At last, the moment you've all been waiting for . . .

You've all been so very patient, waiting for the unveiling of Rod Riesel's debut novel Sleeping Dogs Lie. I thank you for that, but it's only been a few weeks since I began to tell you Rod's tale and considering that it took him nearly a year to write the manuscript and prepare it for publishing, a few weeks is nothing!

So here's a little bit about the book, in Rod's own words.

     "Sleeping Dogs Lie is a mystery set in the Florida Keys. It’s about a man named Dan Coast. He’s an unlicensed private investigator. The story takes place about three years after his wife is killed in an automobile accident. The story in about his struggle to overcome his grief over her death while investigating the disappearance of a man and woman."

That's it in a nutshell and all that I am willing to reveal.  If you want to know all about Dan Coast and what happens, you are invited to attend Rod's book signing at the library.

oops . . . the picture cuts out the time!  

Well, folks . . . the time to meet Rod and to pick up a signed copy of his book is 5-7pm!  

Hope to see you there!

Fall has arrived officially in the Mohawk Valley! But we didn't need the calendar to tell us that, did we?  We know it because:

• The days are cooler, especially in comparison to the hot, hot, hot days we had this Summer
• At night you need the extra blanket to ward of the crisp cold so that you don't cave in to putting on the heat
• You wake to the shadowy, misty, icy cold fog that settles into the nooks and valleys of our Adirondack foothills
• School is in full swing, as made evidence by the hums and screeches of school buses and the quietness of the village streets between 8 and 2:30
• The hills are beginning to show evidence of the Master Painter's palette, washing away the various greens to reveal a sea of reds, oranges, yellows and browns.
• The local stores are putting up Christmas decorations a couple of aisles down from the Halloween candy and costumes
• The days are growing ever so shorter and are whizzing by in a race to close out this calendar year-or at least that's how it seems! Do you know what I mean?

All of this may be true for you and me, yet for our featured author, Rod Riesel, this September holds an entirely different meaning, and time has not gone by as quickly for him.  That's what anticipation of something big does-slows time to a snail's pace until it seems as it has almost come to a complete standstill.

As each day, slowly fades away, the emotions grow more and more intense.  Nervousness, anxiousness, impatience, excitement and joy intertwine. When I spoke to Rod briefly last week, he seemed to take it all in stride, but admitted that the hardest part of this process is the waiting. 

Waiting allows the brain to think and question.

"Will people read it?"

"Will they like it?"

"Will they buy it?"

The time in which those questions will be answered is near.

Meet Rod at his inaugural book sale/signing event 

Sleeping Dogs Lie

Tuesday, October 9

5pm-7pm

Frank J. Basloe Library

Main Street

Herkimer

Mark your calendars and come to support 

Herkimer's latest author!

Rod came out to the Herkimer Farmers' Market last Thursday to show support for another local author, Mrs. Dorothy Stacy.  Shown here is Mrs. Stacy signing a set of her books for Rod.

The rest of this week, I will tell you a bit about the book and reveal Rod's advise for others who dream of becoming a published author.

But until then . . . Find time to take a walk, read a book, and visit with friends!

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see" (John Burroughs as quoted at coolquotes.com).

     Last time, I told you a bit about Rod Riesel's taste in music.

This time, I want to share with you a bit about his taste in books.  

     For those of you who are anxious to hear more specifics about his debut book, please be patient!  This is a creative process in which all the smaller pieces fit together to make one big picture. I promise you, it'll all come together in the end!  Getting there is half the fun!!!

     Unlike Rod's eclectic taste in music, Rod's favorite genre of literature is mystery. End of story.  His favorite authors are G.M. Ford, Robert Parker, and John D. MacDonald.  Here are some interesting things that I discovered about these authors:

G.M. Ford: Modern mystery writer with a very colorful take on life and writing.  I unearthed this quote Ford given to J. Kingston Pierce of January Magazine about the mystery genre:

"I write fiction. I feel no need to match reality. I have no idea what a real gumshoe does, 
and quite frankly I don't care. Books have no obligation to be accurate. 
What they can't be is noticeably inaccurate. 
As long as they don't puke on their own shoes, everything's fine and dandy.
In some subgenres, like historicals or police procedurals, 
the needs for accuracy are quite different. 
In a standard P.I. story, all you need to do is 
tell a good story (http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/gmford.html)."

And from what I've heard, Rod's Sleeping Dogs Lie is a really good story!


Robert Parker: He was the self-proclaimed "Dean of American Crime Fiction" publishing nearly 70 books, and like Rod, he held many interesting jobs in his lifetime and was a husband and father (http://robertbparker.net/robert-parker-books.php).

John D. MacDonald: MacDonald's a real interesting guy and acclaimed author of 78 American crime novels, including the Travis McGee Series.  What's interesting about that particular series is the location of the setting.

Utica OD contributor, Malio Cardarelli wrote an excellent feature article for the OD back in 2007 about all of the references to Utica that native John D. MacDonald penned in this series.  If you get a chance, go to http://jdmhomepage.org/jdm-and-utica.html and read the article.  While you're there check out the rest of the blog by Cal Branch.  Branch has virtually everything you ever want to know about MacDonald, including this picture of MacDonald's Utica home on Beverly Ave, which is still there:

Rod's favorite books:

This is the toughest question that everyone seems to falter on . . .the standard answer is "there is just too many to choose from."  Ain't that the truth, friends?  But what Rod did tell me was that he is currently reading G.M. Ford's No Man's Island ("best book I've read in two years!" says Rod) and two very memorable books for Rod are Hunter Thompson's Rum Diary  and Jimmy Buffett's Tales from Margaritaville, which relates back to Rod's favorite music.  

See, it all comes together!

Only one more thing before I tell you a bit about Sleeping Dogs Lie, but that will have to wait until next time!  Be sure to keep reading, and until next time . . .

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it"  P.J. O'Rourke, writer, journalist and author

Before we talk about the book, let's learn more about the author's choice in music. . . What? Did that say music, not books?

That's right, music.  Behind every author's story and behind every book, there is one thing in the author's life that influences the way that they write, or what they choose to write about.  Somewhere there is something or someone that has impact upon the way that the author sees the world.  From the answers that he gave me to my probing questions, it seems to me that Rod Riesel's is his choice in music.  

I don't want to go into great detail, as I want to prolong the suspense about Sleeping Dogs Lie, but I can tell you to look for clues; some will be quite obvious, and others more subtle.  

As you gather the clues for the next week or so, I hope you'll learn a little bit more about Rod Riesel and his debut as an author!   

______________________________________

                                 

In Rod's own words, "I enjoy all types of music, but I would have to say my favorite music is music with a beach, or tropical feel."  Pretty different from a Central New Yorker like Rod, where the nearest tropical beach is thousands of miles away.  And sorry guys, Sylvan Beach doesn't count!

When asked what musical artists are his favorites, Rod replies, "Artists like Jimmy Buffet (Folk), Zac Brown Folk/Country), Kenny Chesney (Country) and Bob Marley (Reggae). Recently I have been listening to a band called The Boat Drunks."  Who?

Since I have never heard of The Boat Drunks, and just in case you haven't either, I did a little investigating.  

The band has been around since 2006, originating from Illinois, and their music is as classified in a rather unique genre, kind of like Rod's favorites all rolled into one-"Country/Rock/Tropical . . .Indie (www.myspace.com/boatdrunks#!)."  

For your listening pleasure, I have included one of their songs: Key West Jam (Retrieved from YouTube.com 09/12/12).  Go grab yourself a Margarita, close your eyes and enjoy the sound of The Boat Drunks. 

Too early in the day to travel to Margaritaville? Have a listen anyway!

Okay, so you've read about Rod's choice in music,  maybe had yourself an umbrella drink, and listened to a jam session from a band you may or may not have ever heard of.  What does any of that have to do with Sleeping Dogs Lie?  Please keep reading to find out!

Until next time . . .

Don't just coast through life . . . take a moment to enjoy the simple pleasures like a good book and the company of good friends!

September's Author Revealed

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I have the privilege of introducing a brand-new local author.  This author has been a life-long resident of Herkimer and attended Herkimer schools.   After graduating, he helped his father in "the family construction business."  In 2000, he felt a led to go in a totally different direction, by owning and running a local restaurant with his cousin.  When the restaurant closed in 2004, he returned to the construction business, this time establishing his own under his own name. That name is . . .

Rod Riesel!

Rod, who owns R. Riesel Home Improvements, has tried his hand at writing.  His first published book, Sleeping Dogs Lie, is currently in the final stages of printing as you read this.  Rod is very excited about this and Frank J. Basloe Library has arranged to host a book signing as soon as it cools down from the press!

I hope that you will come back again to learn more about Sleeping Dogs Lie, Rod and how he arrived at this place in his life . . .

being a published author!

Until next time . . .

Remember to answer the question/poll of the day in order to win a signed copy of Sleeping Dogs Lie by Rod Riesel.  Drawing to be held on October 1st.

New Month . . . New Rules . . . New Author!

Before I reveal some exciting changes to this blog and the monthly contest, I would like to offer my sincere appreciation for local author Dorothy Stacy!  She was extremely patient this summer, the summer that I am now calling "My Summer of Transition."  Graduating from one college, preparing to move on to another, one child graduating from High School, sending her off to her own first year of college, and preparing another child for his senior year of H.S. and all the busyness of college visits, senior pictures, etc, etc. left me little time to properly blog.  Thank you Mrs. Stacy for understanding.  I hope that you all did get a chance to head to the library to check out her Erie Canal Cousins series and look for a special event at Frank J. Basloe Library with Mrs. Stacy in the near future!

Now to announce some changes.  I will still continue to bring local authors to you via this blog, but winning is now easier!

All you have to do to enter to win is to answer the question or poll of the day!  Answer as few or as many times as you like, but every time you answer, your name will be entered to win!  It's that simple!  

The only other things that I ask is that you read this blog from time to time to check out the wealth of information that come from our local authors, and if you like Frank J. Basloe Library, please encourage all your friends to "like" us too!  

• Recommend our Facebook page to them-we want to be their friends, too!  
• Encourage your friends online and in person to go to the library to check out the exciting things happening and check out some books and other media while they are there.
• Invite your friends to attend any one or all of Frank J. Basloe Library's events!  The more the merrier!
• Follow us on Pinterest, too!  http://pinterest.com/basloelibrary/.  We pin lots of things of interest to everyone that we don't share on Facebook!
• Encourage the children in your life to read and to get their very own library card!

I am very excited to bring to you a brand new local author this month in September.  A life-long resident of Herkimer and local business owner has written his very first novel and has agreed to tell you about it via this blog!  Want to know who it is?  I will reveal his name and book tomorrow!

Until then . . .