Summer in Duluth, Minnesota

Pics taken during our visit in July/August 2013. Duluth is mentioned in two of my books; Goose Creek and Eternal August.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goose Creek on askdavid.com

About This Book on askdavid.com: Goose Creek is a look into the complexities of teenage boys being best friends. It's a story of bullying, shunning, and shame. The book's title is derived from the name of a creek that meanders through Loudoun County, Virginia.

Where Authors and Readers Come Together

D. H. Allen on AuthorsDen

 

 

AuthorsDen brings Authors and Readers together. Authors create memberships and input their content to promote their books, poetry, short stories, articles, news, events and blogs, creating a showcase for their Reader following. This provides a community environment for Readers to browse, interact, review works, contact authors, and purchase books. Editors and publishers browse this site regularly discovering Authors to contribute to their magazines, short story and poetry collaborations and many other potential writing jobs.

AuthorsDen Specialties

Author Promotion, Writing, Editing, Publishing, Books, Reader, Reviews, On-Line Literary Community

My Next Novel - A Work in Progress

Eternal August

He promised he would die for her.
He promised he would love her for eternity.
He could only keep one vow.
 

The more August Cesare, the new guy in town, tries to keep a low profile after a public confrontation with the local ruffians the weaker he appears. They assume August is an easy mark for their malicious entertainment. Big mistake!

August, an immortal warrior with surprising abilities, has fallen head-over-heels for Sadie, a modern small town girl, and when she doesn’t think ‘he’s all that’, well…!

Trying to deal with the local thugs, a woman who steals his heart, his three meddling parents who are beyond ordinary, and others out to get him because they view him as an abomination, August isn’t sure how much longer he can keep who he is hidden from mortals.

 

When attempts to get to August put Sadie in danger… things are about to change.

A work in progress.
Shooting for a late fall or winter 2013 publishing date.

Goose Creek article on Book Repository

I met Faiza Iqbal Butt, founder of the website/blog Book Repository through Shelfari in the Book Promotions & Marketing Group available to Shelfari members. The site posts articles about authors and their books. I submitted my bio and book details following the Book Repository’s guidelines and the article was posted on their website. Thank you Faiza and Book Repository!

 

Goose Creek article on Book Repository

Goose Creek on Shelfari

Goose Creek on Amazon Kindle Books

Reading, Writing, & Rating

Wikipedia describes Shelfari as: 'A social cataloging website for books. Shelfari users build virtual bookshelves of the titles they own or have read, and can rate, review, tag, and discuss their books. Users can also create groups that other members may join, create discussions, and talk about books, or other topics. Recommendations can be sent to friends on the site for what books to read.'

Because I enjoy reading and writing I joined the online community of Shelfari where I can share what others are reading and discussing.

My Reading Shelf on Shelfari
My Author’s Page on Shelfari
Goose Creek on Shelfari
The Emeralds of Shenah on Shelfari
My Reviews on Amazon
I sometimes write and post a review for fictional books on Amazon and Shelfari.
I especially enjoy and am delighted when discovering a good book by a new author.

Genealogy – A Glimpse into the Past

Growing up in Virginia not far from Goose Creek I was aware at a young age our family had a ‘past’. Now whether this was illustrious or shady I didn’t know at the time. Not having old oil paintings of long dead family members hanging around following me with creepy eyes, they never seemed real to me. I’d rather head outside and play trucks and cars in the dirt.

 

As I became older, awareness began to penetrate my ‘thick skull’. My maternal grandmother’s words to me – plus a few other choice epithets. There’s a lot to be said for not being a favorite grandchild of an Irish grandmother. There are a different set of life’s lessons to be learned, but no less valuable.

 

I’d always heard my mother’s family came from Germany (maternal grandfather) and Ireland (maternal grandmother). With a surname like Kirkpatrick I can be relatively sure my grandmother’s origins were Irish. The thing that convinced me the stories about my maternal grandfather being German was; as children we always pronounced/addressed my great aunt Margret as Aunt ‘Mar-GREET’. I didn’t even know her name was actually the same as the American Margret until I was a teenager. To us kids she was and always will be Margreet. I connected the dots in my own way and deduced the German ancestry to be fact.

 

My dad. Who would have ‘thunk’ it? He was the link to over 300 years of an American past. Orphaned as a young teenager he grew-up in foster homes until joining the army at the age of 17 (back then you could). Looking back now, I can’t even imagine what it was like for him and his siblings. The older ones were married or left on their own, but not my dad. He became a ward of the state.

 

My paternal grandmother and one of my dad’s sisters died in a house fire. My paternal grandfather was English and spoke with the accent. From what I hear he could be a mean drinking son-of-a-b***. He died a short while after my grandmother.

 

Curious, I decided to investigate and see what I could discover about my paternal grandmother’s Virginia roots. Actually, it was relatively easy to find out because the genealogy work had been done for me in a family book published in 1952, The Baylis Family of Virginia. All I needed was to get my hands on a copy of the book and I did. Some of the highlights of what I learned:

• I'm a ninth generation Virginian.
• A direct line grandfather, Richard Blackburn, built Rippon Lodge in Prince William County. The house still stands and is a historic house museum. The website for Rippon Lodge states the house was built in 1747. The Baylis Family of Virginia genealogy says "That the house, Rippon Lodge, was built in 1725 was established in 1932, when the then owner, Wade Hampton Ellis, found it necessary to remove some of the sheathing to destroy a hive of bees located in the outer wall. On one of the beams then disclosed was carved the date 1725". I was more inclined to believe the 1747 date reckoning that professional historic researchers knew what they were talking about and that a genealogy book might be a 'bit embellished'. Until... I read further that the same Richard Blackburn helped George Washington's older half-brother build the original Mount Vernon in 1743. Now it makes me wonder? Oh well, it's only a twenty-two year span 'Once upon a time'.
• The same Richard Blackburn helped Lawrence Washington build the original house at Mount Vernon. In those days before George owned it Mount Vernon had four ground-floor rooms with a cramped dormer style upstairs. George Washington is the one who greatly enlarged Mount Vernon to how it appears today.

Rippon Lodge

Now we get into all of this southern kinship stuff. You know; second cousin five times removed; things like that.

• One of my long ago aunts and a distant cousin were the mistresses of Mount Vernon. Julia Ann Blackburn  married Bushrod Washington, who inherited Mount Vernon after George and Martha. Bushrod was a Supreme Court Associate Justice. Jane Blackburn married John Augustine Washington who owned Mount Vernon after Bushrod.
• One of my great long ago aunts was James Monroe’s grandmother. Does this make James Monroe my second cousin five times removed? Dagone if I know? I do know Monroe is the guy responsible for the Monroe Doctrine (learned that in a Virginia history grade school textbook) and did a lot of the wheeling-dealing, nitty-gritty work for the Louisiana Purchase. That darn Mr. Jefferson got all the credit with the stroke of a quill. OMG! What hath he done to us!

Other names that I have some sort of kinship; five or ten times removed, I quit counting (not enough fingers and toes)? I’m not listing any horse thieves, bandits, rabble rousers, or otherwise similar relations who seem to show up in a lot of families. They are there and they are colorful. Maybe too colorful for this blog.

• I do have relatives who died in a duel, killed by Indians, fought for both sides in the Civil War, and a young man who died charging up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt. Ancestors fought in all of the American wars. Some kin were wealthy and others seemed to struggle to survive. It’s a diversified history rich in lore that I never really appreciated.
• Lewis ‘Lew’ Wallace – Lawyer, Union General in the Civil War, Governor of New Mexico Territory, and the author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
• Daniel Boone – His name kept popping up in a few places but I couldn't trace a direct link. Probably not related, but kind of cool wishing I was. I did have a coonskin hat when I was a little boy and my dad called me Daniel Boone. Does that count?
• John Baylis – Member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia representing Prince William County
• Thomas Blackburn – Colonel in the American Revolution and friend of George Washington. Yeah, yeah, I know. Wait for it…….. George Washington probably really did sleep there.
• Henry Baylis – an original member of the Society of Cincinnati
• From that first set of ancestral grandparents who arrived in the New World sprang forth thousands of relatives. Amazing!

Recognized and Awarded Photos

In the last year I've been fortunate to have over twenty of my amateur photos awarded recognition on Pixabay. Eleven of these have been featured on their website's homepage.

 

Ailanthus Webworm (a moth that can fold its wings)

Oregon Grape Holly (Mohonia)

Wild Horse - Assateague Island, Maryland

Free Kindle Books

On Wednesday, July 10, 2013  the novel Goose Creek will be FREE on Kindle Books. If you get a chance to download to your Kindle I hope you enjoy the story.

Along the Banks of Goose Creek

Life’s little lessons: What I learned growing up near Goose Creek.

• Don’t swim alone—I almost drowned until my dad saved me.
• How to swing from a rope tied to a tree branch and drop into the swimming hole.
• Always remember to let go of the rope 'only' over the water. I don't want to explain this. Sort of embarrassing, but I learned.
• Don’t’ walk barefoot to the swimming hole. Forget the snakes and creepy crawly things; it’s the sand briars and sowthistles that get you.
• A very large black snake can swallow a rabbit.
• The wood of wild cherries is toxic. Don’t use the branches to roast hot dogs or marshmallows.
• Seining for minnows.
• Fishing worms (nightcrawlers) are bigger in the woods along the creek than the ones we dug up in the barnyard.
• Put the windows down when riding in Granddaddy’s old Buick. He would always forget and leave an old coffee can of fishing worms in the hot car. Phew! OMG!
• Cussing at a tangled up homemade stick fishing pole—this is where I learned I was a spaz.
• Ivory soap bars that float are great for Saturday night baths in the creek on a warm summer’s evening.
• There are so many stories about catfish barbs and stings I don't know who to believe. I've never been stung or punctured by a catfish. The tales say the whiskers are barbs; others say they're as soft as a dog's whiskers--I'm not brave enough to test this. I do know the dorsal fin is sharp and the bacteria (didn't know this word as a kid, we called it germs) can cause a world or hurt and infection.

A coming-of-age mystery along Goose Creek. Available on Amazon’s Kindle Books.

Everything he was to become happened near a small creek in rural Virginia…

Goose Creek rises in the Manassas Gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows east and northeast until emptying into the Potomac River. Along the way various streams, branches, and other creeks flow into it.

Goose Creek colloquialisms (my first language): 

• crik – creek
• ain’t – am not
• conniption – emotional fit
• fetch – get
• ornery – just plain mean and ugly
• cuss - a person who is grumpy and not very nice (usually a male); i.e., an ornery old cuss
• reckon – suppose
• yonder – over there
• lish – leash
• ruf - roof
• gimme – give me
• y’all – you all (singular)
• all y’all – you all (plural)
• poke – bag or sack
• ‘tll the cows come home – a very long time (probably never)
• awl – oil
• tars - tires, like on a bike or car
• britches – trousers/pants
• dang/darn/dern – soft swearing
• fixin’ – getting ready to do something
• hankerin’ – yearning
• druthers – preference
• ain't that a hoot - funny
• ain't worth a hoot - having no value
• don't give a hoot - don't care
• don't give a lick – don’t give a damn
• lickin' – spanking or beat up
• whoopin' - spanking or worse
• piddly – small amount
• s*&# or get off the pot – make up your mind
• skedaddle – leave in a hurry
• used to could – used to be able to
• yankee – you either are or you aren't according to the old timers
• ole lady – wife
• ole man – husband
• holler – yell at your ole man (my ole lady hollers at me sometimes)
• hootin' and hollerin' - acting all crazy
• taters and maters – potatoes and tomatoes
• four rooms and a path - no indoor bathroom
• lightnin' bug - firefly
• dinner - midday meal (lunch)
• supper - evening meal (dinner)
• wanna - want to
• 'lessen - unless (let's go to town 'lessen you don't wanna) notice how colloquialisms can avoid ending a sentence with a preposition
• someone left the gate open - heavy traffic - waiting for a break at a stop sign 

Credit: PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay.com

B&W HDR and Color Photos

Comparison of a couple of my photos in full color and black & white HDR.



Goose Creek - Chapter 1

Rinsing curly hairs off a bar of soap, nineteen-year-old Dare Harriman screwed up his face—nasty. Just my luck to be the last one in the shower, he thought.

Penny insisted her men be clean and smell good or they couldn’t touch her. House rules. Shutting off the spigot, Dare jumped when a crack of lightning killed the power. “Scared the crap out of me,” he muttered to himself, groping in the dark for the shower curtain and pulling it aside.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he called, “Hey, Penny, you got a flashlight or candles?”

He waited. No answer. “Come on guys. Somebody answer me.”

With the next boom an old black and white movie of a woman screaming in a shower flashed in his mind. Aware of his involuntary shudder, he chuckled at himself. What’s the name of that old movie? Weirdo or something like that. He chuckled again.

Finding the wall with his hand, Dare followed it to Penny’s room and rapped his knuckles on the door. “James, come on man, not funny. Say something.”

“Okay, I’m coming in, so you guys better not be doing it.” Awkward.

He found the knob and cracked the door. Hit by the odor of Penny’s drug store perfume melding with a nursing home diaper stink, Dare wrinkled his nose. What the hell? Something wasn’t right. His skin prickled.

Tilting his head Dare listened with his good ear. Nothingness except the storm raging outside. Goose bumps raised the hairs on his arms.

“James. Penny. Hey!”

Blind, Dare shuffled forward with arms outstretched. Memory guided him through the dark room toward the bed. Tripping over something large on the floor, he fell, grazing his head on the footboard. “Ow!” Warm, sticky wet coated his fingertips when he touched his brow.

Crawling, his towel untucked and fell away. He nudged a leg.  His breath hitched. Running a hand over the smooth limb, Dare knew it wasn’t James. Not hairy. Exploring further, his fingers sank into mush. The stench gagged him.

The power snapped on, restoring the light beside the bed.

Dare jerked his hand from the leg. Penny lay in front of him, splotched crimson decorating her breast, splattered and trickling onto the floor like a three dimensional drip painting. Eyes half closed, she stared upward, unblinking. Scrambling to stand, unable to look away, he backed into the door jamb. Retching, he stumbled from the room.

Slinging open the front door, smearing his blood and remnants of Penny’s last worldly excrement on the knob, Dare stepped out naked on the screened porch, chest heaving, quaffing in fresh air, he scanned the shimmering ebony of night rain. The unlatched wooden screened door flapped once, banging shut and blowing open again. He jumped. “James!”............

Available on Amazon Kindle Books

Starts off with a Bang! Goose Creek is an exceptional story examining the bane of bullying and the intricacies of male friendship, prejudice & pity. It is a story of small town lives with big town secrets and lies. The authors' knowledge of antiques and all things 'fine', his descriptive flair, and the conveyance of characters and relationships - both cutting and kind - are so real and satisfying as to paint pictures in your head that make you think 'I know these people, don't I? Great story of Family Honor and Redemption! B. Bales, April 23, 2013

Goose Creek

Creatures - Real and Mythical

Taken with my Canon EOS Rebel XT in 2012

 

 Koi (carp)

 

 Komodo Dragon

 

 Reticulated Giraffe

 

One of my drawings

I like to sketch when the mood strikes me

Phoenix Rising - drawing in progress
My work bench

HDR & Digitally Enhanced Images

High Dynamic Range (HDR) & Digitally Enhanced photos from our spring garden in central Virginia. 2013

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to Get Away from it All - Some Great Tour & Travel Companies

My wife and I love to go places and meet people. These are travel companies we're familiar with and know first hand of their quality, integrity, friendliness, and attention to detail.

 

Mid-Atlantic Tours & Receptive Services (MARS) is the best group tour operator and receptive on the east coast. If you are organizing a group trip for a company, school, reunion, or other organization, their range of expertise and custom planning can't be beat. Also: I LOVE their slogan "Take A Fun Trip". So when you "Take A Fun Trip don't forget to take along your Kindle and "Read A Good Book".

 

Guaranteed Departures by Travel Alliance Partners (TAP) is a partnership of top tour companies in the United States and Canada. Their selection of guaranteed departure vacations and scheduled departures is unparalleled. If you are an individual, couple, or group, TAP offers the world! Looking for a unique group tour but can't find what you're looking for, reach out to them. With partners in North America and affiliations around the globe TAP makes wonderful things happen.
 

Scholastic Journeys is a travel company designed with student travel and their budgets in mind. Teachers, educators, and students can have custom tours planned and operated specifically for their requirements. Awesome!
 

SoccerTours.net works with soccer clubs, teams, and schools worldwide. Their tour programs appeal to coaches, parents, and players. The summer soccer season in Europe is a chance for teams to experience the culture, history, and play some friendly matches with local teams. Grab you gear, don't forget your goalie, and "kick off" for Europe, Argentina, Mexico, or Canada. That's my "Pitch"... for a top quality sports tour company.