N.J. and Les Lindquist were in Swift Current doing a book signing for their new 'Christmas with Hot Apple Cider - Stories from the Season of Giving and Receiving' yesterday, and it was was a homecoming for Les - who since moved to Ontario.

"It's really strange to come back and see how the city has changed since I've been gone, but it's exciting at the same time," said Les, who is married to fellow Saskatchewan native, N.J. "Today was just great seeing old friends and visiting with them and getting a chance to share with people our book."

The book is the fifth in the series, and includes a variety of contributions - from poetry to fiction - from 55 different authors.

N.J. did the editing, and Les compiled the stories they would use.

"For me the fun is the acquisition - choosing which stories - because we get 200-plus stories to get down to what we got," said Les. "And many of those stories could have made it too, but you have to choose. To me that's the fun is just hearing people's stories - stories from their lives, stories from their history, and even some of the fiction where they have their ideas of what Christmas should be like."

It's a five-week tour spanning from Winnipeg to Vancouver, and the Lindquists are now off to Calgary.

Between reading stories from hundreds of people, hearing more stories in person, and seeing the country, the book series isn`t a bad way for the Lindquists to get to know more about the country.