Bookmarks: Local author Gayleen Froese’s new fantasy book The Dominion serialized
Plus a mother's story about searching for her son, Little Italy's new bookstore, a mother's loss, inclusive rural communities, book design awards and oilsands graphic novel a Canada Reads finalist
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
Dominion isn’t a real place, but that doesn’t mean local author Gayleen Froese can’t write a travel guide for it.
Her newest book, The Dominion, takes readers to a fictionalized city-state carved out of the Pacific Northwest where magic is real and danger is ever present. Travel writer Innis Stuart and his photographer, Karsten Roth, explore the spooky city and document it from inside, including werewolves who are legally allowed to kill and eat people on the street to a shapeshifting mayor who’s been in office since the ‘80s.
The book was inspired by another Edmontonian, Robert Young Pelton, a foreign correspondent who’s known for his work in dangerous regions. His book, The World’s Most Dangerous Places, covers the basics of surviving war zones and high-crime areas.
“I read one of his books and thought, wouldn’t this be interesting if this were a magical place,” says Froese, who has an affinity for lizards and dragons. “I thought it would be really fun to approach that through the eyes of a travel guide.”
The book started life as a novella written for a competition. The now-defunct BookTelevision locked a dozen authors in a Chapters for three days while they worked on books. Froese walked away from that competition with The Dominion, which she later added to in order to come up with the final version of the book.
Her novel is being serialized by Yonder, a spinoff from the comic site Webtoon that was launched last October and specializes in releasing serialized fiction.
The first seven chapters of Dominion were released in early January, with weekly releases through February until the full book is available. Froese says there will also be a traditional release of the book at a later date.
“It may sound like a negative to have to wait, but it’s fun too. It gives you something to look forward to,” says Froese.
She’s working on a follow-up to The Dominion, another adventure with Innis and Karsten. Froese will also be releasing a new book about Ben Ames, a cop turned private detective Ben Ames working in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The first book in that series, The Girl Whose Luck Ran Out, was released last summer. The next book should be released later this year, in either the spring or summer of 2023.
For more information about the author, visit gayleenfroese.com.
New bookstore in Little Italy
The city’s newest used bookstore opened its doors in the Boyle-McCauley neighbourhood just before the holidays.
Paper Birch Books is the brainchild of Benjamin Hertwig and his wife Céline Chuang, who moved more than 10,000 books by U-Haul from Vancouver in August to set up their new store at 10825 95 St.
Hertwig says the couple decided to pursue the idea for the store after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He and Chuang share a love of literature and decided to put it into practice. They want to eventually have readings, events and workshops at the store.
For more information about Paper Birch Books, visit its website paperbirchbooks.ca.
Building Inclusive Communities in Rural Canada
A professor at the University of Alberta is an editor and contributor to a new book about how rural Canadians are fighting against intolerance.
Building Inclusive Communities in Rural Canada, coming from the University of Alberta Press in early February, details the efforts by rural Canadians, community groups and municipalities to counter intolerance.
The book is edited by Dr. Dionne Pohler, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and Dr. Clark Bannack, the director of the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities and an adjunct professor of political studies at the Augustana campus of the University of Alberta.
Find the book on the U of A Press website, uap.ualberta.ca.
Marwayne author continues her series
The newest title in The War of the Dragon series, written by an Alberta author, has been released.
The Wings of Change is the third installment in The War of the Dragon anthology by S.J. Walker. The books follow Reollyn and Arvandar as they fight to protect their fantastical world from the hidden agendas of Lucaenad, with battles happening on every front.
Walker lives in Marwayne, a small town outside of Lloydminster, and is a former teacher at Buffalo Trails Public Schools. She’s also written a children’s book, What’s My Color, under the name Susanna Pankiw. Having recently retired, Walker is now writing full-time.
Find more information about the author authorsjwalker.com.
A mother’s loss
A Beaumont mother is retelling the horror of losing her son in a new book.
Missing From Me is the story of Heather Shtuka, whose son Ryan went missing from his job as a lift operator in Sun Peaks, B.C. in early 2018, a month before his 21st birthday. Heather talks about her family’s attempts at finding Ryan, and their transition back to their home while search efforts continued.
Heather became an advocate for missing persons and was one of the founders of The Free Bird Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping the families of missing persons. Missing From Me was released in November, 2022.
For more about the author, visit heathershtuka.com.
The best in book design
A new exhibit at the University of Alberta is celebrating the best book designs from across North America.
The Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada is currently on display at the Fine Arts Building (FAB) Gallery, showing off the cream of the crop across nine categories, including comics, poetry and children’s books.
More than 305 books were submitted for consideration from 2020 and 2021, with the top three presented in each category. The Alcuin Society, founded in 1965, is a voluntary association of people who care about books, from their past to the present.
The exhibit runs until Feb. 10 and more information can be found on the FAB Gallery website at ualberta.ca.
Oilsands tale is Canada Reads finalist
A graphic novel detailing the experience of working in Alberta’s oil sands has been shortlisted for CBC Reads.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands was one of five books chosen as finalists for the national competition. The book follows author Kate Beaton’s experience moving from Nova Scotia to northern Alberta at the age of 22 to work in the oil sands. The book will be championed by Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach, with the debate happening March 27-30.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.