Best Selling Books by Julie Lawson

In a tumble-down house carved out of the dunes lives an old man with second sight. He is the sifter of sands, the man who separates the sparkling mica, black lava, golden-reds, and misty grays. And as he sifts he mesmerizes Jessica and Andrew with his tales of the trickster-creator Raven and how a lonely young man lived to be 300 years old.

On her first night in the mountains with her family, a little girl is unable to sleep. She sits by the window and listens to the sounds of the winter night. As she imagines the nighttime world outside, she also anticipates the pleasures of the days to come. And day or night, even if she falls asleep, the little girl knows the mountains will beckon her to a magical place of endless snow. Full-color illustrations.

Eleven-year-old Sam''s first visit to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is nothing like she''d expected. Her older cousins tease "the city kid" mercilessly when they''re not ignoring her altogether. She often finds herself left to her own devices. Still, the woods and beaches around Brackenwood Point offer plenty of room to explore. Then, one day, Sam comes face-to-face with a wild cougar and her two cubs, and her summer vacation suddenly gets much more exciting.

On a trip to Chinatown in Victoria, British Columbia, 13-year-old Jasmine steps through a doorway back in time and finds herself in the much different Chinatown of the 1880s.

Sixteen-year old Ned Turner sets off for the goldfields of the Klondike in 1897 and encounters adventures.

A young girl living at three Hudson''s Bay Company posts yearns for more adventure and freedom than the rules of mid-1800s HBC society allow. Motherless for years, and now orphaned when a hunting accident takes her father''s life, Jenna Sinclair is in the care of her prim Aunt Grace, who always finds fault with Jenna''s high spirits and tendency to break rules. Jenna finds kindred spirits in her Grandmother, one of the Home Guard Cree who lives near Fort Edmonton, and with her friend Suzanne. But even then, Jenna is still eager to have more freedom, and daydreams of finding Adventure with a capital A. Opportunity knocks after Jenna moves southwest with her newly-married aunt to Fort Colvile, and begs her aunt to let her attend a ""real"" school at Fort Victoria on Vancouver''s Island. With a small brigade, she begins a sometimes harrowing journey down rivers and over mountains to her new life. But the teachers at the new school are even more strict than her aunt, and she can''t find a friend as likeable as Suzanne. Ever restless, Jenna wants the kind of excitement worthy of being included in a Novel. By sneaking outside the fort walls, spying on the Company officers, even visiting the forbidden Songhees village, she sometimes finds more than she bargained for. As Jenna faithfully records her observations of the world around her - bringing the reader ""inside the walls"" of three very different HBC posts - she makes surprising discoveries about herself, and about Heroes, Villains and the places where Adventure can truly be found."

Mama''s "old country" ways were a source of frustration and embarrassment to twelve-year-old Karin, who wanted to be a "modern" Canadian girl. How could she know the harsh words between them would be the last words they ever spoke? With shocking swiftness Mama is gone, and Karin longs to be with her again. And when Mama''s precious goldstone pendant is found, can Karin interpret the dreams that come to her every time she sleeps with it around her neck? Does the stone really forecast the future? When it warns Karin of the deadly avalanche that threatens her father and his railway crew, will she be able to prevent another disaster? This poignant and suspenseful tale is based on real events in Rogers Pass, British Columbia, at the turn of the century.

“A beautifully drawn study of what is at risk when you lose control of your own life. Unique, gripping, and viscerally moving—this impressive debut novel heralds the arrival of an extremely talented writer.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times–bestselling author of Leaving Time Destined to be a book club favorite, a heart-wrenching debut about two people who must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for love. Mara Nichols is a successful lawyer, devoted wife, and adoptive mother who has received a life-shattering diagnosis. Scott Coffman, a middle school teacher, has been fostering an eight-year-old boy while the boy’s mother serves a jail sentence. Scott and Mara both have five days left until they must say good-bye to the ones they love the most. Through their stories, Julie Lawson Timmer explores the individual limits of human endurance and the power of relationships, and shows that sometimes loving someone means holding on, and sometimes it means letting go.

A tale of how community can heal the brokenness in everyone.

Charlotte struggles to find her twin brother after the rest of her family is killed in the tragic Halifax explosion.No Safe Harbour is set in the months before and after the December 6, 1917 Halifax explosion, which was the largest man-made blast in history until the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The explosion levelled most of the city and sent shards of glass and burning debris flying for miles. It left thousands dead, blinded or homeless. Suddenly orphaned, Charlotte turns to her diary to help her cope with the events that killed her entire family — leaving her older brother, still fighting in the trenches of WWI, as her only surviving relative. This is an affecting story of loss and recovery, powerfully told by award-winning author Julie Lawson.

When Char Hawthorn''s husband dies unexpectedly, she is left questioning everything she once knew to be true: from the cozy small town life they built together to her relationship with her stepdaughter, who is suddenly not bound to Char in any real way. Untethered explores what bonds truly form a family and how, sometimes, love knows no bounds. Char Hawthorn, college professor, wife and stepmother to a spirited fifteen-year-old daughter, loves her family and the joyful rhythms of work and parenting. But when her husband dies in a car accident, the “step” in Char’s title suddenly matters a great deal. In the eyes of the law, all rights to daughter Allie belong to Lindy, Allie’s self-absorbed biological mother, who wants to girl to move to her home in California. While Allie begins to struggle in school and tensions mount between her and Char, Allie’s connection to young Morgan, a ten-year-old-girl she tutors, seems to keep her grounded. But then Morgan, who was adopted out of foster care, suddenly disappears, and Char is left to wonder about a possible future without Allie and what to do about Morgan, a child caught up in a terrible crack in the system.

I got the goldstone at a time when I needed something special. I wore it for years, never thinking it was more than a beautiful pendant and a link to the past. Later I learned the the goldstone is also a link to the future. Wear it at night, and you''ll see what lies ahead. With these words, Aunt Jo gives Ashley the beautiful goldstone necklace that has been in their family for nearly a century. Ashley is immediately enchanted by the magic of the stone, and can hardly wait to dream on it to see what her future holds. But fate has brought Ashley much more than the goldstone. When she wears her gift, a presence deep within the glacial mountains is awakened. A boy named Jonathan, who has transcended the bounds of time, begins to stalk her nights--and days. He, too, dreams of the future and has foreseen the moment when he can reclaim the stone. But he know that he can only do so once Ashley has joined him in the space between life and death.

Kate''s father is a builder for the Canadian Pacific Railway as it snakes across the mountains and through the Fraser Canyon. Everyone is excited about the "Iron Horse", but building the railroad is a treacherous undertaking. Kate is always thinking about her father''s safety, and the Accident Hospital next door is a constant reminder of the hazards the railroad brings. Despite the danger, there is tremendous excitement surrounding the creation of the transcontinental railroad as Kate, her town, and all of Canada eagerly await its completion. Vetted by historical experts, each book in this series contains maps, numerous period illustrations, and an extensive historical note.

A teenage boy finds himself caught up in a century-old mystery -- aboard the Titanic! Kevin and his family are enroute to Halifax to check out a house they have mysteriously inherited from a man named Angus Seaton -- mysterious because none of them have any clue who he was or why they would be named in his will. While at the house, Kevin does his own investigating and discovers some old artifacts hidden behind a wall, including enigmatic photographs dating back to 1911, which show a young woman and her baby. This puzzling discovery leads to troubling dreams for Kevin -- haunting dreams and a voice that plagues him, a voice he cannot escape. Someone -- somehwere -- needs his help. One night he tries to answer the call, and finds himself in another reality, another time, in a flooded corridor... ... aboard the ship Titanic. In this ghostly new mystery by award--winning writer Julie Lawson, the terror, anxiety and reality of the sinking of the Titanic comes to life, as a teenage boy tries to right the wrongs of the past... and put some troubled souls to rest.

During summer holidays in 1897 Emily restores a lost dog to health and sees many prospectors come through Victoria on their way to the Klondike.

Since the nineteenth century various housing solutions have evolved, such as sprawling Australian home ownership and compact Dutch social rental housing. This phenomenon cannot be adequately explained with simple descriptions of key events, politics and housing outcomes. Critical Realism and Housing Studies pushes debate forward, arguing that a new ontological perspective is required to address fundamental issues in housing and comparative research. This book is clearly organized into three parts which: evaluate ontological and methodological alternatives for comparative housing research provide two historical case studies inspired by critical realist ontology compare the causal tendencies that explain diverging housing pathways in Australia and the Netherlands. Lawson proposes that we turn to critical realism for the solution. From this perspective the causal tendencies of complex, open and structured housing phenomena are highlighted. With this insight we are able to extract the key social arrangements which promote different housing solutions from the historical case studies. Social arrangements which are found to influence alternative pathways in housing history concern the property rights, circuit of savings and investment, as well as labour and welfare relations. As they develop differently over time and space they affect where, when and how housing solutions develop.

A real fish tale! When "the big one" gets away, Amy figures the day is ruined. Or is it? Set on Canada''s west coast, A Morning to Polish and Keep is a story of adventure, family interaction and the lasting comfort of memory. Recommended reading ages: 4-10

The year is 1896 and Emily pines for a bicycle, the latest craze. On the other side of Victoria''s James Bay Bridge is Chinatown and thousands of Chinese immigrants who are looking for a better life in Canada.