2010 January » Hot Apple Cider Books

Ray Wiseman is the co-author of the short story, "Of Cobras, Culture, and Change," on page 220 of Hot Apple Cider. The story is actually an excerpt from the novel When Cobras Laugh, which is partially based on Ray's experiences as a missionary in South Africa.

Ray Wiseman's early memory—being pushed up a rope ladder and over the side of a tramp steamer at age two—set the tone for his life. He has spent much time traveling, and most of his life looking from the hilltop of one adventure to the beginning of the next. Born in England, Ray has lived in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and South Africa. He has traveled in Africa and Asia.

Ray counts writing as his fourth career. He began his working life as an electronics technician, then returned to school to study for the Christian ministry. He spent time in the pastorate and overseas with a missionary society. He returned to electronics, working as a video systems engineer. In 1993, he took early retirement to pursue a career as a writer and speaker and to dedicate more time to the work of Partners International.

Read our Interview with Ray

Donna Dawson's short story, "One True Friend," appears on page 235 of Hot Apple Cider. "One True Friend" is a poignant story about two people in pain who help each other: one a young boy who is battling cancer, the other a much older homeless man.

Donna Dawson

Donna Dawson, whose actual name is Donna Fawcett, teaches a course in writing at Fanshawe College in London. Born into a military family in Ontario, Canada, Donna's most popular suspense novels, Vengeance and The Adam & Eve Project, have a large amount of military history in them.

After her children moved into their adult lives, Donna enrolled in a subsidiary of the University of Connecticut, Long Ridge Writer’s Group, and completed courses in freelance writing and novel writing.

She has written for numerous magazines, including Guideposts’ Angels on Earth, Beyond Ordinary Living, 3.1.6. A Journal of Christian Thinking, APHA Journal, Canadian Homes & Cottages, Small Farms Canada, Inscribe Fellowscript, Housewife Mafia. She currently writes monthly columns for OFTP Home Rules, Homeschool Horizons and The St Marys Journal Argus newspaper.

Under the pen name Donna Dawson, she has written four novels: Redeemed (Word Alive Press), The Adam & Eve Project (Word Alive Press), Vengeance (Word Alive Press) and Fires of Fury (Awe-struck Books).

Read our interview with Donna

Don Ranney, MD, is the co-author of the short story, "Of Cobras, Culture, and Change," on page 220 of Hot Apple Cider. The story is actually an excerpt from the novel When Cobras Laugh, which is partially based on Don's experiences as a missionary to India.

Don Ranney, BA (Anthropology), MD, (Toronto) FRCS is a man of many talents.

While studying medicine at the University of Toronto, Don developed an interest in orthopedic surgery and the new techniques of leprosy reconstructive surgery.

He studied surgery in England because of the high reputation the British training has in India, and served briefly as a medical officer in the British Special Air Service—a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries.

After becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1966, Don went to India as an orthopedic surgeon at a leprosy research center near Madras in South India. There he trained surgeons, taught medical students at Madras Medical School, and did a great deal of innovative research in reconstructive surgery.

Read our interview with Don

Jane Harris's creative non-fiction chapter, "Jessie's Generation: Canada's Firebrands of Mercy and Justice," on page 204 of Hot Apple Cider, tells the true story of Jessie Robinson, a well-to-do woman from Lethbridge, Alberta, who made a difference in her community and beyond.

Jane Harris (also Jane Harris Zsovan) was 16 when she typed up her first article and mailed it off to a magazine that came inside the Edmonton Journal. A few weeks later, she proudly displayed the rejection slip to her teachers and friends. But she soon figured out how to get acceptances.

Today she's a full-time author and journalist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. An incorrigible writer, Jane's writing style combines thorough research with lively writing to reveal personalities behind contemporary and historical events.