David Campion

Love it or hate it, the Calgary Stampede is a place where myth, history and spectacle collide. 100 years after an American vaudeville cowboy first dreamed it up, the Stampede remains an unrivalled homage to the West. "Cowboy Wild" was more than a decade in the making. Photographer David Campion roamed the world's biggest Wild West show and brought back a collection of images that speak to our fascination with the cowboy. With wry humour, these photographs pull back the curtain and probe the contradictions that lie at the heart of a myth that transforms history into a story about the triumph of man over nature, nostalgically regretted even as it is celebrated. As the Stampede marks its 100th anniversary, the time is ripe for a book that goes beyond the hype. In the accompanying essay, writer Sandra Shields uses the prism of the Stampede to offer a meditation on the meaning of the West and its enduring hold on our collective imagination.

You can call me Ryan is book one of a seven part series called "the Unity of the Faith series". Unity of the Faith is a concept laid out by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 4. This book follows Ryan, a 38-year-old bakery chain owner, who is brought back to God by a series of hard to ignore events. God calls Ryan to be a modern day prophet and member of the foretold 144,000 army of God as prophesied in the Book of Revelation. God helps Ryan fix the things that ail him in his life that Ryan didn't even understand were holding him back. Ryan tries to emulate the Apostle Paul but discovers he is something altogether different and God gives Ryan the opportunity to lead a modern day Pentecost as the Apocalypse begins. David Campion describes himself as a very common man. Writing has always been somewhat of a hobby for him and he says that he never saw himself as an author. Instead he always thought more of himself as a father, husband and friend first. He describes himself as privately spiritual but discovered a love of writing as an outlet for expressing his faith in God. David's first professional writing experience came as a member of the United States Army as a broadcast and print journalist. He has permanent veteran status and is extremely proud of his service to his country. David says his motives for writing, are from a deep felt empathy for his fellow Christians and country. That his deepest desires are to see Christians put aside what separates them and join together in their common love of Christ and to therefore be able to return his country to being a true Christian nation.