TouchWood Editions is proud to introduce the first female sleuth in our selection of mystery novels. Author Gwendolyn Southin uniquely blends the charm of gumshoe techniques with the fresh perspective of a developing female detective. The Margaret Spencer Mysteries offer action and suspense, with a human subtext.

Back in Vancouver, Maggie and Nat b …

Best-selling chronicler of the gold rush Bill Gallaher now brings us the compelling story of the Rennie brothers.

Lured by dreams of wealth and a better life, William, Gilbert and Thomas Rennie set out for the Cariboo goldfields in the spring of 1862. But because of their late departure, they encountered unimaginable consequences. They crossed the …

This first-hand account of a Canadian pioneer—the next title in TouchWood’s Classics West series—tells the story of a hard-won wilderness home and of the self-sufficient father and brothers who built it. Their tale of wanderlust begins in 1839 in Bytown, Ontario (later called Ottawa), with father Archie MacDonald, who reached his peak as an O …

It was the summer of ’43 on a Cariboo ranch. He was 12 and had to become a man. If you were a man, you could become a cowboy. Join the author on this nostalgic look back on the joys, frustrations and observations of growing up and discovering where he belongs.

Excerpt from Eldon Lee's foreword: “This book by Alan Fry is probably the best book ev …

A follow-up to The Frog Lake Massacre, The Luck of the Horseman is a cleverly written ride from the days of the Wild West. The story begins ten years after the Frog Lake massacre. Jack Strong is doing a poor job of dealing with a devastating personal tragedy. He reconnects with Sam Steele, an old acquaintance and police officer, to assist in a hunt …

Reliving the adventures of past explorers.

Trail to the Interior is R. M. Patterson's rich account of exploration and personal adventure in the Cassiar district of British Columbia. The trail is the historic track from Wrangell, Alaska, along the Stikine and Dease rivers and across the height of the land into the valleys of the Liard and the Mackenz …

Children and teenagers experience Canada’s North in a way that adults do not. They have shaped its history, and yet how often are they asked to tell its story? Northern Kids is a collection of tales about the unforgettable young people of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and remote regions of the western provinces. Based on personal int …

With careful research and imagination, author Linda Goyette has created a collection of 25 stories based on the true stories of named children of the past and present.

Too often the youngest Canadians are erased from our historical memory. Rocky Mountain Kids provides firstperson creative non-fiction narratives from the region's children, many of wh …

TouchWood Editions is proud to introduce the first female sleuth in our selection of mystery novels. Author Gwendolyn Southin uniquely blends the charm of gumshoe techniques with the fresh perspective of a developing female detective. The Margaret Spencer Mysteries offer action and suspense, with a human subtext.

Just one year later, Margaret is co …

Chief factor: In the Hudson’s Bay Company fur-trade monopoly, the title of chief factor was the highest rank given to commissioned officers, who were responsible for a major trading post and its surrounding district.

Colonial Victoria in 1858 is an unruly mix of rowdy gold seekers and hustling immigrants caught in the upheaval of the fur trade gi …

The sound of the river, ever-present, had finally intruded on his consciousness. If Nate was playing by himself outside, that damn river was too close for comfort. Instantly forgetting everything else, John hurried to the door, pushed it right open, stepped to the edge.

John Quarry is on vacation with his small son, Nate, when a tragedy occurs: duri …

Hal Bannatyne is a successful actor in town to shoot a big-budget film. Spotting an old flame, Mattie, he immediately becomes involved with her family. When Mattie’s father-in-law tries to protect his land from the hands of a fervent land developer, Bannatyne soon finds he is mixed up in the conflict. Thus the intrigue begins, with a crooked land …

Elizabeth and Tom Drummond are living quietly in Mill Bay, B.C., when their tranquil existence is disrupted by a singular event: out of the ashes of 9/11, borne by a person believed long dead, come riches beyond anyone's wildest dreams. But with the wealth comes danger-lies, secrets, insidious temptation and relentless pursuit by a grim figure whos …

In this mouth-watering collection of seafood recipes, simplicity and great taste are key. For every home cook who has ever been intimidated by seafood, Fish On is a call to foster one’s own tastes and opinions. The book focuses exclusively on preparing and cooking the most commonly harvested seafood found on the Pacific West Coast. Try your hand …

Who was this skipper, this mother, this writer? These questions motivated Cathy Converse to re-trace the route of famous pacific seafarer M. Wylie Capi Blanchet, and write a biography in the process. Widowed in 1926, Blanchet cruised the coast with her five children and their dog in a 25-foot boat that had been rescued from the seafloor. The Curve …

Trained as a nurse and midwife, Elizabeth Evans never wanted to help set up the fledgling town of Aspen Coulee, Alberta, but travels there with her father when he agrees to become the town doctor. Housekeeper at the Evans’ house, Ann Montgomery hoped to keep all her San Francisco secrets locked in her ancient wedding chest.

It is 1907, and the Can …

Cowboy, logger, fisherman, writer, social activist, and grand adventurer! Sinclair’s fascinating life is set against the changing ranching, logging, fishing and mining industries that he wrote about and the publishing industry for which he wrote.

His story takes the reader from the old west of Montana, life in California, on to Vancouver and the l …

When former TV star Lulu Malone finds her evil union representative stabbed to death, her first instinct is to run. Unfortunately, the exit is crowded, as she has four actor friends with her. Without much choice, Lulu becomes enmeshed in the real-life detective hunt, one that she has only experienced as an actor on TV. With her life in danger, and …

Victoria’s Chinatown is Canada’s oldest Chinese neighbourhood and has a lineage unbroken since 1858. With large-format colour photos and photocollages, Robert Amos and Kileasa Wong take you behind the doors of the 29 private clubs that make up the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, where you’ll see the gilded altars, antique art an …

It is January 1961 and Margaret Spencer and Nat Southby are relaxing on a ski holiday when their vacation takes a bone-chilling turn. While cross-country skiing the couple comes across the frozen body of Maurice Dubois, a man who went missing from a fishing resort the month before. When Maurice’s wife is also found murdered, the two Vancouver det …

Once available and appreciated only by researchers, these stories remained buried in the British Columbia Archives until 2007. Finally, readers are given a new glimpse into Emily Carr's life with this collection.. Carr began to write these stories in the last two years of her life. She wrote of the project: ... they are too small each to be taken s …

Jane Priddle, a proper young Englishwoman, has lived a sheltered, genteel life. In 1897, she is offered a life-changing opportunity: she will travel to Canada's northwest frontier to search for young Billie Thomm.

Surviving in the gutters of London, England, Billie had acquired the cunning of someone twice his 15 years, but a moment of desperation a …

Timeless tales about wilderness living.

Eric Collier's riveting recollections about the 26 years that he, his wife Lillian and son Veasy spent homesteading in the isolated Chilcotin wilderness made for an international bestseller and one of the most famous books ever written about British Columbia.

In the early 1930s, Collier and his family moved t …