BOOKS

Western Taxidermy (NeWest Press, 2012)

"Smart, funny, disturbing and sad..."    (Marina Endicott, authout of Good to a Fault)

Western Taxidermy consists of 16 short stories written by Barb Howard. 10 of the stories have been previously published in magazines. 5 of the stories have won awards or been finalists in competitions, including, most recently, Breaking the Mould, which was one of three finalists for the 2012 the Writers Guild of Alberta Howard O'Hagan award for short story.
 

Notes For Monday (Recliner Books, 2009)

Notes for Monday is a first-person rant from three days in the life of aging old-school lawyer Tommy McBeath. Set in Calgary in the 1988, Tommy skewers all the pastel glory of the 1988 Olympics, the profession of law and old age. But, ultimately, the heart of this story is Tommy’s 50-year marriage to Vera, whose mental illness is rocking Tommy’s self-centered world.

This novella is also available as an ebook. An audio book is due out shortly.

The Dewpoint Show Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2010)

Structured like a video, with a strong “viewing” motif throughout, The Dewpoint Show is the story of how 13-year-old Leonard Pierson breaks from his role as a spectator in life. Leonard’s’ helicopter mother, absent minded father, along with the straight-talking elderly woman next door, and her three-legged dog, all play leading roles in Leonard’s coming-of-age show.

Although categorized as a book for young adults (age 12 +), the book was written for all ages and offers an engaging perspective for adult readers.

Whipstock (NeWest Press, 2001)

Something surreal happens when Nellie Mannville, an employee in an oil company cafeteria, takes a field trip to a drilling rig. What follows is an equally surreal pregnancy and a humorous, historical drive through our ballooning petroleum habits. An oil patch tall tale with a biting feminine twist.