It has been a banner year for Sarnia authors, with 28 titles published, from sports to history, and children’s books to poetry.
To help match local readers with local writers The Journal has prepared a compendium of 2014 titles. This concludes the series.
Lumière (The Illumination Paradox Book 1)
Jacqueline Garlick
One determined girl. One resourceful boy. One miracle machine that could destroy everything.
After an unexplained flash shatters her world, seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth sets out to find the Illuminator, her father’s prized invention
So unfolds the premise of Lumière, Bright’s Grove author Jacqueline Garlick debut offering in an intended series.
She has also published If Only I Had, which is described as a mystery saga for young adults.
Garlick has had some success with her books and travels around to writing workshops, both as facilitator and participant.
She describes Lumière an epic steampunk-fantasy and romance adventure aimed at a young teen audience.
“I love strong heroines, despise whiny sidekicks, and adore a good story about a triumphant underdog,” she says.
Lumière is available at Amazon.ca and The Book Keeper.
Never Saw It Coming: My Life Strange But True
Sandy Newton
This autobiography about growing up and living in Sarnia is the only book that Sandy Newton, nee Connelly, plans to write.
It is more than 200 pages of vignettes and anecdotes that begins with her birth in Montreal and concludes with a cancer operation undergone earlier this year.
In between are stories about family, attending SCITS, meeting boys and travelling. The turning point in the book, like that in her life, came in 1997 when she met “Roger,” the love of her life.
Newton, 64, retired from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment six years ago and said she wrote her life story because others urged her to.
“A book was on my bucket list,” she said. “Next, I want to learn to play the guitar.”
Two copies of Never Saw It Coming are available at The Book Keeper.
A Successful Journey in Life: An Individual Perspective
John W. Loeff, illustrated by Joe Bilicic
John Loeff is a Bright’s Grove writer of non-fiction whose first three books are available from The Book Keeper and Amazon.
His first, Building Long-Term Relationships, drew on his experiences as an educator and counsellor and is now in its second edition.
Loeff worked at Ontario Hydro for 29 years before retiring in 2000 to open a private practice in marriage and family counselling in Sarnia.
He then took a position at Baker College in Port Huron where he taught psychology and became an associate dean.
It was at the school’s library, he said, that he learned how to research his works.
Loeff retired from the college in 2011 and promptly published two more books, An Unsuccessful Journey and Cultural Cliff, which is about learning how to accept change.
His fourth, A Successful Journey in Life, was published this May and went straight to Amazon as an eBook.
The Seed of Passion
Monica Royal
Monica Royal (Kalinski) is back in her hometown of Sarnia after thirty-five years in other cities and countries.
She said her first novel, The Seed of Passion, gives readers insight into discovering their own passion, without having to read a 'how to' book.
The 'how to' element is written into the story of one family's journey, whose members support each other’s dreams to succeed.
“What is your passion in life, do you know?” she asks. “Are you able to discover the single trigger of bliss, within the soul, that allows time to be non-existent and feel as if living is an illusion?”
Royal retired from nursing and counselling and now has time to pursue her passion for writing.
She has written manuals for industry, articles in newspapers and magazines, and belongs to the London’s Writers Society.
The Seed of Passion will be presented during a book signing at The Book Keeper on Dec. 7, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Poemas y Oraciones de Cheito
Graciela Bejarano
Born in Colombia, South America, Graciela Bejarano is a 73-year-old Sarnia grandmother who published her first book this summer under the pseudonym Cheito.
Written entirely in Spanish, Poemas y Oraciones de Cheito, or Poems and Prayers of Cheito, is a collection of verse about family, nature, love and spirituality.
Bejarano is legally blind and has less than 10% vision. But she wrote her poems the help of a digital magnifier and a great deal of effort, he daughter told The Journal.
Though the book came out in August it is being mass-produced this month for sale, with all proceeds to benefit Hope is Life, a foundation that assists poor communities affected by war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. To order a copy call 519-491-8426.
Special Place for Jesus
Baby Cain is Born
Andrew Jenniskens
Jenniskens has published two bible-themed children’s books in paperback this year, the first in January and the second in June.
Baby Cain is Born (Word Alive Press, 2014) opens with the words: “After the seven days of creation, God found a great love between Adam and Eve.
“God said, “I will help Adam and Eve make the first baby. Mighty Michael, come to my throne!’”
The story goes on to introduce a team of angels who help God knit together the baby and give it a soul.
The books are available at chapters.indigo.com and The Book Keeper
Final Note:
Earlier this year The Journal featured two other books: Lily's Story, by Don Gutteridge, a former resident whose book is set in historical Point Edward; and Raising Huck and Ted, by Liz Parsons, a successful parenting book in national release.
Two Sarnia writers, Lisa Lachapelle and Audrey Stringer, have books pending.
Stringer’s is titled Buddy's Life Lessons, and Lachapelle has two titles in the works: God's Call - All about Heaven, and Tulip Grows a Garden.