Saturday, February 2, 2013

California Dreamin' and Speakin' some more....


From January, 24 2013

Well, it was as I thought.  Real people, with expressions, not emoticons, are out there and they want to hear about books. Three bookstores--Marysville, "the gateway to the goldfields and a town full of readers; Davis--a university town filled with interested intellectuals; Sacramento--a town full of government officials and politicos.  All these audiences had a chance to share in my "Dream of Good and Evil"....to contribute to my speaking...to turn my twenty-minute slot into a two hour conversation. Interactive audiences are magic...I look forward to hearing noise from you all when my IT specialists turn this into a comment blog.  Whether you've read the book or done readings yourself or you just want to spout off, speaking face to face, blog to commentator adds considerable spirit to a dialogue. Soliloquies....that's for playwrights; conversation that's for authors, their audiences and words on the page.  As Barthes told us years ago "The author is dead"; it's for the reader to inspire--breathe in--life to the dead words on the page.  And people will.  They do!

But enough of me.  Back to the amazing Northwest authors.  Susan Stoner's second Sage Adair mystery, "Land Sharks", brings us into another aspect of union building, death, mystery and destruction.  What do we do without the bumbling Adair's adept Sancho Panzo, his emaneuensis and teacher Fong who is lost in a mysterious fog of his own.  Further his Dulcinea--to extend the metaphor of this 20th century Don Quixote peopled with your neighbors, your lovers, your best friends--has abandoned him.  Only his mother stays by his side. Please pick up "Land Sharks" when you want a good read.  I'm salivating for the next book which I'm told is on its way to publication....

Speaking of family, let me shout out to the children of Mary Coulter, that having activism stream through your blood certainly makes acquiring a following easier. There's something to be said for leafletting....placing your bookmarks in bookstores....insinuating yourself where you otherwise might not be welcomed.

Let's hear it for internet support....all those friends on facebook, for families and for the next good book.

Check in next week....more on interactive support!

1 comment:

  1. Let's hear it for a good book! Not only could I not put it down, I actually read every word. Even the slightest attempt at skimming only drove me back for a re-read so as not to miss the vividness of each scene or any of the puzzle pieces that make up this captivating story.

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