Staff Picks
At FriesenPress, we celebrate each and every book we help our authors publish. Here are some of our team’s recent favourites – happy reading!
Ironbottom Sound
by
Grover Hartt III
In 1942, a series of pivotal WWII land and sea confrontations occurred in the South Pacific between the Allied Forces and the Japanese for control of the island of Guadalcanal and its strategic airfield. For twenty-seven-year-old Scott Ellsworth, a smart, ambitious American naval officer posted onboard the USS Washington, a battleship in the area, it is an exciting place to be. With his background in radar-controlled gunnery and as a part of Admiral Lee’s core team, it’s also an important opportunity to move his career in the Navy forward. Yet despite his sincere desire to serve his country and fight for the freedoms it represents, Scott must also deal with the harsh reality that he does not have the freedom to openly live his life as a gay man. This and the demands of war complicate his recent relationship with the first man he has ever truly loved—a handsome British officer, named Emmett. In fact, he dares not even express his feelings in the letters he writes to Emmett as they are read by censors. Yet Scott remains determined to stay focused on his duties as he mentally prepares himself for his first taste of action in the war. But he learns that his old adversary, Tom Goodwin—who Scott knows has a connection to the mysterious death of the admiral they previously served under—is also on board. For Scott, it is a time of facing challenges and demons, both internal and external. In this exciting sequel to Proceedings of the Gun Club: Atlantic Overture, author Grover Hartt, III provides an accurate portrayal of the workings of a WWII battleship against the backdrop of an dramatic series of events that helped determine the outcome of the war. A skillful mix of historical fiction and fact, intrigue and romance, this book entertains and engages on a variety of levels.
Home and Sol
by
Jeff Cosens
Home Star is dying, and dying fast. Its inhabitants must flee – but where? After 600 millennia of mostly peaceful existence, the citizens and their symbiotic relations of Home are doomed. Purely by happenstance, the astrophysicists under the supervision of Pram, Minister of Science, have also detected an alien signal from a star 55 years distant. A planet is found that orbits the star inside its habitable zone. They decide to migrate. The journey will be full of risk, but to stay is certain extinction. This is story of that epic migration – the costs and sacrifices, the planning, the light years long journey and its unexpected conclusion. It is also a story of immigration and cooperation, of hope and co-existence. Set in the near future, this is a story that will appeal to all ages of science fiction readers.
Stampede City
by
MK Pachan
As the Calgary Stampede kicks off the biggest party of the year, a young man is brutally murdered in broad daylight in his quiet neighbourhood. Cam Clay, a seasoned detective with the Violent Crimes Division of the Calgary Police Service, is called to the scene to investigate. The victim has been shot execution-style in his driveway—a crime Clay and his colleagues initially chalk up to a hit by a local gang. But when conflicting evidence is unearthed and more bodies start to pile up, it becomes clear that a new player in town is trying to take over the streets of Calgary. At a time when Clay is trying to manage his rocky love life, his father’s declining health, and his troubled relationship with his son, it’s just one more headache that he doesn’t need. And then he finds himself in the crosshairs of crime boss Simon McKeegan, whose explosive threats endanger not only Clay, but the Stampede celebrations and the entire city of Calgary.
Uprooted HomeKin
by
Jazz Hu
When his life in SecondHome is shattered, twelve-year-old Fralith’s desperate attempt to escape lands him on an entirely foreign planet where metal beasts roar, strange trees cast light, and people stand around staring at rectangles. In his struggle to survive, he accidentally-on-purpose stops a kidnapping and ends up captured. With no way out and no way home, Fralith struggles to puzzle out the rules of the world before he gets eaten. But not all things are out to get him, and some are even trying to save him. When a flame-haired man begins to teach him the ways of this world, Fralith starts to realize that there might be hope, healing, and family on this strange planet. Uprooted HomeKin is a heart-warming, hunger-inducing, adorable story about healing, home, and encountering an entirely alien world.
No Love Like It
Feeding Someone Who is Sick by
Catherine Morley
Based on decades of experience offering nutrition counselling to individuals and families; personal family experiences with illness and loss; and research with people who, owing to illness, disability, or ageing, were not able to eat as they once did, Registered Dietitian, Dr. Catherine Morley, has written an informative and instructional book, combining research reporting, memoir, journal entries, excerpts from interviews rewritten for theatre, and a self study workbook. No Love Like It: Feeding Someone Who is Sick was written to reassure readers that they are not alone in the challenges they face, and to understand that disruptions in feeding relationships during a time of changed health status are normal and to be expected, although very often come as a surprise. With this book, readers will be able to recognize the fundamental shifts that have occurred in their relationships with and through food owing to someone’s changed health status, either as a caregiver or as a person experiencing it; to develop plans to address the feeding challenges they are facing; and to learn where to get help. In the self study section of No Love Like It: Feeding Someone Who is Sick, Morley guides readers to reflect on the many aspects of eating and feeding outlined in the first section of the book. Readers can identify and sort through sources of “dietary cacophony”, the many and often contradictory “should” messages about eating and feeding that one hears, reads, or thinks about. Having identified all that has been on their minds, readers will then be able to decide on messages relevant to their situations to find ways to minimize any feeding-related distress. In this book, Morley reminds caregivers about the need to nourish themselves as their own eating is often thrown into disarray while caregiving.
The Distance
Dreams and Despair by
Judy Pollard
The Distance tells the story of two Swiss immigrants, Thomas and Wilbert, who arrive in British Columbia’s Kootenay region in the early 1900s, lured by promises of adventure and prosperity. Their dream soon fades, giving way to the harsh realities of pioneer life. The challenges are relentless—gruelling labour, isolation, and a wilderness as unforgiving as it is breathtaking. As they build families and try to adapt to their harsh new reality, simmering tensions and hidden betrayals begin to surface. The mounting animosity between them culminates in an explosive act of violence that shocks everyone around them. The trial that follows captivates the close-knit community, dividing neighbours and friends as they struggle to come to terms with the events. Set against the majestic backdrop of southeastern British Columbia, The Distance is a tale of ambition, betrayal, and the lengths people will go to for justice.
If I Were a Caterpillar
by
Sherry J. Kubalsky
“If I were a caterpillar, I’d sure like to be green! I’d be the prettiest caterpillar you’ve ever seen!” Have you ever imagined you were a caterpillar? What color caterpillar would you like to be? Have fun and imagine along with ten children as they play in a park and dream about what color caterpillar they might be, if they got to choose. If I Were a Caterpillar helps children learn about colors and use their imagination along the way! They each find joy in their own idea of what they could be. This colorful, fun, and simple book even includes a blank caterpillar so that your child can color it with whatever colors they’d like to be.
A Legend Hunter's Search for Ogopogo the Elusive Creature of Okanagan Lake
by
William Steciuk
Kelowna resident Bill Steciuk didn’t believe in Ogopogo. But that was about to change. In October of 1978, while driving across the bridge from the west side of Lake Okanagan, he saw something in the water that made him stop his car. All the traffic behind him also stopped, and he was soon joined at the rail by a small crowd of onlookers, all of whom saw what Bill had seen: a serpentine head with three black humps behind it. They watched the creature for nearly a minute, after which time it disappeared beneath the surface, leaving a substantial wake. Bill knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he had just seen the legendary lake creature, Ogopogo. Stories of Ogopogo in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley date back several centuries— originating with the Syilx Peoples’ stories of N’ha-a-itk, the sacred spirit of the lake—and sightings are frequent, but the truth about Ogopogo remains elusive. After that day in 1978, Bill dedicated himself to Ogopogo research and exploratory expeditions, in search of answers. What is Ogopogo? An ancient creature from the age of dinosaurs? What are eyewitnesses seeing, and which sightings are genuine? With lucidity and suspense, A Legend Hunter's Search for Ogopogo the Elusive Creature of Okanagan Lake documents the startling findings of a twenty-five-year inquiry into one of the most fascinating cryptozoological mysteries in the world.