Happy Sands
Happy Sands is a novella about a boozy judgmental massage therapist on a working vacation in the Okanagan. Published by the University of Calgary’s Brave and Brilliant imprint, recognized by CBC as a book to watch for in the fall of 2021 and one of “23 funny books for your holiday shopping list”, and shortlisted as Alberta Trade Fiction Book of the Year at the 2022 Alberta Book Publishing Awards. Happy Sands is available from your local bookstore or from Chapters/Indigo, Amazon, etc.
Reviews:
“A family getaway goes awry in this humorous heartwarming Canadian story.” — Canadian Living Magazine, December 2021
“Howard is a deftly talented writer with a lightning sharp wit, whose comedic chops left me gasping, mouth agape…” lindsay_wincherauk on Instagram, October 13, 2021
“…Happy Sands, by Barb Howard, a funny and poignant novel(la) about a woman whose family holiday dreams at a summer resort go up in (campfire) smoke. Definitely recommended.” — KerryReads on Instagram, September 18, 2021
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Interview on Novelist Spotlight Podcast: click here
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I’veReadThis print review: click here
From the back cover:
One woman’s quest for a postcard-perfect family vacation goes off the rails, again, in this sharply funny, smartly observed novel unafraid to stare into the sunburned and grainy reality of life at the beach.
Ginny Johnson, her husband Martin, and their two kids, Alistair and Ruby, spend a week at Happy Sands Resort every summer. And it’s always perfect. Mostly perfect. It could be perfect. Probably.
This year, Ginny’s expectations are dashed again as Martin spends all his time sleeping, eight-year-old Ruby turns anything and everything into a competition, and teenage Alistair avoids the sun and his family. A series of elaborate beach pranks unfolds, and Ginny, alone and annoyed, starts drinking earlier in the day, lets her caustic wit run free, and picks up massage therapy work even though she’s supposed to be on vacation. This intimate access to the other residents of Happy Sands, especially the uber fit Dwayne Champion, provides both a much-needed distraction from the slow death of Ginny’s postcard holiday and a lens into the eccentric inner lives of the seasonal residents of the resort.
Full of humour, sharp observations, revealing massages, and surprisingly uncomfortable lawn chairs, Happy Sands is a highly entertaining and poignant story of summer vacation gone all-too-predictably wrong. From beach bonfires to the search for Moby Trout, the mythical monster fish of Cornflower Lake, this novel is for anyone who’s spent a disappointing day at the beach.
