June is nearly here, taking me by surprise – I almost missed Beyond the Ripples second birthday! Like with many things, in some respects I feel it as if the book was only just released, while it also seems as if it has been with me for much longer. And yes, while Annie and Frank and all the others have been in my brain and heart for longer than two years, sometimes it feels like a lifetime. Perhaps it is true that the characters we authors create are made up of parts of people we know and love. And sometimes, those we have a harder time liking much.

Perhaps you are wondering –what’s the and? When Humanity’s Grace: A Linked Short Story Collection is released by Bedazzled Ink in January, 2022, a few of Ripples’ characters return. If you are a Ripples fan, who do you think might grace the pages of this new work? If you haven’t yet read Beyond the Ripples, now is your chance! Those I know who read it and talked about it, did really like it…(honest)! And yet, as with so many newer or lesser known authors, most folks have never heard of the book. (Authors are always quite pleased when folks recommend to their friends, books they think they might like, as you know, hint hint.) It is also good to know that readers who hadn’t first read Ripples will still fully enjoy the short story collection. And perhaps they might then be inspired to read the novel.

I told a friend yesterday about the release of Humanity’s Grace. (She had liked Ripples a lot). When I told her its genre she excitedly replied how she loves linked short stories. In case the genre is foreign to you, linked collections include stories that are complete so that each story can stand alone, but when put together they interrelate and create a larger whole. It was challenging and exciting to write. The active scenes of these stories take place in an Oregon town that I’m sure you know. Stay tuned –I’ll share more soon.

But today is about Beyond the Ripples. Yesterday I watched my Ripples book trailer for the first time in well over a year. I have to admit, it was so fun for me to watch. The trailer may not have helped me sell a single book but I loved making it. Did you ever see it? Check it out here:

Yes, I did make this myself, although Russ likes to take credit for the bottle toss (I remind him that I was the one who did the slo-mo filming), and I appreciate my brother Patrick sharing his original sax music (yes, he’s the same guy that argues about my carp stories in my memoir.) I paddled my kayak and as a few of you can probably tell, I put in at West Linn’s Maddox Woods. I had no idea at the time, but the video does hold a hint for the location of Humanity’s Grace. And my work colleague Chuck can be pleased to know after teasing me previously how some readers might need a dead body in their plot, I do have one in this collection, just so you know.

So, you say you’d like to read Ripples now? What a fine idea, I reply. Where to get it? Here’s a few options:

White Rabbit Books, Oregon City, OR (call first)
Powell’s, Portland, OR (make sure they have a copy on hand if you go in person)
Bedazzled Book Peddler (e-book only and now 25% off)
IPG
Amazon
Public libraries (Multnomah Co., Clackamas Co., Washington Co., Marion Co., Spokane, WA for starters)

And don’t forget, you can find both a character list and a reader guide for book groups on my book webpage. Here’s the blog that describes where I got the idea for Ripples.

I’d love to know what you think about Ripples. Oh, and who do you think might return in Humanity’s Grace?