th at 1:30pm, and Friday November 17th (time currently unknown).

If we are able to obtain a video clip of the interview, we will post it up!