I am happy to share my most recent posting on the shepherd.com website.

It’s a terrific book-lovers’ site, with an incredible range of author-recommended reads.

My most recent post is about the history of Prince Edward Island. The earlier ones were about the Acadian Deportation, the Fortress of Louisbourg, the Seven Years’ War in North America and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 1960s. Those other posts can be found at the end of the latest, whose link is below.

Kudos to the team at shepherd.com on the work they do to reach out to writers and readers everywhere.

Here’s the new link

https://shepherd.com/…/the-history-of-prince-edward-island

I am more than pleased to see that “I Value Canadian Stories” is including my posting along with those of so many other authors.

Please follow the link below to see just how many writers and other creators are calling on the federal government to correct the mistake made by the previous administration about a decade ago.

https://ivaluecanadianstories.ca/creatorscallingonottawa.php

Co-author Jesse Francis and I are delighted to see our new book get mentioned in the December 2021 issue of “La Parole,” the newsletter of the Acadian Museum of Erath, Louisiana. Thanks to Warren Perrin for inserting this item. “La Parole” goes out to a great many Acadians (and Cajuns) around the world.

It was rainy and I was looking for something to do.

For who knows what reason — idle curiosity mixed with a tinge of vanity? — I decided to lay out and then stack up all the books I could find that have my name on the cover. It was a fair pile. Or spread.

A couple are missing, but they wouldn’t have changed much.

The least impressive I think, after trying the different options, was the books on a shelf.

I hope to add another book or two to the total before I’m through.

I have a new book out, co-authored with Jesse Francis. It was beautifully designed and laid out by Stéphane Breton. We are the same trio who produced Ni’n na L’nu: The Mi’kmaq of Prince Edward Island a few years back. The publisher is once again PEI’s Acorn Press.

The book is now in stores (well, some stores) in NS and on PEI. It is also available from the web sites of Acorn Press, Nimbus Publishing, and Chapters.Indigo. And maybe Amazon too as well.

It’s a book that could be of interest to anyone who wants to explore more about Acadian and French colonial history, the history of the Mi’kmaq, and the early phase of the British colonial era on Prince Edward Island.

I was not often in costume during my 23 years working as an historian at the Fortress of Louisbourg. I was more often reading microfilm or writing papers, manuals or reports. But from time to time, I did don 18th-century garb. The first photo was such an occasion. I am second from the left, with my hands in my pockets.

Sandy Balcom is further to the left, and it’s Vince Kennedy in the striped pants in the centre of the shot. I cannot recall the name of the fellow holding the cod.

I remember it was cool that day, and we were to spend time splitting and gutting the fish. That slimy work lay ahead, after this shot. I suppose I was trying to keep my hands warm because I knew how slippery, stinky and cold my hands were going to get.

The second photo, which is dated Sept. 19, 1986 on the back, poses the five of us who had a hand in the production of the 1986 book Old Sydney Town. Ken Donovan had the overall idea for the book project and raised the money; I was the editor; Debra McNabb was the researcher and author; Lewis Parker created the illustrations; and Horst Paufler did the design.

Looking at the photo today, I wonder why I am the only one seeming to smile. Debra does offer a hint of a satisfied expression, but the others look either very serious or a bit glum. I hope Ray Doucette (Raytel Photography) took more than this photo, and that the others captured a bit more happiness over the creation of the new book.