I just wanted to let my faithful readers know that Edging Past Reality is now officially out of print. That means, whatever is left on the bookstore shelves, or available on-line, is it ~ they won't be reordered  (at least for now). The good news is, for those who may want a real copy to hold, I do have a number of copies at home that can still be ordered through my website (even autographed). For those with e-readers, EPR will remain available for download at Amazon (hint, hint ~ I will be having a free download couple of days coming soon ~ I'll be sure to let you know through Facebook, Twitter, and some other sites, including right here).

Just to let you know pt. 2 ~ I'm working on a new collection of short stories of speculative fiction. I'm hoping that it will be ready for release by this fall.

Thank you all for your support and comments.

~ df

True Colors Bookstore

Thank you Ruta and all the folks who showed up last night at my reading. I hope you all had a good time.

~ david

Spring Valley Art & Book Fair

South of Rochester, MN the hills are rolling and farmland is abundant. Overhead, eagles and hawks soar. Then, driving around one bend a town appears. The picturesque small town of Spring Valley welcomes a weary but excited traveler. Downtown Spring Valley is two blocks long with diagonal street parking. The art & book fair is held in the Center for the Arts building, a small establishment in the middle of the block on the good side of town. At least I assume it's the good part of town. On this block more than half the parking spots are taken (and not just from the artists, authors, and patrons). On the other block is one car.

The art & book fair was not what I expected, but not unpleasant. Artwork was hung from the walls of a small room, three tables for a handful of authors, and a small stage. Debi Neville, who put the whole thing together, did a great job making the best of the space she had. On the plus side, I got to meet some exceptional artists and writers, got to see a couple of friends whom I rarely get to see (one from Rochester, the other from Peterson), and had fun walking around a small town. Sadly, the vendors outnumbered the patrons. Still, the company was divine, and it was a perfect day for a drive ~ and yes! If Debi puts it together again next year ~ I'm in.

Award winning authors Thomas Harper and Helen Chen

Sorry ~ but because of camera and download problems (especially inside), pics are very limited. Other authors included Joan Sween, Rose Hamlin, Ann Schultz, Danielle Allen and the Divine Rhubarb Committee (yes, they had a book about everything and more you'd want to know about rhubarb). Artists included Leisa Luis Grill, Mary Lou Devlin, Dawn Sanborn, Andrew Neville, and Pam Freet.  Pam also supplied music playing cello.

After the fair, Beth & I stopped next door for great pizza. Unfortunately, we didn't make it into see what the Battle Ax was all about ~ they were closed.

Ghellow Road

The front cover is a bit confusing. It says the book is a literary diary and also a novel. I guess it can be a made up diary, but Ghellow Road by T.H. Waters reads like a book of creative nonfiction.

There are also quite a number of people to whom this book is dedicated, and who I’m willing to bet are active participants (even though the names have been changed) ~ thus giving the book a truthful flair. In the book, Theresa Waters (again, pointing to nonfiction over a novel) is a young girl trapped in a dysfunctional family whose father is coated in depression, and mother, schizophrenia. As an author, T.H Waters does an excellent job of watching through the eyes of a young girl while she faces her parents crumbling marriage, a father who sees himself as a failure, a mother who can’t get out of bed for days at a time, a brother who has no real connection with her, and friends who don’t know and couldn’t understand even if they did. Her use of language is also very emotional and Waters uses that emotion to keep the reader enthralled.

‘A few, final seconds of silence would seep beneath my heart’s secret door, the one where I’d hidden away my trust, my vulnerability. “When are you going to come home?” I’d ask in quiet desperation. The answer was always the same.’ p. 191

There are also passages that are almost poetic. ‘I was born in the arms of the City of Lakes.’ opens the book.

The book centers on Theresa, and in true child fashion, the world revolves around her. T.H. Waters doesn’t sugarcoat the life she went through as a young girl or hide her shortcomings. That’s the book’s strongest aspect and also its weakest. She wonderfully paints Theresa as an entire human being, complete with flaws. The downside for me was because it was so centered, people popped into and left her life with no explanation. There were a lot of questions, as a reader, I wanted answered. I also had a slight problem with time lapses. Something dramatic would happen and suddenly it would be weeks later (which, if I can remember that far back, is exactly how a kid thinks but I still found it disconcerting). I suppose I should compliment the writer in that she had me so intrigued as to really care about Theresa that these minor annoyances weren’t even close to making me want to stop reading.

There are memoirs where kids have had it worse (Theresa was never sexually abused, hungry, or homeless), but she still had a terribly rough childhood with no real stability, being bounced from one home to another, and witnessed things no child should have to experience. There are no chapters in the 290 page book, but plenty of good breaking places if you only have short periods of time to read. But that might be a problem ~ although most of the sections are only a few pages long, it will be hard to put down. You’ll want to squeeze in that next section, and then the next, and then the next . . .

Outwitted

A peaceful cabin resort in northern Minnesota which is owned by an eccentric woman and her sister ~ add a corrupt judge who believes one of the cabins on the resort should belong to him ~ throw in a baby kidnapping ring ~ a couple of souls needing to complete a task before entering the next realm ~ and you’ve got another Sadie Witt mystery.

Sadie is back and feisty as ever in Beth Solheim’s latest book, Outwitted. As a death coach (helping souls pass to the other side), Sadie’s job is hard enough when dealing with strangers. It becomes more complex and personal when the decedents are people she knows. It makes it next to impossible when one of them is an impish six-year-old who doesn’t know that she’s dead.

When a baby is kidnapped from the maternity ward at the local hospital, Sadie not only has to deal with frightened guests, the law, and Clay (the drunkard ex-husband of Nan, the funeral director and best friend) but also making sure two souls cross over before their time runs out.

Throughout, my favorite scenes take place during the interactions of the sisters. Sadie and her twin sister Jane are alike insofar as they are both sixty-four – from there the resemblance ends. Sadie wears miniskirts, thongs, sports a snake tattoo that people mistake for a worm, spikes her hair, and acts like a teen (sometimes tween); Jane dresses conservatively and acts older than her years. While they are constantly sniping at one another, the love is clearly shown through the writing. Although, when Sadie gets a picture of Jane and posts an ad on a dating website without Jane knowing, I don’t think I’d be as forgiving as Jane. Still, it’s scenes like that that keeps the story fresh.

‘Jane paced in front of the kitchen table. “No wonder he knew so much about me. What did you tell him?” Before Sadie answered, Jane added, “Now I’ll never be able to face him.”

"That’s ridiculous. If you like him, what’s wrong with seeing him again?”

“He’ll think I’m not capable of finding my own dates.”

“He already knows. I explained it when I posted your photo on the website.” Sadie grimaced as Jane let out another shriek’ p.86

All combined, this makes for an enjoyable, and quick read. Although Outwitted is a stand alone novel, I still recommend reading Witt’s End first just for a deeper understanding of Sadie and Jane Witt. Solheim writes colorful, eccentric, and flawed characters as well as a good description of life in a northern Minnesota resort. Outwitted is a light mystery, perfect for taking to the beach or the park for a nice and relaxing afternoon read.

Meet Ami Blackwelder

It's my privilege to introduce writer, teacher, world traveler, Ami Blackwelder.  Ami was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions.

First of all, welcome Ami. Let me first ask ~ when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Elementary school. I wrote so many creative stories. It wasn't something that I thought -oh, I want to be a writer. It was more like I always had this inside of me. Like breathing, I didn't have a choice in the matter.


You mentioned that Thailand is like a second home. How often do you make it back there? 

Once a year.

When in Thailand, how is life different for you? 

So fun, polite, accepting, adventurous. I love Thailand for so many reasons. $10 massages, and great Thai food!

You're very prolific. How much time do you spend each day writing? 

I like to get done 3 chapters a week. That is about a book every 3 months.

You also do a lot of promotion and marketing. How do you work a balance? 

Well, I substitute three days a week and do online work two days a week, I write everyday I can and promote on the days I don't sub.
 

A lot of your marketing is on the internet. What do you prefer ~ online or traditional marketing? 

Both. I do many online ads and promos and do many local activities.

For those who want to get to know Ami and her work better, type in her name at Amazon.com (she's got quite a list of books) or check out her website:  http://www.amiblackwelder.blogspot.com/   

Bloomington Book Fair and other stuff

My goodness, it's already coming close to a week since the Bloomington Book Fair and I'm just getting around to writing about it now? I'm thinking it might be time to rearrange my priorities. Maybe watching reruns of News Radio shouldn't be so high up on the list (but I digress).

Last Saturday was my third stint at the Bloomington Book Fair. As is the norm ~ my face hurt from constantly smiling, but also as is the norm, I did have a good time and met some wonderful people. This year I had the pleasure of having a table next to Erin Hart. For those unfamiliar with Erin's work - shame on you. She's an amazing mystery writer, and I believe the past president of the local Sisters-in-Crime chapter. Being side-by-side with Erin had its advantages and disadvantages. Her table certainly attracted quite a crowd. Unfortunately, once they got their signed copies of Erin's books, they gave me a per functionary smile, and if I was lucky, a few picked up my card.  Still, I did manage to sell a few books and did a lot of networking.

My table (sans crowd)

Erin's table (bunches-o-people)

Otherwise, I've been devoting the majority of my time promoting Spyder. I'm happy to report that for those of you who still love the feel of holding a real book in your hands, Spyder can be found at most of the independent bookstores around town along with many of the online sites, including Amazon and B&N. Ebooks are also available at most of the online sites. I hope to set up a reading or two in the coming months, but so far nothing is set in stone. Fear not ~ as soon as anything is set up, I'll let you know.

I'm very pleased to announce that my friend, and children's book author, Stacy Waibel, will soon be releasing her fourth in the series of Rudy, the cute poodle books. The newest should be out sometime in April. For more information on Rudy and Stacy, check out their website at Rudy's Little world.

I know that I'm forgetting to mention something (this getting old thing really sucks) but at least when I remember what it is, it will give me something to write about next blog.  Until then . . .