ITHACA, New York - It was a beautiful afternoon in Ithaca Thursday when I gave a short version of my talk, "Fracking Fiction: You Can't Make This Stuff Up."
It was beautiful enough that it was hard to leave my dock on Seneca Lake and drive over the hill to Buffalo Street Books.
But as has been the case everywhere I have been speaking lately, the audience was very receptive and had plenty of good questions, including some from a high school classmate, Ward Romer, who lives in Ithaca.
Among the group also was a couple from Germany who travel annually to Ithaca. They were appalled at some of the tales I related and we had a good discussion about how far along Germany is with its renewable energy efforts compared to the U.S.
We talked at some length about the EPA-induced chemical release into the Animas River in Colorado, the subject of my column in the Friday Finger Lakes Times newspaper of Geneva, NY.
My next talk is scheduled for Flagstaff, Az. in late September, followed by the Green Festival in Los Angeles, Saturday Sept. 26 at noon.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - The news that western mystery writer C.J. Box was going to be in Cleveland (actually south of Cleveland) at the Cuyahoga Public Library sent me catapulting in that direction on 24-hours notice with editor, promotions director (and wife) Sylvia Fox.
With C.J. Box - gotta love the hat
Box has been a favorite writer since I stumbled across his novel Endangered earlier this summer at the Watkins Glen Public Library.
Since then, I've studied his work more carefully and love the way he winds environmental themes in with police work all in tightly written novels.
His talk was great. It took him years to get his first book published, but then things took off fast.
His best story/anecdote was how he went to a writers' conference and was meeting with a book editor, telling his tale of woe about not getting his first book published yet.
The book editor asked who the agent was. When Box told him, the book editor replied, "He died four months ago."
Although getting to have any real one-on-one time wasn't realistic, I did manage to slip Box copies of both The Fracking War and Fracking Justice, along with a brief note, asking if he could pass along word to his very much alive agent, Ann Rittenberg that I need literary representation.
CANANDAIGUA, New York - The weekend event was irresistible - a downtown renovation project called "Streetscape" was being unveiled by the Business Improvement District. Plus one of the major contributors to the whole Main Street makeover to be honored was Amy Colburn.
Yes, thatAmy Colburn, the artist who did the cover art for Fracking Justice and who also did the design for the Fracking Justice T-shirts.
Amy and I had never met face-to-face. Until Saturday we had only an electronic professional relationship that started last fall. Meeting her was a real treat.
Also, the event featured the very mural that I had seen online in the first place that prompted me to contact Amy to see if she would consider doing my book cover. The photos barely do it justice.
Downtown Canandaigua has been transformed by the improvement project, by the way.
Real railroad tracks with the mural in the background
VALOIS, New York - Since the arrival of sons Dylan and Dustin - along with nephew Alex - to the Valois Point Yacht Club cottages, all work on the draft of the novel Jack's Boat ceased.
At the helm
It wasn't so much that I couldn't have carved out a little time to write here and there. But the hubbub has been waaaaay too much fun.
And amazingly, the weather turned out to be absolutely Seneca Lake perfect. That meant days of sailing the Crimson Tide and motoring about in the Spirit of Louise pontoon boat. The two kayaks were pressed into service along with the Captain's Gig rowboat, too.
All that fun is about to come to a crashing end Monday morning when it's back to the keyboard to write next Friday's Write On column for the Finger Lakes Times.
But equally important is to get back stacking paragraphs on the draft of Jack's Boat, where I left two characters rushing to the scene of a big fire in which it's possible loved ones have died. Have they perished? I won't know until I start typing and the story reveals itself.
When the draft of Jack's Boat is completed and sent off to the editor, I am playing with the idea of putting together a collection of my Finger Lakes Times columns in a book tentatively titled, Don Quixote At The Keyboard, before tackling Fracking Evil, the third book in the fracking trilogy.
I just completed four years of newspaper columns - 208 consecutive columns. The book would have perhaps 50-75 with commentary about why I wrote what I did and notes on what I would write today on the same topic.
But that's Monday. And it's only Saturday.
Loosen the lines! Raise the sails! The wind is up!
Now that I think about it, my wife Sylvia and I have been married exactly the same amount of time as Grassroots has been going on.
And for the first time in my 25 years of coming to Seneca Lake, we went to Grassroots for two of the four-day run of the festival. Part of our time was spent helping promote Gas Free Seneca, the other to promoting my two novels, The Fracking War and Fracking Justice. Both were successful.
I was struck by how many people are still - even at a progressive, environmentally conscious event like Grassroots - uninformed about the effects of hydrofracking for oil and natural gas.
I was also struck by how many people said they just don't have any time to read - way too busy. When I engaged them in conversation about television however, they could recite chapter and verse about the latest Suits episode.
I suggested she watch the film "Goldfinger"
Amazing music, amazing people, amazing food. Now that I have used three amazings in a row, I should not use a fourth, but I will.
I had my photo taken at the entrance with an amazing woman clad - and painted - all in silver. I wished she had been there dressed as Lady Justice. It would have made the photo even more interesting. She didn't speak at all, just made slow-motion gestures like a statue come alive.
In my case she blew me a kiss after we took the photo together.
I'll be writing my Finger Lakes Times newspaper column this week about Grassroots, including mention of three gas company employees - who swore they were not gas company employees - who asked all kinds of questions about Gas Free Seneca. The trio of beefy, somewhat glum characters claimed to be visiting from Vermont but stood out like proverbial sore thumbs among the throngs of smiling, happy people.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The drafting of Jack's Boat, a novel set in Oakland, California and the Pacific Coast of Mexico, has continued this week with the addition of about 5,000 words in the last two days.
This overachiever, daily word-count production is in part thanks to some totally crappy weather at Seneca Lake. Heavy rains yesterday. Today the rain cleared up but the wind is howling.
Not good weather for launching either my pontoon boat or sailboat.
Still, there are no complaints from this writer. Today's writing including another set of plot twists I had not completely anticipated, an untimely death (unless you didn't like the character - I didn't), a betrayal by a family member and finally, a tragic fire.
The fire started at the end of Chapter 22. I left two characters standing on an Oakland street corner watching the fire trucks roared by, headed to the blaze. I will pick them up tomorrow.
The first draft of Jack's Boat should be done by mid-August, I hope. Sooner if the weather continues to be more winter than summer. But that's an issue for tomorrow.
VALOIS, New York - Even with lawnmowers whirling and belching smoke outside my cottage window this morning, I was able to pound out close to 1,000 words on Jack's Boat, my summer novel that is more than half-completed.
Heinold's Saloon - Oakland, CA waterfront
It's more than half-completed because I am picking up a tale I started writing years ago.
But today'schapter musings resulted in a big leap in the plot, one I had not expected. For me that's one of the most fun elements of fiction writing. The characters frequently head off in directions that I didn't anticipate.
That happened twice today with one sad event but with the clear promise of wonderful things ahead.
Jack's Boat is on track - actually a little ahead of schedule. I had anticipated getting back into the writing saddle July 1 (today!), but actually started days ago revamping the already written segment of the book. Now I am four chapters into the second half.
The book takes place in Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland - and parts of coastal Mexico.
I wonder if these characters have any interest in Tonga? Perhaps they will let me know tomorrow.
