Tir Na N'Og: Journal One by Marni L.B. Troop

No ordinary fantasy, but more of a "what if this was how it happened" fantasy. I say this because the Faeries are quite unlike any I've read of before. Marni Troop has a fascinating imagination, exactly suited to this story. Casey, a pure-blood Faerie, is chronicling the events of her very long life. In fact, she is doing more than that, she is chronicling the history of her people as best she can. She has been taught a code of writing by an elder. Her kind are of the land, quite literally. It doesn't take long to figure out that the island they came to believe is their land will later be known as Ireland. Descriptive and well-crafted, the book is captivatingly original.

The book is imaginative, I could almost call it historical except that it is a fantasy. No wonder Ireland is so mystical. At the opening, Casey is celebrating her 100th birthday, not as an old woman but as a blossoming, very tall, female just entering puberty. The Faeries in this story live a very long time, which is a good thing if you are to write the history as it has happened and as it is happening. She is writing this history because she believes they will be wiped out and no one will ever know they existed. She is sending the journals to someone named Michael, whose persona is not revealed in this first book, Journal One. Besides having learned what would become their written language, Casey has another special ability. She can see into other Faeries' minds.

One day she realizes she is tuning in to a stranger, a man. She feels no menace from him. Eventually, this man arrives on a ship, and requests she take him to her king or leader. However, with many of the people inhabiting this place, someone kills this Iberian man that Casey feels has come in peace. This act provokes an invasion shortly afterward, one of many to come in their time. It is because of the invasion, and the resulting losses of life, that the invaders, meeting with the indigenous people, Faeries and mixed blood, allow them to live within the land and the invaders will live on the land. The Faeries have felt the pull of the land, their castles and fortresses have been received by the land, sinking at least one level into the land and no further. So few survivors remain that Casey felt compelled to write the journal so the world will know that they did exist at one time. This Journal is the first. An unusual concept and imaginatively recorded, the Journal is quite fascinating. An interesting debut full of darkness and light. I look forward to the reading the second journal. I see that the books are going under a new title in the future, from "Tir Na N'Og" to "The Heart of Ireland" Saga.

Survivors of the Great Tsunami: the course of Eurasia after the 4.2 ka BP Impact by Alewyn J. Raubenheimer

A provocative book based on an ancient manuscript of an inundation over 4000 years ago (BP = Before Present), therefore this flood would have happened in 2193 BC or very close to that date. Alewyn J. Raubenheimer takes us on a journey through time as he sets out to prove the authenticity of this manuscript, Orea Linda. Is it authentic? Was there really such a civilization of democracy, architecture, shipbuilding, horticulture, literacy and monotheism? A place of freedom, culture, and industry (metallurgy). The author goes into the plausibility very thoroughly, using references from such diverse writings as the Bible, Ipuwer and later Nefertiti, Homer, Heredotus and others. The research covers many strategic areas for seeking out the past besides historians. Satellite imagery, DNA mapping, archaeology, paleontology, geology, anthropology and astronomy all play a part in this intriguing book.

This civilization, Frya's Land or Frisland, appears to be the beginning of an advanced, cultured civilization in a world where most were barbaric and based on slavery and idolatry. Even the language appears to be an ancient variation of the old Friesian language. The manuscript begins with a description of an earth-shattering global event quite probably caused by an asteroid or pieces of asteroids hitting the earth in the Indian Ocean. The Burckle Impact would have had the power of "several million nuclear bombs". The earth tipped on its axis, changing the earth's orbit and therefore the climate. Volcanoes erupted, earthquakes cracked open the earth, after-quakes carrying on for 3 years, Frisland tilted and sank beneath the global flood. Millions were killed in the cataclysm. Survivors scattered throughout the world.

The writing, though full of quotes from various sources including the Orea Linda, is interesting and well written. Alewyn Raubenheimer is well versed in the study of his research. He speaks of the early Europeans and in particular the people of Frya's Land with clarity. The Orea Linda book has been passed on and added to through thousands of generations, and was brought to light in 1872 when it was translated after a descendent who had received it from his aunt in the 1830s contacted the provincial librarian and archivist of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had been handed down in his family for generations when his aunt gave it to him to keep. The book is quite fascinating in showing the building blocks throughout history of countries as seen from the descendency of the Friesland people. The author makes a very good and thorough case for the authenticity of the book, which has long been held to be a hoax by many experts, and authentic by many other experts. He encourages further study as technology improves. One thing stands out loud and clear, he believes in the authenticity and believes it tells us a lot about global history. Great food for thought.

Recipes to Die For: a Victoria Square Cookbook by Lorraine Bartlett

What a great idea! This book is written in the voice of the main character from Lorraine Bartlett's Victoria Square Mystery series, Katie Bonner. Readers of this series are already very familiar with the vendors of Artisans Alley Crafts mall and other townspeople who populate the series on an ongoing basis. Now we learn a little more about these individual characters as they submit to Katie their favourite recipes to include in her cookbook. Beginning with "signature drinks", hilariously we learn that the funeral director's selection as his signature drink the Zombie. These unique recipes range from how to make hot chocolate from a powdered mix to Cornish Pasties, Scallops al Forno, slow cooker recipes, lunches, dinners, desserts, and more. Not one of these recipes is difficult to prepare, most are quick and easy, yet delicious. Jordan Tanner, who owns the bakery at Victoria Square, submitted a recipe for Pecan Oatmeal Pie, that looks like it would be good for breakfast, lunch or dinner, very versatile. Each recipe is prefaced by a bit about the character, or in Katie's case often a bit of a snippet about her Aunt Lizzie who raised her and taught her how to bake. Besides the cooking and baking, I also enjoyed this book as a complement to the series.

I found several recipes I'm anxious to try out, especially the Cornish Pasties which I really like but haven't seen a recipe for in my cookbooks, and I was excited to see a recipe for Peanut Butter Buckeyes, simple as can be and I absolutely love the mixture of peanut butter and chocolate. My copy of this book is already full of post-it notes, marking what I want to try. I should have just looked at the index in the back of the book! This is a handy little cookbook, great for potlucks, party hors d'oeuvres, late night snacks, almost any occasion. A very entertaining cookbook for reading and cooking. Would make a great little gift for someone who loves to cook or bake but has little time.

Letter of Thanks to All Who Voted for Bear Rescue Facility

Thank You!
I'm so happy I was rescued by Northern Lights Wildlife Refuge, Bear Rescue Facility! I really missed my mother's milk and they fed me. Next year I'm going home because I'll be big and strong and healthy. Thank you for giving me my life back.
Clover the Kermode
a,k.a. Spirit Bear

Photo courtesy of NLWS:
Clover when he first arrived at the shelter.

Can you believe it? 21,465 votes in 12 days!! Thank you to everyone who voted for the Bear Rescue Facility at the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter. It's been a wild ride, but so many of you supported our cause we safely got through it in the Top 10, and now it is up to the judges. We finished in 3rd place with 6,977 supporters, which is a good spot to be for the final judging. The final results will be available January 25, 2012. So, we can all take a breather, have a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year! Thank you again for all your help.

Sincerely,

Betty Gelean

Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Published by Imajin Books
Reviewed from Kindle ebook

A parent's worst nightmare—a mother's greatest fear. This story of terror, fear, remorse, and unfulfilled closure is deftly written. The contrast between the sweetness and light at the beginning and the bleak blackness and despair in the midst of the horror is overwhelmingly realistic. The excruciating pain of not knowing, coupled with the feeling of guilt—she should have done things differently, she should have been able to save her child—chews at the mother's insides. This very dark story may seem over the top with other problems running throughout but it is not. Trauma flattens the soul, the voice is still and dead or shrill and frenzied as different parts of the story unfold.

As a mother myself, I found this an emotional book to read, and yet I was mesmerized by it and couldn't put it down. Cheryl Kaye Tardif brings detail and personality to every book she writes. Midway through this story as our protagonist Sadie runs from the myriad upheavals in her life into solitude, a shift in the feel of the book follows her and leads us into a different place, a place of temporary respite from tragedy, bringing us into nature and the natural order of things, however brief it may be. But when Sadie sees glimpses of children and hears childish laughter in the woods, is she hallucinating? Who is leaving her little gifts, and why an onion for goodness sake? What does the crow that taps on her window have to do with anything?

The suspense builds up until it spills over in this tense story. Is it God? Kismet? Fate? Something or someone is driving Sadie deeper and deeper into the fog and dark. She must keep her wits about her to understand what is being shown her. This book tugs at the heart and dredges up our fears and mortality. A tale of innocence and evil well told, with an ending that will both thrill and chill.

Murder Trims the Tree: a Gertie Johnson Christmas Mystery by Deb Baker

How would you prefer to spend Christmas, in jail or doing community service? Gertie and her group of investigators, The Trouble Busters, naturally chose to do community service. The Trouble Busters, possibly considered to be The Trouble Makers by the judge, is a group of three "older" women who have been charged with obstructing justice. Living with her 92 year old mother-in-law, Gertie has a secret motive for suggesting they do their time at the assisted living home in Trenary, in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. She is hoping Grandma, her late husband's mother, will like it so much she will elect to move there, especially since an old boy-friend Earl is there, so she has included in her group of forced volunteers her thorn-in-the-side mother-in-law, and Gertie's companion dog Fred, a German Shepherd. An ex-police dog, he is easily the most capable member of the investigators.

What they don't realize until already committed to volunteering there, is that Earl is a joker with a nasty bent. Being served "chocolate" candies that turn out to have a distinct odour that he "made" himself, it doesn't take long to decide this choice was not particularly a good idea. Unfortunately for this zany group, they are stranded there when they are cut off from escape by a huge snowstorm. The staff takes advantage of the new arrivals to take a day off, leaving them almost solely responsible for the residents and under the watch of the intolerable head of the facility, Nurse Shrank, a seriously scary thought.

With a mixed bag of equally zany residents including a former mailman deathly afraid of dogs, and Nurse Shrank, a nightmare waiting to happen, the fun begins. When Gertie discovers a body in the basement she knows this definitely was a bad idea. With the phone lines down and a raging snowstorm isolating them, they are stuck with whatever is going on. Definitely not where anyone wants to spend Christmas! Especially when almost everyone falls into a deep sleep after lunch, including the staff and Fred. Deb Baker has concocted a very unusual and funny holiday mystery with her group of protagonists. This novella can be read quickly and the antics of the characters will entertain. How the inmates of the assisted living pull off their stunts as well as cotton on to what is going on that shouldn't be at Applegate, better known as Hellsgate by Gertie, is quirky yet intelligent. I enjoyed this romp of a mystery and the "volunteer" group. I must admit to the fact that this is my first, but not my last, visit to Gertie Johnson's life.

Gumption and Grit: Women of the Cariboo Chilcotin edited by Sage Birchwater

Published by Caitlin Press

"Gumption and Grit: Women of the Cariboo Chilcotin, Extraordinary Women Vol. 1" is a well-edited book featuring the stories of 35 women who helped make the Cariboo-Chilcotin area in central British Columbia what it is today. Sage Birchwater has done an amazing job of editing this book. These are survivors of hard work and isolation ranging over the decades of the gold rush, the land rush, ranching, farming, married to men who are married to the land or to their work, leaving their wives to do everything else. Some of these stories are told in the first person, some are not. Their stories are all well-told. They all come from different backgrounds, some have always been there and some came from cities, usually to teach. All the way through the first half of the twentieth century the land was still worked much as always. Technology came late to this part forested and part desert land. The one thing in common geographically seems to be the rocky land.

We learn about such diversity of family life as living in one-room log cabins, no plumbing, no electricity. Women having their babies wherever they end up being born because of the distances between populated areas. Especially bad in the dead of winter, because this area is extremely cold and dangerous for travel. In most of these stories roads were either bad or non-existent, there were no telephones. One woman's story ties in with the arrival of communications when she married the linesman who installed and maintained the brand new telephone lines, often going with him as he worked. These pioneering women had to be as innovative as the men, often working alongside them.

I found the story of Josephine Gregg of particular interest. She lived her life in two cultures, and her story demonstrates how difficult a simple slip of the pen when her birth was registered caused her to fight for thirteen years to get her status as the daughter of a Tsilhqot'in Indian mother and a Scottish father.

The latter part of the book are post-WWII stories. The Cariboo-Chilcotin is still sparsely populated in many areas although Williams Lake and Quesnel have grown tremendously through the years. The area between Highway 97 and the West Coast is one of the more isolated areas of British Columbia. The stories in this section show the women struggling to make a difference in their lives and their world, the struggles are different, but the strength of will, gumption and grit remains. This book is a great read of the development of the wild west of Canada. Men & women were often equal partners in developing the land but the women demonstrate true grit in determination, overcoming obstacles, giving birth in terrible conditions and often alone. This is a slice of Canadian and British Columbian history rarely heard of and well worth reading.