Robert Rayner
A transplant from England to New Brunswick, Canada, via the island of Newfoundland, writer, musician, photographer and teacher Robert Rayner is the author of three adult novels, nine young adult novels, and four teen novels. His stories have been shortlisted in Canada for the Brimer Prize and (four times) for the Hackmatack Award. Five have been included in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre ‘Best Books’ list, and one on the U.S. Young Adult Library Services Association ‘Best Books to get Teens Reading’ list. He lives on the Magaguadavic River in St. George, New Brunswick.
Books
Colorland- Defiant Island
- The Ragged Believers
Praise for Robert Rayner
“Isolde is crying again. But why? Rayner captivates you from the first sentence to the last. Colorland ranks up there with The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner.”
Rich Meyrick, author, The Great Migration, Jaspa’s Journey (Colorland)
“An amazing story… You become drawn in deeply… Extremely thought provoking with many similarities to ‘economic realities’… Great story… Given an idiotic government climate this really could happen.”
R. Doucet (Defiant Island)
“…Raising questions of ethics in love, family, business, and politics, and doing so through characters coping with everything from sexuality to senility… Defiant Island is a deep and engaging read—a testament to Rayner’s skill at weaving together both plot and thought.
Kathy Mac – Poet, ‘Nail Builders Plan for Strength and Growth’ (Defiant Island)
“Rayner has a keen eye for detail… and shows a deep understanding of the Bay of Fundy’s populated islands, and of the people who have struggled to wrest a living from the sea and the land… as they struggle to hold onto their homes and way of life despite business and political decisions that would see them dispersed to the mainland. I wanted them to win out, but in the end, I am not sure they did.
David Goss – Author, ‘It Happened in New Brunswick’, ‘Saint John Curiosities’, ‘Tall Tales and Curious Happenings’ (Defiant Island)
You can smell the salt water and the sea air in this novel… An absorbing story of a proud people’s fight to survive… a story of struggle and enduring friendship… a story about love. If you want to understand the spirit of New Brunswick this is a novel you should read. It’ll take you on a ferry ride to a place that will seize your imagination. I want to emphasize how realistic the dialogue is. I felt like I was eavesdropping and at times even felt a little bit embarrassed that I was listening in on such a personal and private conversation.
Terry Seguin – CBC Radio and Television (Defiant Island)
I started reading Defiant Island for the second time at five in the morning and read until eight. And I loved it as much the second time as the first. It’s a great book, well paced, warmly sympathetic to the problems of loving and growing old, with a deep understanding of the hardships and frustrated hopes of those of us who live in isolated island communities when our ocean resources are failing and higher government levels no longer see beyond inappropriate and inhumane urban concentration solutions. A sad story but still a triumph of the human spirit.
Wendy Dathan, ‘Swallowtail Calling: A Naturalist Dreams of Grand Manan Island’, ‘My Dust Will Dance’ (Defiant Island)
…I couldn’t put Colorland down. I loved it, and slowed my finish to hold on to more time with the kids in the book.
Paula Rowan Clinch (Colorland)