Gray Dog Press

SpokeWrite: The Spokane / Coeur d’Alene Journal of Art and Writing
Issue 6: Summer 2010

SpokeWrite features writers, artists, and photographers from the Inland Northwest. The contributors range from professional, published authors to new unpublished students of their craft. Writing categories include non-fiction, fiction, poetry, opinion, and reviews. When selecting content from contributions for SpokeWrite we do not have a predetermined theme so there is a wide variety of topics and ideas. The articles and stories range from the serious to the whimsical.

Contributors:
Non-Fiction: Kaye Bartholomew, Michael Andrew Marsden, Diana Wickes, and Tammany Ogden

Fiction: Frank Zafiro, Ken Staley, Daniel Mullen, Matthew Collin, Michael Andrew Marsden, and Judith Shadford

Poetry: Ron Elliot, Katie Dolan, Jennifer Richards, R. Steven Heaps, Bob Neubauer, Daniel Mullen, Hazel Hunter, Kaye Bartholomew, Derek Annis, Esther Rhoads, Lynne deLaubenfels, C.L. Crowell, Nina Elo, Judy Grollmus, Paul Ebert, and Willis Moore

Artwork: Tammany Ogden

Published: July 2010 Volume 2 - Issue 2

Available at Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area Hastings or order direct from Gray Dog Press CLICK HERE

If you are interested in contributing to SpokeWrite, see our submissions page by clicking here.

Can A Shocking Resurrection From Extinction Save Mankind?

While  the world succumbs to the horrors of a great flu epidemic, a woman vows to protect the perilous fate of a bird whose existence manipulates the destiny of man. In this suspenseful tale, part Michael Crichton, part Rachel Carson, a global virus sets the tone, but it’s a one-pound bird that determines who lives… and who doesn’t. Science collides head-on with the untamed in this powerful novel of redemption.

What they are saying about Quick Fall Of Light:
“A wonderful reading experience… I think anyone who picks up this book will be changed by it.” Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Ph.D., Author of When Elephants Weep and Dogs Never Lie About Love

Tuesday, July 27th 7:00-9:00 pm Q&A with the author at Auntie’s Bookstore
Saturday, July 24th 1:00-4:00 pm Coeur d’Alene Hasting’s
Saturday, August 7th 2:00-5:00 pm Sullivan Hasting’s
Saturday, September 11th 1:00-4:00 pm 29th Avenue Hasting’s

Cougar Cub Tales: I’m Just Like You, the second book in the Cougar Cub Tales series, is about a cougar cub brother and sister who, one day, encounter a creature very unlike themselves. They have ungrounded apprehension about whether or not the blind bobcat is “a real cougar cub.”

By the end of the tale, they realize that they really ARE basically the same, overlooking their physical differences as they embrace their new friend. It is a timeless story that deals with the everyday issue of intolerance, especially regarding physical difference and disability. It is written in a wonderful non-sensical rhyme, and the eighteen watercolors are an exquisite representation of this charming tale.

For more information about Cougar Cub Tales: I’m Just Like You, as well as the other books in the Cougar Cub Tales series go to www.CougarCubTales.com. Or you can see and hear a reading by the author on YouTube.com (cougar cub tales).

About the Author

Sharon Jean Cramer was born in Jamestown, New York in 1960. She lived throughout the United States, finally settling in the Pacific Northwest. She attended Idaho State University and then Gonzaga University. She has three sons of her own, and she and the cougar cubs currently reside, happily, in Spokane, Washington.

Book Release for Cougar Cub Tales: I’m Just Like You Friday, July 9th, 7:00-9:00 pm Auntie’s Bookstore in Downtown Spokane

Saturday, July 17th 12:00-3:00 pm Coeur d’Alene Hasting’s

Friday, August 6th 5:00-8:00 pm Simply Northwest for First Friday Spokane
Saturday, September 18th 1:00-4:00 pm 29th Avenue Hasting’s

You can get it direct from Gray Dog Press, just Click Here

Just Released! Dawn Nelson’s second book in The Rancher Series. Mystery, intrigue and romance in a contemporary western setting is an exciting summer read.

Jacket Copy
Marnie White was a quiet and highly educated woman. She had given up her life as a bank teller for her best friend who was having some troubles on her ranch. But after her best friend got married and the trouble subsided, she was feeling like a third wheel. Marnie figured it was time she set off into the world on her own, before the secret she kept close to her heart came back to kill her. After answering a newspaper advertisement for a cow camp cook on the Montana border she was off.

They soon found out that food is more than just a way to a man’s stomach it is also a way to his heart and a colt is not the only thing that can be tamed.

Set on a ranch and about people who have the same love of horses and country life I do. This is a book that is a must have and part of my collection. And, it is one book I will read again. …a beautiful story.  Judy Oswood

For this and other books written by Dawn Nelson you can order direct from the publisher (Click Here) or ask for it at your favorite bookstore.

John Thamm, author of Vets: 50 Portraits of Veterans and Their Stories (See information below)
Friday, June 4th,J.F. Thamm Gallery at 11 S. Washinton Street, Downtown Spokane from 5:00-8:00pm

Dawn Nelson, author of the light romance, Rancher Series, will be releasing her second book in the series titled The Colt.
Friday, June 18th, Arbor Crest Cliff House in the Croquet Court from 6:00-9:00pm

These events are open to the public, all ages are welcome!

For more information call Gray Dog Press at 509-534-0372

In Vets: 50 Portraits of Veterans and Their Stories. John Thamm, a widely recognized artist and painter, has compiled a memorable collection of images and stories as told by veterans spanning WWII to the war in Iraq. Some veterans had an enjoyable, non-eventful experience in the military, while others reflect on horrific memories that defined the rest of their lives.

“…after slowly pouring through this remarkable collection of portraits and personal stories… I realized why there is this connection, this brotherhood, this sense of automatic bonding with other veterans that makes being a veteran something special. We may have served in different eras, in different services, in different units, in different countries, in combat or not in combat, in a hot war or a cold war, but the bond somehow holds us together.” Paul Quinnett PhD-clinical psychologist and author of Suicide:The Forever Decision.

John F. Thamm lives in Spokane, Washington. He teaches portrait workshops in the U.S., Mexico, Netherlands and Germany and has a Masters of Fine Art degree from the University of Idaho. John studied portraiture at the Art Students League in New York City. John has been a courtroom sketch artist for television and newspaper media including CNN, ABC, Associated Press, KREM, KXLY and the Spokesman Review. Notable trials he has covered are the Weaver-Harris Ruby Ridge Trial, Branch Davidian-Waco Trial, and the Aryan Nations Trial in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. You can view John’s work at the J.F. Thamm Gallery, 11 S. Washington St., Spokane.  “Vets” is featured by the local PBS station-KSPS in the November 2009 Northwest Profiles series. The project can be viewed on the “Vets” project blogsite- http://johnthammstudios.blogspot.com/

Vets is a large 8-1/2 X 11 format on high quality archival text. All 50 Portraits are full color images of John’s original oil paintings. A total of 162 pages contain portraits, interviews and commentary.

Vets is available at the Gray Dog Press bookstore (Click Here), the JF Thamm Gallery and soon to be at your favorite bookstore.

In The Write Choice: A Novelized Guide to Careers in Writing, Spokane author Julia Dixon gives us a smart, witty, and satirical look at what it takes to be a writer. Originally written as a high school senior class project, The Write Choice shows her potential as a world-class author. This book is one that serves as an excellent example for aspiring writers of all ages of what can happen when creativity and imagination collide.

It was selected for publication because of Julia’s creativity and unusual insight of the publishing world. The descriptions in the text of the different facets of editing, writing and publishing were amazingly spot on even though she had no experience in the publishing world. A very humorous poke at writing and publishing and the people within the industry, it is a must read for students, teachers and publishing executives alike.

From the back cover:
This unique novel explores the vast realm of careers in writing to help you discover the right choice for your talents. Follow college students Ben and Hollie as they participate in a mysterious fact-hunting job to research careers in writing and learn for yourself what it takes to get a start in the newspaper industry, entertainment writing, book publishing and more! Whether you have any questions about a particular career or if you are a new writer altogether, let The Write Choice introduce you to a few of the in-demand, engaging careers available in the world of writing.

Hear what the critics are saying about The Write Choice!
“Julia has the uncanny ability to put words together in a sequence to form sentences. These sentences are then accumulated to create what she calls ‘paragraphs,’ then subsequently grouped into chapters, which she cleverly numbers from one to seven. Brilliant!” Chad Gandalf, Gondor Gazette

“Never before in the history of publishing has a book so totally transformed mankind, global society and perhaps the universe. Even just its presence on your bookshelf will alter the time-space continuum in your home and neighborhood. And now it’s more affordable in paperback!” Debbie Galadriel, Lothlorien Times

“A book you won’t be able to put down. Unless you need to answer the door or something.  Or maybe the phone. If you need to go to the bathroom while reading it you should probably put it down. Just put a bookmark in it to tell you later where you stopped reading.” Rudy Gamgee, The Shire Review”

I didn’t read it. Was I supposed to?” Bob Sauron, Mordor Weekly

80 pages and no illustrations because it’s all words.

Available from the Gray Dog Press bookstore (Click Here) and regional bookstores in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Soon to be available at all bookstores via Ingram.