Böcker utgivna av TouchWood Editions

Painted Victoria is a loving tribute to a storied city from one of its most dedicated living artists, Robert Amos, and makes a wonderful gift for enthusiastic locals and new visitors alike.When he first came to Victoria in 1974, local artist and art historian Robert Amos was enchanted. In Painted Victoria, he collects decades of paintings done almost entirely on location into a sweeping artistic love letter that spans fifty years. Painted Victoria roves from the sparkling waters of Cadboro Bay to the industrial relics of the Albion Iron Works, with stops among the boats of the Inner Harbour, the neon lights of Chinatown, and the tranquil paths of Japanese Gardens.Inspired by the local painters and printmakers that came before him, Amos paints and sketches Victoria's waterways and boats, famous gardens, breathtaking ocean and mountain views, heritage buildings, and unsung corners in a whimsical style and with a keen eye for the unique character of the city. Featuring paintings from numerous art collections, including the City of Victoria, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, and the University of Victoria, and the artist's personal collection, join the Victoria Times Colonist's art columnist of thirty years in a journey across the city. From the riotous colours of a summer parade, to captivating snapshots of the fireworks at Butchart Gardens, to quiet quotidian scenes at the Carr House, discover Victoria through an artist's eyes.

Thyme for Dessert is a stunningly photographed and practically minded celebration of West Coast flavours for the sweet-toothed that is sure to delight locals and visitors alike.This decadent book of dessert recipes embraces the varied flavours of the West Coast, drawing from its abundant wild and cultivated plants and from its rich medley of cultures to create mouthwatering local recipes. Covering cookies, bars, breads, cakes, pies, pastries, and frozen desserts, you'll find treats for sugar-lovers and savoury dessert fans alike in this small but mighty cookbook perfectly sized for everyday kitchen use. With ample suggestions for substitutions and a section on preserving, the home chef will find these recipes practical enough to incorporate into daily life and unique enough to impress on special occasions.Thyme for Dessert includes every type of West Coast ingredient: from local plants like spruce tips and haskaps, and abundant introduced vegetation like blackberries and zucchinis, as well as iconic staples from vibrant local immigrant communities such as garam masala and truffles. DL Acken's latest cookbook is a gorgeous tribute to the rich flavours of her home region that showcases delicious sweets that will entice locals and visitors alike.

A beautifully illustrated guide to the plants of Christmas and the holiday season, Decking the Halls makes for a perfect gift and is sure to delight the home decorator, dedicated gardener, and curious plant-lover alike.Seasoned gardeners with twelve books under their belts, Janet Melrose and Sheryl Normandeau bring their passion and expertise to the trees, shrubs, vines, fruits, and herbs of the holiday season in this gorgeously illustrated guide. Opening with the stories and traditions behind the most iconic Christmas plants, indoor and out, the delicate illustrations and well-researched tales tap into the joy and wonder of Christmas. Plants are central to adorning our homes with holiday cheer and filling our kitchens with the scents of the season, and Janet and Sheryl walk readers through the many ways you can bring in the greens: from Christmas tree selection and care, to trying your hand at wreaths, garlands, and arrangements with helpful how-to illustrations, to the aromatics that enliven the traditional culinary delights of the holidays.A perfect holiday gift or stocking stuffer, this luxurious hardcover illustrated book is a pleasure to hold. From seasonal forest plants to kitchen herbs, from tiny berries to towering trees, Decking the Halls shines a light on the uplifting greenery that helps us weather the darkest months of the year.

Fresh, fast, and delicious, this is the quintessential recipe collection of West Coast flavours for seafood lovers everywhere.

Ghost stories from Canada’s most haunted city, including tales from iconic sites such as the Empress hotel, Hatley Castle, and Ross Bay Cemetery.Beautiful, charming Victoria is world renowned for its seaside attractions, flourishing gardens, and breathtaking ocean views. But looming behind its picture-perfect façade is a city shrouded in mystery, with restless, disembodied beings that whisper ghastly tales of mystery, violence, and horror.Known as British Columbia’s most haunted city, Victoria is teeming with a plethora of spirits. Through this brand-new collection of disturbing tales, you’ll come face to face with:The Grey Lady who chills hotel guests to the boneA decorated World War I soldier who protects tenants from something sinisterAn inconsolable child who haunts the pool area of a defunct hotelThe blood-soaked spectre who runs through the infamous Fan Tan Alley to escape captureThe ghost of Robert Johnson, who perpetually re-enacts his own suicideThe phantom of a cranky hermit who plagues a beautiful lake houseA spinster who gives tours of her childhood homeAnd many moreGet to know Victoria’s best-known hauntings along with some you may have not have heard before.

The seventh book in the Cait Morgan series finds the eccentric Welsh criminologist–sleuth accompanying her husband Bud to Amsterdam to try to unravel a puzzling situation. Bud is as surprised to discover he has a long-lost uncle as he is to discover Uncle Jonas has met an untimely death. Bud's mother assures him Jonas was a bad child—but, from beyond the grave—Uncle Jonas begs his nephew to visit the city he adopted as his home to delve into the life he built for himself there, founded on his passion for art. With an old iron key as their only clue, Cait and Bud travel to Amsterdam to solve the cryptic message left by Jonas, and honour the dying wishes of a long-lost relative.

After her husband died in 1926 from a suspected drowning, Capi Blanchet spent every summer cruising BCs west coast with her five children and their dog in the familys 25-foot boat. The Curve of Time is the book Capi wrote chronicling these adventures, and it remains a bestseller and a classic in the annals of nautical literature. But little is known about the rest of her life. Cathy Converse found herself asking: who was this skipper, this mother, this writer? In this biography, Converse offers insiders recollections of this enigmatic woman, along with family photos and updated information about the villages, inlets and islands described in The Curve of Time. Essential reading for anyone who has ever been captivated by the book, the West Coast or Capi herself.

Winner of the 2017 BC Book Prizes' Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice AwardIn this collection of short stories, Pat Carney follows the rhythms of day-to-day life in coastal BC. Featuring a revolving cast of characters —the newly retired couple, the church warden, the musician, the small-town girl with big city dreams —Carney¿s keen observations of the personalities and dramas of coastal life are instantly recognizable to readers who are familiar with life in a small community. With her narrative of dock fights, pet shows, family feuds, logging camps and the ever-present tension between islandersand property-owning ¿off-islanders,¿ Carney¿s witty and perceptive voice describes how the islanders weather the storms of coastal life.Carney writes evocatively of the magical landscape of the British Columbia coast, where she has lived and worked for five decades. At the same time, she addresses the less-idyllic moments that can also characterize coastal life: power outages, winter storms, isolation. On Island brings the West Coast landscape —human and natural —to life and gives islandersand mainland dwellers alike a taste of what it means to be ¿on island.¿

Beyond Beauty is the story of a remarkable journey that Bill Terry and his wife, Rosemary, undertook when they joined a party of Dutch and British alpine plant hunters intent on botanizing on the roof of the world. The expedition travelled in a convoy of eight jeeps over roads that were rarely paved and occasionally terrifying. They crossed fifteen passes, some as high as 5,000 metres (16,500 feet), where even in midsummer, the wind scoured exposed skin.They braved days at high altitude, panting in the thin air of the Tibetan plateau, and were rewarded with collages of rock, moss, lichen, flower, and foliage so sublime they might be imagined as "perfect gardens," though no gardener or landscape architect had a hand in their creation.As the journey unfolds, Terry sketches the history of the region and observes life for Tibetans under direct Chinese rule and the ever-alert People''s Liberation Army. He reflects on the potential threat of a massive hydroelectric development to the wellbeing of the millions of people living downstream in Southeast Asia. Terry also contrasts the hardships suffered and dangers faced by pioneer plant hunters a century ago with the relative comfort and safety of modern travel in these remote and exotic lands.Throughout the book, the author''s distinctive photography portrays local custom and culture and celebrates the wildflowers in all their profusion, especially the almost heartbreaking beauty of the Asiatic Poppies.

In the summer of 1930, fifteen-year-old Matthew Clayton''s mother dies, leaving him alone in Vancouver. Using the Union Steamship ticket she gave him, he sets out in search of his father, who is logging somewhere on the rugged West Coast. Matt boards the SS Cardena and begins an incredible voyage up the Inside Passage and through the isolated coastal communities the ship services.On board he befriends fellow passengers Monica James and the high rigger Will Cameron, both intent on finding a new life, and Emily Carr, a soon-to-be-famous painter searching for a new direction in her art. What each of them finds comes as a surprise as they journey aboard the legendary steamship Cardena.

When the beautiful and flirtatious Eleanor Wentworth is sent away from London in 1870 for her scandalous behaviour, she arrives, angry and rebellious, in Victoria, a town that falls far below her expectations of society. Soon, however, she is befriended by Celia Turner, the freethinking young wife of a conservative minister, and unlikely though it seems, they become lifelong friends. When Eleanor meets the fascinating judge Matthew Baillie Begbie, the first chief justice of BC, life in the colony suddenly becomes much more attractive. Discover life in vibrant, late-nineteenth century Victoria and meet the characters who helped build the province''s rich history.

Built in 1889 and now home to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Spencer Mansion is a magnificent building with a rich and layered history. With detailed research, historian and author Robert Ratcliffe Taylor describes the original appearance of the house, designed by William Ridgway Wilson for Alexander Green and his family, as well as its inhabitants over the decades. Also known as Gyppeswyk, after the village in England where Green wed Theophila Rainer, the house is more commonly referred to as the Spencer Mansion, after later owners David and Emma Spencer. The book also chronicles the brief period when the residence served as BC''s Government House and concludes with the story of how the house came to function as an art gallery.A unique book, The Spencer Mansion showcases a true gem of Victoria''s architecture and history.

Winner of Best Local Cuisine (Canada) at the 2012 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards The West Coast has an abundance of produce and natural food resources, and some of the most talented and influential chefs in the world. In this colourful cookbook, British Columbia''s top restaurateurs, chefs, and foodies share signature dishes that will inspire cooks everywhere. Meet the province''s well-known and up-and-coming culinary stars as they reveal recipes and stories from their kitchens. Inspired by the popular television program Flavours of the West Coast, the cookbook aims to support the farmers, chefs, and food producers who make the local food scene possible. Divided into sections based on region--River and Sea, Forest and Field, Farm Fresh, and City Cuisine--the pages are filled with photos and recipes by talented foodies who all have one thing in common: a love of fresh, locally inspired cuisine and a desire to share that love with the at-home cook.With recipes from Chef Vikram Vij, owner of Vij''s Restaurant, Vancouver; Carolyn Herriot, author of The Zero Mile Diet; Executive Chef Matthew Batey, Mission Hill Family Estate, Kelowna; Chef Jared Qwustenuxun Williams, Quwutsu''un Centre, Duncan; Chef John Cantin, John''s Place, Victoria; and many others.