Publishing stories of fascinating Prairie People and Unsung Heroes

Welcome to the blog of Deana Driver - author, editor, and publisher of DriverWorks Ink, a book publishing company based in Saskatchewan. We publish stories of inspiring, fascinating Prairie people and unsung Canadian heroes - written by Prairie authors including Deana Driver. We also publish genres of healing and wellness, rural humour, and children's historical fiction. Visit our website to learn more about our books.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Need a Christmas gift for Grandpa? Grandma? Baby?

Hello! Our experiences selling directly to customers at craft and trade shows have given us an excellent insight into which of our books are purchased for and appreciated by specific audiences. So with that in mind, let us help you make some gift choices for the people on your Christmas list:
 
For Grandpa or Dad (& adults in general):
Prairie Pilot: Lady Luck Was On My Side
by Walter D. Williams; Compiled and Edited by Deana J. Driver
Yes, this is definitely a man's book - although women like it, too. We can't count how many times we've been told that Grandpa or Dad or some other man really enjoyed this book of  100 short stories written by the late Walter Williams about his adventures as an unofficial air ambulance pilot in the 1950s in west central Saskatchewan and into Alberta. Walter landed in farmers' fields and picked up pregnant women and injured children and took them to the hospital. He also transported corpses, criminals, doctors, RCMP officers, wedding cakes, Sask Tel and Sask Power employees, shot coyotes from the air, etc. I tease men that they love Prairie Pilot because they live vicariously through Walter's fascinating, daring adventures. But we love this book, too. Walter was an unsung Prairie hero who helped a lot of people, and we are pleased to share this piece of Saskatchewan history.
     
We at DriverWorks Ink have donated $1,500 from sales of Prairie Pilot to the KLD Wellness Foundation in Kerrobert, SK
 
Men also particularly enjoy our books The Little Coat (below) and Ron Petrie's Running of the Buffalo humour columns (making light of everything from learning to drive on a Prairie farm to enjoying Grey Cup to raising 'triplets and one more on the bonus round').

 
 
For Grandma or Mom (& anyone else ages 10 and up):
The Little Coat: The Bob and Sue Elliott Story
by Alan J. Buick
This book is a beauty. It's a national bestseller that received an Honourable Mention in the Hollywood Book Festival for stories that should be made into movies or films.
Bob Elliott was a young soldier in the Second World War, fighting the Nazis in the Netherlands when he met 10-year-old Sussie Cretier and her family. Sussie became a good-luck charm and sort of a little sister to the Canadians. They wanted to give her a Christmas present in December 1944, so they asked a seamstress in that little town to make a wool Army blanket into a coat for Sussie. It was the most precious gift Sue had ever received. Almost 40 years later, Bob and Sue reconnected as adults and fell in love. Sue still had her little coat. She brought it to Canada when she married Bob.
       
DriverWorks Ink has donated $4,000 from sales of The Little Coat to the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command's Poppy Trust Fund. A donation from future sales will go to the  Canadian War Museum, where Sussie Cretier's little coat is now preserved - displayed on special occasions.
 
 
For Women and Men (& all who enjoy inspiring true stories):
Never Leave Your Wingman: Dionne and Graham Warner's Story of Hope
by Deana J. Driver
I'm kinda partial to this story - because I wrote it and I have special memories of using Dionne's story to help myself and my family through the difficult time of my mother's cancer diagnosis, which occurred while I was finishing the writing of this book.
This book chronicles the inspiring true story of Dionne Warner, a seven-time cancer survivor from Ontario, and her fun-loving husband Graham, who wooed Dionne to Saskatchewan from Ontario with the statement that it never gets below minus 10 degrees in Saskatchewan. (He was joking, right?) Dionne was diagnosed with liver cancer shortly after arriving in Regina, SK. She told Graham he did not have to marry her - she would return to Ontario. A businessman and pilot, Graham replied, "You never leave your wingman." He and Dionne have dressed in costume and danced into her chemo treatments, bringing hope and laughter to everyone they meet. This is a love story full of laughter, hope and courage. As Dionne would say, "Live your life to the fullest. No regrets!"

DriverWorks Ink is donating $1 from every Never Leave Your Wingman book sold to various cancer programs.


Here are some proven perfect gifts for children - from Toddlers to Teens 
(Click on the book cover images & go to our web page for more details.)

 
Perfect for children ages 2 and up:
SuperMom and the Big Baby by Dave Driver; Illustrated by Guy Laird
When an 18-month-old becomes a giant baby, only SuperMom can save him!
 
 
 
 Perfect for children ages 7 and up, adults & seniors:
The Sailor and the Christmas Trees by Deana Driver; Illustrated by Catherine Folnovic
This is the true story of how a Canadian sailor surprised his fellow crewmates and some small children while at sea on Christmas Day 1944.
 
 
 Perfect for children ages 10 and up, adults & seniors:
Letters to Jennifer From Maudie & Oliver by Sharon Gray
These are funny, tender and clever letters written by two lovable Siamese cats.
 


Happy Shopping!
 
 



2 comments:

  1. Praire Pilot sounds like a really interesting book my own grandfather would love to read. He likes to recount his war days enjoying good novels like Praire pilot and enjoying a quality cigar .

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    1. Thanks for your comment. We can almost guarantee your grandfather would enjoy Prairie Pilot and we're pretty certain he'd like The Little Coat as well. It's the story of a Canadian soldier and a little Dutch girl he met during WWII (see above). Both are true stories (while novels are fiction) and can be purchased from our web site www.driverworks.ca or Chapters/Indigo/Coles stores and some other book stores in Canada. Enjoy!

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