Traveling back from Seattle to Idaho last Monday included rain
that slowed things down and bright sun that burned through the windshield.
Driving through Central Washington is like driving through multiple climate
zones. There are places where the sky looks almost as big as Montana. Yesterday’s
drive to Walla Walla was bright and sunny with incredible light playing off the
grain and hay fields. On the way back, it was gray and drear with the colors
muted. Same road. Same day. Go figure.
Our hay in Idaho is about a month
behind Central Washington where the first cutting is already baled and stacked
but look at how rich and lush these rows cut this week are!
I had a lovely drive on the
Palouse Scenic Byway headed toward Walla Walla. Just another beautiful day in
the Palouse.
In case you are not familiar with
it, when you pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” this is where the answer
comes from.
Spring wheat is green and growing.
Winter wheat is already golden and almost ready to harvest.
The trip was not at all drear, though. I had a lovely time at The
Book and Game Company on Main Street in Walla Walla. Met and talked with a lot
of people and watched the ICE protest march out the window. Yes, there were
chants, signs, drums, and a lot of people. But they were also orderly in a way
that only people raised in a small town to be respectful of others can be. They
even had their own people stationed at intersections to make sure the marchers
obeyed the crossing signals and didn’t obstruct traffic. There was no missing
the intent of the march, though. People are angry about the dehumanization of
refugees by our government. It will take me a while to compose my thoughts on
that so they make sense.
It might look sparse compared to
Washington DC or Portland or SeaTac, but this march went past the bookstore for
about 20 minutes. People are passionate and I was happy to see all ages
involved.
Inside the store, it
was quiet and I had a nice display of all my books right inside the door and
could say hi to everyone who came in. I signed some books and after three hours
had a fantastic ginger braised brisket sandwich at Olive on Main Street.
Nice display right inside the front doors of the bookstore. I think it is
somehow appropriate that I’m located right next to “Where’s Waldo?”
I was packed in the
truck and getting ready to leave town when I realized I didn’t have my driving
glasses and couldn’t find them. That resulted in a half-hour search, retracing
my steps through the restaurant, bookstore, and Starbucks. Nothing. I finally
adjusted the tilt on my reading glasses and left town. An hour later, I stopped
at a rest area and got to thinking about every article I’d packed. I pulled out the long box I keep my
banners in and emptied it. Sure enough, in the bottom of the box was my glasses
case. I’d apparently knocked it into the box before I put the banners away.
Felt better driving after that.
Sitting by the fire,
exhausted, I started to go over the reviews of the past week. Some good things
have come about. This new 5-star review of City
Limits on Amazon from Colleen, for example:
“What a pleasure it was to seemingly travel to Rosebud Falls, the
town in this book, and feel as though I was a member of the community. Because
the characters are so well developed, the reader truly can be part of the
story. Vivid images fill the mind as one can quickly read; it's hard to put
down once started. The characters were so realistic; I started hearing my
friends' voices and my own in the dialogue. No matter whom you relate to in the
book, you'll find a connection. Anyone who has spent time in the woods and out
in nature can identify with the importance of The Forest. I could see this book
turned into a successful TV mini series that could get positive ratings during
prime time hours. I'm looking forward to my next visit to Rosebud Falls in
2019. This book is worth the read!!!” — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DGMG4SQ#customerReviews
I had a somewhat mediocre review from Stacy at Two Gals and a
Book on Tuesday as she took exception to my casting a “man of God” as the
villain.
“With all the focus so much all the time on this twisted view, I
think it gives a negative perception of Christianity and Christians in general
as greedy, intolerant, violent and mentally ill, which I do take offense at.
This caused me to view this book in a more negative light, and the strangeness
with the forest would have been better explained I might have liked it better.”
— https://twogalsandabook.com/city-limits-blog-tour-and-interview-with-nathan-everett/
I’ve ranted about this elsewhere so I won’t belabor it here. I’ll
simply say that it is too bad that people worry more about how a religion is
viewed when a negative character is introduced than about the fact the religion
has charlatans masquerading as men of God in the first place. Rather be mad at
the person who points them out and defend the charlatan so they won’t look bad.
Enough said for today. I’m likely to have a lengthy dissertation on this in the
future. In fact, last night I conceived an entire scene in the sequel that
would be an editorial written by one of the other ministers in town. I am not,
however, going to turn the book into a religious war. It isn’t about religion.
The review from Globeflower Agency cast the issue in a different
light. Anna-Lisa loved the book and her review was enthusiastic.
“Nathan’s characters were interesting and I felt like Karen
especially would make a great friend. Gee was fantastic and the situations that
he found himself in, demonstrates how people can wrongly jump to conclusions
and accuse an innocent person. Gee was definitely a champion and was heroic. … Nathan
tackled some big issues in the novel including corruption. He definitely did
not shy away from any controversy and I appreciated this rather than the story
being sugar-coated.” — https://globeflower.co.uk/blog/2018/06/29/nathan-everett/
So, I’ve had peaks and valleys this week as I try to get the book
out to as wide an audience as possible. Your review would help as well!
A hickory forest in the northeast.
The development of Wild Woods, the sequel to City Limits, is progressing. Nearly
everyone who has read or commented on the book has mentioned that they are
looking forward to the sequel. I started writing immediately because I needed
to keep the flow from one book to the other. But that easy chapter is just a
beginning. Now I’m sitting with my stack of 3x5 index cards writing out scenes,
plot points, questions, and settings. The next three months will be filled with
3x5 cards, I think. I’m getting terrific help from my story editor already who
finds time to chat with me from wherever in the world she happens to be at the
moment. Today, Brazil. Having a sounding board for ideas at this stage of the
game is immeasurably helpful.
Of course, I’m writing
on five other projects as well. When you have multiple author personalities
like I do, there is always a project demanding attention. I don’t let that
prevent me from sitting with a glass of wine in front of the fire or joining my
neighbors for a game of cards in the afternoon. Life here at Sun Meadow
continues to be idyllic. And my next engagement will be right here. I’ll be at
a meet and greet signing on July 14. Hope to have a good attendance at the Skin to the Wind Festival of Fun! http://www.nathaneverett.com/events.html
Enjoy!
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