George Littlechild: The Spirit Giggles Within is a stunning retrospective of a career that has spanned nearly four decades. Featuring more than 150 of the Plains Cree artist’s mixed-media works, this sumptuous collection showcases the bold swaths of colour and subtle textures of Littlechild’s work.

Littlechild has never shied away from political or social themes. His paintings blaze with strong emotions ranging from anger to compassion, humour to spiritualism. Fully embracing his Plains Cree heritage, he combines traditional Cree elements like horses and transformative or iconic creatures with his own family and personal symbols in a unique approach.

George Littlechild: The Spirit Giggles Within shows the evolution of an artist from his earliest works to the present day, including hints of future directions and themes. An insightful foreword by artist and curator Ryan Rice, a Mohawk from the Kahnawake First Nation in Quebec, and Littlechild’s reflections on each piece build a broad understanding of Littlechild’s work, his life and his views on the role of art within all cultures.

George Littlechild was born in Alberta, the son of a Plains Cree mother and a Celtic father, and was raised by foster parents in Edmonton. George has exhibited in galleries around the world, and his art is in several important collections. Many of his paintings are inspired by the Cree concept of Wahkomkanak, which means “our ancestors.” He has also written and illustrated several children’s books, including This Land is My Land, which won the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. He lives in Courtenay, BC.

Ryan Rice has worked at various museums and galleries, including the Iroquois Indian Museum and the Walter Phillips Art Gallery. His articles have been published in such periodicals as Canadian Art and BlackFlash. Rice is a co-founder and former director of the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective. He is chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Along with the internationally acclaimed and award-winning documentary film upon which this book is based, Wolves Unleashed takes the reader on an amazing journey that looks closely at Andrew Simpson’s relationship with one of nature’s most elusive, mythical and misunderstood animals.

As a professional animal trainer for the film industry, and having worked for almost every major Hollywood studio on over 100 productions, Andrew deals with numerous species on a regular basis. Thanks to his unique, personal affection for wolves and his worldwide reputation, he was asked to travel to Siberia to make one of the biggest wolf films ever produced, Loup (2009). Travelling from western Canada, Andrew, along with his team of handlers and the wolves he had raised since birth, stayed in a remote camp deep in the Siberian mountains of Russia, enduring harsh conditions in one of the coldest places on earth. Each day brought a new set of challenges, and Simpson was forced to reflect upon the impact that such a production would have on his relationship with his canid family.

At its core, Wolves Unleashed is about Simpson’s deep connection with the wolves he loves. The story reveals his emotional struggles as he wrestles with the decision to use his unique relationship against the animals and jeopardize the years spent building trust. As the pack overcomes their wild instincts in order to perform, it becomes clear that the bond between wolf and man is a testament to their mutual dedication and love.

Andrew Simpson was born and raised in Scotland and travelled around the world several times before settling in Canada and finding his calling as a professional animal trainer for the film industry. His current project is working in China with internationally acclaimed director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet and Enemy at the Gates) on the highly anticipated film adaptation of the Chinese novel Wolf Totem, by Jiang Rong.

Beyond Beauty is the story of a remarkable journey that Bill Terry and his wife, Rosemary, undertook when they joined a party of Dutch and British alpine plant hunters intent on botanizing on the roof of the world. The expedition travelled in a convoy of eight jeeps over roads that were rarely paved and occasionally terrifying. They crossed fifteen passes, some as high as 5,000 metres (16,500 feet), where even in midsummer, the wind scoured exposed skin.

They braved days at high altitude, panting in the thin air of the Tibetan plateau, and were rewarded with collages of rock, moss, lichen, flower, and foliage so sublime they might be imagined as "perfect gardens," though no gardener or landscape architect had a hand in their creation.

As the journey unfolds, Terry sketches the history of the region and observes life for Tibetans under direct Chinese rule and the ever-alert People's Liberation Army. He reflects on the potential threat of a massive hydroelectric development to the wellbeing of the millions of people living downstream in Southeast Asia. Terry also contrasts the hardships suffered and dangers faced by pioneer plant hunters a century ago with the relative comfort and safety of modern travel in these remote and exotic lands.

Throughout the book, the author's distinctive photography portrays local custom and culture and celebrates the wildflowers in all their profusion, especially the almost heartbreaking beauty of the Asiatic Poppies.

Bill Terry is a retired CBC executive, and the author of Blue Heaven, Beyond Beauty, and co-author of Beauty by Design. He lives on BC's Sunshine Coast with his wife Rosemary.

In 2005, during a four-month cycling trip through Africa, Martin Parnell was struck by the power of sport and its ability to bring people together and to bring about change. Five years later, the 55-year-old mining engineer, husband, father and grandfather dedicated a year of his life to run 250 marathons with the aim of raising $250,000 for the charity Right To Play, an international humanitarian organization that reaches out to disadvantaged children around the world. In the end, Martin’s “Marathon Quest 250” raised $320,000 for the charity, and he personally visited 60 schools, inspiring thousands of children to get active in order to help the less fortunate at home and abroad.

Along with information on technique, gear, nutrition and the challenges facing new and seasoned athletes as they prepare for either regular or ultra-marathons, Martin gives honest and often humorous insight into why an ordinary person would attempt to do something extraordinary, pushing themselves to the limit, both mentally and physically, in pursuit of their goal to make the world a better place. Marathon Quest is an inspiring and engaging read for anyone interested in running, travel or philanthropy.

Martin Parnell started his “Quests for Kids” initiative in 2010 after a 25-year career in the mining industry. Over the next five years he completed 10 “Quests.” These included running 250 marathons in one year, setting five Guinness World Records and summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in 21 hours. By the end of 2014, over $1.3-million had been raised for the humanitarian organization Right To Play and 27,000 children had been given the gift of hope. Martin is a professional speaker and the author of Running to the Edge (RMB, 2016) and Marathon Quest – Revised & Updated (RMB, 2017). Martin Parnell lives in Cochrane, Alberta.

Sherri Travis is three months behind on her mortgage and it will be last call for the Sunset Bar and Grill if she doesn’t come up with some cash. So when Aunt Kay offers to pay Sherri to ask a few questions about Holly Mitchell’s death, it sounds like easy money. But it quickly descends into a dangerous world of drugs, sex workers, and perversion. Did Holly really take the highball exit, or was she murdered? And what happened to her baby?

Set in small beach towns along the western coast of Florida, the Sherri Travis Mysteries follow Sherri Travis, a bartender and ordinary woman caught up in extraordinary situations. A traditional mystery series serving Jack Daniels instead of tea, the stories walk the line between mystery and suspense and include a delicious mix of cocktails, beaches, and murder. In a place where the very rich live next door to the very poor, where tourists come and go, and where newcomers reinvent themselves, all good stories begin with “One night in a bar . . .” Highball Exit is the fifth book in the series.

Award-winning mystery author Phyllis Smallman's writing has appeared in Spinetingler and Omnimystery magazines. After being shortlisted for the Debut Dagger in the UK and the Malice Domestic in the US, Phyllis's debut mystery won the first Arthur Ellis Unhanged Arthur in 2007. In 2009, Margarita Nights was shortlisted for Best First Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. In 2010, Good Morning America named the Sherri Travis Mysteries one of the six top series for a summer read. Her fourth book, Champagne for Buzzards, was one of three mysteries chosen as a best cottage read by Zoomer Magazine for summer 2011. Phyllis worked in a library and as a potter before turning to a life of crime. Depending on the time of year, she can be found on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, or Manasota Beach, Florida. Visit Phyllis's website at phyllissmallman.com.

Journey into the fashionable art world of 1960s Vancouver as Margaret Spencer and Nat Southby return in Death as a Fine Art, the fifth book in the Margaret Spencer mystery series. The owner of the Silver Unicorn Art Gallery is dead, and Southby and Spencer, Private Investigators are back at work in search of the killer. With plenty of suspects and twists and turns along the way, Maggie and Nat have their work cut out for them.

The cast of memorable characters are no match for the investigators. Maggie trusts her instincts as they take her from the streets of Vancouver to Victoria, Galiano Island, and Mission. Meanwhile, her estranged husband continues his efforts to win her back, but even with plans for her daughter's wedding taking up all her spare time, Maggie knows there is no returning to her old life. Author Gwendolyn Southin uniquely blends the charm of gumshoe techniques with the fresh perspective of a developing female detective.

Gwendolyn Southin is the author of four previous Margaret Spencer Mysteries—Death in a Family Way, In the Shadow of Death, Death on a Short Leash, and Death as a Last Resort. Long involved in writers' circles and writing workshops, she also helped organize various book festivals in her community. Born in England, and having lived in Montreal, Gwen now enjoys the temperate Sunshine Coast and has made her home in Sechelt, BC. Please visit quintessentialwriters.com/southin.html.

Silas Pearson is looking for answers. It's been more than three years since his wife, Penelope de Silva, disappeared while working on a conservation project in Utah's red rock wilderness. Law enforcement authorities have given up hope of finding the adventurous Penelope alive. And some suggest that she may not have vanished into the desert at all, but simply left Silas for another man. Silas moves to Moab, where his wife was last seen, with one purpose: finding his wife, dead or alive. His search takes him into a spectacular wilderness of red rock canyons, soaring mesas, and vertical earth, where he must confront his failures as a husband and his guilt over not being there when Penelope needed him most.

The Slickrock Paradox is the first book in the Red Rock Canyon Mysteries, a series of books that explores an iconic American landscape through an atypical anti-hero who is deeply flawed, reluctant, and yet familiar.

Stephen Legault is a full-time conservation activist, writer, photographer, and organizational development consultant. He is the author of Running Toward Stillness, a meditation on Buddhist spiritual practice, running, and parenthood, as well as several photography books, including Earth and Sky: Photographs and Stories from Montana and Alberta and Where Rivers Meet: Photographs and Stories from the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country. He lives in Canmore, Alberta, with his wife, Jenn, and two children, Rio and Silas.

The Islands Investigations International team is back! This time, Kyra Rachel and Noel Franklin are sleuthing around Quadra Island in the employ of Noel’s old high school buddy, Jason Cooper. In a quiet wooded area of the island, Jason, his wife, and two younger boys are worried for the oldest son in the family. Derek was discovered badly beaten in the woods by Campbell River and has remained in a deep coma for three weeks. Desperate to find out what happened to his son and why, Jason hires Noel and Kyra.

As the two get to know the sleepy island community, they’re surprised to discover that Derek may have been in on a drug deal—but why? Others in the community describe him as a decent young man with a good head on his shoulders—what could have possibly pushed him to deal in drugs? Kyra and Noel aren’t even certain the drug deal is connected to the attack, so who would want to hurt this young man and why? Kyra and Noel are determined to find out what circumstances could have drawn this happy family into such dark territory.

Sandy Frances Duncan is the author of ten award-winning books for children and adults. Her articles have appeared in numerous literary journals, magazines, and newspapers. Sandy’s work of historical fiction, Gold Rush Orphan, was shortlisted for a BC Book Prize. She is co-author of the three other books in the Islands Investigations International series: Never Sleep with a Suspect on Gabriola Island, Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island, and Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island.

A National Magazine Award recipient and winner of the Hugh MacLennan Prize for fiction, George Szanto is the author of several books of essays and half a dozen novels, including The Tartarus House on Crab, as well as his recent memoir, Bog Tender: Coming Home to Nature and Memory. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, George is also co-author of the Island Investigations International mystery series, which includes Never Sleep with a Suspect on Gabriola Island, Always Kiss the Corpse on Whidbey Island, and Never Hug a Mugger on Quadra Island. Please visit georgeszanto.com.

Winner of the Silver Medal for Suspense/Thriller at the 2012 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards

FBI Agent Jack Kenyon is an expert at cyber warfare, in which hackers and secret government agencies leverage weak spots in the Internet to cause carnage to their enemies. Assigned to uncover an industrial spy ring trying to steal Cyberworm, a US secret code, Jack is sure the murder of a double agent is linked to his investigation. But the sudden passing of his aunt Lydia in London complicates his plans. As the named executor of her estate, Jack flies to England, only to discover evidence that Lydia’s death may have been connected to a terrorist plot to unleash a devastating computer virus.

As his professional life collides with his personal, Jack can’t help but wonder about the odds of such a coincidence. Jack must solve Lydia’s murder and catch the conspirators intent on wreaking international havoc—before the truth about his family catches up with him. Also available in hardcover.

Gordon Cope is a full-time writer and freelance journalist who travels searching for memorable characters, rollicking adventures and expatriate experiences that North American readers and travellers dream about. He is the author of A Thames Moment, A Paris Moment and So, We Sold Our House and Ran Away to the South Pacific, as well as Secret Combinations his first book in a mystery fiction series.

Home front. It’s hard to separate that expression from war. In the First and Second World Wars, the home front was a clear entity and location: if you weren’t on the frontlines, you were on the home front. But during current times of peacekeeping, peacemaking and armed interventions, the notion of home front seems to comprise only those who are in some way directly affected by the military: family and friends of soldiers, returning soldiers or ex-soldiers—an invisible group camouflaged by everyday jobs and activities.

Editors Barb Howard and Joan Dixon have compiled insightful essays and reflections from 14 writers, including Melanie Murray, Scott Waters, Ryan Flavelle and Chris Turner. All have found themselves, at one time or another, embedded on the home front. And even though each experience is unique and comes from a single perspective, common motifs surface: family, fate, death and memory. This anthology captures triumphs, incredible fortitude and humour, often in the face of grief, as well as the complicated logic, fears, anger and other everyday realities that are part of home-front life.

Joan Dixon has long been fascinated by Canadian social and cultural history. She has been writing, editing and researching for books, magazines and other media for more than 25 years. She has published nine non-fiction books of her own and edited countless others. In 2010, her essay “The Perils of War and Mother-Son Relationships” won the James H. Gray Award for short non-fiction, and her essay “Embedded on the Home Front” was shortlisted for the Jon Whyte memorial essay prize. She lives in Redwood Meadows, Alberta.

Barb Howard is an author and editor who worked as a lawyer prior to completing her MA in creative writing. She has published three novels and a collection of short stories. Her writing has appeared in anthologies and magazines across Canada, including The New Quarterly, Grain, The Dalhousie Review and Alberta Views. In 2009, Barb won the Writers Guild of Alberta Howard O’Hagan Award for short fiction. In 2012, she is shortlisted for the Howard O’Hagan Award and for the Ross Annett Award for children’s literature. Barb lives in Bragg Creek, Alberta.