Liverpool author Vernon Oickle is getting ready for the release of his newest collection of ghost stories this fall. (Rick Conrad)

It’s a perfect night to tell a ghost story.

As the fog rolls in from the Atlantic Ocean at White Point Beach Resort on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Liverpool author Vernon Oickle is in his element.

About a dozen people have turned out for his regular Thursday night ghost storytelling event at White Point. And while he usually tells his tales around a fire outside the lodge near the beach, his indoor audience on this night is nonetheless engaged as he recounts stories of spectres and restless spirits.

Oickle has crafted a reputation as a Nova Scotia authority on ghost stories and folklore, with books like Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia, Strange Nova Scotia, and Where Evil Dwells.

“Having been born and raised here in rural Nova Scotia, I’ve heard all this stuff, ghost stories and legends and superstitions,” he says.

“My family, particularly my mother’s side of the family, was extremely superstitious. And so I was raised in that environment and have been exposed to that and embrace that.”

He’s been collecting stories of the supernatural for decades, since publishing his first collection, Ghost Stories of the Maritimes, in 2001.

“There are stories told to me by other people who have had these experiences, and they’re quite popular. People love it. And, you know, particularly the children, when I do ghost stories at White Point, there’s a lot of children that participate.

“And it’s just a fun thing.”

But mining the spookier corners of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes isn’t the only thing that inspires Oickle, who began his writing career as a journalist at newspapers in Liverpool and Bridgewater. Other titles under his belt include the best-selling Blue Nosers’ Book of Slang, Grandma’s Home Remedies, the Outstanding Outhouse Bathroom Reader series, and various photo and trivia books. Still, the lure of a scary tale keeps drawing him back.

Early this fall, he’ll add to his assembly of alarming accounts with his 47th book, Even More Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia.

“It’s kind of become my thing, right? The year before we did Forerunners of Nova Scotia, which was all on forerunners. … And then last year, we did Grandma’s Home Remedies. All in that Maritime folklore tradition vein of things. So it’s been fun for me. I love it.”

While much of Oickle’s oeuvre is non-fiction, he’s also a celebrated mystery author.

In 2024, he added the International Impact Book Award to his collection of accolades, which also includes the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

He was honoured in the mystery/thriller-historical mystery category for the seventh in his Crow series of novels, Seven Crows a Secret Yet to be Told. Nine books have been published so far in the series, which is a play on the nursery rhyme that begins with One Crow Sorrow and ends with Thirteen Crows Beware It’s the Devil Himself.

The most recent, Nine Crows for a Kiss, continues the deadly intrigue gripping Oickle’s hometown of Liverpool. He says switching from non-fiction to fiction can be difficult, but it’s rewarding.

“I think most fiction writers would tell you it’s probably the hardest of the two, because you know you have to create worlds and events and characters that are believable. But it’s also quite freeing, quite liberating in that you can create your own world, your own environment, your own town if you want to. I’ve been invested in these stories, these people for a long time. And they’re like family to me now.”

Oickle says that after almost 50 books, he still loves telling other people’s stories and creating his own.

“I just enjoy it. And I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do it on a full-time basis, because a lot of people who want to be writers just financially can’t. But I’m in the position now, you know, I’m almost 64. And I have a very supportive spouse (Nancy) who supports and travels with me.

“But if you want to be a writer, you have to write. And if you want to be a photographer, you take pictures, or a sculptor sculpts, painters paint, right? Even if it’s a sentence a day or a paragraph. You know, I tell myself every day when I get up, y, OK you’ve got to move the story along. My advice to anybody who is seriously thinking about wanting to be a writer, just write.”

That persistence has paid off for Oickle throughout his career. He’s working on finishing his Crow series of novels, while coming up with new stories to tell and continuing his regular column in Saltscapes magazine.

“I have another piece of fiction that I’ve been mulling around for a couple years that I’d like to tackle once I get the Crow books off my agenda. So I hope to put pen to paper to that in the next year or two. And, you know, as far as other projects, I have a couple of other things that I’ve been delving into over the years. One’s historical, sort of a profile, biography type of thing.

“So, there’s plenty of material out there, you just have to be willing to put yourself into it and put in the time and the research to make it happen.”

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Sherman Nunes of Liverpool watches on Saturday as his kids Luke and Lisa play in the new children’s area of the Thomas H. Raddall Library. (Rick Conrad)

The Thomas H.  Raddall Library officially opened its doors on Saturday, as about 70 people helped usher in a new chapter for the Liverpool branch.

The library has been open for about six weeks in its new interim home at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. People were impressed with the new digs, with some hoping the library stays where it is, with others wishing for a permanent location closer to downtown.

The event on Saturday featured local and provincial politicians, as well as many library staff.

The Region of Queens budgeted up to $1.26 million on renovations to the space in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road. The library had to leave the Rossignol Cultural Centre in downtown Liverpool by Dec. 31 because the building’s owner Sherman Hines was selling the building.

Tom Raddall and his family have allowed South Shore Public Libraries to continue to use the famed Nova Scotia author’s name on the Liverpool branch for another five years. 

Raddall said he’s happy the library is in a better, newer space.

“Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction,” he told QCCR. “Certainly it’s in a far better space than it was before. The location has been a controversial one over the years. But this library needed to be in a newer spot and this will suit the purpose until another one is built in the appropriate location.”

Many residents were concerned that the new location isn’t easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting. 

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian said that he’s excited about the new space, with its expanded program rooms, commercial kitchen and children’s section.

“The plans are to make this space as great as we can make it. And we need to, as a community and as a council, figure out what makes sense in terms of either bringing a future library closer to town or bringing town closer to this library

Christian said it’s too early to say what the future holds for a more permanent location. But he said the region has to work out its priorities for the next few years, and address whether Liverpool needs a new, multipurpose community centre which could include meeting space, a gymnasium and the library.

“I think the focus right now, both for the folks at South Shore (Public) Libraries and also for the Region of Queens staff and the work that they’ve done to make the built environment really work, is to figure out how, for now, to make this the best space that we can make it.

“And the space is great in there, so it’s what do we need to do with the surrounding environment to remove barriers, … make sure that users who want to be accessing the space are provided that opportunity.”

Queens MLA Kim Masland said she would support a request for provincial funding for a new space for the library. But she said Saturday that she was impressed with its interim location.

“I think today we see as many people that are here, lots of smiling faces, lots of people really excited about this. This is also an interim facility here for now and so hopefully we’ll see a new library built in town, that would certainly be my wish someday. But we’re here for now and this is certainly a great interim facility.”

Lin Ireland of Liverpool was one of the many local library lovers taking it all in on Saturday.

“I think this is great,” she said. “It’s going to be used. And people complain about the location but I don’t think it’s all that far out. … I’m happy with it right where it is. A lot of money went into building this and why not leave it here?”

Susan McGibbon of Liverpool said her gardening club had their first meeting in the new branch a couple of weeks ago, and turnout was double their usual attendance. While she likes the new larger, brighter space, she hopes the region can build a new space in a more central location. 

“I don’t think there was another option, and I think they’ve done a good job making it a good option,” McGibbon said.

“Do I think we need another location that’s part of a community hub? Yes, absolutely. And I think a new library committee getting struck is going to happen very soon, so that work can get going.”

Sherman Nunes of Liverpool was at the library on Saturday with his four-year-old Lisa and his two-year-old Luke, as they played in the new children’s area.

“It’s beautiful, it’s spacious, it has a lot of light. I’ve been to the previous library. This is a step up. It’s very nice. 

“We like to take the kids out, and previously we did not have an indoor space around here in Liverpool, where we could take them out for a day or something, so we had to drive up to Bridgewater. But I think with this new addition, it would be nice to get them over here every weekend, especially so that they can run around, read some books, play with the toys. As you can see, they’re already occupied.”

The Thomas H. Raddall Library is open six days a week and closed on Mondays. Queens County Transit offers free rides to and from the library. That service runs every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the market shelter beside Hell Bay Brewing.

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Justin Freeman launched Letterswitch Publishing on Saturday in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

In a town without a bookstore, starting a publishing business might seem like a leap of faith.

But Justin Freeman of Liverpool says he’s realizing a childhood dream by launching Letterswitch Publishing. 

“I’m content to just put out beautiful books that entertain and educate and encourage new parents, and parents of young kids especially, but everybody in a family,” he told QCCR.

“I hope it goes off well. Publishing is not exactly the most robust industry to be jumping into feet first at the moment, but I’m hoping with kind of the niche aspect of it and keeping things small and focused that it’ll be a success.”

Freeman unveiled his micropublishing company on Saturday at the Astor Theatre in Liverpool. The stay-at-home Dad moved to the area a few years ago with his young family. 

“(We) moved to Liverpool in 2022 after my son was born. My wife got a job at the hospital … and this is home now. We’re putting down roots and are looking forward to a lot of years here.”

Freeman says he’ll be concentrating at first on publishing his own work through Letterswitch. 

His first book was on display on Saturday. Called A Little Grieving, he partnered with a pediatric crisis counsellor on the parent’s guide to helping your child through the grieving process. 

He also plans a kids’ picture book called One Veggie, a middle-grade chapter book called Molly Moss Runs for Office and a western novel called Crimson Shadow.

“It’ll be a slow rollout. I’m a stay-at-home dad and I’ll just try to get things rolling here in the next couple years. But once both kids are in school, I look to open up to other authors and just get a nice catalog of titles.”

Freeman grew up on a farm in Missouri. He had an eclectic career before moving to Nova Scotia with his wife, Dr. Alison Freeman, and their kids Molly and James.

“I was formerly a police officer in Missouri in the city of Springfield. I was also a minister for a few years, and sold shoes and grew up on a farm and just have a varied background that kind of informs and inflects different writing. Thus all the different type of books that are coming out.”

The name of the company comes from how he met his wife, when he was still on the farm in Missouri and she was at home in Nova Scotia.

“Essentially, back in 2000, I was on the family farm using ICQ, a messaging app, and this message pops up saying, ‘Do you want to catch up?’ It was obviously a misdirect, but I went to reject it and something told me to accept it, so I did. And it was somebody looking for somebody named Justin Freeman that they had met in Massachusetts. And instead of typing MA for Massachusetts, they typed MO.

“And we struck up more conversations, postcards from abroad, kept up over the years, and then 15 years later, wound up meeting finally, fell in love. I’m now married to Alison and we have two beautiful kids. And so the letter switch is an homage to that switched letter that started our entire story.”

For the launch event, Freeman teamed up with local artisans to feature some of their work, including local baker Gabby’s Bread Basket, who catered the event, and the Covey Candle Company, who created a couple of limited-edition scents. 

“And there’s also a piece that I commissioned by local artist Katie Kripp called Bound for Novel Passages. And it’s a sailing ship with books for the sails and it just represents a new journey for me and some other creatives I look to work with. I find myself surrounded by creative people here in Liverpool and I wanted to work with a few of them for the launch.”

People at the Letterswitch launch, like Jaqueline Duck of Liverpool, said it was exciting to have a publisher in the area.

“I think that’s amazing because there are writers here and they have to go and find a publisher. If we have one in Liverpool, it makes everybody’s life that much easier. And it’s good business.”

Freeman says that while he’ll be busy for the next few months on his own work, he’d still like to hear from people interested in his new venture.

You can find Letterswitch Publishing at letterswitchpublishing.com or email Freeman at hello@letterswitchpublishing.com.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Susie and Joan Stephenson of Port Joli visit the Bookmobile recently at its stop in Port Mouton. (Rick Conrad)

It’s the last one in Nova Scotia. And it’s still motoring along the South Shore.

Each week, the Bookmobile brings books, DVDs and other materials to about 15 communities in Lunenburg and Queens counties, from Chester to Caledonia.

A mobile library has been operating on the South Shore since the 1970s.

Other library systems around Nova Scotia have stopped the service. The Cape Breton Regional Library had the only other one and it retired its Bookmobile in November 2024.

So now, the South Shore has the only remaining Bookmobile in the province. And it shows no signs of slowing down.

Ashley Nunn-Smith is the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries.

“Our Bookmobile has been on the road for 50 years. But it’s much beloved, it’s very much a fabric of the community. For example, a few weeks ago, we had someone bring the books out to Caledonia in their van because the Bookmobile was having some mechanical issues and not only did people come out to pick up their items, but they had almost like a tailgate party. They just hung around the back of the van and chatted with their neighbours. There was nothing keeping them there other than that sense of community.

“It’s not just about the books, although that’s wonderful to drive books out to people. It’s really about a sense of community.”

Joan Stephenson of Port Joli was at a recent Bookmobile stop at Coastal Queens Place in Port Mouton. Stephenson and her daughter Susie are some of the regular patrons the Bookmobile serves every three weeks at this location. It visits certain communities on a weekly basis, while others are on a tri-weekly schedule.

“We remember when we had to fight to get a Bookmobile because the county didn’t want it,” Stephenson says. “And instead they put streetlights on our road and fought the Bookmobile, and we said it’s a different kind of enlightenment.”

In 2021, the library put a new custom-built Bookmobile on the road at a cost of about $500,000, with an accessibility lift, Wi-fi and seven electrical outlets where people can charge their devices.

Last year, the mobile service had an average of 1,100 monthly visitors who checked out 3,000 items, accounting for about 15 per cent of the library’s overall visits and circulation. Fuel and maintenance take up about two per cent of the library’s total $1.9-million operating budget.

Nunn-Smith says that because the South Shore has fewer physical library locations than other library systems around Nova Scotia, having the Bookmobile is essential.

“I think that by having the library on wheels we can bring it to more spaces than we would be able to reach with brick and mortar locations. We’re able to reach more communities that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. We reach Port Mouton and Mill Village. Those places, it wouldn’t be feasible to operate a library branch, and so we’re able to bring the library to them.”

Susie Stephenson says she remembers the anticipation as a kid waiting for the Bookmobile to visit, a feeling she still has years later.

“When we lived in Broad River, we all went and we’d come home with clothes baskets full of books. The eight of us would just sit around and read. And you’d do it until you had to eat.

“It makes it accessible and it keeps me in reading material. And it keeps me interested and not depressed. I can sit and read a book and look at it. … I’ll take two or three bags lots of times.”

Her mother Joan says it’s something she looks forward to every three weeks.

“I can’t be away too long. My husband’s disabled. So it’s fun to come here. And the wonderful thing is the people who drive and work on the Bookmobile over all these years we’ve had it have always become our friends. They know what you’re looking for and we laugh. They want to know how your trip was or how your surgery was. They become friends.

“We love it. We love the Bookmobile. I’m an old lady and hopefully it will outlive me.”

The Bookmobile visits Caledonia every Saturday from 10 a.m to noon in the NSLC parking lot. It will be back in Mill Village at the fire hall on April 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and in Port Mouton at Coastal Queens Place on April 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

You can find the schedule for the Bookmobile on the South Shore Public Libraries website.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO of South Shore Public Libraries, stands in front of the Book Sanctuary display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater. (Rick Conrad)

You may not agree with the content of certain books, but the staff at South Shore Public Libraries will fight for your right to read them.

That’s why they’ve created the South Shore’s first Book Sanctuary at their main branch in Bridgewater to mark Freedom to Read Week, which kicked off Sunday.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says it’s a permanent collection designed to highlight and protect books at risk.

“It is 50 titles that have been either banned or challenged in libraries and schools across North America,” she told QCCR.

“This is is a permanent home for these titles. They’re presently on display for about three weeks, and then after that folks can borrow them and bring them home and read and think about the reason why someone might want you not to read that book. So we’re declaring ourselves a book sanctuary, a safe haven for books that somebody doesn’t want you to read.”

Christina Pottie, communication and engagement lead for South Shore Public Libraries, organized it in about three weeks. She and Nunn-Smith attended a recent library conference in Ontario, which highlighted the book sanctuary created by the Toronto Public Library in 2023. SSPL is using the same list used by Toronto.

The idea began at the Chicago Public Library in 2022. Almost 4,800 book sanctuaries now exist across the U.S., according to booksanctuary.org.

Nunn-Smith says attempts to ban books are on the rise in North America. 

“We wanted to be proactive by establishing this collection now and saying that we will protect these items. We’ll protect intellectual freedom through all of our services and collections, but this is a visual and symbolic representation of that value.”

The book sanctuary includes typically banned books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but also children’s books like Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. 

“Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus is a title for readers around age seven. This one was was challenged in Toronto. And so the reasoning was that Junie would be a bad role model for young folks and encourage them to be rude to adults and encourage bad spelling. ”

The collection also includes the Bible, queer fiction and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial best-seller, The Real Anthony Fauci.

“It’s one point of view on public health and pharmaceuticals. Whether or not you believe this point of view, it’s still worthwhile to be able to read it, debate it, discuss it. Read different points of view form your own. That’s vital in a democratic society. I might personally disagree with some of the points of view in this collection but that doesn’t mean we have a right to remove them from the shelf.”

The collection of 50 adult, teen and children’s books is on display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater for three weeks. 

Beginning March 10, people will be able to sign out specific items in the collection, either in person or on the library’s website using the keywords SSPL Book Sanctuary.

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Pam Wamback holds copies of Lucy the Lob’Star, the kids’ book she officially launched this past weekend as part of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. (Rick Conrad)

On the same weekend that Lucy the Lobster saw her shadow, her star was set to rise a little higher thanks to a new book about Nova Scotia’s second most famous weather forecaster.

First-time author Pam Wamback officially released the kid’s book Lucy the Lob’Star on Saturday, the day before Groundhog Day. 

It’s about the clairvoyant crustacean who crawled into the international spotlight in 2018, challenging Shubenacadie Sam for supremacy among wildlife weather watchers.

In real life, Lucy is the official mascot of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, a month-long festival every February celebrating Nova Scotia’s biggest seafood export.

“It’s a book for kids of all ages,” Wamback told QCCR. “A really tough one to learn to read on, but you know, for kids from 2 to 92. We’re all kids at heart, right?”

Featuring fun illustrations by Chad Thompson, Lucy the Lob’Star follows Lucy as she pops her head out of the ocean one day in her home waters of Barrington, and meets Gilbert the Groundhog. 

Gilbert is looking to retire as the local once-a-year weather forecaster, but he can’t find a replacement. So Lucy volunteers.

“It’s my take on how Lucy became famous,” Wamback says. “She’s not like any other lobster. She’s different. There’s always different lobsters. There’s blue lobsters, there’s calico lobsters. Lucy was different, but she just wanted to be famous. She just wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, and a chance opportunity came along, and the moral of the story is that change is scary, but so is staying the same.”

The book has been out for just a month, and Wamback says she’s amazed by the response.

“It’s been fantastic, because like I said, this is a passion project for me, a personal passion project for me. I’m not an author, it’s not my full-time job, but I also wanted it to showcase the destination of Southwest Nova (Scotia) and in particular Shelburne County.

“It’s my home, right? In the back of the book there’s also a little bit of fun facts about lobsters to educate people, and also creating awareness about Shelburne County, and Barrington as the lobster capital of Canada, the Lobster Crawl Festival, and the Shelburne County Lobster Festival as well.”

Wamback, whose full-time job is in communications with Tourism Nova Scotia, has been involved with the lobster crawl since it began in 2018. Her passion for lobster is reflected in her website, Lady Loves Lobster.

“Growing up near Shelburne, I’ve been surrounded by lobster my entire life. Growing up in a lobster community, lobster family.

“Publishing a book was never on my radar, I’m not a writer, I’m the organizer, the planner. I was just kind of playing with an idea, and it kind of grew from there. … So finally last year, I was like let’s see what happens, cast the net and fast track about a year and a half later and here’s Lucy the Lob’Star.”

Wamback has promotional events lined up in Mahone Bay, Shelburne and Bridgewater over the next few weeks. 

“Lucy, I’m probably one of her biggest fans. The real Lucy the Lobster, she’s an international superstar. She’s been on CNN, she’s been on blog posts across Europe, she’s been in the Miami Herald. So we need to celebrate her and showcase her, and that’s kind of what I want to do. I’ve got some people that keep saying, ‘What’s your next book?’ I’m like, ‘Next?’

“I never anticipated one, but who knows? Like I said, I never expected one, so you never know. ”

Lucy the Lob’Star is available at bookstores around Nova Scotia or online.

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