by: Lori Twining
On Friday night, the City of Owen Sound celebrated the Festive First Friday of December, where downtown retailers offered live entertainment, door prizes, a fashion show, horse and buggy rides and many spectacular sales for early Christmas shoppers.
Over at The Ginger Press Bookshop and Café, a large crowd of eager book readers gathered—some stood because every chair was occupied—and took part in the book birthday celebration of Beneath the Surface: A Collection of Grey-Bruce Stories by the Ascribe Writers. The first part of the evening showcased each individual author involved in the project. They spoke about how their ideas became unique stories, some gave intriguing background information you won't find in the book and some authors read brief excerpts. Guests were regaled with phrases such as "Walkerton water tragedy", "jaws that can bite through moose bones", "still in a coma", "flying dragons" and "tombstone in the trunk". Curiosity and intrigue kept the visitors glued to their seats until the refreshments and homemade treats were served during the second part of the evening, along with author signings and photographs.
If you have ever lived in this area of South-Western Ontario, you'll know the landscape is breathtaking and sometimes, it is beyond words. However, this new book of short stories breathes new life into all the other stories from this area, that you thought you knew about already.
Between the covers of this collection, you will find stories spanning throughout history and into the future. All fourteen stories are tied to the Grey-Bruce area, which gives you the small sense of going home, to the place you loved when growing up as a kid, or to the place you currently feel is still home. The stories visit local places like: hiking the ridge of Old Baldy, riding the MS Chi-Cheemaun to Tobermory, lying on the sandy beaches of Sauble Beach, fishing on Colpoy's Bay, admiring antique cars at Kelso Beach, feeding ducks and eating ice cream at Harrison Park in Owen Sound or exploring the secret caves in Beaver Valley. The different places mentioned in Grey-Bruce that are found within this collection of stories give you a sense of knowing where you are, but it is what happens at these places that makes reading the stories worth your time. Add in some romance or murder, and now you really need to know what is going on between the book covers.
If you want to purchase a copy of this new release, go to the Ginger Press Bookshop and Café, at 848 Second Avenue East, in Owen Sound. You can drop by in person or call the store and have a copy mailed to you. Or, if you are lucky enough to know one of the authors, you can contact them, as they have a few copies as well. The nine contributing authors to this collection are Kelly Babcock, Bernice Connell, Donna Curtin, Diane Ferguson, Alison Hall, Andrée Levie-Warrilow, Seana Moorhead, Tracey Richardson and Lori Twining. A heartfelt foreword by Andrew Armitage starts the book off on the right foot.
If you are part of a Book Club and would like to add it to your list of future reads, contact the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library for more information about the "Book Club Kit". It should be available to borrow as early as next week. The library has also purchased three copies to add into their circulation.
"To be honest, the contributing authors of "Beneath the Surface" do not want, or need to profit from the selling of this book. We were brave enough to share our stories and we want people to read our work. Please feel free to tell us whether we should continue to write more stories to entertain you, or to just give up writing all together, and join the circus." ~ Author Lori Twining