Amazon Reviewer: “Northern Survival” has the Wow Factor

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Several reviewers that have read Northern Survival by Diane McGyver share their thoughts on Amazon and Goodreads. Here are two of them.

The Wow Factor

Wow: A really good adventure story and romance. This was my first book by this author, and I’m looking forward to reading another asap! The fact that the two leading characters were in their 50’s was terrific.

A Great Read

Thoroughly enjoyed this book…….kept me on the edge the whole way. What a great story showing the strength you can exhibit when necessary. Loved the progression of the feelings of the characters. Shed a few tears near the end…….will remember forever.

Goodreads Reviews

Read more reviews on Northern Survival’s Goodreads Page.

eBook Sale

This week, Northern Survival is on sale for 99 cents exclusively at Amazon. Download it now, read it now or later.

Kindle Unlimited members read for free.

The Connection Between Women and Horses

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“When I looked back to shows I watched in the 80s to conjure up a similar show the main character in Northern Survival had starred in,” said Diane McGyver, “I thought of Young Riders. I had watched every episode and dreamt many times I was one of those riders delivering the mail in the wild west.”

This hour show was on television from September 1989 to July 1992.

“I was horse crazy long before Young Riders,” said McGyver. “It’s a girl thing. I’m led to believe there is a special connection between women and horses.

“My daughter has that connection, too. Where she took lessons at more than ten years ago, every student was female. The coach tried to persuade my son to take lessons and even threw him on the back of a couple of horses. But it didn’t happen. My sons are not riders.”

McGyver used inspiration from Young Riders and her love of horses to write the following that appears in Northern Survival. These are Olive’s thoughts.

Countless times she’d daydreamt of running away with that handsome boy, mounting a horse and riding into the sunset where adventure and romance waited. He was the reason she took riding lessons when she was 19. It put her that much closer to her dreams.

This week, the eBook for Northern Survival is $4.00 off, making it 99 cents. Grab your copy today. Exclusively at Amazon.

Kindle Unlimited members read for free.

Northern Survival eBook Sale: Save $4.00

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This is the last time in 2020 Northern Survival by Diane McGyver will be on sale for 99 cents. If you haven’t already downloaded your copy, get it now before it returns to its regular $4.99 price.

Description

Adventure Mixed with Survival and Laced with Romance

When Olive is called home unexpectedly from her research assignment at Summer Beaver, she never dreamt the chartered plane she boards would crash, leaving her alone with a man who knows nothing about surviving in the woods. The struggle to put their differences aside threatens their life at every turn.

Exclusively at Amazon.

Kindle Unlimited members read for free.

In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow

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It’s been 102 years since the signing of the armistice to end the First World War. Armistice Day, as it was known in the earlier years, remembers and pays tribute to the brave souls who risked everything to defend freedom. Many had fallen but more returned, battered and bruised both physically and emotionally.

During the horrors of war, a Canadian surgeon, who was also a poet who would become world renowned, served on the front lines in Belgium. Apparently, John McCrae, consumed by reflection on the loss of lives, jotted down his famous war poem in 20 minutes during the Second Battle of Ypres on May 3, 1915.

In Flanders Fields has been spoken by millions of lips, whispered at dawn on battlefields and solemnly recited at countless cenotaphs across the world. It has been read to young and old alike.

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Bluebirds and Daisies by Bronwyn Piper in “The Coldest December”

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One of the stories in The Coldest December is “Bluebirds and Daisies” by Bronwyn Piper. Bluebirds was the nickname given to the nurses of the time.

From Canadian War Museum

More than 2,800 nurses served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), as fully-enlisted officers in the specially-created all female rank of Nursing Sister, with relative rank and equal pay to men – the first women among the Allied forces to do so. Nicknamed “bluebirds” because of their blue uniforms and white veils, Canada’s nursing sisters saved lives by caring for wounded and sick soldiers as well as convalescents, prisoners of war, and even civilians on occasion.

The main character, Lorena Brody, in “Bluebirds and Daisies” was training to be a nursing sister when the Halifax Explosion happened. Here’s how the story starts.

Bluebirds and Daisies

Bronwyn Piper

The Coldest December

Lorena Brody adjusted her white veil, then fastened the top button on her overcoat. The brisk breeze blowing off the water sneaked beneath her long coat and skirt and brought a chill to her core. It brushed against her cheeks and cooled them in spite of her earlier thoughts of the handsome sailor who had caused them to warm. The crossing from Dartmouth to Halifax was almost completed, and soon she’d be in a warm building, listening to lectures on how to attend the sick and injured and then putting those lessons into practice in the afternoon as she worked alongside an experienced nurse.

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QCP Releases “The Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes”

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The second book in the Romance Collection, the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes by Diane McGyver, is now available.

She reserved the most convenient lies for herself.

Mary Lola Barnes has everything: a loving husband, two wonderful grown children, good friends and a lovely home. She has no business asking for more. It doesn’t matter if she feels something is missing. She’s just being silly. After all, what could she ask for? When new friends enter her world, she’s ill prepared for the harsh light that shines on the imperfections in her life. It reveals the emptiness she refuses to acknowledge.

If you love stories about women redefining themselves after decades of living, you’ll love the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes.

Available for Pre-order Exclusively at Amazon:

Kindle Unlimited members read for free.

7-day Count-down Sale for Quarter Castle Chronicles

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Quarter Castle Chronicles Volume 1The eBook for Quarter Castle Chronicles, Volume 1, is regular $4.99. Between Friday October 23rd and Friday October 30th, it will be on sale for various prices. The lowest will be 99 cents. It will increase by $1.00 every 40 hours.

To get the cheapest price, grab it today. By Sunday morning, it will be $1.99.

A Collection of 13 stories by 12 Canadians

Quarter Castle Chronicles, Volume 1, showcases 13 short stories by 12 Canadian authors. They take place in settings across the country, both in the present and the past. From the rugged coast of Newfoundland to the streets of Vancouver, we are flung to far off places like Romania and Swaffham Prior. The authors spin tales of life, survival, death and the realm beyond.

7-Day Sale Schedule

  • October 23, 2020 at 8:00 AM (PDT)  – $0.99 – save 81%
  • October 25, 2020 at 12:00 AM (PDT) – $1.99 – save 61%
  • October 26, 2020 at 4:00 PM (PDT) – $2.99 – save 41%
  • October 28, 2020 at 8:00 AM (PDT) – $3.99 – save 21%
  • October 30, 2020 at 12:00 AM (PDT) – returns to its regular $4.99 price

Reviews at Amazon Canada, both 5 stars

  • Loved the short stories in it
  • I loved it

Pick up your copy today at Amazon

Unfortunately, Amazon does not support the count-down sale on Amazon.ca; it can be purchased from Amazon.com and Amzazon.co.uk only.

HAPPY READING

“the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes” Available for Pre-order

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the Salvation of Mary Lola BarnesThe eBook for the Salvation of Mary Lola Barnes by Diane McGyver is now available for pre-order at Amazon. It’s listed under the Romance Collection for Quarter Castle Publishing because a budding romance takes place, but the story is about much more than that.

It’s about a woman who has dedicated 25 years to her family and has somehow lost herself in the changing of diapers, laundry, making school lunches and cooking suppers. Her children are now grown and spreading their own wings.

This leaves Mary Lola Barnes wondering what the next phase in life will hold. She believes it involves reconnecting with her husband and rekindling the love they once knew before children.

At the essence of this story is a woman who doesn’t want the world at her feet, only a little attention and someone to experience the wonders of life with.

Available for Pre-order Exclusively at Amazon:

Release Date: October 27, 2020

Call for Submissions: The Tantalizing Tattler

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Quarter Castle Publishing is making a Call for Submissions for short stories laced with romance for its first issue of The Tantalizing Tattler.

The Tantalizing Tattler is a new publication meant to revive the clean-telling of stories laced with romance. It was inspired by magazines of the past, ones girls as young as 14 had sneaked away from their mother’s nightstand and hid in closets to read. While these stories were about adults in adult situations, they were void of descriptions of bedroom activities and harsh language. At their essence, they told a good story. That’s what The Tantalizing Tattler aims to do.

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A Common Headline from the Past: Lost at Sea

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Genealogy research had uncovered my grandmother’s grandparents: Martha and William McDonald. They had at least one child: my great-grandfather William Aaron McDonald.

Little is known about this family, just a few names and dates. The further in time one travels, the less information surfaces about individuals and the more questions arise, such as what was Martha’s maiden name and what happened to William Sr.?

A few years ago, a genealogist from a far-flung branch of the McDonald family tree, who researched William Sr., wrote to say William had been ‘lost at sea’. To be exact, William had drowned 160 years ago today on October 7, 1860, when the fishing schooner he’d been aboard floundered.

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Anniversary of the Saxby Gale

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Maritimers are always talking about the weather. I think it’s because if we wait five minutes, it’ll change. We have the winds from the west bringing heat waves, winds from the north delivering cold fronts, the Gulf Steam transporting warm, humid air and the Atlantic Ocean that tries to maintain a constant weather day except for when it’s stirring up a storm.

All this activity makes for a lot of material to discuss. It also makes for a lot of data to analyse to predict the weather for the day. Forecasting the weather for an entire week is difficult at best. Predicting the weather for more than ten months into the future is impossible (though I realise almanacs can be somewhat correct at times). However that’s just what Lieutenant Stephen Martin Saxby (1804-1883) of the British Royal Navy did when he warned the public of a devastating storm that would strike the Maritimes in 1869.

Saxby was an amateur astronomer. He used his knowledge of the moon and Earth to predict the weather according to celestial events. It was known as meteorological astrology. In 1864, he published The Saxby Weather System in which he outlined his theories, explaining his method of predicting the weather.

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“Northern Survival” Final 99-cent Sale

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Northern SurvivalStarting today and ending October 5th, the eBook Northern Survival by Diane McGyver will be on sale for 99 cents. This will be the final 99-cent sale of the book launch. On October 6th, the price will rise to the book-launch price of $1.99. Then, on October 15th, it will rise to it’s full-time regular price of $4.99.

They’d left the shelter at 7:30 with thick clouds concealing the sky and billowy white fog on the lake. The silence of the early morning trek through the forest with reduced visibility made Olive feel like she walked through a mysterious land where fantastical creatures sat just out of sight, watching her pass, stalking her moves.

wolves magical fog

Grab your copy now from Amazon.

Kindle Unlimited members read for FREE.

Call for Submissions: “The Sea, Our Home” Short Story Collection

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Quarter Castle Publishing is making a Call for Submissions for a short story collection to honour those who lived and died by the sea.

Atlantic CanadaThe goal is to tell the stories of life by the sea. It’s a unique existence, one in which the tides and winds set the pace. There are many joys, hardships and tragedies from living by the constantly changing waters gracing our shores in Atlantic Canada. For families who have spent generations breathing in the intoxicating saltwater-laced breeze, the sea is in our blood; it is our home. We will live here and die here.

The collection is entitled The Sea, Our Home – Honouring the resilient men and women who forged a living along the rugged coastline of Atlantic Canada throughout the centuries.

The contest is open to all residents of Atlantic Canada, and those who once lived here and still love and miss the sea. First-time authors and seasoned veterans are welcome to submit their short stories.

The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2021.

To learn more about this call for submissions, visit The Sea, Our Home Short Story Collection page.

Fall Sale: The Coldest December

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From September 17th until December 31st, The Coldest December eBook will be on sale for 99 cents, and the paperback copy will be drastically reduced.

The Coldest December

a Short Story Collection to Remember the Halifax Explosion

The Coldest DecemberOn December 6, 2017, Nova Scotia commemorated the one hundredth anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. More than two thousand people were killed and another nine thousand were injured from the largest man-made explosion of its time.

To pay tribute to the many victims, survivors and heroes who emerged from the disaster, Quarter Castle Publishing gathered a collection of fictional short stories connected to the Explosion. Stories are set immediately before it, during it or in its aftermath.

Pick up a copy today at the following online outlets.

eBook: 99 cents

Paperback

(prices stated in either CAD – Canadian Dollars or USD – US Dollars)

To learn more about this book, including the authors who contributed, visit The Coldest December’s page at Quarter Castle Publishing.

 

LAST DAY of Sale

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Northern SurvivalDiane McGyver: “Northern Survival is about Olive, who is vacationing in Summer Beaver, Ontario, to do research for her next book and to get a little hiking in on wild, unfamiliar trails. When she is called home unexpectedly, she boards a chartered plane that crashes soon after takeoff. She and the man who chartered the plane are the only survivors. Together, they battle the elements, the terrain, hunger and each other’s wit and sarcasm in an attempt to escape the wilderness before it consumes them.”

Northern Survival is on sale for 99 cents, and that sale ends tonight at midnight. Tomorrow when you wake, it will have returned to it’s regular price of $1.99.

Get your copy now to read later.

Kindle Unlimited members read for FREE.

Go ahead; step into the great outdoors where knowing how to build a campfire is a life skill that will keep you alive in Northern Ontario when autumn leaves have blanketed the landscape.

What are Readers Saying About “Northern Survival”?

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Northern Survival“Dialogue is important to me and I enjoyed the back and forth – there was tension, humour and on a couple occasions my eyes welled up and I had that burning lump in my throat!” ~ Barb

“Cover is very tempting, I want to pick it up and read it. It looks so good!” ~ Anonymous

“I loved the story. I especially liked the ending when … [removed to prevent spoiler], because that I wasn’t expecting.” ~ Lynn

This is what beta readers, who received an Advanced Reading Copy, have said about Northern Survival. Have you read it? Please, share your thoughts in the comments. If you’d kindly leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads it would be greatly appreciated.

The 99-cent sale continues until September 10th. Get your copy now.

Kindle Unlimited members read for FREE.