"ROCKETMAN: From the Trailer Park to Insomnia and Beyond" COMING VERY SOON

I have a new book coming out in a month! (February 19) 

Yeah, sort of a surprise to me, too. 

It's an anthology; one I've been working on since last year, but didn't expect to release until this fall.. Ruth and I have been collecting stories and other pieces that I've written over the last decade or so. And it's come together faster than I expected.

I'd been working on other projects (namely writing the fourth Bayou Boys Adventure: Alien Ambush,;and a new childrens' picture book: Louie, the Lonely Lighthouse (which I am attempting to illustrate myself).

But, with the announcement of the NIWA Book Booth at the rapidly upcoming Portland Spring Home and Garden Show (Feb. 19-23), I felt prompted to finish the anthology in time for the show.

I immediately pushed the other projects aside (Louie will still come out in May, but the April release for Alien Ambush has been moved to "summer"), and pushed to complete the anthology (which was about 3/4 done anyway). It went rather smoothly.

The manuscript is now complete and has gone through the editorial process. It is completely laid out and nearly ready for the press (there's the print proof pass to complete). The cover is well into process, but not quite done. If all goes well that should be ready tomorrow.

BUT YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ALL THAT STUFF! You want to know what the book is about. So here it is:

There are a variety of pieces; it's very eclectic. There are a half dozen poems, two of them are new--one written specifically for the book.

There are lots of photographs, many are from my childhood, but there are also quite a few landscape and art photos that I have taken over the past twenty years (though the bulk of them are recent)

And there are the stories.

There's Rocketman: I Think It's Been a Long Time about growing up in the trailer park. It's an amusing story about life during the cold war and space race.

Then there's Insomnia: And Then There Were Kids about having babies. (What it was like having eight of them.)

In between there are stories about having a dog, playing baseball, dealing with bullies, celebrating Christmas, raising a turkey, bus travel, picking strawberries, being in a band, understanding women, stuff about my old man and my little sister, hunting and a few surprises.

Most of the book is humorous and most of the stories are true. There is one piece of flash fiction, one commentary, one essay, one mash-up, but, aside from the poems, the rest are amusing (and sometimes touching) stories. Several of the pieces have been published elsewhere (like in The Columbian), but several (a half dozen) are brand new.

So, you've got many of the classics that people are always requesting that I find and re-post, and the never before seen (destined to be classic).

YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS BOOK! And Pre-Orders are now being taken.

Here's a little something from an advance reader:

“Inside, you’ll encounter a humorous and bitter-sweet slice of Americana. Always entertaining and encouraging, often auto-biographical, ROCKETMAN will take the reader on a joy ride of wit and wisdom. This work transcends the humble anthology and becomes a conduit of lessons-learned by a very smart man who’s lived abundantly. It’s a multi-vitamin for the soul that you must dive into right now (unless you plan to set aside time for a warm drink and a fire).”

~from the Foreword by author Andy R. Bunch, Diner Tales