Meet Hit Song-writer Turned Novelist, Amy Foster!

TGIF! Award-winning Musician Amy Foster Shares Her Debut Fantasy Novel.

Amy's debut novel, When Autumn Leaves, "is a parable for the modern world, where we can believe in redemption facilitated by magical thinking. Amy S. Foster maps a songline for ideal community using the felicitous phrasing of a lyricist to build bridges between worlds known and unknown. She has an ear for the music of time. We are enthralled by her alchemy as we watch ordinary lives become extraordinary," writes Linda Rogers, Victoria Poet Laureate.

Thanks to a promotion, the gentle and wise witch Autumn must leave her magical, Pacific coast hamlet, Avening. She must select her successor from a list of thirteen names. It's no easy task, for each person on the list holds a special power, which may or may not benefit the town. With time nearly out, Autumn decides to choose her new disciple by means of a contest.

In this enchanting fantasy, readers meet a cast of offbeat women, each with her own special talents: shy Ellie, who can make herself invisible; middle-aged Stella, the local advice columnist, who is also a healer; and Molly, who has been hiding her preternatural gifts since she was a little girl. The star of the story is Avening itself, a remarkable place that is the product of women's dreams.

Praise

"A fantastic debut full of the things I love best in a good fantasy, but I especially appreciated the fully-realized, quirky characters and the big sense of wonder that spills from every page." - Charles de Lint

"Debut novelist Foster is a songwriter, and it shows in the lyrical quality of this novel ... the romantic, mystical setting and appealing characters will delight readers searching for a modern-day fairy tale." - Booklist

"Fans of Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic) and Joanne Harris (Chocolat) will love getting to know the residents of this cozy, charming little town. Highly recommended." - Library Journal

About the Author

Amy was born in Victoria, Canada. She turned from an interest in international business to an interest in poetry, and moved to London to launch her poetry career. It was there she began to set her lyrics to music. She has penned two number one hits with Michael Buble, and is known for her easy, conversational, story-telling songs. When Autumn Leaves, released September 2009, is the first in a series of novels Amy plans to set in the magical Pacific Coast hamlet Avening. Amy lives in Nashville with her partner Matt Freeman and two daughters.

Learn more at www.amysfoster.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of When Autumn Leaves - $14.95

Walk, Ride and Paddle Along with David Douglas

Meet Famed Naturalist, Teacher and Author Jack Nisbet!

Co-sponsored by North Central Regional Library system and A Book For All Seasons, join famed naturalist and author Jack Nisbet for an adventurous step back into the history of the Pacific Northwest through the eyes of David Douglas.

In his acclaimed Sources of the River, Jack Nisbet set the standard for Northwestern narrative biography, taking the reader on the journey of David Thompson, the explorer who mapped the Columbia River. Now Nisbet turns his attention to David Douglas, the premier botanical explorer in the Pacific Northwest and throughout other areas of western North America. Douglas's discoveries include hundreds of western plants—most notably the Douglas Fir. The Collector tracks Douglas's fascinating history, from his humble birth in Scotland in 1799 to his botanical training under the famed William Jackson Hooker, and details his adventures in North America discovering "exotic" new plants for the English and European market. The book takes readers along on Douglas's journeys into a literal "brave new world" of then-obscure realms from Puget Sound to the Sandwich Islands. In telling Douglas's story, Nisbet evokes a lost world of early exploration, pristine nature, ambition, and cultural and class conflict with surprisingly modern resonances.

Praise

"Jack Nisbet's brisk, thrilling account allows us to walk, ride and paddle along with David Douglas, the tireless 19th-century Scotsman whose name is attached to Cascadia's iconic fir. Nisbet takes us on the ultimate naturalist's tour of a largely untamed, unnamed, and unknown Northwest, land of giant salmon, circling condors, and 14-inch pine cones. What nature-lover doesn't wish they could see the region as it was when explorers first arrived? Well, here you go." — Knute Berger, author of Pugetopolis

"We've long needed a modern biographer of naturalist David Douglas and who better to write it than Jack Nisbet, one of the Northwest's great storytellers. Douglas followed in the wake of explores like Captain James Cook, with whom he shared a tragic end of life in Hawaii, and Meriwether Lewis, whose botanizing was dwarfed in its breadth and depth by the Scotsman's efforts. In crossing Douglas's path with DeWitt Clinton, John McLouglin, George Simpson, Sir John Franklin, and Spokan Garry, Nisbet has authored a narrative tapestry." — David Nicandri, Director of the Washington State Historical Society

"We need all the help we can get imagining this country when it stretched out, untouched by industry. With every passing year, the species mentioned by explorers and naturalists, the smells and sounds and the sheer profusion of wildlife become more dreamlike. David Douglas grew up in Scotland, the son of a stonemason, and studied botany in Glasgow with the great naturalist and fern expert William Jackson Hooker. In 1823, at the age of 24, he sailed with Hooker to the Pacific Northwest, where he spent 10 years collecting and keeping a journal and naming countless species (most notably the Douglas fir). He explored areas skirted by Lewis and Clark and was one of the first naturalists to collect species. What's left at book's end is the sense of plenty, of endless variety and beauty that accompanied these vistas." — Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Jack Nisbet is a teacher, naturalist, and writer who lives in Spokane, Washington with his wife and two children. He grew up in North Carolina, graduated from Stanford University, and moved to Stevens County, Washington, in 1971 where he wrote a column for The Chewelah Independent.

Learn more at jacknisbet.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest - $23.95

An incredibly original, intelligent novel, featuring Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and J. P. Morgan.

"Men ahead of their time wrestle with the fabric of the universe."

After discovering an old photograph, an elderly antiques dealer living in present-day Los Angeles is forced to revisit the history he has struggled to deny. The photograph depicts a man and a woman. The man is Peter Force, a young frontier adventurer who comes to New York City in 1901 and quickly lands a job digging the first subway tunnels beneath the metropolis. The woman is Cheri-Anne Toledo, a beautiful mathematical prodigy whose memories appear to come from another world. They meet seemingly by chance, and initially Peter dismisses her as crazy. But as they are drawn into a tangle of overlapping intrigues, Peter must reexamine Cheri-Anne's fantastic story. Could it be that she is telling the truth and that she has stumbled onto the most dangerous secret imaginable: the key to traveling through time?

Set against the mazelike streets of New York at the dawn of the mechanical age, Peter and Cheri-Anne find themselves wrestling with the nature of history, technology, and the unfolding of time itself.

Praise

"Its intriguing premise and inherent mystery are impossible to resist. Marrying poetic prose with hints of steam-punk aesthetics to an arcane, time-wrenching plot that includes a healthy dose of wistful romance, the author unleashes an absorbing adventure about warring scientists, lost princesses and the genius who created modern New York City. ... Flaming's wildly inventive fantasy ... begs to be followed to its hurtling, heart-rending end. A marvelous fable about the worlds beneath our feet and the conspiracies that turn our heads." — Kirkus Review (starred)

"Absorbed by the twists and turns of the story, I felt like applauding every new idea, every conversation, every mystery, and every revelation! A memorable novel that makes me want to read much more of Mr. Flaming!" — Michael Moorcock

"A beautiful fable about love, time, technology, and the birth of America." — Robert Anthony Siegel

Learn more at kingdomofohio.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of The Kingdom of Ohio - $24.95

A whirlwind exchange of ideas about reform and revolution...

"A great starting point for a lively discussion at book clubs..."

Kit Bakke's book Miss Alcott's E-Mail was called by the Boston Globe "A whirlwind exchange of ideas about reform and revolution." Thirty-six years ago, Kit, a member of the notorious Weather Underground protesting the Viet Nam war, was surrounded by U.S. police, guns drawn. Twenty-eight years later, just after the 9/11 attacks, Kit stood, singing with other Americans, as loud-speakers played America the Beautiful, and felt tears coursing down her cheeks. Kit says that was the moment, in many ways, that Miss Alcott's E-Mail was born. Kit discovered that Alcott was an independent thinker, civil war nurse, activist, champion of women's rights, and a neighbor and friend of Emerson and Thoreau. Alcott's novels were written to support her parents and siblings, who would otherwise have lived in extreme poverty. "Yours for reforms of all kinds," Louisa Alcott signed her letters. And so is Kit Bakke, it seems, beginning with this imaginative construction for a biography - in which Kit emails Miss Alcott about issues of the day - and Miss Alcott emails back.

Praise

"This work is a delight. Recommended for all libraries." — Library Journal

"...intriguing and lively imaginary correspondence..." — Booklist

"Alcott's personality shines through in her frank assessments, droll humor and keen desire to set things right." — Seattle Times

"...to Kit's surprise, Louisa e-mailed her back. On that charming conceit, this excellent book is based...The effect is like a wonderful movie shot with a hand-held camera." — Washington Post

"A great starting point for lively discussion at book clubs...an alive and engaged text." — ForeWord Magazine

Learn more at kitbakke.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of Miss Alcott's E-Mail - $24.95

A Modern Ranching Romance

"This book will stick with you as you think about all the challenges and changes of contemporary cowboy life..."

Alice Andison never expected romance. She runs a one-woman ranch, Standfast, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains of Washington State. Horses and dogs are all the company she wants. Alice would do just about anything to protect Standfast from part-owner Jerry Graeme, who is threatening to sell the ranch to pay off his gambling debts.

Domingo Roque wasn't looking for love either. A Mexican ranch hand working illegally in the States, Domingo is on the run from the immigration police, fleeing with just his horse and the clothes on his back. A bad fall leaves Domingo half-frozen in the snow near Standfast, where Alice finds him. At first Domingo mistakes his rescuer for a man, and then he's even more puzzled to find himself working for a woman. Alice appreciates his help on the ranch, but she's breaking the law, risking Standfast for Domingo's expertise and companionship. To the amazement of both, through seasons of grueling workdays their tentative friendship slowly blossoms into love.

But Standfast is no refuge for the new couple. Jerry Graeme continues to menace its very existence. And though Domingo may have found a home, there's something he hasn't told Alice.

Praise

"Foster's own experiences ... enhance the authenticity of her debut novel ... a wealth of descriptive detail and insights into social issues rooted in the realities of immigration, labor, and property law." — Booklist

"This book will stick with you as you think about all the challenges and changes of contemporary cowboy life ... will thrill western lovers." — Romantic Times

"Readers who enjoy a modern, ranching tale filled with family, country life and horsemanship will love Foster's debut novel set in the Pacific Northwest." — Reader to Reader Reviews

Buy a SIGNED Copy of All Roads Lead Me Back to You - $15.00

A compassionate and wickedly funny satire coming your way!

"Maria Semple takes on the follies of the posh life in Los Angeles in her sharp, funny first novel."

Violet Parry is not Anna Karenina. Witty, affectionate, and fearsomely resourceful when she wants to be, she's a modern woman who has traded a great job for a picture-perfect Los Angeles life with her rock-and-roll-manager husband, David, and their darling daughter. She can speak French, quote Sondheim and whip up dinner from the vegetables in her garden. She has everything under control—except her own happiness. Driving the hills of Los Angeles, her sense of isolation grows with every curve. She has a chance encounter with Teddy Reyes, a roguish small-time bass player with a highly-evolved sexuality. He shows an interest. That's all it takes. Heedless of consequences, Violet embarks upon her monomaniacal journey towards destruction.

David's sister Sally, in great shape but pushing forty, is on a mission of her own to attain exactly that status and security which Violet is so quick to abandon. Nothing can stop her—as is discovered by the unfortunate bystanders in her path, and by Jeremy, the sportswriter-savant she's desperate to marry before he achieves the television celebrity she knows is his destiny.

Consumed with recklessness, Violet and Sally overlook the possibility that David and Jeremy may deal some surprises of their own.

Praise

"Maria Semple takes on the follies of the posh life in Los Angeles in her sharp, funny first novel. This One Is Mine is a delight." — The Boston Globe

"Semple takes Hollywood stereotypes and makes you care about them. She's unflinching, but compassion isn't sacrificed. The devastating, poetic finale gives us reason to anticipate Semple's follow-up novel." — Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Truth, of all variety, triumphs here. This One Is Mine is refreshingly clear-eyed about its characters and subjects. She beautifully renders the twists and turns an overburdened heart can take." — Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Maria Semple spent her first two years of life in Spain where her father wrote the pilot for the TV series Batman. After graduating from Barnard College, Maria sold a movie script to Twentieth Century Fox. Thus began a fifteen-year career in television, writing for shows like Beverly Hills 90210, Ellen, Saturday Night Live, Mad About You and Arrested Development. But then Maria decided to resist Hollywood and return to her dream of novel-writing. Maria's first novel This One Is Mine, is a compassionate and wickedly funny satire about our need for more - and the often disastrous choices we make in the name of happiness. Maria and her family currently live in Seattle where she is at work on her second novel.

For more information on Maria, check out her web site www.mariasemple.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of This One Is Mine - $14.99

Dream of Color, Flight and Hope with Gina Ochsner

A newly-released, bewitching, post-Soviet comic masterpiece from acclaimed author Gina Ochsner.

The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight is a bewitching novel of post-Soviet lives. It moves between the magical, the comical and the transcendent to portray a people who rely on dreams to defy the coming of dereliction and decay.

In her very dusty provincial museum of fake exhibits lovingly crafted from cardboard, wire and glue, Tanya dreams of Russian art and wonders when Yuri will stop fishing long enough to notice how she adores him. Then her boss gives her the vast responsibility of cultivating potential benefactors from America, and persuading them to give their money to the very needy All-Russian All-Cosmopolitan City Museum. Before long, Tanya has involuntarily enlisted all her neighbors in the scheme.

Meanwhile the corpse in the courtyard refuses to decompose. Its spirit takes flight around the apartments, dispensing more advice than anyone desires - goading the men and annoying the women, in a block where too many mothers and fathers are missing and too many memories lie stagnant on old battlefields.

'A heartbreaking comic masterpiece that already has a place in the literature of protest.' — The Guardian

About the Author

Gina Ochsner has previously published two collections of short stories, People I Wanted To Be and The Necessary Grace to Fall, both of which won the Oregon Book Award. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Glimmer Train, and many others. She is a recipient of the Flannery O'Connor Award, the Ruth Hindman Foundation Prize, Guggenheim and NEA grants, and the Raymond Carver Prize. She lives in Keizer, Oregon.

For more information on Gina, check out her web site ginaochsner.com.

Buy a SIGNED Copy of The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight - $23.00