Hike Nova Scotia — a non-profit organization that encourages and promotes a growing hiking culture throughout the province — and 18 host organizations are offering the 2022 Winter Guided Walk Series, with walks across Nova Scotia starting as early as this January and continuing through March.

By Andrew Hunter, author of the forthcoming It Was Dark There All the Time: Sophia Burthen and the Legacy of Slavery in Canada

Mom and I, we both wear old rings; hers graces her right ring finger, mine grips my left index finger. Both of our hands are aged, marked by years of labour and making. My mom’s thin, eighty-eight-year-old skin reveals thick blue veins still pumping beneath, thanks to her pacemaker. My scarred hands reveal annotations in blue/black ink: a wounded coyote, a trap, black walnut “skull,” a wasp, a raven with a branch of Jacob’s Ladder, and a snake articulated by a raven. Mom’s ring has a diamond set in ornately decorated white gold (it was her grandmother’s wedding ring). Mine has a purple amethyst ovoid set in pink gold. Mom calls my ring a “man’s ring,” only ever worn by its maker; she gave it to me years ago, but I’ve only recently started wearing it (it was in bad need of repair). The purple stone now covers the snake’s head. ...

Hemming and hawing over a New Year’s resolution? Why not resolve to write more? Starting January 18th, Michelle Butler Hallett will be hosting a 4-week workshop on writing historical fiction for both emerging and established writers. Come with an existing project to work on or accept an assigned historical moment. Either way, there’s lots to gain from this workshop. Let’s take a look at the week-by-week breakdown . . .

An excerpt from Peace by Chocolate.

This Christmas the Peace by Chocolate movie will be available for viewing online, and you can buy tickets by clicking here. In celebration of the film — and because it is the season of giving — we’d like to share the story of Tareq’s first Christmas in Canada, excerpted from Peace by Chocolate. 

The holiday season is upon us but there’s still time to get your orders in while enjoying our Ho Ho Home for the Holidays Sale: 15 percent off your book purchase with code HOHO15.