Following his bestselling debut, Before I Wake, Robert J. Wiersema returns with this exquisitely plotted blend of supernatural thriller and domestic drama.
 
For novelist Christopher Knox, getting up early every morning to write isn't bringing him the sense of fulfillment it once did. It's been ten years since his first novel was published, to some acclaim, and he's hit a wall in trying to write his next. His marriage to Jacqui isn't doing much better, and it's been months since he's slept anywhere but his office above the detached garage.
 
The part of Chris's life that is going well, and brings him easy joy, is his relationship with his eleven-year-old son, David. While Chris may not make it to all of his son's ball games, their nightly ritual of reading together at bedtime not only helps David overcome his struggles with reading, but is a calm within the storm for them both, when their days are so full of challenges. And what better way for a novelist to connect with his child than through their mutual love of books, and a bedtime story routine as unwavering as Chris's love for his son.
 
When Chris comes across a book by one of his favourite childhood authors in a local used bookstore, he knows it will be the perfect gift for David's birthday. To the Four Directions is not one Chris has read before, but he knows that Lazarus Took's adventurous, magical stories of young heroes and other realms would be just the thing for David, as they were for him. David is less than thrilled to receive a book he's never heard of before, however - he'd been hoping for The Lord of the Rings - and Jacqui is quick to see it as yet another sign of Chris's detachment from David's life.
 
But once they start reading the novel together, David is completely enthralled, to the extent that he truly cannot put the book down. The story, of a young peasant boy who is plucked from his home by castle guards and sent on a quest for a mysterious Sunstone, makes David feel like he is right there, in the action. Even after his parents have to take the book away from him, he can't help but sneak it back to his room. As David is reading alone that night, he suffers an inexplicable seizure and falls into a state of unconsciousness. Doctors perform a barrage of tests, but cannot determine what's wrong. And as David's seizure recurs every night, his father learns that only one thing will calm it: being read to from his strange new book.
 
True to his nature, as someone with an inherent belief in the power of words, Chris becomes convinced that the secret of David's collapse lies within the pages of To the Four Directions. After failed attempts to find out more about Lazarus Took from his estate, Chris traverses the continent in search of the truth. Meanwhile, David wakes up within the story he has been reading - as the boy he has been reading about - and finds himself facing perils unimaginable, in a world that he soon realizes was created to capture the hearts and souls of children like him. Because he's not alone as he takes over the hunt for the Sunstone, but accompanied by those boys who have come before him. And as the quests of father and son lead them toward a fateful collision of worlds, David realizes that while he's not the first to fall victim to the book's horrific spell, perhaps he can prove himself strong enough to be the last.

Robert J. Wiersema was born in Agassiz, British Columbia, in 1970, and has spent his life immersed in books. He attended the University of Victoria, where he earned an honours degree in English literature. He has worked in bookstores for the last twenty years, and is currently the event coordinator at Bolen Books in Victoria, where he curates one of Canada's most highly regarded literary events series.
 
In 1999, Wiersema began reviewing books for Quill & Quire magazine; today, he is one of Canada's most recognized and respected book reviewers, with his work appearing regularly in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Edmonton Journal, the Vancouver Sun and numerous other publications.
 
Before I Wake, Wiersema's first novel, was published in the summer of 2006 to exceptional reviews, went on to become a national bestseller and was named a Globe and Mail Best Book for 2006. In 2007, it was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Before I Wake has been published in more than a dozen countries. The World More Full of Weeping, a novella, was published in 2009, and was shortlisted for the Aurora Award. His second novel, Bedtime Story, was published in 2010, and was also a national bestseller. Wiersema's first work of non-fiction, Walk Like a Man: Coming of Age with the Music of Bruce Springsteen, will be published in fall 2011.
 
Despite the success of his books, Wiersema remains dedicated to his work as a literary journalist and as a bookseller. "I don't envision myself leaving either bookselling or reviewing behind," Wiersema has said. "I like being a part of the conversation, a part of the ongoing unfolding of writing in this country. I like putting books in the hands of readers, bringing authors together with their readers, weighing in on the books themselves. I'm a lifer."
 
Wiersema lives in Victoria, BC, in a house filled with music and books.

1. Discuss how Wiersema weaves together the two storylines in this novel. How did alternating between the two affect your reading? What are some differences between the two narrative styles?

2. Share your thoughts on Chris and Jacqui's relationship, and the things that have brought them to the brink of separation. What sort of resolution, if any, do they come to by the end of the novel? What do you think the future holds in store?

3. What does Matthias's presence mean to David as he fulfills his quest in To the Four Directions?

4. Talk about how selflessness, and self-sacrifice, are exhibited in this novel.

5. Some reviewers have characterized Bedtime Story as a horror novel - the story of a parent's worst nightmare - while others would consider it a work of fantasy, or straight-up literary fiction. How useful are genre labels when you are discussing the novels you read? Would one label or another ever deter you from trying a book?

6. Explore the many parallels between the tale of the king and queen and Dafyd's quest at the heart of To the Four Directions, and the "real-life" story of Lazarus and Cora Took and Chris's search for answers.

7. Chris's search for information about Lazarus Took turns into a crash course in Victorian and twentieth-century occultism. Talk about how Wiersema uses historical details about ritualistic societies like Took's to ramp up the tension in Bedtime Story.

8. How has David changed by the end of the novel? What do you think his return to everyday life will be like?

9. E-mail, newspaper accounts and columns, journal entries . . . In addition to the novel within this novel, the written word plays a major role in the unfolding of this story. And the fact that David, who is struggling with dyslexia in real life, can in fact read is something he hides from Captain Bream. Talk about the importance of writing - and being able to read - in Bedtime Story.