Kirjahaku

Canada is collapsing. Economic and social pressures spawned by climate change have made the federation untenable. British Columbia has seceded from Canada, and Cascadia stretches from The Rockies to the Pacific, Alaska to the 49th parallel. Though a sanctuary amid global chaos, Cascadia is not safe. Internal divisions fueled by disparity and ethnicity have spawned violent protests. The beaches and borders are besieged with waves of desperate migrants and external powers conspire to obtain their natural resources on a planet all but depleted of them. The pressures and threats from without and within have brought the new country to the brink of civil war. The Triumvirate, a formidable team of three childhood friends with an intimate bond, exceptional talents and singular determination played crucial roles in the creation of this new nation. Now, as leaders in their chosen fields of politics, religion and the military, they're called upon again, this time to save it, and in doing so to make a better world. But the unraveling of civilization has brought unique challenges and for each of them the goal has begun to take on different meaning. In the end, there can only be one better world, but who will chose?

Meet Mattie Saunders, an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude. Mattie loves birds and has devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic ones people buy as pets and then abandon.The end of the relationship with rock star partner, Bodine, has left Mattie feeling unsettled and the death of a close friend has heightened her vulnerability. She hopes her fieldwork studying hummingbirds in The Rockies will allow her the peace to heal, but a #MeToo episode with her college professor forces her to flee into the wilderness.She's rescued by Simon, an Indigenous person and activist for First Nations causes. His care and concern are comforting and she finds herself attracted to him.But the attraction abruptly ends when they confront an eagle poacher who sells the feathers and body parts on the black market.The poacher is Simon's cousin and he's not about to turn him in to the authorities. Mattie's outraged but realizes she has to decide between justice for the bird and her feelings for Simon. Romance and action combine with provocative themes for an entertaining and thoughtful exploration of contemporary culture.

Young, talented, ambitious, Freyja Brynjarrson's a photographer struggling to crash the art establishment, the challenges presented by her family, and still keep true to her uncompromising ethic.Fate places her on the front line of a political demonstration where soldiers open fire on civilians. She photographs death for the first time and the intensity makes everything she's done previously in art and life seem inconsequential.The current government is concerned these highly charged images could sway the voters against them. With a closely contested election only three days away, they attempt to suppress their publication. But someone far more unscrupulous than government spin-doctors also wants those images destroyed.Gunnar Brynjarrson, Freyja's eldest brother is the head of an illegal narcotics empire. He's concerned about the opposition party's platform to decriminalize drugs. His sister's photographs could influence the outcome of a close election and put his business in jeopardy.As events unfold, Freyja slowly becomes aware of the far-reaching impact the billions of narco dollars have on the government, the economy, friends, family and even herself. Something insidious has infected society and like a super bug it's resilient, opportunistic and appears as a mutation in the most unexpected places.Freyja refuses to compromise and is intolerant and unforgiving of those who succumb to this evil or are complicit in their acceptance of it. If she stays at home she's afraid she'll be infected and never attain success on her own terms. She takes an assignment with an international agency photographing the chaos and casualties of Mexico's drug war. Freyja soon discovers she's shot only one frame of 'the big picture'.The Big Picture focuses on dramatic action, zooms in on political intrigue, and takes a candid snap shot of modern romance. The plot also reveals how narco dollars, overtly and covertly, influence every level of our lives; the wars we fight, the governments we elect, the impact on healthcare, and most importantly and tragically, our personal relationships.

Matthew and Raminder are young, idealistic and in love.As soon as they can they plan to leave behind the small town and small minds of Pitt Landing. They will embrace life and experience the world, maybe even change it.Man plans, God laughs. Raminder's father has a stroke and her commitment to her family means she must postpone her plans and stay in Pitt Lake. It's just the opposite for Matt. A family tragedy leaves irreconcilable differences between him and his father and forces him to leave.They promise to reunite, but life happens. Twelve years later, Matt is an acclaimed war correspondent. He's seen it all and it's left him with post-traumatic stress, a gastric ulcer, and an enlarged liver. He's never been back to Pitt Landing though the memory of Raminder and their love has more than once kept him sane.He's at his desk in the newsroom, recuperating from his last assignment and current hangover and reading a letter from his father, the first contact they've had in over a decade. It talks about a legendary lost gold mine, a map leading to it, and proof in a safety deposit box back in Pitt Lake. He's sent it to Matt in case something happens to him and cautions his son to keep it a secret.Matt is about to dismiss the letter when the telephone rings. It's Raminder telling him his father has disappeared somewhere in the wilderness that surrounds Pitt Lake. Lost gold, lost love and lost hope compels Matt to return home to a dying town on the edge of the wilderness. The forest is waiting.

What Price Success? Kimberley James is hoping her new assignment will jumpstart her stalled career with a New York corporate relations firm. Her client wants to develop a mega ski resort in northern Canada. Her job is to convince the current owners of the land to sell. With millions of dollars to be made, it seems like a done deal. Until she runs up against Jonah Baker. Baker is part owner of a lodge on the land and an ardent environmentalist. He's not about to permit a development that threatens ancient rainforests and the habitat of the rare and endangered Spirit Bear for any price. Kim begrudgingly respects his principles before profit, but cannot allow a tree-hugging, bear-loving zealot to derail her fast track to success. Jonah admires her determination and worldliness but will fight to the end to stop a materialistic corporate climber from destroying something rare and unique. Spirit Bear is the first in the stand-alone series ECO-WARRIORS that combine romance and action with a subplot that addresses important environmental issues.

Risking it all. Miriam is forty and frustrated. In an attempt to enhance her living-just-to-breathe life she joins some neighbours protesting a highway bypass that will destroy Eagleridge Bluffs. Not only are the Bluffs her special sanctuary, but they're also the beautiful home of rare and endangered plants and animals. The protest gains the support of environmental organizations including the attention of a group of eco-radicals lead by an enigmatic young man named Zaahir. Miriam is mesmerized by this charismatic leader and sees him as someone that can save her as well as the Bluffs. But is Zaahir just using Miriam to help him further his radical political agenda? As legal channels fail and civil disobedience falters, Miriam is seduced into the murky world of eco-terrorism.

At twenty-seven years-old, George Fairweather is "the voice of his generation", a poet whose talent has garnered him accolades from the literary establishment and homage from the disenfranchised "hippie" youth of the late 1960's.George is the embodiment of the times with his long hair, rebellious attitude and regular use of mind-expanding psychedelic drugs.Then the sudden and tragic death of Fallon, his friend, his muse and his lover shatters his world, his sanity and nearly ends his life.Katherine is the one person who stands between George and destruction. A hanger-on, a groupie, a go-for, she's a woman George never considered - for anything. Katherine idolizes George and makes it her personal mission to keep him alive, doing whatever it takes, twenty-four seven. Because of Katherine's sacrifice and devotion George slowly begins to mend his soul and rebuild a life. But guilt and gratitude make it a much different life then he'd previously led.Thirty-seven years later, George Fairweather is a husband, father and grandfather and a successful copywriter at an advertising agency. Another death, his wife Katherine's, is about to change his life again.Can dreams be resurrected? Can a life abandoned be taken up again?Will they let him? Is it worth it?

Are there cosmic truths? Harry thinks there are and he's discovered one which will make life easier, simpler and more fulfilling. He wants to share this epiphany with those he loves but not only do they not want to share in his enlightenment, they feel threatened by what he has to tell them. Much is at stake - careers, lifestyles, power - if Harry pursues his truth. For Deidre, his wife - all her life she has worked to overcome the stigma of being the daughter of the neighbourhood drunk. She has struggled for social status, "respectability" and to have "nice things". Now she has attained it and more is within her grasp. She can't allow Harry to jeopardize it. For Philip, his partner - his aggressive manner, lack of sophistication, short stature, balding pate, pudgy midriff and loud ties have made him a subject of derision among his colleagues, but landing this multi-million dollar client will change all that. Soon Harry's condescension and the humiliation of his marriage will be overshadowed by the respect and power corporate success will bring. The "truth" is he only needs Harry to keep it together until the deal closes. After that, he can goddam well wander off into the wilderness if that's what he wants. For Joan, Phil's wife - the bitterness of her affair with Harry twenty years ago in college has shaped and defined her life, But not Harry's. No, he just up and left her in search for "the truth" and she had to survive as best she could on her own. Now he's about to do it again - turn her world upside down with the same selfish, irresponsible behavior. Maybe she can't stop this middle-age flight of fancy but she isn't going to let him influence her teenage daughter with all his nonsense about "following your heart". For Alexus, Joan's daughter - her parent's marriage is empty of love but filled with material possessions. How could "Uncle Harry's" truth make anything worse? Her mom's pushing her to go to college but that's just more "preparing for life". Uncle Harry's truth sounds far more appealing. Better to fill your life with experiences than just more "stuff".

Do you believe everything you read in the newspapers? Jim Mitchell doesn't. He's a journalist and the publisher and editor of a community newspaper, The Sentinel. He gave up a career with big media because he couldn't justify their choice of what to cover, couldn't tolerate the way they edited his stories and would not be implicit in misleading the public to benefit some hidden corporate agenda. When he bought The Sentinel, he thought all that would end. Being an owner of "the local rag," he could select the stories, edit the copy and make sure the interests of the community were served. He would print the truth - no slant, no bias, no spin, and he'd make a living doing it. He was wrong. From the beginning, Jim's brand of reportage rankles some powerful people, people who pay his bills. Then there's the new competitor, a multinational media conglomerate that's expanding its generic community newspaper format into The Sentinel's market area. Soon it's a struggle for The Sentinel to make a profit and for Jim to keep true to his uncompromising ethic. When his best friend, Anthony Bravaro decides to run for mayor Jim hopes he'll be an honest politician. Hope turns to dismay as Jim watches the quest for power turn a good man bad. Tony's campaign tests Jim's professional objectivity and personal integrity. When Jim confronts his friend with damaging information that could end his run for public office, he finds out how far Tony's prepared to go to win the mayor's seat - farther than he could ever have imagined.

The first time Dieter Schmidt meets Mad Maggie is at a blockade on a logging road. He's there to threaten the local First Nations band with court action if they don't allow his client's heavy equipment access to Deadman's Island. Maggie emerges from the forest, but rather than chastise the lawyer for his part in trying to replace this unique ecosystem of magnificent old-growth trees with a housing development, she gives him an ultimatum. She will cure his yet-to-be-diagnosed terminal cancer if he saves the trees.Dieter dismisses Maggie's prediction as delusions of someone suffering from schizophrenia. But when he begins to cough up blood and is given six months to live, he has no alternative except to reconsider.Mad Maggie and the Wisdom of the Ancients is a love story between two disparate characters, a brilliant, ambitious corporate lawyer whose personal and career mantra is "the will to power", and a free, uninhibited spirit who practices natural healing on a secluded island in the wilderness. It's a story about protecting wild things and wild places as well as the devastating effects of mental illness and the stigma society inflicts on those affected. It's a story about compromise, tolerance and understanding and how these feelings spring from love and are nurtured by it. It's about mystery, secrets and power that abound in nature and within ourselves.

The first time Dieter Schmidt meets Mad Maggie is at a blockade on a logging road. He's there to threaten the local First Nations band with court action if they don't allow his client's heavy equipment access to Deadman's Island. Maggie emerges from the forest, but rather than chastise the lawyer for his part in trying to replace this unique ecosystem of magnificent old-growth trees with a housing development, she gives him an ultimatum. She will cure his yet-to-be-diagnosed terminal cancer if he saves the trees.Dieter dismisses Maggie's prediction as delusions of someone suffering from schizophrenia. But when he begins to cough up blood and is given six months to live, he has no alternative except to reconsider.Mad Maggie and the Wisdom of the Ancients is a love story between two disparate characters, a brilliant, ambitious corporate lawyer whose personal and career mantra is "the will to power", and a free, uninhibited spirit who practices natural healing on a secluded island in the wilderness. It's a story about protecting wild things and wild places as well as the devastating effects of mental illness and the stigma society inflicts on those affected. It's a story about compromise, tolerance and understanding and how these feelings spring from love and are nurtured by it. It's about mystery, secrets and power that abound in nature and within ourselves.

Meet Mattie Saunders, an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude. Mattie loves birds and has devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic ones people buy as pets and then abandon. The Saunders Exotic Bird Sanctuary is out of money and in an effort to raise some so her birds won't be homeless yet again, Mattie reaches out to Bodine, the lead guitarist of the bad-boy rock band Seditious. She's learned he has a macaw as a pet and since it's obvious he's wealthy she hopes he'll be sympathetic and use some of the money he now spends on his hedonistic lifestyle to help these precious, beautiful creatures. They're hardly birds of a feather, but Mattie's not about to kill the goose if it promises a golden egg. Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll have taken their toll on Bodine, lead guitarist and songwriter for Seditious, the chart-topping, outrageous rock band. He's just playing the part until something better comes along. The problem is what's better than being a rich and famous rock idol? Certainly not helping some overzealous young woman save exotic birds, even if his best friend is a Blue and Gold Macaw. Romance and action combine with provocative themes for an entertaining and insightful exploration of contemporary culture.

East Vancouver in the '50s and '60s was a low income, blue-collar neighbourhood. Kids grew up with minimum supervision. They left home in the morning, showed up for dinner, and were gone again until "the gun" sounded at 9 p.m.During the time away adventures were undertaken, friendships were forged, and character was created. East Van Rules was not only meant as a challenge, but also a code to live by.These four short stories and novella highlight coming of age events; a ten-year-old playing for the elementary school softball championship, a teenage tough strutting his stuff at the local dance, a hippie youth hitchhiking across Canada during the Summer of Love.Watershed moments told from a perspective that explains why you can take the boy out of East Van, but you'll never take East Van out of the boy.

Meet Mattie Saunders, an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude. Mattie loves birds and has devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic ones people buy as pets and then abandon. The Saunders Exotic Bird Sanctuary is out of money and in an effort to raise some so her birds won't be homeless yet again, Mattie reaches out to Bodine, the lead guitarist of the bad-boy rock band Seditious. She's learned he has a macaw as a pet and since it's obvious he's wealthy she hopes he'll be sympathetic and use some of the money he now spends on his hedonistic lifestyle to help these precious, beautiful creatures. They're hardly birds of a feather, but Mattie's not about to kill the goose if it promises a golden egg. Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll have taken their toll on Bodine, lead guitarist and songwriter for Seditious, the chart-topping, outrageous rock band. He's just playing the part until something better comes along. The problem is what's better than being a rich and famous rock idol? Certainly not helping some overzealous young woman save exotic birds, even if his best friend is a Blue and Gold Macaw. Romance and action combine with provocative themes for an entertaining and insightful exploration of contemporary culture.

Cold-blooded (Adjective): without emotion or pity, deliberately cruel or callous. Meet Mattie Saunders, an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude, who loves birds. She's devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic ones people buy as pets and then abandon. It was a strange call. An old friend from high school asking Mattie if it's possible to temporarily board some reptiles at Saunders Bird Sanctuary? The Reptile Refuge where Liz volunteers has been closed by police while they investigate a suspicious death that took place on the premises. Mattie knows she should be more concerned with the circumstances, but sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with her friend, as well as help some animals in distress. Mattie's about to find out that Liz has something in common with the pythons, geckos, and iguanas she's seeking shelter for. They're all cold-blooded. Romance, mystery and action combine with provocative themes for an entertaining and thoughtful exploration of contemporary culture.