Shoreline Press releases two new books

BY HOLLIE WATSON

Two new releases by Shoreline Press in Ste. Anne de Bellevue take a nostalgic journey back in time as two West Island authors paint a literary portrait of their family histories.

The Story Chair, which will be launched Sunday at Maison de Brasseur in Lachine (2901 St. Joseph’s Blvd.), is Marg Lynn’s first book, an undertaking which involved five years of painstaking research as well as travels abroad, “where I connected with relatives in Ireland, France, and Germany.

“With retirement looming, I had decided to trace our family’s genealogy for our grandchildren, but one thing led to another and the project took on a life of its own,” she said.

The book is named for a treasured rocking chair that was hand-crafted by Lynn’s great-great-grandfather in 1850, and from which generations of young children were told anecdotes about their ancestors.

“For many years, it was also the chair I told stories from when I was a teacher at Selwyn House.”

Silhouettes Move Closer, by Lois MacIsaac of Pointe Claire, is a collection of humourous reflections told through poetry and prose. The launch will be Feb. 23 at La Book-Tique, 81 Donegani Ave. in Valois.

“It began as a memoir but it grew naturally from there,” said MacIsaac, who has three other published books of verse to her credit.

Silhouettes Move Closer provides a heart-warming glimpse “into what life was like growing up in a coal-mining town in Nova Scotia, the war years, and moving to Montreal, where I later married and raised five children.”

Proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the West Island Palliative Care Residence.

Both launches will be held Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. The two releases will be on sale and will soon be available in selected local book stores. For more information or to order, contact www.shorelinepress.ca.