The Magpie's Tales

The Magpie's Tales is a series of novels about the people history rarely remembers.

Across generations, one Canadian family faces war, hardship, prosperity and loss as a young nation grows around them.

Origins follows the family as they build a life and find their place in a new Canada, from the North-West Rebellion through the South African War.

The Horsemen finds the next generation fighting to hold that family together, as the First World War and its turbulent aftermath transform both their lives and their country.

History unfolds not only on battlefields and in the halls of power, but around kitchen tables, in schoolhouses and on lonely farms. At the heart of the series is one enduring question:

Who are we when life asks more of us than we think we can give?

The Magpie’s Tales—The Horsemen

Book Two of the Series

In 1916, as war scatters the Davis family overseas, two men at home pursue very different visions of their family's future. Sam Davis is determined to preserve the Saskatchewan farm his father built, while John sees their future in business and political influence. Neither fully understands how the choices they make will threaten everything the family has built.


Sam's desperate efforts to save the farm draw him into Alberta's profitable but increasingly dangerous bootlegging trade. As criminal rivalries intensify, his activities threaten more than his own freedom. They place John's ambitions at risk, providing opportunities for Hayes, a powerful political operator skilled at turning ambition into obligation.

But the danger is not confined to business or politics. Sam's past affair with Jennie threatens John's marriage and his trust in his brother. While Hayes seeks information he can use to his advantage, Sam remains largely unaware of how deeply his actions may affect those closest to him.


Sarah Davis faces troubles of her own. With her children scattered by war, she is determined to keep her youngest son from following his brother, foster brother and sister overseas. As Sam becomes increasingly consumed by saving his father's legacy, he must confront something he has too often taken for granted: the value of the woman beside him and the marriage they share.


Across the Atlantic, the next generation of the Davis family faces the realities of war. Duty brings sacrifice, loyalties are tested and the bonds that have held the family together come under strain. At home and abroad, the women of the family discover their strengths in circumstances they cannot control, while secrets kept in the name of love begin to exact their price.


The Magpie's Tales—The Horsemen is a Canadian historical family saga set against the upheaval of the First World War. Through the intertwined lives of one complicated family, it explores the conflicting demands of love, ambition, duty and loyalty, bringing the history of a young nation into focus at a time when its future, and the future of those who call it home, is being transformed.


The Magpie’s Tales—The Horsemen The Manuscript Is Complete!

Publication Date to Be Announced

The Magpie’s Tales—Origins

Book One of the Series


The Magpie’s Tales – Origins, delivers a heart-pounding and emotional journey through the struggles and triumphs of a family facing the relentless forces of history. It’s a vivid, unforgettable exploration of resilience, human connection, and the enduring pursuit of legacy in a world on the brink of transformation. 


Step into the rugged and untamed North-West Territory of Canada at the turn of the 19th century, where the Davis family’s epic tale unfolds in a landscape teeming with danger, opportunity, and drama. The Magpie’s Tales – Origins is a gripping family saga that ignites themes of ambition, love, loss, and redemption against the backdrop of historic upheaval, including a daring cattle roundup, the South African conflict, and the tumult of World War I.


William Davis, a charismatic gambler with everything to lose, risks it all by selling cattle and horses to the British Army. His audacious moves set the stage for thrilling stakes that could either catapult his family into prosperity or drag them into ruin. But it’s not just William’s risks that set tensions ablaze—his son, Sam, defies his wife and enlists to fight in South Africa, unraveling the family fabric in unexpected ways.


In a shocking act, William drags a teenage Sam onto the battlefield at Fish Creek in 1885, narrowly avoiding disaster. Elizabeth Davis’s fury erupts at her husband’s recklessness, as William's thirst for influence drives him to gamble not only his fortune but his family’s future. Meanwhile, John, the younger son, feels abandoned as Sam’s decisions fracture the family when they need him most.


Sam’s sporadic letters from South Africa reveal his transformation. His once-bold sense of duty morphs into biting critiques of British actions, and he returns home forever changed. Amid unspeakable loss, including heartbreak for John and Jennie, a tentative reconciliation begins to mend the family. Sam becomes Jennie’s lifeline, pushing her to rebuild her life—but his efforts lead her toward a risky, forbidden affair.


As the Davis family’s saga deepens, unexpected alliances form. Newcomers Cecilia and Bert enter their lives through twists of fate, adding intrigue and complexity. Together, the characters navigate treacherous paths through heartbreak and hope, forging bonds that reveal the strength—and fragility—of loyalty, trust, and forgiveness.

 

The Magpie’s Tales – Origins, Trailers

Risk it All

Origins