Kickstarter

I’ve been a drifter, hitchhiker, migrant farmworker, soldier, fugitive, prisoner, long-haul trucker, mountain climber, poet, published author, and public radio DJ. I’ve begun this Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for publishing my memoir, “Then There Is No Mountain –An American Memoir”. Will you please consider a pledge to help me get it in print, reviewed, and distributed? Kickstarter campaigns are uniquely appealing to those considering a pledge to help a worthy project. For example:

1.      You actually get a package of rewards for your investment. Check out the cool rewards you will get!

2.      If we don’t meet our goal by our self-imposed deadline, your pledge is non-binding.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR “THEN THERE IS NO MOUNTAIN –AN AMERICAN MEMOIR”:

“Imminently readable and entertaining, in both a sensory way (great description) and in a philosophical way, which in the voice of the writer is homespun wisdom from true-life experience and somewhat lofty reading. I was reminded time and again of Pirsig’s ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’. Beautiful writing.” -- CreateSpace (Amazon’s publishing division) editorial staff

“Reminiscent of Hemingway’s ‘Big Two-Hearted River’” -grimy and good and well-honed.” -- Mark Brown, editor-in-chief, “This Land Press”

“You handle the flashbacks so well, giving your story and your self portrait dimensionality and depth--an excellent mastery of form. I was especially moved by your description of your hanging out at Earlham College, your idea about why you didn't choose to attend college, and the description of the "moment of grace" in the Tall Grass Prairie.” -- William Epperson, Professor of English, ORU

“There is a quality in your writing that reminds me of Hemingway.” -- Dr. Tom Tomshany, Ph.D.

"Thanks for the ride.... A charming, entertaining, and quite engaging narrative."
-- Scott Gregory, poetry editor at This Land Press and producer for Studio Tulsa (at KWGS-FM)

Two excerpts from “Then There Is No Mountain” have been published in This Land Press, under the titles Candy Creek Ritual and Dustbowl Dad. Candy Creek Ritual has been selected for inclusion in This Land’s first annual “Best of This Land Anthology”.

SYNOPSIS:

My friend, Joe Dennis, has been after me for a couple of years to join him in a climb of Mount Rainier, and in 2009, while I am recovering from cancer surgery, I realize it’s time to say yes. Life is short, and death is long. We drive to Mount Rainier from Tulsa. The climax of the trip is our climb, but the story goes far beyond Rainier. We stay on the road for three weeks, along with my wife, Louise, and Joe’s wife, Laura. Along the way, we pass through the cities of Boulder, Twin Falls, Portland, Seattle, Mendocino, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, and Albuquerque. And all the wild American West in between. I have traveled extensively in the U.S.A., all my life, so, along the way to and from Rainier, we cross many old paths of mine. These crossings become the occasions for stories from my past adventures on the American road, from the 1970s of my youth, to 2009.

"Then There Is No Mountain" combines elements of road story, nature writing, outdoor adventure, cancer survival, and coming-of-age story. It also combines techniques of nonfiction and fiction, blended to serve the truest account of my experiences.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ SOME EXCERPTS?
Please visit my blog: thenthereisnomountain.wordpress.com –You can read several excerpts there.

MY PLAN FOR PUBLISHING:

My goal is to raise $3,000.00. This amount will cover the costs of self-publishing through CreateSpace, Amazon's self-publishing division. Their professional staff will design the book, inside and out. They will promote the book, including distribution to critics for review. They will list it on Amazon.com and other online sites. They will create physical and e-book versions.

“Bringing In The Sheaves,” Council Oak Books, 1996; Diary of a Wheat Harvest, Oklahoma Today, 1996; Native Stone, Oklahoma Today, 1999; Candy Creek Ritual, This Land Press, 2012; Dust Bowl Dad, This Land Press, 2012; Saddle Up, Oklahoma Today, 2013 (scheduled). Candy Creek Ritual has been selected for This Land Press’s Best Of Anthology (in-progress). Several of my poems have been published in the online journal Szarnyu.