BOOK ACTION

Lotta book action lately. Ed Newman is going to e-publish his stingingly good YA book, Red Scorpion. Query letters coming in regularly. Ghost Burglar is stealing along nicely. Dave Davecki is still in Quinlan with his newest adventure, Pony Girl. Where Memories Dream is camped out on the SPI bestseller list. Journey Into Joy happily getting placed in new giftshops. Shoulder to Shoulder marching forward. The Last Spartan is conquering all comers in the digital download department. DakotaLand's prairie schooner continues to sail with a mighty wind. All in all...good stuff, great stuff, outstanding book action.

SAVAGE PRESS NEWS

NEWS TOO NEWSY TO POST ON THE WEBSITE

A new paperback edition of Pete Benzoni's Beyond the Mine is now available.

Diana Randolph's book of poems and paintings, Beacons of the Earth and Sky, is coming along nicely. Her daughter Kaitlin's cover design and section page designs are awesome.

Ghost Burglar Cover is done and looks fantastic. See the Savpress home page.

Jill Downs, author of Journey Into Joy, and The Awakening of the Heart, with her family, survived the tsunami in Hawaii. They did have to evacuate entirely for higher ground! Glad you're back safe Jill, Tony, and Liela.

Steve Coz (as in cozy) author of Where Memories Dream: Campfire Stories for the Boundary Waters, has a book signing May 1st at the Har Mar Barnes & Noble in Roseville, MN.

Shoulder to Shoulder, the coffee table book about Gareth Andrews' magnificent bronze sculpture being installed up in Virginia, MN., is at the printer. Yay!

SOON AND VERY SOON

Eager to get back to Clare.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

As is my morning ritual, last Tuesday I walked to the upstairs rear window to look out and check the weather. Approaching the window, the horn on the neighbor's car honked once. There was nobody in the car. I stepped closer to the window to see what was happening and a little brown sparrow flew up and landed on the white pine tree branch two feet away. The tiny brown sparrow looked me in the eyes, chirped once and the presence of my niece Kelly instantly filled my being. I knew instantly and certainly that Kelly had died. I looked at the clock. It read 7:29 a.m. A half hour later Sister Joyce called to tell me what I already knew. Beloved Kelly Meier Culhane, daughter, niece, sister, wife, mother... after a heroic three-year struggle against cancer, had started on her new journey. Four days later I'm still stunned, and incredibly humbled, humbled to tears and grief, that one of her first stops on her new and irrevocable path was to say goodbye to her old Uncle Muk. From the bottom of my sad, sad heart, I say, "Thank you Kelly and God speed."

CHOICES

Last night, wandering around Sam's Club trying to find out where Mary had disappeared to, I came alongside a no-nonsense looking mother and her two 14-ish daughters having an animated discussion as they wheeled their one-item cart toward the check-out.

"Mom! I can't believe you're choosing TP over me! I'm your daughter! Don't you LOVE me?"

"Honey I love you. Yes I do. But tonight I'd rather have toilet paper in the house than school supplies."

Sweet. Way to go Mom.

NEW SAVAGE PRESS TITLE

Journey Into Joy, Duluth, Minnesota author Jill Downs' second book is going to launch November 11th at 5:00 p.m. with a party at the Bookstore at Fitgers. Wine, juice, cheese, crackers, and fun. Or as the Irish would say, craic! Jill's book is autobiography describing her idyllic youth, struggle with alcohol, soul rending kundilini experience, and her journey to a joy filled life. Part New Age, part Minnesota biography, all good.

PS: Writing Raised by Savages tripped me and I fell into a deep dark hole, so I've set it aside for a bit. Pony Girl is being read by a second reader...waiting...waiting. The first reader liked it.

First Draft Done

Finished the first draft of the new Davecki novel last week. 114,000 words and 100 chapters. My goal to write two bad books a year is half achieved. It was a wild ride. Went places I never expected. Almost like wandering around backroads on a motorcycle, a new sight around every corner. Now, on to Raised by Savages the second draft.