Canada – Sandi Krawchenko Altner

Winnipeg Free Press Best of the Best Book List, 2012

Happy New Year!

I am thrilled that the Winnipeg Free Press has selected Ravenscraig as one of top fiction titles in their annual “Best of the Year” book list.

The Canadian version of the book will soon be going to reprint through Manitoba publisher, Heartland Associates.

Ravenscraig listed as a Winnipeg Free Press Best Book of 2012

This has been a very exciting year for me in watching the book gain an audience outside of Canada. Few things are more exciting for an author than to have people you’ve never met tell you how they enjoyed reading your story.

The Kindle version of Ravenscraig, published in the US by Franklin and Gallagher, has had more than 12,000 downloads in 2012.

I am most thankful to those who take the time to post their reviews on Amazon. Ravenscraig is rated as 4.7 stars out of 5 with 21 reviews.

I was surprised to learn this morning that there are also reviews being posted in the UK! Very exciting, indeed.

5.0 out of 5 stars Ravenscraig
I read this book whilst in hospital and really enjoyed it. It combined a good yarn with a bit of social history in regard to the persecution of the Jews, their immigration from Europe, and their hardships and successes in Canada and the U.S.A. in an easy to read form. I am looking forward to reading book two!

Published 1 month ago by Nana Dee

Thank you Nana Dee!

So those fancy new $20 bills in Canada are pretty snazzy. I laughed out loud when a grocery store cashier in Winnipeg gave me an impromptu review and a warning. She jabbed a finger at the new bill and stared me down. “Make sure you don’t leave that new 20 in a pocket and put it through the washing machine. It melts in the dryer, you know.”

She thrust the grocery bag at me as I was overcome with the memory of finding an American single in my freshly washed jeans some years ago. It made it okay. As did the electronic key to my husband’s car. Whew! So you can run a high-tech German car key and an American bill through the laundry, but make sure to guard those Canadian bank notes.

I wouldn’t doubt it. The bill is made of a special slippery substance, which is like plastic and features clear windows and some high tech graphics.

I found this background video that explains the choice in the artwork and how this the new bill offers increased security. I think this is pretty neat. And yes, I will always check my pockets before I do laundry.