Award-winning author of Dyed In The Green, the first fiction series about Canada’s iconic national parks, George worked for more than three decades as a park warden, including six national parks on both east and west coasts, the North and the Rocky Mountains.
George’s passion for parks and protected areas forms the backdrop for much of his writing, including both creative non-fiction and fiction found here as well as non-fiction, found at writenature.com.
George’s first YA fiction, Harking, is now available at independent and Indigo bookstores across Canada and also currently available as an ebook on Kindle and Kobo.
The Rhino’s Horn, the penultimate book in the Dyed In The Green series, is slated for release in the summer of 2025.
If you’d like to know some of the background to the Dyed In The Green series, please listen to Alexandra Amor’s It’s A Mystery Podcast With George Mercer
Or if you’d liked to know more about Fat Cats, the latest novel in the series, check out George’s interview with Joseph Planta on The Commentary.
Finally, if you’d like to know a little more about how a career can influence writing, check out George’s interview with Texas-based writer Kevin Tumlinson on his Wordslinger Podcast.
Author photo courtesy of Janis Jean Photography.
Hey George me and my wife have read all your books, my grand father worked in parks for 30 years, Jim Lunney. Any chance you ever crossed paths?
Thanks for your note Lee. I don’t recall meeting your grandfather although the name sounds familiar.
Best regards,
George
Thumbs up George.
DIvinah.
Kenya Bush!
I bought your book Dyed in the Green at the Sidney Market from you. I never read it at the time but I recently discovered it and I just wanted to let you know how thoroughly I am enjoying it. I’m looking forward to reading more in the series.
Have just completed reading Fat Cats looking for more of this series. A great read couldn’t put it down. Love our national parks !
This would make a great television series !! Bring more awareness to what goes on in our parks. Was in the Kootenays recently trees being stolen cut down in a provincial park. Disgusting. Thanks for the read George!!
George
Thank you for your great book Wood Buffalo. It brought back many memories of the Park, people and our history, heritage and culture. Appreciate the work time and effort in having folks understand our complex situation with government and Parks.
Thanks for these great books. Hard to wait the next one!
I’m from France and living in Canada for 14 years now, and I’m in Yukon for more than 10 years.
I worked in National Parks in QC and Cap Tourmente Wildlife preserve, as interpreter and that was my dream job, with amazing people.
My dream was to write books like you’re doing and I was so happy to find and read them, even if English it’s not my first language… the language you’re speaking (wildlife and nature) is universal.
Hope to read an adventure in Kluane park one day 😉
Hi George. Just finished your four books. I really did enjoy them. Great reads. They brought back some fond memories – particularly Wood Buffalo.
Looking forward to your future works.
Trust that you, Jan and family are in good health and safe.
See you around Sidney, Mel
These are really great books and I think what you’re doing for the coronavirus is awesome
Just finished reading Fat Cats. Topical, timely and well researched. A fascinating read!
Just read Jasper Wild and enjoyed it.
Great to connect with you George,
I will take some time, soon, geez, the world is spinning…
to do some reading on your writings… Take care!
George, I was just listening to your comments on X Country Checkup and it reassured me to know someone echoed my concerns. More and more people in parks, and more parks for people means, in my opinion, less wildlife. We really wilderness areas for wildlife only.
Trish Aikens
Trish … I think we do need more parks and I do like the fact that people are using them but there needs to be a greater emphasis put on managing human use, limiting development, and eliminating or minimizing impacts on wildlife. There isn’t a one size fits all solution but I would argue that in most southern national parks in Canada, these are pressing issues for parts of our parks at certain times of the year. In northern Canada, human use in the parks is less of an issue and in many parks a non-issue, but the greater concern is indirect effects of our use well beyond the boundaries of these parks such as upstream impacts of industrial development on places like Wood Buffalo National Park. Unfortunately programs such as Cross Country Checkup only scratch the surface but at least it gets people thinking.
George
Am about to start Jasper Wild. Enjoyed “Wood Buffalo” last summer. Gave my copy of “Dyed in the Green” to my son who is a Ranger with Alberta Parks. Here is what he sent me the other day:
“So I read Dyed in the Green. It was very good. Recommended to my roommate in training to read it. Now every officer in Fort Mac has read it. Also recommended it to my coworker Andrew who liked it so much he bought the next two in the series.”
I’m really enjoying the books and look forward to upcoming releases!