At this time of year there is a tendency to rush to be finished - finished shopping, finished work, finished school, finished baking (okay, started baking is maybe more to the point for many of us.) The pace is hectic and it is in the quiet moment after the gift wrap has cluttered the floor and the turkey has been basted, carved and consumed that the meaning of Christmas emerges. Christmas is about the time we spend with family and friends.

It is this element of time that we wish to celebrate. In the month of November we have celebrated writers through our Writer in the Window for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The craft of writing takes time. We marvelled at our authors excitement on completing three or five or ten pages during their various stints in the window - and that is just raw writing. Editing, proofreading, and rewriting is a whole other story. A book is a gift of the author's time; time spent nurturing their characters and layering their plot. All for the purpose of entertaining, educating, and inspiring you, the reader.

Artists are the same. They devote themselves to the painstaking task of creating. In the same way an author invites the reader into their imagination, an artist opens the doors to their mind and lets the viewer slosh around in the creative soup that swirls and solidifies into those wondrous things that inspire us.

Blue Heron Studio is proud to be hosting Handmade in Uxbridge, a celebration of Uxbridge artists and their craft. Join us in the Studio from December 15th through to the 24th for an Art Show and Sale. We encourage you to shop early for the best selection.

From all of us at Blue Heron Books

Enthrill Books for E-readers

In store now - a solution to the what to buy the
reader in your life now that they have an e-reader!

Works on Kobo, Sony Reader, Kindle & iPad!
30 New Titles arriving this week!

A fractured fairytale for sure....we regret to inform you that our planned event with Colin Mochrie has been cancelled. Not for lack of interest but for lack of a book. The book's publishing date has been pushed back indefinitely and we trust that when it is released we will be able to reschedule the event.

Event Passport Holders.....Drum Roll Please

This event season we sold passports that entitled holders to attend four wonderful author events with a total of nine authors from near and far. As a token of our appreciation for this level of commitment and interest we collected a signed copy from each author for a draw among the passport holders. We are pleased to announce that Veronica Dunn is the lucky recipient of the pile of books pictured on the left.

Books and Brunch Update for January 27th

The line-up has changed but what a replacement we have in Linden MacIntyre. Many may be aware that our scheduled guest for January 27th was Patrick de Witt, author of The Sisters Brothers. Due to circumstances of geography and bureaucracy Mr. de Witt cannot attend until later in the year. In his place we have landed the equally impressive Linden MacIintyre, author of The Bishop's Man and Why Men Lie.

Awards
• 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner
• 2010 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction winner
• 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award short-listed
• 2010 Atlantic Independent Booksellers¿ Choice Award winner
• 2010 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award - Fiction Book of the Year winner
• 2010 Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award - Author of the Year winner

Books and Brunch will take place on Sunday, January 27th at 11:00am at Wooden Sticks. Linden will be interviewed by our very own Ted Barris.

Ticket holders for the de Witt event can use the same ticket for the Macintyre event or return for a full refund.

Celebrity Master Classes to Look Out for….

One Day Workshops with the Masters

▪ "Weaving the Love Story into Your Work with Susanna Kearsley - Saturday, February 9
▪ Building an Audience for Your Writing & Engineering Your Novel: the Art and Science of Outlining with Terry Fallis Sunday March 3rd
▪ The Receptive Writer with Alissa York - Sunday, April 14, 2013
▪ Time with the Master Editor - Douglas Gibson Sunday April 28th

$85 for each individual Master Class!
$300 for a passport to all four Master Class events!

A TASTE OF INK

With James Dewar, Sue Reynolds and Dorothea Helms

Wed. evenings 7pm to 9:30pm
January 9 to February 13, 2013

Sample 3 different award-winning instructors, 6 different writing experiences. This is your all-fun, no-stress chance to dip into poetry, fiction, memoir, non-fiction, and expressive writing. Take a single class or come for all six nights and sample the genre buffet.

Individual workshops: only $40 each

All six nights $180 ($30 per night)

Participants must register ahead of time.

Pen In Hand, Ink On Page

with certified AWA leader Sue Reynolds

Each week this group will focus on some aspect of the writing craft, as well as writing in class to prompts designed to support each writer in his or her process. 5 week course.

Wednesdays, 12:30-3pm. Jan 9th-Feb 6th.

$150+HST

Participants must register ahead of time.

Writing Down the Winter

Six Tuesday evenings from 7 - 9:30 pm

February 5 - March 12, 2013

Beat the February/March blahs with an invigorating writing course taught by The Writing Fairy® herself, Dorothea Helms. Explore fiction and nonfiction in a relaxed and inspirational setting. Gain confidence in your abilities and discover possibilities for publication. The course is appropriate for new and experienced writers alike.

$180 + HST

Participants MUST register ahead of time.

Outrageous Writing

Eight Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9:30 p.m

.
April 2 through May 21, 2013

Need a kick in the butt from The Writing Fairy®? Dorothea Helms has polished her work boots and is ready to teach this brand new course designed to take you in new directions with your writing. Write inside the box, outside the box, then smash the box and dance on top of it with words you don’t even know you have inside of you.

$250 + HST

Participants MUST register ahead of time.

Calendars that Fit…

Every year we get asked if we still have any of the calendars that fit the wooden frames…the answer right now is yes! And the selection is the best it is going to get. Now is the time to buy your 2013 calendar.

Selection is still excellent but won't be for long. If you have to look at something for twelve months it should be something you love!

419 by Will Ferguson

Winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2012

From internationally bestselling travel writer Will Ferguson, author of Happiness™ and Spanish Fly, comes a novel both epic in its sweep and intimate in its portrayal of human endurance.

"Will Ferguson's 419 unveils the brilliant layers of a Nigerian cyberspace sting that brings devastation to an entire family. Ferguson's characters live by their wits, employing techno-wizardry and the cold ingenuity of the old-fashioned con. Intrigue, coercion, shame, and torqued suspense unfold with harrowing speed and the illuminating elegance of a cyber-click." - Lisa Moore, author of Alligator and February

A Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Sequel to A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness exploded onto the literary scene with her debut novel, A Discovery of Witches, Book One of the magical All Souls Trilogy and an international publishing phenomenon. The novel introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782.

Now, picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies, subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night that includes Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh. Here, Diana must locate a witch to tutor her in magic, Matthew is forced to confront a past he thought he had put to rest, and the mystery of Ashmole 782 deepens.

Deborah Harkness has crafted a gripping journey through a world of alchemy, time travel, and magical discoveries, delivering one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the season.

Toby's Room by Pat Barker

Booker Prize winning author

Pat Barker, Booker prize-winning author of the Regeneration trilogy returns to WWI in this dark, compelling novel of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship.

Toby and Elinor, brother and sister, friends and confidants, are sharers of a dark secret, carried from the summer of 1912 into the battlefields of France and wartime London in 1917.

When Toby is reported 'Missing, Believed Killed', another secret casts a lengthening shadow over Elinor's world: how exactly did Toby die - and why? Elinor's fellow student Kit Neville was there in the fox-hole when Toby met his fate, but has secrets of his own to keep. Enlisting the help of former lover Paul Tarrant, Elinor determines to uncover the truth. Only then can she finally close the door to Toby's room.

Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary's Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the rebuilding of the shattered faces of the wounded, Toby's Room is a riveting drama of identity, damage, intimacy and loss from the author of The Eye in the Door and The Ghost Road. It is Pat Barker's most powerful novel yet.

Redefining Success by W. Brett Wilson

Inspirational and Paradigm Changing...

W. Brett Wilson, Dragons’ Den co-star and Risky Business host, often gets asked about his secrets to success. He became one of Canada’s top investment bankers because he was driven, willing to take risks and saw opportunity where others saw roadblocks.

But along the path to business success, he tripped over a multitude of misguided priorities. For many years, Wilson pursued business with uncompromising focus, working long hours, seven days a week. In the process, his marriage and his health suffered greatly: he was rarely home as his children were growing up, divorce became inevitable and cancer struck at age forty-three. He truly learned the hard way that one can find financial success and the respect of business peers while almost losing what matters most: health, family and friends.

Redefining Success details how Wilson was forced to redefine his life, making health and key relationships his first priorities. Through trial and error, he discovered that these simple virtues are foundational for real, enduring success, both in business and in life.

Reflected in You - A Crossfire Novel by Syvia Day

Discover the sweet sharp edge of obsession.

The hotly anticipated second book of the Crossfire Trilogy continues the sensual saga of Eva and Gideon that began in Bared to You…the New York Times bestselling novel of “EROTIC ROMANCE THAT SHOULD NOT BE MISSED” (Romance Novel News).

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction... my every desire... mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession...

Fast Flavours by Chef Michael Smith - Some Signed Copies Available!

Speedy recipes in minutes!

Fast Flavours is all about creating great meals in minimal time. Full of fun flavours, Chef Michael’s fast and simple recipes will get you cooking every day of the week without spending too much time in the kitchen. Packed with 110 mouth-watering recipes, Fast Flavours will get you through a busy week with simple, speedy meals while showing you how to slow down on weekends or when you have more time on your hands.

Fast Flavours takes saving time to a whole new level! How you cook can save you lots of time and Chef Michael shares some of his favourite ways. So give them a try. Look for his pan rushed chicken and pork recipes. Try his 4 speed recipes that show you how to cook the same pile of ingredients in four different ways. It’s your choice, so pick a speed that works!

Try Chef Michael’s quick favourites such as Grilled Cheddar Bacon Sandwiches or Sunrise Smoothies. Sure-fire hits with the family include Old-School Smashburgers, 4 Speed Mulled Apple Pork Stew, Pan Rushed Apple Chicken with Rosemary Vanilla Chutney, Stovetop Mac & Cheese with Broccoli, and easy-to-make desserts that everyone will enjoy like Sweet & Spicy Snowballs and Chocolate Croissant Pudding. Cooking really is fast!

Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons by Michael McKinley

Because Hockey or No Hockey, They Still Need a Fix....

Before Twitter, before 24-hour sports channels, long before fans watched highlight goals on their phones—long before something called a “highlight” had been invented—there was Hockey Night in Canada. It was cutting-edge technology back then. Anywhere in Canada, a hockey fan could come in from the snow, sit down by the radio, listen to a game played in Montreal or Toronto, and experience the thrill of a game played hundreds, or thousands, of kilometres away.

Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons celebrates the moments, the personalities, and the innovations that have shaped our experience of the game. What would hockey be without instant replay or the “three stars”? What would it be without Foster Hewitt, Howie Meeker, Peter Puck, or mythical moments like Bobby Orr’s Stanley Cup–winning goal? What would the game be without the Saturday night double-header, or Coach’s Corner, or Bob Cole’s “Stand up and cheer, Canada!” at the 2002 Olympics?

Hockey Night in Canada: 60 Seasons celebrates not only what is great about the game, but how Hockey Night in Canada has come to define it. Written by Michael McKinley, author of Hockey: A People’s History, with a foreword by Ron MacLean and richly illustrated with rare on-screen and archival material.

Our Very Own One of a Kind Art Show and Sale...

The e-Reader Solution you have been waiting for...