Barefoot On Old Snow I Compose An Elegy For A Stranger

Past midnight walking
Barefoot on old snow, translucent
Callous as the full moon.
An ancient woman from Fukien
Down the block
Once talked the winter’s ear off.
All angles and spittle her Chinese rage
I imagined a thousand broken
Chopsticks frozen mid-air
Suspended beneath
Moonbeams of pale silk.
How I miss this stranger!
What age, I wonder
Does the smallest absence
Change everything?
Gibberish to me and yet
Now it starves this silence.
There were rumors,
Unknowable pain, unbearable loss
Some said
She’s just singing.
A winter song of madness?
My toes are numb;
My feet too far from shoes.
I sing for her.


 - - James Anderson

From Inside My Book Fort - - "Lullaby Road" by James Anderson

Welcome to the Book Fort!

Today I'm reading from James Anderson's "Lullaby Road."

If you're a Meanderings and Muses regular, you already know this is one of my favorite authors.

I discovered his work quite by accident when I received a copy of his first Ben Jones novel, "The Never-Open Desert Diner," through NetGalley.com.

I think I requested it because of the title, but it took me all of maybe a paragraph or two to realize I had happened onto something quite special.

"Lullaby Road" is Mr. Anderson's second Ben Jones novel, and it too is pretty darn special.


Enjoy!

(note:  for some reason, the final two minutes ended up in a separate little video, all it's own - why?    NO idea . . .)

This is the link to an interview with James Anderson at Poisoned Pen Books -
https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/8028223


And -
Here's the trailer for Lullaby Road.  

It is simply and elegantly beautiful.   

Once you watch, you're never going to be able to resist reading the book -

James Anderson

Two years ago, I happened across a book by an author I'd never heard of.

The book was "The Never-Open Desert Diner," and the author was James Anderson.

I talked about it endlessly (including right here),  because it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Powerful" is, I think, a much over-used term when it comes to books.  And that's sad because it's the word that continues to come to mind whenever I think about "The Never-Open Desert Diner."


Powerful.  Lyrical.  Poetic.  Compelling.  Passionate.  Beautiful.


I wanted to share it with everyone I know.


And, I waited rather impatiently for the next Ben Jones novel by James Anderson.


Well, it's here and it was worth waiting for.


The title is "Lullaby Road."

Through the generosity and graciousness of my good friend, Lesa Holstine aka "Book Angel," I was able to interview Mr. Anderson for Poisoned Pen prior to his upcoming book signing.  You can read the interview here -
https://poisonedpen.com/2018/01/19/interview-with-james-anderson/

It's an interview I'm proud of and James gave us a little more of himself than I anticipated.

Read the interview, please, and then, if you haven't already, treat yourself to "The Never Open Desert Diner" and "Lullaby Road."

Here's the trailer for Lullaby Road.  Once you watch, you're never going to be able to resist reading the book -

First Half Favorites for 2016

My friend Lesa posted her First Half Favorites for 2016 at her blog - https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/.

Nor surprisingly, we share a few faves.


I don't always do a favorites list at the end of the year any more, but I do post the list of what I've read during the year.  And I will highlight a few that have stayed with me.

But this half year list intrigues me.


When I thanked Lesa for coming up with such a clever idea, she told me it was actually Jen Forbus's idea of a couple years ago.  And that doesn't surprise me a bit.  Jen keeps her blog - http://www.jensbookthoughts.com/ - fresh with a wealth of continuous new ideas.


So, I'm going to hop on this bandwagon and tell you my favorites of the year - so far.


"The Never-Open Desert Diner" by James Anderson


"My Southern Journey" by Rick Bragg


"The View From the Cheap Seats" by Neil Gaiman.  (Actually, I haven't finished this on yet.  I'm plucking essays out slowly and savoring them.  Which is exactly what I did with Rick Bragg's "My Southern Journey."  They're both delicious books and I can't say enough about them).


"Night Shift" by Charlaine Harris


"Wilde Lake" by Laura Lippman

"A Great Reckoning" by Louise Penny (I read an ARC - official publication is not until August, but worth the wait!)

My Week

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love being able to call my time my own.

I don't think there's anyone on God's green earth who loves being retired more than I.  I think, truly, I was born to be a retired person.

Some days I'm very productive.

Some days I'm a slug.

And do not have to look for approval, or ask forgiveness from a single living soul for either of those things.


Ha!


I made myself promises when I retired.  I promised to stretch my wings.  Try new things.  Do the things I've wanted to do, but always said I didn't have enough time to do.

Actually, while time was a factor, I'm also of the mind that if there's something you "really" want to do, you will find the time, or make the time, to do it.

I was having dinner with some friends one evening several years back before I retired and we were each sharing what we had been doing since we had last been together.  I remember, fairly vividly, one of the women rolling her eyes and saying to me, "Wow.  I wish I had all the free time you seem to have.  It's all I can do to work and keep the house clean and take care of my husband."  

I balked.

And I tried, truly, to keep my mouth shut.

But . . .

Well, you know . . .

Keeping my mouth shut isn't always something I do well.

Rarely, actually.

So, I said just what I've said here - "If you really want to do something, you're always able to find the time.  As far as those other things, maybe I do them more efficiently, or perhaps my husband is more capable of taking care of himself.  Whatever."

She took offense.

She responded, I listened.

I responded, she fumed.

And I asked, "WHY is it okay that you're offended, but not okay that I'M offended?"

I don't recall ever getting an answer to that question, although, to my mind, she clearly implied there were important things I was just not doing.



Why I told that story has become unclear . . .   LOL!!!

Back to my point - I love being retired.


This week is a perfect example of exactly what I love about it.


It's been a bit of a hodge-podge of doing many of the things I am now enjoying doing.


I have, some mornings, slept late because I stayed up really late reading the evening before - really late.  2 a.m. late.  I've discovered J.D. Robb's "In Death" series and am over the moon in love with them.  Eve and Roark are worthy of having all the fans they've collected and all the analysis pieces that have been written about them.  If, like me, you're late to the game - I encourage you to give them a try.  You probably know J.D. Robb is a name Nora Roberts writes under.  Expect the same things in this series that you already love.

I have, some mornings. gotten up super early.

Small things, I know.  But lovely.

Sleep late, or up in time to watch the sun rise.


My choice.


Lovely, indeed.


So, I've been reading.


I have gone to the gym a couple of times.


I've been helping out with the Watauga County Annual Community Plant Sale which helps raise money every year for the Watauga County Democratic Party.

I've taken a couple of lessons in my on-line photography course from Shaw Academy.


And I've been writing.

(and yes, the house is clean - well, fairly clean.  and yes, husband is fine fine fine)


And the writing is going well.  Yay!


That's not always the case, of course.

But - since seeing Anne Lamott at Lenoir-Rhyne, and then listening to Pam Stack interview James Anderson on her Blog Talk Radio Show, I got inspired and motivated and ready to write.


Luckily, since I'm an indie writer, I am able to write when I feel like it.  I don't have to feel pushed by deadlines.  I can choose and mold my words until they're what I know I'm looking for and am happy with.

However.

It also means I can procrastinate - and, I admit, that is not such a good thing.


But.  That's another topic for another day.


Right now, I'm writing and I'm writing well.


Not fast.


Never fast.


Writing is not something I'm able to do quickly.


But just doing it feels great.  Right now.

Cross your fingers for me that it feels good and remains on the "fun" side of things for awhile.

At the very least, until I get the first draft finished.

That's my immediate goal - getting that terrible awful shitty first draft finished.

I seem to have trouble remembering some very important words from Sir Terry Pratchett -

But, I won't be writing all day.

There's Facebook.  Addictive.  Lovely.  Awful.  Fun.  Horrible.  Facebook.  I love it.

AND -

I have to make a salad.

Tomorrow is the Watauga Democratic Convention.  And before the convention starts, attendees are having a potluck lunch.  

How fun is that?

I'm planning on taking my Hungarian Cucumber Salad.

Want the recipe?

Okay!

Here 'tis - I'm making more than this recipe calls for, but I'll just play around with the amounts as I fix it.

Hungarian Cucumber Salad

(Makes about 6 servings; this recipe is adapted from the traditional recipe in The Art of Hungarian Cooking)

Salad Ingredients:
2 English cucumbers or 3-4 fresh garden cucumbers (cucumbers with small seeds are best for this)
2 tsp. fine table salt (for drawing the water out of the cucumbers)
extra sour cream and paprika, for serving

Dressing Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, finely minced (more or less to taste)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (any mild vinegar can be used, but don't use a sweet vinegar)
1/2 - 1 tsp. sweet paprika, to taste
1/4 cup sour cream
2 T olive oil
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:
Peel the cucumbers, slice cucumber into thin slices.

Put the sliced cucumbers into a bowl and sprinkle with table salt.  Toss until they're well covered. Let cucumbers sit and release their liquid for at least 15-20 minutes.

While cucumbers are sitting, make the dressing. Finely chop 2 cloves of garlic. Whisk together the minced garlic, vinegar, sweet paprika, sour cream, and oil. Season the dressing with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

After cucumbers have been sitting for 15-20 minutes to release the liquid, put them into a colander and let the liquid drain off. Then put a small plate over the cucumbers in the colander and gently press down to squeeze off as much liquid as you can. (You can also put cucumbers inside a clean dish towel and gently squeeze to remove the liquid.) Blot cucumbers dry with a paper towel.

Put cucumbers back in a dry bowl. Add the dressing mixture and gently combine. This salad is best when it sits for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors combine. Serve with additional sour cream and paprika to add to the salad at the table if desired.

You know how I am about books I love.

Well, this is one

Run run run and grab a copy of James Anderson's debut novel and you will thank  me.

Read what he has to say about his protagonist  -  "Making a True Detective - Minus a Super Power - http://www.everydayebook.com/2016/03/making-a-true-detective-minus-a-super-power/ 

Editorial Reviews

“The great tradition of hard-boiled crime novels finds new and promising territory in the Utah desert. Carrying its own cult following after having been published independently last year, this debut novel is a stirring, atmospheric, and even mildly surreal variation on the ʻmean streetsʼ detective fiction of Raymond Chandler . . . a witty, rollicking, and somewhat bent mystery/romance . . . the beginning of a beautiful series.”

—Kirkus Reviews

"High, dry and severely beautiful.... Anderson is one fine storyteller." - Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“James Anderson's first novel works on elements of mirage -- a mystery novel with literary shimmers.   In the end it is all there, apparent in the high heat of the desert: a great story, well-told, funny, daring, smart and deeply affecting.”  —Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author of Let the Great World Spin
"James Anderson has written a striking debut novel —lyrical, whimsical, atmospheric and skillfully rendered." - CJ Box, New York Times Bestselling author of Badlands

"You have not read a book like The Never Open Desert Diner in a long time, if ever. Once you open its pages you will know you are in for something surprisingly enjoyable. James Anderson and his premiere novel are a serendipity that will make a mark on your brain in the most positive way." - Jackie Cooper, The Huffington Post

"An extraordinary debut."  - Milwaukee Sun-Sentinel

"Anderson ... writes with a lyrical style and allows the plot to unfold in a manner as seductive as the desert itself. Readers who revel in fiction set in the Southwest will want to join his protagonist for the ride." - Library Journal

"Anderson distills the heat and shimmering haze of the Utah desert into his fine first novel."  -Publishers Weekly

"Part love story, part mystery, part meditation on place, James Anderson's The Never-Open Desert Diner is peopled with quirky characters and peppered with fine prose that has the taste of truth. Anderson's abundant talents will certainly keep readers turning the pages." — Roland Merullo, author of Breakfast With Buddha

The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson

Considering how many books I read, and how many of those books I love, there are surprisingly few that I become a true evangelist for.

I will preach an author and that author's work, but a single novel? Really, not so much.

The exceptions to that are few.


James Anderson's "The Never-Open Desert Diner" is firmly planted on that list.

If you haven't read it yet, please grab a copy. If you have read it, I'm dying to hear what you think.

Here's what Kirkus had to say: “The great tradition of hard-boiled crime novels finds new and promising territory in the Utah desert. Carrying its own cult following after having been published independently last year, this debut novel is a stirring, atmospheric, and even mildly surreal variation on the "mean streets" detective fiction of Raymond Chandler… a witty, rollicking, and somewhat bent mystery/romance… the beginning of a beautiful series.”

"the beginning of a beautiful series?" Whoa!

From Amazon:

"A singularly compelling debut novel, about a desert where people go to escape their past, and a truck driver who finds himself at risk when he falls in love with a mysterious woman.
Ben Jones lives a quiet, hardscrabble life, working as a trucker on Route 117, a little-travelled road in a remote region of the Utah desert which serves as a haven for fugitives and others looking to hide from the world. For many of the desert’s inhabitants, Ben's visits are their only contact with the outside world, and the only landmark worth noting is a once-famous roadside diner that hasn’t opened in years. 

Ben’s routine is turned upside down when he stumbles across a beautiful woman named Claire playing a cello in an abandoned housing development. He can tell that she’s fleeing something in her past—a dark secret that pushed her to the end of the earth—but despite his better judgment he is inexorably drawn to her. 

As Ben and Claire fall in love, specters from her past begin to resurface, with serious and life-threatening consequences not only for them both, but for others who have made this desert their sanctuary. Dangerous men come looking for her, and as they turn Route 117 upside down in their search, the long-buried secrets of those who’ve laid claim to this desert come to light, bringing Ben and the other locals into deadly conflict with Claire’s pursuers. Ultimately, the answers they all seek are connected to the desert’s greatest mystery—what reallyhappened all those years ago at the never-open desert diner?

In this unforgettable story of love and loss, Ben learns the enduring truth that some violent crimes renew themselves across generations. At turns funny, heartbreaking and thrilling, The Never-Open Desert Diner powerfully evokes an unforgettable setting and introduces readers to a cast of characters who will linger long after the last page."