THE BEAR is written by Canadian author Claire Cameron. The novel is a work of fiction but the details surrounding a real bear attack helped to form the idea for the story. THE BEAR is told in the voice of five year old Anna and takes place in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Anna and her two year old brother Alex are asleep in their tent while camping on a remote island with their parents. Anna is startled awake to the sound of her mother’s screams. The events that transpire next leave the young children without a father and a dying mother.
The black dog is not scratching. He goes back to his sniffing and huffing and then he starts cracking his bone. Stick and I are huddled tight. . . . It is dark and no Daddy or Mommy and after a while I watch the lids of my eyes close down like jaws.
On her mother’s instructions, confused Anna paddles away with her brother in the family canoe only to find themselves stranded and forced to survive in the wilderness.
THE BEAR is a gripping psychological journey that had me gasping during some scenes and grinning at other points. The unique child narration brings a level of authenticity to the reading experience. The horror of the children’s situation is tempered by Anna’s determination and sense of wonder. THE BEAR is a tale of survival, bravery, and family devotion that will stick in your psyche. Check out the video below with Claire Cameron sharing the writing background for THE BEAR.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Cameron grew up in Toronto and studied at Queen's University. She led canoe trips in Algonquin Park and worked as an instructor for Outward Bound, teaching mountaineering, climbing and white-water rafting in Oregon. She lived in San Francisco and London, UK, until moving back to Toronto, where she now lives with her husband and two sons. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, National Post and The Millions. Her first novel, The Line Painter, won the Northern Lit Award from the Ontario Library Service and was nominated for an Arthur Ellis Crime Writing Award for best first novel.
You can find out more about Claire Cameron and her novels by visiting her website claire-cameron.com. You can follow @ClaireCameron on Twitter, like Claire Cameron on Facebook, and find Claire Cameron on GoodReads.
AUTHOR APPEARANCE
Claire Cameron will participate in a special author reading at the International Festival Of Authors in Toronto on Thursday, March 13, 2014 starting at 7:30 PM. Click here for IFOA event details.
BOOKALICIOUS TWITTER BOOK CLUB
#TheBear RT Contest - January 31st
#TheBear Chat - March 5th
I am thrilled to announce that Bookalicious Twitter Book Club members and friends can participate in a Twitter chat to talk with Claire Cameron about her novel THE BEAR. You can join the chat by following the hashtag #TheBear and tweets from host @BookaliciousCA and author @ClaireCameron on Wednesday, March 5th, 2014 from 9:00 - 10:00 pm ET. But wait, there’s more good news! Twenty lucky Bookalicious Twitter Book Club members will each receive a free copy of THE BEAR and join #TheBear chat with our special guest author! To enter the draw for a copy of THE BEAR you must be a Bookalicious member to participate. Sign up here! To be eligible for a free copy of THE BEAR you need to leave a comment below with your Twitter @handle and RT a @BookaliciousCA #TheBear contest tweet on Friday, January 31st until 11:59 pm ET. Mark #TheBear chat date March 5th in your calendar and I will tweet you then!
BOOKALICIOUS BOOK GRAB GIVEAWAY
Three lucky Bookalicious reader will win Claire Cameron’s THE BEAR courtesy of Random House of Canada! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment in the "Click Here To Spill It" bubble below. You have until March 7th, 2014 to enter the BBGG. You must be a YMC member, and please be sure you've registered your email address in our commenting system so we can contact you if you win.
Yummy Rules and Regulations
You must be a YummyMummyClub.ca member to win. Click here to sign up. It's free and filled with perks. One comment per member. Entries accepted until March 7th, 2014. Contest open to Canadian residents (excluding Quebec). Winners will be picked using www.random.org. See full contest rules.
To read more about THE BEAR and other great books visit RandomHouseCanada.ca, RetreatByRandomHouse.ca, and CraveByRandomHouse.ca. Social media fans can follow the bookish tweets with @RandomHouseCA on Twitter and find bookworm fun with Random House of Canada on Facebook.
Relish reading,
Author photo credit: Nancy Friedland
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at Random House.
www.randomhouse.ca
The secret to success. Isn't that what many of us want? We want the recipe, the formula, or the template to gain personal and professional success. Is it possible for a mom to attain career success after giving birth? Is there opportunity after maternity? According to Reva Seth and the over 500 women she interviewed the answer is yes! Read on to find out how you can win a copy of Reva Seth's The MomShift and join a Twitter chat with the special guest author.
Reva Seth interviewed women from all walks of life including Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Girl Gone Child blogger Rebecca Wolf. The MomShift shares many inspirational stories of post baby career success. Each chapter of this career companion contains discussion questions to encourage brainstorming and thinking outside the cultural norm box. The MomShift movement stresses that the motherhood and career success combo or work/life balance can come in a variety of formats. What can this personal and professional success look like? Well, let's take YMC's founder and chief Yummy Mummy Erica Ehm as a prime example of this "MomShift". After a successful career in television as Canada's first female VJ, Erica reinvented herself and re-framed her life to forge a new post pregnancy career path by using new media as a tool to reach her fans and moms everywhere. This is what Erica had to say about The MomShift,
“Reva Seth’s book The MomShift combines storytelling and research to examine the obstacles women face in the workforce once they have kids. Frank conversations with a wide variety of successful working women combine to make a tapestry of useful insights and guilt-free solutions for modern moms.” — Erica Ehm, Creator/Publisher, YummyMummyClub.ca
If you're looking for inspiration to get back in "the game" or thinking of making changes after your maternity leave you really, really must read this book! The stories will enlighten and encourage you to throw away society's notions of what you can achieve and arm you with the confidence to go after your dreams. Join me and other women in Reva Seth's MomShift "Opportunity in Maternity" campaign!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reva Seth is a professionally trained media spokesperson, an experienced television and radio commentator, and a sought-after speaker for corporations and conferences. She has appeared on many high profile television and radio shows and she writes for major media outlets including The Atlantic, the Huffington Post, Canadian Business, the Mark and the Globe and Mail. Seth began her career as a lawyer and then spent over a decade working in Canada and the UK in strategic and corporate communications before deciding to focus on journalism. She sits on the Board of the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Munk School of Global Affairs, the University of Toronto. Seth lives in Toronto with her husband and three young sons.
You can find out more about Reva Seth and her books by visiting her website themomshift.com. You can follow @RevaSeth on Twitter, like Reva Seth’s The MomShift on Facebook, and find Reva Seth on GoodReads.
BOOKALICIOUS TWITTER BOOK CLUB
Twitter RT Contest - January 17th
#MomShift Chat - February 26th
I am pleased to announce that Bookalicious Twitter Book Club members and friends can participate in a #MomShift Twitter chat with host @BookaliciousCA and author @RevaSeth on Wednesday, February 26th, 2014 from 9:00 - 10:00 pm ET. Twenty lucky Bookalicious Twitter Book Club members will each receive a free copy of The MomShift and join the #MomShift chat with our special guest author! To enter the draw for a copy of The MomShift you must be a Bookalicious member to participate. Sign up here! To be eligible for a free copy of The MomShift you need to leave a comment below with your Twitter @handle and RT a @BookaliciousCA #MomShift contest tweet on Friday, January 17th until 11:59 pm ET. Mark our February 26th #MomShift chat in your calendar and I will tweet you then!
BOOKALICIOUS BOOK GRAB GIVEAWAY
Three lucky Bookalicious reader will win Reva Seth’s The MomShift courtesy of Random House of Canada! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment in the "Click Here To Spill It" bubble below. You have until February 28th, 2014 to enter the BBGG. You must be a YMC member, and please be sure you've registered your email address in our commenting system so we can contact you if you win.
Yummy Rules and Regulations: You must be a YummyMummyClub.ca member to win. Click here to sign up. It's free and filled with perks. One comment per member. Entries accepted until February 28th, 2014. Contest open to Canadian residents (excluding Quebec). Winners will be picked using www.random.org. See full contest rules.
To read about more great books, visit RandomHouseCanada.ca, RetreatByRandomHouse.ca, and CraveByRandomHouse.ca. Social media fans can follow the bookish tweets with @RandomHouseCA on Twitter and find bookworm fun with Random House of Canada on Facebook.
Relish reading,
Reva Seth photo credit: Christina Gapic
This is proudly sponsored by our friends at Random House.
www.randomhouse.ca
Are you looking for great reading suggestions for 2014? I asked my social media friends to share the first book they planned to read this year. This post highlights 25 of the many Twitter responses. I will share a list of the Facebook comments in another blog post. I’m sure this eclectic list will inspire some trips to the bookstore or a few eReader feeding sessions! I received a new Kobo Arc 7HD from my hubby for Christmas and I’ve loaded a few of these suggestions already. Did you know you can "try before you buy" with Kobo? True story! For many books you can select "preview" and read the first few chapters for free! So, check out the books below but before you go, be sure to note the #WhatchaReading Twitter chat details.
@NSWDWMom: “The Impossible Knife of Memory” by Laurie Halse Anderson
@Jemrah1: “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” by Maria Semple
@mongupp: “One Light Still Shines” by Marie Monville
@ElliotJScott: “The Returned” by Jason Mott
@YMCbuzz: “An Astronaut’s Guide To Life On Earth” by Chris Hadfield
@brand123: “The First Phone Call From Heaven” by Mitch Albom
@CathyMBuchanan: “Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt
@andie_claire: "The Painted Girls” by Cathy Marie Buchanan
@pennesthoughts: “We Are Water” by Wally Lamb
@WendyWrites1: “The Republic of Thieves” by Scott Lynch
@macpherson_a: “My Ghosts” by Mary Swan
@girlswagger101: “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach
@inkscrblr: “Hatching Twitter” by Nick Bilton
@boomda181: “Grievous Sins” by Faye Kellerman
@jenlocati: “One Summer: America 1927” by Bill Bryson
@RozsaGaston: “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” by Elizabeth George Speare
@YouPinspireMe: “Divergent” by Veronica Roth
@SleegsSkees: “The Mouse Deer Kingdom” by Chiew-Siah Tei
@CantonCathy: “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy” by Helen Fielding
@MamaKujo: “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd
@ShelleyMcCarron: “The Boys In The Boat” by Daniel James Brown
@natfield84: “The Fall of The Governor” by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga
@ClaireSMBB: “All In” by Arlene Dickinson
@PapayaJambalaya: “The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert
@greenurlifenow: “I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai
BOOKALICIOUS TWITTER BOOK CLUB
Whew! That was some list wasn’t it? How about you? Are any of these books on your to-read list? What book is calling out to you from your nightstand or eReader? Share your books in the comments and join the #WhatchaReading Bookalicious Twitter Book Club chat with host yours truly, @BookaliciousCA on January 22nd, 2014 at 9:00 pm ET!
Relish reading,
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