I have yet to have a public reading of "Trailer for Rent", (tho one scheduled for September 7, 2017) but the new book, a collection of short stories has sold so well just walkin' down the street carrying five books in my over-the-shoulder satchel, I have had to order three boxes just to keep ahead of the buyers. What a feeling of satisfaction. In about twenty books, I'll be opening that third box and start running them. I have a reading at the local library on September 7th, 6pm to 7pm.
My most prolific, and best student, when I was a creative writing teacher, Erin Mallon, now an adult and working on art projects in Switzterland with her new husband, designed the cover and photo-shopped a photograph of my 91 year old aunt as a child into the doorway of an Airstream trailer, holding a mandolin because after all, the book is called, "Trailer for Rent", and the heroine of the stories, eleven year old Redbud Jane Barrett, is smilin' big-time and wants to play the mandolin after she has saved enough money to buy one more than anything in the whole wide world. She lives at the Sunshine Motor Lodge Trailer Park, which is not as pretentious as the park's name seems to indicate. I spent a summer and last autumn writing and editing thirty stories about our heroine who, in this Young Adult set of stories lives in a rather decent trailer park, but still they're one of the worst places to live in terms of American living quarters. I'm gonna try and put the interview Carla Sarrett wrote for me for Amazon.com down below to give people an idea of what I'm planning P.R. wise.
I have needed to write this book so badly for so long, as a gift to ten to fourteen year olds, though all the adults who have read it, love it, understand my goal, my gift to young people. These thirty stories
are a gift to myself, reflecting on child abuse, (yes, I was), parental alcoholism, child neglect, (yes) poverty (yes) and not always enough to eat or decent clothes when it was a peer necessity. Some of these things may seem unimportant; but to a child's self-esteem, they are crucial. I have readings lined up from Willits CA to Sacramento, so far.
When I get addresses, I'll post them.
are a gift to myself, reflecting on child abuse, (yes, I was), parental alcoholism, child neglect, (yes) poverty (yes) and not always enough to eat or decent clothes when it was a peer necessity. Some of these things may seem unimportant; but to a child's self-esteem, they are crucial. I have readings lined up from Willits CA to Sacramento, so far.
When I get addresses, I'll post them.
