Tomorrow Is Officially Declared Tuesday

And since it is Tuesday, and since it is May 1st, I shall make myself appear at Cafe Noir in Silverdale between 9:00 and 2:00. I'm limbering up my signature-writing muscles now. If anything else, you can buy a great cup of coffee or tea and goodies from Mike, the owner!

Song of the Unsung Book Signing

Just a quick reminder that I'll be at Cafe Noir in Silverdale, WA next Tuesday, May 1st from 9-2 to autograph copies of Song of the Unsung. Hope to see you there!

Buffalo Hump

Here's one for you: Is Buffalo Hump a person, place or thing? Where does he/it reside? The book is being released in December with Champagne Books. I think you're going to like it!

Here's A Thought

I've heard a lot of people say that they'd like to write a novel, as every other writer probably has. Go for it! Let your story unfold. Let your imagination overwhelm you. Put your fingers to your keyboard and let 'er rip!

Then the next thing you need to do is learn the skill. Join a writers' critique group. Leave your ego at the door, because you're going to be skewered on a regular basis. What you see as a masterpiece seldom is at first.

When your manuscript is honed and polished. It can be submitted to Publishing Houses, agents, editors, or even be self-published. First hand experience says that unless you're fortunate, you're going to have a drawer full of rejection letters before you are accepted by someone.

After you are accepted, it can take up to a year or better to actually become published,  and longer than that to receive your first royalty check, so don't quit your day job.

Be serious about writing. Decide whether you love it for the recreation and creativity or for a career. There's always room for more good writers!

Gary

Book Signing

I'll be signing books at Cafe Noir in Silverdale on May 1st from 9-2. The coffee's great there!

From Song of the Unsung

CHAPTER ONE

Two days before life on the planet changed, Ben Stitch was back in the air in his Piper Cherokee heading west from his last delivery of mail and a passenger at the Inupiaq village in the ‘1002 (ten-zero-two) Land’ near the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Stitch was one of the North Slope Borough’s pilots paid to make deliveries and other odd jobs a plane was needed for between towns and villages.

He was just settling in and adjusting himself for his long flight back to Prudhoe Bay for a quick refueling stop and then on to his home at Nuiqsut when he spotted a huge herd of caribou moving north en masse toward the coast. Migration to the north was unheard of during this time of year. It was way too early - too cold. Something seemed to be driving them.

Within fifteen minutes of seeing the caribou Stitch spotted a herd of musk ox heading in the same direction in herd numbers that he had never witnessed before. “Hmmmm…what do they know that we don’t know,” he wondered aloud.

Rehearsing all he had been taught over the years by his people and his interest in science, his mind started rattling off the checklist for possible reasons:

Earthquakes are common, but the stronger ones usually happen more around the Gulf of Alaska in the southwest part of the State. Every so often a little temblor still manages to rattle a window up here, though. It might have rattled some critters nerves this time, but it would’ve had to be big to move that many animals. Maybe there was a volcano eruption somewhere? Animals have a weird sense about these things even before they happen.

 “What the…since when do grizzlies run beside musk ox without the oomingmak circling up to protect themselves?” Ben spoke out louder to himself in disbelief as he saw yet another anomaly. About a dozen grizzly bears were traveling to the right of the musk ox in a group. Neither species seemed to pay any attention to the other or the airplane noise overhead as they ran toward the direction of the coast. The oomingmak and bears were running parallel to each other at full speed about one hundred yards apart.

“That’s just nuts,” Ben muttered as he scratched his head. “What’s next - a sasquatch sighting?” He radioed to Prudhoe Bay about what he saw when he came into range, thinking the State’s wildlife folks might like to hear about this.

Easter

What a great day today. We celebrated my twin nieces' 14th birthday, plus in was grandson Waylon's first-ever Easter (he didn't give a rip, but it was cute). Family is everything, writing comes in second, but writing's what I love to do as well.

Funny enough that I had a wild bunny traversing across my front lawn tonight, though. Had a great chuckle about that!

Hippity Hop, Hippity Hop

I remember Easter as an exciting time when I was in K thru 3rd grade in Wasco, OR. We searched for Easter eggs in the park and the whole community (of about 300) cheered on the kids. It was our version of a current-day Disneyland. How I wish for the preservation of those little towns across the country and their adherence to tradition! ;)