Congratulations to Jan Marie Fortier on her new novel!
Jan Marie lives in the hills of Kelso, Washington, with her husband Jerry. She has previously published a novel, titled Roots and Wildflowers, and a chapbook of poems, Falling Leaves: Poems from My Heart.
You can read Jan Marie's Book Chat interview here.
|
|
|
2020 HaikuFest salutes Cynthia Smith!
Gary Meyers, one of the judges of the 12th annual haiku contest sponsored by The Columbia River Reader, wrote to Cynthia:
“Each year we receive many finely crafted haiku that create the vivid images that are the definition of good haiku. But the judges all agreed that none has ever moved us more than those you submitted. In 17 syllables, you created pain from loss that some would find nearly impossible to bear.”
Cynthia wrote of losing both sisters and her mother in the space of one year.
Brief glimpses of light
A promise that hope exists
In the dark abyss.
|
|
|
Send your literary news for June to alan@alan-rose.com by May 30.
|
|
Travel & Spiritual Writer Pico Iyer on the Pandemic
The British essayist (Video Nights in Kathmandu) offers his take on a hidden benefit of the pandemic.
|
|
|
“My sense is that many of us have been living out of balance in recent years, with much more data than we have time to make sense of, with much more distraction than can ever make us happy, and with so much clutter in our heads or in our calendars that we can’t lay our hands on what is most essential.
“All of us are most concerned about those without homes or resources and the ill. But for those of us lucky enough to be safe, so far, and maybe to have jobs to return to, or roofs over our head, I think it offers us a perfect chance to think about what really sustains us.”
|
|
He advises: “Treat this moment as a chance to take a break, so as to return to your life with clearer direction and a more definite sense of priorities.”
From a discussion with Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post’s Book Club newsletter (April 10, 2020)
|
|
|
Interview with Jan Marie Fortier about her new novel, The Girls from Seattle.
|
|
|
About the book:
As she lives into middle age, Michelle invites several women to a special dinner she is hosting. Though all are friends from different periods of Michelle’s life in Seattle, none of them have met each other before this evening. What does Michelle want to discover from this meeting of strangers? What will it mean to each of them?
You can read Jan Marie's interview here.
|
|
|
Vikki J. Carter produces the Podcast Authors of the Pacific Northwest, interviews with writers, editors and publishers, at www.squishpen.com
|
|
|
Episode 86: David James Roberts (https://davidjamesrobertsauthor.square.site). Writer, journalist, & documentarian, David James Roberts shares the inspiration for his book, The Paper Man.
Episode 87: Race Walters (https://www.racewaltersart.com) Debut author Race Walters discusses the journey to publish his first book: Mason: Us Versus the World.
|
|
Book Review:
Cascadia's Fault: The Coming Earthquake and Tsunami That Could Devastate North America
by Jerry Thompson
|
|
Waiting for the Next Big Thing
If you can just get past the idea of catastrophic death and destruction, this is a fascinating tale of geologists acting as major sleuths in uncovering one of the earth’s deepest mysteries. The rather fantastical 19th century idea of Continental Drift matured into the 20th century theory we know today as plate tectonics, where not really “continents” but huge plates are shifting and moving over the earth as the planet continues to expand from its internal heating...
You can read the full review here.
|
|
|
Read a Good Book Recently?
Share your enthusiasm for a book in The Columbia River Reader's monthly feature, What Are You Reading?
Email me at alan@alan-rose.com with your book recommendation and why you liked it.
|
|
|
Photo-reflections:
My Little Woodland Friends
|
|
|
Social distancing with humans has permitted me the time to cultivate non-human relationships on this hillside (the governor's orders said nothing about jays, chipmunks and squirrels,) and over these past eight weeks, we have made deeply satisfying connections based on trust, patience, and a whole lot of peanuts.
I consider them my little woodland friends.
They consider me a primary food source.
We're very close.
|
|
Find more news, reviews, interviews, and photo-reflections at www.alan-rose.com. and feel welcome to contact me at alan@alan-rose.com.
|
|
|
|
|