Latest Book - Temptations-and-

Travels

Part imagination, part memory, Temptations and Travels is a collection of stories that wander freely between fiction and lived experience. Here are tales of travels, trials and temptations. Some tales grow from remembered journeys; others from moments half- forgotten but reshaped and embellished by the storyteller. A medieval monk is sorely tempted by a visit from a mysterious woodland woman. The author travels across the stark, volatile landscapes of Iceland, where volcanoes and rushing rivers invite wonder and introspection. A mother and daughter guard secrets from one another—each believing silence is an act of love. Elsewhere, life’s lessons are learned in unlikely forms: from a curious emu, from chance meetings with passengers on a train or from a handsome stranger in a remote British Columbia gold-rush town. Together they form a rich mosaic of travel, reflection, and the small temptations that test human nature. Reviews - Here’s what two authors very kindly wrote after reading my book: “The characters in Jan DeGrass's excellent collection of short stories, characters that could be you, family members, friends or neighbours, blunder through the pages of their stories, taking pleasure in small successes and facing failure with fortitude. And readers, recognizing that this is a universal fate, can appreciate the vein of sly humour in their telling.” -Betty Keller, author, editor and recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence. “In this collection of short stories, DeGrass takes you on an eclectic tour of her interests and experiences, written with competence, keen observation, and revealing detail. This is a book you can dip into for a daily hit of original, beautifully crafted stories—each one a surprise. Every time you come back to the book, you have no idea what she is going to offer you. A pure delight.” - Marion McKinnon Crook, author of Bloomsbury to Barkerville: The Life of Florence Wilson; Always on Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching, and Rural Living and Always Pack a Candle: A Nurse in the Cariboo-Chilcotin.