Lea Tassie was raised in northern British Columbia where her passion for books began as soon as she could read. She has worked at a variety of jobs, traveled in Europe and North America, and earned a B.A. in Classical Studies. Lea has published three other novels and a variety of short pieces. She relaxes by playing bridge and walking the seashore on Vancouver Island. She has just finished a fifth novel called Siamese Summers for cat lovers, and is currently working on a new mainstream novel and a collection of short stories and poems.
It's 1947 and twelve-year-old Callie lives on a primitive, isolated homestead in northern British Columbia. Her domineering mother, Lillian, insists that her daughter's sole purpose in life is to be a dutiful wife and mother, and her father, Lewis, a veteran haunted by his experience of war, refuses to interfere. Callie dreams of becoming a botanist, an ambition that combines her deep love of nature with her hunger for truth. Her innocence, fostered by isolation and her mother's determination to force Callie into the outdated mold of Lillian's own pre-war youth, is the fateful catalyst of a family feud that tests all Callie's growing strength as she struggles for the freedom to be herself.
Great, great work! An evocative, thought-provoking slice of Canadiana with a heroine determined to break free of limiting expectations and discover her place in the world. Loved it.
Laura Langston, author of Mile High Apple Pie, Lesia’s Dream and A Taste of Perfection
George the Magnificent is a tabby-Siamese who revels in his royal status. He's adopted by Holly and Ben, a cat-hater, who buy a five-acre farm on a small island off the south coast of British Columbia. Ben is so impressed with George's intelligent exuberance that he becomes St. Francis of Assisi to every animal, even adopting Henry, a cat with a Buddhist nature. Holly worries about trips to the vet, invading guests and renovating dilapidated farm buildings. Ben worries that his dream of market gardening may fail. George doesn't worry about anything. But can Henry be plotting to convert him from feudal tyrant to mere citizen?
This charming tale is a wonderful cat story, but it also works on another level, about needs and hopes and reaching to be more than you thought you could be. A marvelous, modern day fable! (Deborah MacGillivray of Reviewers International Org, posted on Amazon.com)
SIAMESE SUMMERS
(coming November, 2005)
The sequel to Cats in Clover, wherein George the Magnificent deals with hordes of invading Siamese while Holly and Ben struggle with both the feline and human politics of Adriana Island.
George the Magnificent, the tabby-Siamese star of Cats in Clover,
still rules over a small farm on Adriana Island. His slaves, Ben and
Holly, have been whipped into shape but he has to start all over
again when a mere kitten moves in. Kaylie, a purebred Siamese, aims
to be Queen of Holly Haven and can hardly wait until she grows up
enough to knock George off his throne. Ben and Holly are distracted
by another arrival, Holly's mother-in-law. Ben wants to take good
care of his mother, but she shocks him with her new independence and
modern ideas about how to live her life. Meanwhile, Holly discovers
skulduggery as ambitious land developers move onto Adriana and,
already expert in feline politics, realizes she must take action to
help save the way of life she's come to love.
One of the most delightful cat books I've ever read, even better than Cats in Clover. You'll want to stay on Adriana Island forever with Ben and Holly and their four-footed friends. (Sharon King-Booker, author of 15 Dark and Twisted Tales and Slaybells Ring)
