New Releases by Will Ferguson

Will Ferguson recounts the small, revealing moments of a travel-writing career in this funny, eclectic collection of essays—and opinions—on Canada, the writing life and the world beyond. From the Arctic Circle to the mud pools of New Zealand, Will Ferguson has spent a career chasing stories that reveal as much about Canada as they do about the world. Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis brings together his funniest, sharpest and most surprising adventures—collected here for the first time. Ferguson brings readers on a journey, from a tiny theatre town in rural Alberta to the haunted (and horse-grazed) shores of Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. He weighs the benefits and drawbacks of the Confederation Bridge, wanders the jumbled cultural mixture of Montréal’s neighbourhoods and confronts his queasy relationship with Scottish whisky. In between, Ferguson muses about the defining elements of Canadian culture and offers readers some writerly advice. He ponders the merits of selling out to advertisers, Canada’s national reputation for peacekeeping and the most frequently asked questions in literary interviews. He also offers his thoughts on the real questions: What’s the most Canadian condiment? The best contender for a national bird? And why didn’t he get the handyman gene? With his trademark humour and a sincere appreciation for Canada and beyond, Ferguson roams through a life of travel, writing and the moments in between from a distinctly Canadian point of view.

Three locked rooms. Three impossible crimes. One determined sleuth. Miranda Abbott is back in a new mystery from the bestselling authors of I Only Read Murder and Mystery in the Title The famous are descending on the town of Happy Rock. This time, the stars are not of the screen but of the page. The Happy Rock bookstore, I Only Read Murder, is hosting not only an author festival but a murder mystery festival, with six of the biggest names in crime fiction. New bookstore majority co-owner and former TV star Miranda Abbott loves nothing more than the idea of hosting literary luminaries. Little does she realize the authors are bringing their egos, their professional jealousies, and their personal grudges along with their books. And they all want the first look at a mysterious posthumous manuscript that has been delivered to the bookstore. This festival of rivals goes from bad to worse when one of the authors turns up dead in a locked room with no windows. And this death is just the beginning—no one knows which author will be next. Miranda is on the case, along with Edgar, her almost–ex-husband; Andrew, her one-person entourage; Ned, the patient police chief; and the good people of Happy Rock. Together, they’ll stop at nothing to solve three murders, in three locked rooms, and three impossible crimes.

From the bestselling authors of I Only Read Murder comes a sidesplitting mystery of epic movie-of-the-week proportions, featuring the unstoppable Miranda Abbott. Miranda Abbott, actor, will once again be a star. After a very long dry spell that followed her network hit series, Pastor Fran Investigates, Hollywood has come calling and wants Miranda back. This time, she will be the female lead in an oddly expensive movie of the week being filmed in Happy Rock. Miranda signs on the dotted line, but her trusty assistant, Andrew, a whiz with apps and clouds, thinks it all seems a bit fishy. Things go from bad to worse when Miranda’s costar makes a grand entrance at a media-packed press conference by crashing through the atrium window at the Duchess Hotel and being very much dead. The out-of-town cast and crew are horrified, but the great citizens of Happy Rock—including police chief Ned Buckley, grumpy bookstore owner and soon-to-be ex-husband Edgar Abbott, Bea of Bea’s B&B, and the malodorous Melvin Jacobson of S.J. Fertilizer Supply—return to help solve the case in this second Miranda Abbott mystery. Miranda Abbott Mystery Book 1: I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson Book 2: Mystery in the Title by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

“Strap in for a hilarious and satisfying ride.” —Terry Fallis, bestselling author of Operation Angus A once-famous TV sleuth An amateur theater production An onstage murder A town full of suspects… Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. She’s facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. But when she gets there, nothing is what she expected. In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theater. On opening night, one of the actors is murdered, live, in front of the audience. But no one actually saw what happened. Now everyone is under a cloud of suspicion, including the town doctor, the high school drama teacher, an oil-stained car mechanic, an elderly gentleman who may have been in the CIA—and Miranda herself. Clearly, the only way to solve this mystery is for Miranda to summon her skills as television’s Pastor Fran. Because the show must go on! Miranda Abbott Mystery Book 1: I Only Read Murder by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson Book 2: Mystery in the Title by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson Book 2: Mystery in the Title by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson

From the Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning novelist of 419 comes a spellbinding literary adventure novel about precious objects lost and found. The world is filled with wonders, lost objects—all real—all still out there, waiting to be found: · the missing Fabergé eggs of the Romanov dynasty, worth millions · the last reel of Alfred Hitchcock’s first film · Buddy Holly’s iconic glasses · Muhammad Ali’s Olympic gold medal How can such cherished objects simply vanish? Where are they hiding? And who on earth might be compelled to uncover them? Will Ferguson takes readers on a heroic, imaginative journey across continents, from the seas of southern Japan, to the arid Australian Outback, to the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, after the earthquake. Prepare to meet Gaddy Rhodes, a brittle Interpol agent obsessed with tracking “The Finder”—a shadowy figure she believes is collecting lost objects; Thomas Rafferty, a burnt-out travel writer whose path crosses that of The Finder, to devastating effect; and Tamsin Greene, a swaggering war photographer who is hiding secrets of her own. The Finder is a beguiling and wildly original tale about the people, places, and things that are lost and found in our world. Both an epic literary adventure and an escape into a darkly thrilling world of deceit and its rewards, this novel asks: How far would you be willing to go to recover the things you’ve left behind?

Offbeat, charming, and filled with humour and insight, Beyond Belfast is the story of one man’s misguided attempt at walking the Ulster Way, “the longest waymarked trail in the British Isles.” It’s a journey that takes Will Ferguson through the small towns and half-forgotten villages of Northern Ireland, along rugged coastlines and across barren moorland heights, past crumbling castles and patchwork farms. From IRA pubs to Protestant marches, from bandits and bad weather to banshees and blood sausage, he wades into the thick of things, providing an affectionate and heartfelt look at one of the most misunderstood corners of the world. As the grandson of a Belfast orphan, Will also peels back the myths and realities of his own family history—a mysterious photograph, rumours of a lost inheritance. The truth, when it comes, is both surprising and funny …

Meet Thomas Rosanoff: med student and researcher. Meet his subjects: three homeless men who believe they are God. Ever since his girlfriend ended things, Thomas’s life has been on a downward spiral. A gifted medical student, he has spent his entire adulthood struggling to escape the legacy of his father, an esteemed psychiatrist who used him as a test subject when he was a boy. Thomas lived his entire childhood watched over by researchers lurking behind one-way glass. But now the tables have turned. Thomas is the researcher, and he’s convinced an experiment he has concocted will cure three homeless men of their delusional claims. When the experiment careens out of control, however, Thomas is forced to confront the voices echoing in his own head and the ghosts of his own past. An explosively imaginative tour de force, The Shoe on the Roof questions our definitions of sanity and madness while exploring the magical reality that lies just beyond the world of scientific fact.

Will Ferguson takes readers deep into the labyrinth of lies that is "419," the world’s most insidious Internet scam. A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine. A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa. And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims. Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: "Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help…" When Laura Curtis, a lonely editor in a cold northern city, discovers that her father has died because of one such swindle, she sets out to track down—and corner—her father’s killer. It is a dangerous game she’s playing, however, and the stakes are higher than she can ever imagine. Woven into Laura’s journey is a mysterious woman from the African Sahel with scars etched into her skin and a young man who finds himself caught up in a web of violence and deceit. And running through it, a dying father’s final words: "You, I love."

A wild ride through Canadian history, fully revised and updated! This new edition of Canadian History For Dummies takes readers on a thrilling ride through Canadian history, from indigenous native cultures and early French and British settlements through Paul Martin's shaky minority government. This timely update features all the latest, up-to-the-minute findings in historical and archeological research. In his trademark irreverent style, Will Ferguson celebrates Canada's double-gold in hockey at the 2002 Olympics, investigates Jean Chrétien's decision not to participate in the war in Iraq, and dissects the recent sponsorship scandal.

The follow-up to the back-to-back successes of How to Be a Canadian (over 110,000 copies sold) and Happiness™ (Winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour). Will Ferguson spent a three-year period criss-crossing Canada and back again. In a helicopter above the barrenlands of the sub-Arctic, in a canoe with his four-year-old son, aboard seaplanes and along the Underground Railroad, Will’s travels have taken him from Cape Spear on the coast of Newfoundland to the sun-dappled streets of Olde Victoria. In his last book, Will told us how to be Canadian; now in this book, he will tell us what it means to be Canadian. Will’s journey takes him to far-flung isolated communities as well as deep into Canada’s urban centres. From the “million-acre farm” that is P.E.I. to the tobacco belt of southern Ontario, from the architectural mess that is Montreal to the glorious jumble that is St. John’s, from a renegade republic in northwestern New Brunswick to a tundra buggy in the polar bear migration paths of Hudson Bay, Will explodes the myths of who we are. Funny, poignant and insightful, Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw is a provocative tribute to our quirky and fascinating country. Excerpt from Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: In one particular seedy St. John’s pub, I was adopted by a work crew from Portugal Cove who took an immediate, almost antagonistic liking to me. “You’re from Alberta, you say? I have a cousin in Fort McMurray, maybe you know him.” (Everybody in Newfoundland has a cousin in Fort McMurray.) The crew from Portugal Cove tormented me with screech and second-hand smoke as they regaled me with tales of how their families were so poor “back when” that all they could afford to eat were lobsters. This was not the first time I had heard this. Apparently half the population of Newfoundland has subsisted on lobster at some point or other.

Originally published as Hokkaido Highway Blues, with limited distribution in Canada, Will Ferguson’s classic book about Japan, for all fans of the bestselling Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw. With the same fervour they have for outlandish game shows and tiny gadgets, the Japanese go nuts each spring when the cherry blossoms sweep from island to island towards the country’s northerly tip. Will Ferguson was celebrating the event in the standard fashion. And after way too much sake he announced he would be the first person in recorded history to follow the blossom’s progress end to end. To make it a challenge worth doing, he’d hitchhike all the way: relying on the kindness of some very weird and wonderful strangers. Mixing his penchant for biting observation with wicked humour, Ferguson starts at the southernmost tip of Cape Sata and heads north for distant Hokkaido. Whether he is doing the forbidden and not knowing it, or holding "conversations by non sequitur," it is a journey full of misadventures and revelations. The resulting travelogue is one of the funniest and most illuminating books ever written about Japan. To make matters worse, I decided to hitchhike. Striking a heroic stance, I declared my intention to my Japanese friends to become the first person ever to hitchhike the length of Japan, end-to-end, cape-to-cape, sea-to-sea. This did not impress them as much as I had hoped. “Why would you want to do that?” they asked, genuinely puzzled. “There is no reason to hitchhike. That’s why we built the Bullet Train.” Others worried about my safety. “But,” I would argue, “Japan is a very safe country, is it not?” “Oh, yes. Very safe. Safest in the world.” “So why shouldn’t I hitchhike?” “Because Japan is dangerous.” And so on. Now, I will admit that mooching rides across Japan is not a major achievement—I mean, it’s not like I paddled up the Amazon or discovered insulin or anything—but I am the first person ever to do this, so allow me my hubris. When I left my home in Minamata City aboard a southbound train, I felt suitably bold with my backpack and muscular thumb. “I’m going to hitchhike the length of Japan,” I told the man beside me. He smiled and nodded. “I’m going to follow the cherry blossoms.” He nodded. “All the way to Russia,” I said. He smiled again, and soon after changed seats. —from Hitching Rides with Buddha

Raised by his father in the dying town of Paradise Flats, Jack McGreary has learned to live by his wits. When a pair of fast-talking swindlers named Virgil and Miss Rose blow through town, Jack joins them and soon finds himself caught up in a murder ploy.

Una compulsiva crítica del poder que ejercen los medios de comunicación y de nuestro desesperado narcisismo e irredimible credulidad. Para reírse a gusto descubriendo qué sucedería si un libro de autoayuda cumpliera sus promesas; el fin del mundo como lo conocemos.

Why would there be a contract out on Edwin de Valu's life? Edwin -- the wiry low-level editor at Panderic Press. Why has rage disappeared from the roads and McDonald's gone alfalfa? How come everyone seems so damn happy? And most importantly, who, or what, is Tupak Soiree? When an enormous self-help manuscript lands on Edwin's desk, it's headed for the trash. Edwin's cynicism of self-help books, coupled with his filthy mood that morning, results in him dismissing Tupak Soiree's What I Learned on the Mountain and using it as a doorstop. However, Tupak's manuscript is unique -- a self-help book that actually works. Before Edwin knows it, a chain of events begins that affects not only his own life but the world at large. For those who choke on Chicken Soup for the Soul or have choice words for Dr. Phil, Will Ferguson offers up a killer dose of Happiness™ -- a masterpiece of comic fiction.

It isn’t always easy being Canadian, according to Will Ferguson, but it can be a lot of fun. Asked to write a follow-up to his runaway bestseller Why I Hate Canadians, Ferguson, who’s Canadian himself, recruited his brother Ian -- comedy writer and executive producer of the Canadian series Sin City and a Canadian too -- to create this ultimate guide to the country's cultural quirks. The result is a hilarious inside look at that unique species, the Canadian, and their thoughts on such diverse subjects as beer, sex, dating rituals, sports, politics, religion, social rules -- and, of course, their trademark death-defying search for the middle of any road.

Teena Spencer knows from experience what it is to live through months of hockey mania and endless weeks of playoff insanity, when your partner is sprawled on the couch, knocking back beer and yelling at the TV. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, she decided, and proceeded to learn the ins and outs of Canada's national game. From butt-ending to dipsy-doodles, icing to offsides, The Girlfriend's Guide to Hockey illuminates the often arcane language of hockey in clear, humourous text. It's all here: the jargon, positions, rules, teams, top players and rituals and trivia, with details on women in hockey, including Canada's silver-medal-winning 1998 Olympic team (who, after all, did better than the men!).

Hitchhiking may be an ancient mode of travel but in Japan it is considered folly. Which is precisely its attraction to henna gaijin ("weird foreigner") Will Ferguson, who is determined to thumb the entire length of the country following sakura - the surge of cherry blossoms that each year ignites the landscape. Starting out from tropical Cape Sata, the small southernmost metropolis where gardeners dust volcanic ash from their flowers, he heads north for distant Hokkaido, still snow laden. It is a journey full of hilarious misadventures and revelations. Whether Ferguson is doing the forbidden and not knowing it, or holding "conversations by non sequitur," he experiences Japan in unusual and even profound ways.