sequel written

Hope everyone is doing good out there.
Just wanted to let you know that I finished
a new novel. It's the sequel to The Robotic
Age. For some reason I needed to return to
that magician and robot. I'll tell you more
about it as it gets ready for publishing.
It will feature illustrations by Aaron Gunderson
who drew for the previous adventure.
Here are some of the exciting chapter titles:


Hero on Break
The Thunderbird Motel
The Pongo Admiration League
A Cup of Ramen
A Meeting with Sylvan Moore

stray

Watched a double feature presentation
of Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) and
The Hucksters (1947). 

a rare pair

Watched another good double feature.
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
and Wild Seed (1965). A rare pair of thoughtful
movies.

best movies

I'm starting to think that Willie Best is
the real hero of these movies The Smiling
Ghost (1941) and The Hidden Hand (1942).
It's interesting to think of him as the star.
He's the one who sets everything in motion.
Often literally--in Ghost he's last seen
outracing a horse and Hand has him in an
equally surreal conclusion.

marvelous lands

I sampled a sentence by Jack Pumpkinhead
from The Marvelous Land of Oz for the
novel I'm currently working on. I'm hoping
my books will reflect these old magical
books. Time will tell.

lighthouse double feature

Meanwhile at the dream movie theater,
a double feature is playing:
Sh! The Octopus (1937)
with The Lighthouse (2019)
They really are meant to be
played together!

careless tomorrow

Finished reading the second volume in
Peter Garalnick's biography of Elvis
Presley, Careless Love. I held off reading
this for a long time, almost fearfully,
knowing it's a true parable and would be
very sad and maddening. And yet, listen
to his cover of Bob Dylan's song
"Tomorrow is a Long Time."

sequel to The Robotic Age

I've been working on writing the sequel to
The Robotic Age. This new novel features
the return of our heroic duo--Marconi the
magician and his robot companion, Cronco.
Up to Chapter 48 now. Here are some of the
chapter titles to entice you: A Ghost Named
George, Gamma Rays & Ions, A Kentucky
Colonel, The Days of the Milkman, Better
Off as a Clown...

1970s Seattle children's book

Good Deed Rain is also readying a
children's book set in 1970s Seattle.
A novel of memories real as yesterday.
Hopefully that bicycle of mine found
a pedestal in a museum in Prague.

planet Earth inspiration

Good Deed Rain has 2 new exciting
works on the way soon! The first is
a 200 page book that covers 45 years
of this writer's inspiration on planet
Earth.

art

I can't imagine how this poster
appeared on bulletin boards in
the art building. How mysterious!
Perhaps it has something to do
with the recent Good Deed Rain
novel about Walt Amherst??

Set in Bellingham

Local author Paul Piper read Island Air and has this to say:
"Just finished your marvelous little novel Island Air, so full
of wonder and life. It strikes me that no one has mythologized
this small city the way you have. Some day they will write great
things about you and that." Thanks Paul!


By now I've written at least 9 other books set in Bellingham,
including The Mermaid Translation, Saint Lemonade,
Roosevelt, Town in a Cloud, The Orphanage of Abandoned
Teenagers, The Lake Walker, The Robotic Age, Kennedy,
Walt Amherst is Awake, and Island Air.


Currently I'm working on a new novel set here.

Robert Sund event this Friday

Robert Sund is being honored in his hometown of Anacortes this Friday. This is a amazing opportunity to meet people who knew him and hear their tribute in a great bookstore.
Good Deed Rain published a Sund book featuring many of these people who will be attending.

Memphis

Enjoying rereading Peter Guralnick's book
on Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis.
It's a great book.

page 35

page 35 from ISLAND AIR, (already in progress). 99 is based on an interesting lady who used to pass out flyers on the Ave. Aaron and I called her 99 after the 99 Cent Store that employed her. She was quite a character in life and now she's a character in a book! (I'm still not entirely sure, but I think she often wore rollerskates too).

14 years in America

Thought of another interesting
double feature for a daydream
theater that shows great old
movies. Dames (1934) with
Pitfall (1948). What happened
to Dick Powell in 14 years??

double digits

My new novel ISLAND AIR
is selling in double digits! (Sold 10)
Thanks to those who made the plunge.
I think it's a pretty fun read, it was a
pleasure to write anyway. Hope you
get a chance to read it too.

fable time

muster

I was just reminded of Mister Muster.
It's been a long time since I read this
book, I'll have to revisit it very soon.

oz books

Every so often, I jump back into Oz
with one of the many books in that
amazing series. I just read The Road to Oz.
I like that Shaggy Man and how he leads
Dorothy back to Oz, all of a sudden there
are roads leading everywhere.

new novel in progress...

Been writing a new novel, a sequel to The Robotic Age and featuring guest appearances from my other characters too. It begins at the top of the tallest tower downtown with the appearance of a ghost. Across the street is the theater where The Great Marconi is chased offstage by acrobatic dogs. And Cronco the robot has locked the gate of the junkyard and only Sunny Jim the nightwatchman knows what is happening there at midnight.

page 111

Another sneak look at new ISLAND AIR
book. This is from page 111 and takes
place when the book time travels back
to 1980s, Seattle:

page 16

Here's page 16 from my recent novel
ISLAND AIR. Hope this interests you
to read more:

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all! In honor of this
auspicious day, our noble hound has
transformed once again from Golden
Retriever to...Tasmanian Tiger!!!!

empty

Been reading The Empty Mirror
by Jan van de Wetering.

bump

Just read a great Halloween book
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
and James Marshall.

starting a new book...

I'm reading a great old book: The Three Investigators in The Secret of Terror Castle and it's inspiring me to bring back Cronco and The Great Marconi, ghost-detective stars of my previous book The Robotic Age. (I'm pretending there are thrilled fans and tickertape parades and bookstores are gearing up with cardboard displays). For those of you acquainted with Cronco and Marconi, you'll be glad to find them doing well: Cronco has married a refrigerator and Marconi has a grand scheme to rope in the star of another one of my books, Walt Amherst is Awake. It's an All-Star Reunion! Anyway, I have written the first chapter. It will be fun to see what happens.

Nessie

Incidentally, the cover for Island Air
features an appearance by Nessie!
You can see the famed creature on
the right side of the cover. Look close
and marvel and wonder.