Best Selling Books by Dianne Warren

WINNER OF THE GLENGARRY BOOK AWARD WINNER OF THE CITY OF REGINA BOOK AWARD From the winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award, an engaging new novel about the unconventional Estella Diamond and her struggle with the expectations that bind her family Estella Diamond is the youngest child and only daughter of a successful brick-factory owner, a self-described family man who is not averse to being called a kingpin. Estella’s precocious nature leads her to discover something none of her brothers know: that their father was once married to an aspiring ceramics artist named Salina, who dreamed big and turned her back on society’s conventions. Estella grows up planning her future in the image of her father’s daring first wife, rather than that of her traditional mother. When her plans are derailed again and again by the family patriarchy, she longs to rebel and be like Salina. Unable to openly challenge her father, and with a chorus of sisters-in-law passing judgment, she does the right thing instead, and plays the role of the good daughter. Until she doesn’t. The effects of Estella’s rebellion will stay with her and the family for years, until she is left alone in the house her father built with only her housekeeper, Emyflor, for company. When an uncompromising young woman named Hannah Diamond enters her world, Estella is forced to wrestle with the legacy she helped create and to confront the woman she has become, just in time for one last reinvention.

In her luminous debut novel, acclaimed writer Dianne Warren captures the honesty of the human spirit and the quest for companionship… Juliet is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of town—a dusty oasis on the edge of a vast stretch of sand. It’s easy to believe nothing of consequence happens here, but the hills vibrate with the rich stories of its people: Lee, a rancher afraid to accept responsibility for the land his adoptive parents left him; Norval, the bank manager forced to foreclose on his neighbors; Willard and Marian, a shy couple beyond middle age, fumbling with the recognition of their feelings for each other; Vicki, a mother of six struggling to keep her chaotic household afloat. And somewhere, lost in the sand, a camel named Antoinette. Juliet in August unfolds over the course of just one night and day in the lives of its characters. Their stories intersect and overlap as the entire spectrum of human comedy and heartbreak is refracted through their little struggles and deeper concerns. With wit, thoughtfulness, and unforgettable characters, Juliet in August confirms Dianne Warren as a powerful new talent.

A deeply affecting novel about the truths we avoid and the bad choices that come back to haunt us. Gridlocked in the churchyard of a small Irish town, the traffic frozen in place for a funeral, Frances Moon pauses long enough to make a confession to Ian, her partner of nearly twenty years. The next morning, she finds he has left her. Unsure what else to do, Frances sets out for Elliot, the small town in western Canada where she grew up. As the perspective shifts backward, cruel students and unsympathetic teachers await a young Frances beyond the borders of her family’s quiet farm. Curious, imaginative, and lost, she finds comfort in two outsiders, the troubled local boy, Dooley Sullivan, and a decorated Native American World War Two veteran named Silas Chance. But ever present, splitting the narrative apart, is a small town that will close ranks, turning a blind eye when one of them is killed. The crime, itself, and the denial that follows, takes both Silas and Dooley from Frances in different ways. By high school, she’s become the girl most likely to disappoint, and at eighteen is already headed toward a disastrous marriage. Even after she shakes off the dust of the town and flees her husband, even as she builds a new life, she buries her past so deeply that she believes she has lost it. Until one day in an Irish churchyard, it all comes sweeping back. And so begins an unforgettable novel of lost souls and second acts.

AWARD-WINNING, REVISED NEW EDITION, 13th PRINTING, 2022 Presenting a fun and entertaining way to learn about healthy foods... This entrancing children''s book is cleverly designed as 2 books in 1. It features vegetables from the front to the middle, and fruits from the middle to the end. Beautiful four-color illustrations and rhyming verses introduce children to the connections between what they eat and how they look, feel, and perform. You will discover exciting new ways to help your children eat right-beginning today. It''s perfect for kids ages 1 to 10. Each illustration in the book has been carefully created by artist Amy Sorvaag Lindman to prompt interaction between the child and the reader, or between the child and the picture itself, if he or she is already reading. The entertaining text not only teaches about fresh, delicious, whole foods, but also helps develop math and reading skills as children take an active part in reading it. This "we are what we eat" book is the ideal way to lay the groundwork for lifelong healthy eating habits. Coauthors Susan Smith Jones and Dianne Warren both have Lifetime Teaching Credentials and extensive experience teaching nutrition to children around the world. Their desire to encourage awareness of and appreciation for nutritionally sound foods is expressed in a delightfully entertaining way. Because even the youngest children can participate in the reading process, learning about these colorful fresh fruits and veggies is fun and will promote healthy self-esteem and a positive attitude about learning. Children everywhere will love and appreciate this unique volume. After all, what better gift can you give them as they grow than the gift of vitality and radiant health? Enjoy Vegetable Soup/The Fruit Bowl with all the children in your life. It''s engaging, empowering, and packed with ideas that promise the best of health.

Welcome to Juliet, Saskatchewan. A blink and you''ll miss it kind of town where nothing much happens, until one day ... secrets are revealed, marriages tested and a life ended. Juliet, Saskatchewan, is a blink of an eye kind of town - the welcome sign announces a population of 1,011 people - and it''s easy to imagine that nothing happens on its hot and dusty streets. Situated on the edge of the Little Snake sand hills, Juliet and its inhabitants are caught in limbo between a century - old promise of prosperity and whatever lies ahead.But the heart of the town beats in the rich and overlapping stories of its people: the foundling who now owns the farm his adoptive family left him; the pregnant teenager and her mother, planning a fairytale wedding; a shy couple, well beyond middle age, struggling with the recognition of their feelings for one another; a camel named Antoinette; and the ubiquitous wind and sand that forever shift the landscape. Their stories bring the prairie desert and the town of Juliet to vivid and enduring life.This wonderfully entertaining, heart - warming, witty and deeply felt novel brims with forgiveness as its flawed people stumble towards the future.

A unique anthology of one-act plays suitable for study and performance in schools. Themes include human rights, alcoholism, teen pregnancy, date rape and First Nations issues. Individual play sets and performance rights are available. An excellent anthology, with selections that offer great variety in terms of cast size and staging. The wide range of themes and styles gives opportunity for discussion, reflection, and follow-up writing activity.... For high-school drama teachers who have been frustrated by a lack of suitable material, this anthology is a godsend. Relevant, meaningful, challenging, and provocative, it will inspire teachers and audiences alike. Highly recommended.-Canadian Children''s Literature

The Last Journey of Captain Harte is a comic and complex family drama that takes a middle-aged widow from her small prairie world into a surreal world of possibility. When Marguerite Waker receives a far-away phone call from the nomadic Captain Harte, an old friend of her husband, her imagination is awakened. As Captain Harte makes his circuitous way home, Marguerite follows his journey and prepares for a different life.

Dianne Warren has crafted seven exquisite stories, each of them a near novella in scope and character. Warren''s ear for the colloquial was honed during years of creating pitch-perfect dialogue for the stage, and her cast of hapless singles is as familiar as our most intimate friends. As her men and women wander from suburb to small town, serendipity wreaks havoc with their too-comfortable lives. Prank calls, stealthy neighbours and harmless thefts slowly whittle reality into brutal focus, and each character confronts a life irrevocably altered. Here is a world of casual violations, surprising fits of protest and small accidents with enormous repercussions.