On the Owl’s Calendar: Mary Elizabeth Nelson’s Catla and the Vikings

When: Thursday, 19 April 2012 at 7:00 pm
Where: Owl’s Nest Books, 815A 49th Avenue SW
Who: Mary Elizabeth Nelson, with her new young-adult historical Catla and the Vikings.

About the Book
In the fall of 1066, a thirteen-year-old Anglo-Saxon girl named Catla watches from afar as Viking raiders burn her village and imprison her family and the other villagers. No one sees her as she flees toward Aigber, the closest village, praying the people there will help. Catla must ignore her terror as she makes her way to the standing stones, a place of refuge, where she meets Sven, an older boy from her village. Together, they continue toward Aigber and are able to alert the village of the coming peril. Catla and Sven rally the villagers of Aigber, and with Catla’s help, a plan is put in place that will save both villages from the Nord-devils.

About the Author
Mary Elizabeth Nelson was born in Calgary, Alberta and spent most of her life there, some of it as a teacher and teacher-librarian at Springbank Junior high and for the Calgary Board of Education. She also has lived in Montreal and Winnipeg. Some years ago, she moved to Duncan, Vancouver Island. She has previously published bits of poetry and a textbook, Medieval Times, used by the Ontario school system. Catla and the Vikings, a novel for juvenile readers, was published by Orca Books, in March 2012. She has four grown children and three grandchildren. She enjoys the natural world, golf, quilting, calligraphy, and writing.

Published in: on April 2, 2012 at 9:35 am  Leave a Comment  

On the Owls’ Calendar: The Vanishing Track by Stephen Legault

When: Thursday, the 29th of March at 7:00pm
Who: Stephen Legault with his newest mystery The Vanishing Track.
Where: Owl’s Nest Books & Gifts
815A 49th Avenue SW
(Britannia Shopping Plaza at Elbow and 49th)

About the Book:

Cole Blackwater gets more than he bargained for when his best friend and advocate for the homeless, Denman Scott, asks him to help stop the demolition of the Lucky Strike, a once majestic hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that is now home to nearly three hundred of the city’s least fortunate residents.

Working with Vancouver Sun reporter Nancy Webber and street nurse Juliet Rose, Cole and Denman discover that homeless people in the area have been disappearing without a trace. As they venture into the dark corners of the city’s underworld, and into political corruption at City Hall, they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous cabal of city officials, high-ranking cops, condo developers, and crime bosses. Can Cole and his friends unravel the mystery behind the Lucky Strike—before any more of the Eastside’s homeless find themselves on the vanishing track?

Tackling the real big-city issues of housing shortages, political corruption, and murder, The Vanishing Track is the third Cole Blackwater Mystery and the most compelling yet.

About the Author

Stephen Legault is an author, conservation activist, and photographer who lives in Canmore, Alberta. He is the author of four previous books, including the first two installments in the Cole Blackwater mystery series, The Cardinal Divide and The Darkening Archipelago, as well as The End of the Line, the first book in the Durrant Wallace mystery series. Please visit Stephen online at stephenlegault.com or follow him on Twitter at @stephenlegault.

Published in: on March 12, 2012 at 2:58 pm  Leave a Comment  

State of the Union

Brave New World…

The world is changing, but we’re still here. And we promise to be for a few more years.

Your little neighbourhood bookstore is endeavouring to ‘keep up’ by making a few changes ourselves.

We’ve completely revamped our website, which now includes this blog. You can also get news from us via our Facebook page. If you’re looking for even more, we’ve started the task of uploading several years’ worth of commentary from our kids’ and teen book club into our brand new Goodreads account.

Our webstore has been upgraded to securely accept payment by MasterCard and Visa. You can check what’s in stock, reserve copies and place special orders. But the biggest news is that you can now have your e-book purchases support your local bookstore. When you buy your Google e-books via the link in the sidebar, the e-CampusBookstore sends a small commission back to us, keeping more of your hard-earned dollars in the community.

Inside the store, things are changing too. With the departure of Livres Lacoste, we are expanding our selection of French language books for both children and adults and we are happy to place special orders.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles…

Good Independent Bookstores will survive because they are more than just a place to buy books. They have become meeting places, or cultural centers that book lovers navigate to. At Owl’s Nest, we’re becoming a centre of culture and creativity for not just Britannia, but the larger Calgary community. We host interesting and informative author events. We host a monthly open-mic night for local writers, which is a great place to hear new writing voices in our community — and later you can say you knew about them “when”.

Once Upon a Time…

We also help parents foster a new generation of book-lovers with our kids and teen book clubs. Starting February 24th, we’re also introducing weekly storytime with Cynthia, our resident children’s book expert and professional storyteller. Kids aged 2 through 5 are invited to join her on Friday mornings at 10:30 for some storytime fun.

The Help…

We know you have opportunities to purchase books elsewhere and we thank you for your continued support of a local business. We’ll continue to try to pay you back with exceptional customer service. We really do want to get the right books into your hands. The books you’ll really love. So come on down for another session of what the staff like to call “20 Questions”: What have you read recently? What do you love to read? What kind of book are you in the mood for? We’ll send you back out the door with something great.

And if you’re just not in the mood to read, you can always come down and have a look at our new selection of hand-made jewellery by local artisans, or the unusual home décor such as bookends, vases and original watercolor paintings.

You have so many choices about where to spend your time and money. Thank you for being a friend of the Owl’s Nest Bookstore. If you have a new product idea or any thoughts at all pertaining to how we may serve you better, please call 403-287-9557 or e-mail owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca .

With best wishes for a happy 2012,

Mike, Susan, Judith and the Owl’s Nest Staff

Published in: on January 27, 2012 at 5:50 pm  Leave a Comment  

Sit back, relax, buy online.

We’re pleased to announce that Owl’s Nest customers can now purchase Gift Cards via our webstore.

If you don’t live nearby (or even if you do!)  you can purchase gift cards from the comfort of your computer.  We can hold the cards to be picked up at the store, or we can mail them to the recipient(s) via Canada Post.

You can pay for your gift cards, or indeed any order in our webstore, with your Visa or MasterCard using our secure encryption system.

At this time, gift cards must be redeemed in-store (ie: they cannot be used on on-line orders).

Published in: on December 10, 2011 at 5:43 pm  Leave a Comment  

Q/A – Quizzing the Author: Angela Kolias

Angela Kolias will be visiting Owl's Nest on Sunday, October 23, starting at 3pm.

On Sunday, October 23rd, (starting at 3pm) we welcome Angela Kolias, who is launching her new book Alpha, Omega, Yoga.

Yoga in the West has gone from being esoteric and on the fringe to now being mainstream as a physical workout.  The physical practice of yoga is merely a means to the end. What is yoga really all about?  What do all the centuries of prace and insight reveal?

Here’s a little more about Angela:

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
- writing is definitely a yoga practise for me – breathing, becoming empty so that the words may flow through me

Check out Angela Kolias's new book Alpha, Omega, Yoga.

What are you currently reading?
- because I do not watch TV I have several choices of reading on the go (surfing?). Currently that includes The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel (I love well researched historical novels), The Inner Journey: Myth, Psyche, and Spirit ed. by Martha Heyneman, Parabola Anthology Series and always plenty of periodicals especially British!

Do you have a pet?  If so, why did you pick the name you did?
- my little heaven sent angel pet is “Rumour Has It” (she came named from our breeder) is an exquisite little 5 pound toy spaniel also knownas a “phalene”. She is so full of love, so well mannered, such beautiful company that I feel truly blessed to have her.

What is your favourite colour and why?
- orange is my favorite color because it packs a punch of fun! it makes me smile! it makes me feel warm!

What was your favourite childhood book?
- Dr. Seuss was fun and my brother and I really took to Green Eggs and Ham because his name is Sam.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- I really love being right here! – but come winter Hawaii is the other place I really love!!

The inevitable desert island question: what book would you take with you?
- talk about a hard one. I guess The Outline of History by HG Wells. The rest of the time I would be watching the sky and the water – always fascinating!

Join us is celebrating the launch of Alpha, Omega, Yoga with Angela on Sunday, October 23rd starting at 3pm.

Published in: on October 21, 2011 at 11:16 am  Leave a Comment  
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“The Nest” celebrates Gordon Cope’s first mystery:

Celebrated author Gordon Cope will be visiting the Owl’s Nest for a signing of his first novel, a mystery, Secret Combinations.

Gordon Cope is a full-time writer and freelance journalist who travels searching for memorable characters, rollicking adventures and expatriate experiences that North American readers and travellers dream about. He is the author of A Thames Moment, A Paris Moment and So, We Sold Our House and Ran Away to the South Pacific, as well as Secret Combinations his first book in a mystery fiction series.

FBI Agent Jack Kenyon is an expert at cyber warfare, in which hackers and secret government agencies leverage weak spots in the Internet to cause carnage to their enemies. Assigned to uncover an industrial spy ring trying to steal Cyberworm, a US secret code, Jack is sure the murder of a double agent is linked to his investigation. But the sudden passing of his aunt Lydia in London complicates his plans. As the named executor of her estate, Jack flies to England, only to discover evidence that Lydia’s death may have been connected to a terrorist plot to unleash a devastating computer virus.

As his professional life collides with his personal, Jack can’t help but wonder about the odds of such a coincidence. Jack must solve Lydia’s murder and catch the conspirators intent on wreaking international havoc—before the truth about his family catches up with him.

Join us in celebrating with Gordon: Thursday, October 20th, 2011 at 7:00 pm. 

(You can RSVP for this event on Facebook.)

Published in: on September 15, 2011 at 6:19 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Upcoming Event: Garry Ryan brings Malabarista to the Nest

Meet Garry Ryan at the Nest on Thursday, Oct. 6th, 7pm

Local mystery author and LAMBA-award winner Garry Ryan will be presenting his newest Detective Lane mystery at Owl’s Nest on Thursday, October 6th at 7pm. 

Garry was kind enough to join Owl’s Nest’s mystery book club, Hootdunnit, when we read The Lucky Elephant Restaurant (the second Detective Lane mystery) last year.  We’re thrilled to welcome him back! 

This is Garry’s most revelatory Detective Lane adventure yet. Under investigation by the Calgary Police Department, Lane finds himself fighting for his career. Then, when an Eastern European war criminal winds up dead in the city, and his partner Arthur is diagnosed with cancer, Lane must contend with dangerous criminals, broken allegiances, pressure from his superiors, a determined bomber, and the very real fear of losing the person he cares for most of all.

Garry was born, raised and lives in Calgary. He received a B.Ed and a Diploma in Educational Psychology from the University of Calgary and taught for more than thirty years in Calgary public schools.

His first novel, Queen’s Park, sprung from a desire to write a mystery with an emphasis on the rich diversity and unique locations of his hometown.  You can visit Garry on the web at: http://www.garryryan.ca.

(You can RSVP for this event on Facebook)

Published in: on September 9, 2011 at 3:15 pm  Leave a Comment  
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New to the Nest: Open-mic nights for local writers!

Do you have a short story or poem that needs a test-drive?  Want to hear some new literary voices? 

Come on down to “the Nest” on the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm.

Starting on Wednesday, September 28th 2011, Owl’s Nest, with the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, will be hosting a monthly open-mic night for local writers. 

Everyone welcome.  No pre-registration needed to read.

Published in: on September 8, 2011 at 6:55 pm  Leave a Comment  

New event confirmed: Maxine Spence and her picture book, Leaf

On Saturday the 24th of  September, we’ll have the honour of hosting local author Maxine Spence and her picture book Leaf. 
Maxine Spence

Maxine will visit Owl's Nest on September 24 starting at 2pm

About the Author:

Maxine Spence lives with her family in Didsbury, Alberta. Leaf is the first of several stories that have been living inside her for a good many years. Eventually, she will coax them all out to play in the great, wide world. Drop in and see what she is up to at www.turtledreams.ca. Be sure to leave a note! She would love to hear from you.

Leaf by Mazine Spence, hardcover, $21.95

About the Book:

Leaf loves spring. He doesn’t want it to ever end. But spring must give way to summer and then to autumn’s fiery beauty. As autumn prepares to make way for winter, Leaf’s friends urge him to travel away with them.  But Leaf has other ideas.
A gentle story about the inevitability of change that will touch the hearts of adults as well as children.
 
RSVP  for this event on Facebook
Published in: on September 3, 2011 at 2:37 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Violetta R. Hildahl to visit Owl’s Nest

On August 20th, from 2 – 4pm The Owl’s Nest will have the pleasure of welcoming Violetta R. Hildahl, author of The Peacock of Taj Mahal.

About the Book
Peacock of Taj Mahal is an enchanting fairy tale with a flavourof India and South Africa. It is a story of values, morals, and the one sacred thing that we all value most – our families.

When an Indian King decides to trade in his daughter, Princess Supna for a magical singing peacock, he places a bounty on his daughter’s hand in marriage and proclaims that whoever brings him a singing bird shall have his daughter for a bride. As Prince Singh Bangladesh sets out on a journey to fulfill the king’s wishes and find him the one bird that can replace his daughter Supna’s voice, he finds himself doing more than just saving the princess, but also saving the king from selfishness and greed. This story takes you on an adventure to one of the most famous mausoleum’s in the world- the Taj Mahal and its beautiful gardens.

Published in: on July 28, 2011 at 6:18 pm  Leave a Comment  
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