Dawn Davis

A worthy follow-up to her 2015 debut, Falling whisks us back to the summer of 1813 and the brief American occupation of Queenston where it explores the events leading up to Laura Secord’s historic walk of June 21. In this prequel to The Tree of Life, Leo Becker has only recently moved into the Rose Park mansion at the invitation of his cousin Dilys. He knows nothing, however, of the strange working of the Tower Room, but that is about to change. His daughter Francine, a whip-smart Toronto lawyer, is pregnant, and pregnancy has done nothing to soften the naturally jagged edges of her personality. When she is hospitalized over concerns with her blood pressure, it appears likely that Francine, incensed over her forced “incarceration” will soon be dragging the entire hospital into court. And then there is the strange in utero behaviour of the baby... Leo is beside himself with worry and Dilys deems the situation ripe for his initiation into the mysteries of the Tower Room. With a nourishing soup for Francine simmering in the kitchen, Dilys takes Leo upstairs for a talk and a cup of tea. What happens next is the last thing Leo expects.

Falling

Charlotte lives with her grandfather in a house with a secret: The Tower Room. It is the one room in which she’s been forbidden to snoop. Charlotte, however, is eleven years old and has a mind of her own, and when she and her friend Henry hide beneath the table of the Tower Room one afternoon in May, they overhear part of a conversation they were not meant to hear and are drawn into an adventure they could scarcely have imagined. Thrown back in time sixty years, they find themselves unwittingly involved in the imminent disappearance of a family heirloom with a colourful and uncertain past. But families too have their secrets, and the reasons behind them are rarely straightforward, and it is unclear what role Charlotte and Henry are meant to play if they are ever to return to their own time. A fascinating portrait of Toronto in the spring of 1939, The Tree of Life explores the nature of family, loss, and what it means to find one’s place in the world.

The Tree of Life

Bob Davis

Today’s brides- and grooms-to-be have grown up inundated by world-class photography on the Internet, television, magazines, and social networking sites. Therefore, it’s no surprise that these savvy, image-conscious consumers have high expectations when commissioning their engagement portraits. They want unique, innovative images that make them look great and reflect their personal style as individuals and as a couple. In this book, acclaimed photographers Bob and Dawn Davis show you how to rise to that lofty goal and deliver memorable, personalized images from each session. Covering the process from start to finish, you’ll learn how to select locations, work with clients on their styling, get great poses even from camera-shy subjects, and find (or create) amazing lighting indoors and out—all day long. Lighting diagrams paired with each final image selection, along with supporting image variations from the same session, make it easy to learn!

Dawn Davis

Books

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