Watermark Books and Cafe

In this issue:

News and Notes Worthy.

Upcoming Events.

Book of the Week.

Watermark Winner.

First line(s)...

Watermark Bestsellers.

"David Crockett: The Lion of the West" by Michael Wallis, review by Joyce Suellentrop.

"Turn of Mind" by Alice LaPlante, review by Sarah Bagby. 

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Camp Watermark: Green Day was a success! Check out our pictures on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.245040335506694.73058.167937713216957&l=3aecf4bf67

Camp Watermark is a short day camp for youth, ages 8 to 12, with hands-on projects and activities from our partners at Workman Publishing. Held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on each Wednesday in July, all of the sessions include lunch and a treat. Individual sessions are $12 each, or $40 if you sign up for all four sessions.

We still have a few slots available for the remaining three camp days. On the schedule...

July 13 - Camp Watermark: Science Day

On Science Day, we'll watch raisins dance in the Raisin Water Ballet, we'll learn the mysteries of the Earth (like why the sky looks blue during the day and red at sunset), and we'll discover why bubbles are round during our Bubble Maker experiment. We'll wrap up the day with a Bug Scavenger Hunt!

July 20 - Camp Watermark: Art Day

On Art Day, we'll make mosaic art using red beans, split peas, sunflower seeds and black beans. And then in the tradition of the Navajo people, our young artists will create using sand as their medium. At the end of the camp day, we'll have a paper airplane contest.

July 27 - Camp Watermark: Book Day

On Book Day, we're going to make a movie book. This project combines a very old form of communicating information--a scroll--with a newer approach--a movie. Scrolls have been around since ancient times, and they are still a nice way to unroll a story or tell about a process. The campers will also receive a book bag, bookmarks, and free books!

All of the books used at Camp Watermark are available for purchase, so you can create your own great activities when you're not at Camp Watermark!

To sign up for any or all sessions, call or come into the bookstore. Please relay any food allergies at the time of sign-up. (316) 682-1181. Space is limited.

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Upcoming events... 

July 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Alyson Stanfield book talk and signing for "I'd Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist's No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion." 

"I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion" offers practical approaches that help you sell more art and build an art career that lasts. Alyson B. Stanfield, the founder of ArtBizCoach.com, shares self-promotion tools that have enhanced the careers of thousands of artists.

With the 2011 edition, artists will learn how to:

1. Introduce themselves as an artists so people want to know more
2. Nail their artist statements to discover the right words for all of their marketing messages
3. Expand their mailing lists and use them to cultivate collectors
4. Create marketing materials that outshine the competition
5. Become media magnets to attract buyers
6. Take advantage of websites and blogs to build bigger audiences
7. Integrate social media into their marketing mix

It would be great if there were a precise formula for getting your art into galleries, museums and private collections. But every artist’s path is different. That’s why I’d Rather Be in the Studio! provides easy-to-follow self-promotion practices that help you find your way at any point in your career. Match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of your career.

 

Wednesday, July 20, 7:00 p.m. Tracy Seeley reading and signing for "My Ruby Slippers."

“Sure, there’s no place like home—but what if you can’t really pinpoint where home is? By the time she was nine, Tracy Seeley had lived in seven towns and thirteen different houses.  Her father’s dreams of movie stardom, stoked by a series of affairs, kept the family on edge, and on the move, until he up and left.  Thirty years later, settled in what seems like a charmed life in San Francisco, a diagnosis of cancer and the betrayal of a lover shake Seeley to her roots—roots she is suddenly determined to search out.  My Ruby Slippers tells the story of that search, the tale of a woman with an impassioned if vague sense of mission: to find the meaning of home. 

Seeley finds herself in a Kansas that defies memory, a place far more complex and elusive than the sum of its cultural myths. On back roads and in her many back years, Seeley also finds unexpected forgiveness for her errant father, and, in the face of mortality, a sense of what it means to be rooted in place, to dwell deeply in the only life we have.”

 

July, 21, 2011, 7:00 pm. James Minick for a reading and signing of his new book, The Blueberry Years. 

The Blueberry Years captures Minick’s and his wife’s experience creating and operating a pick-your-own, organic blueberry farm. For a decade, Sarah and Jim planted, pruned, and picked while also opening the field to hundreds of people who came to harvest berries. These pickers shared blueberry-flavored moonshine and sober religion, warm hugs and cool hats, and always bushels of stories. To give a larger context to our story, Minick includes brief chapters on national issues such as organic foods and new farmers. He also includes short interludes on all things blueberry, like the fruit’s many health benefits, the woman and man who domesticated this plant, or the blueberry in literature. Ultimately, though, this book tells the story of a young couple pursuing their blueberry dream.

Jim Minick is the author of The Blueberry Years, a memoir about one of the mid-Atlantic’s first pick-your-own, certified-organic blueberry farms. He is also the author of two books of poetry, Her Secret Song and Burning Heaven, a collection of essays, Finding a Clear Path, and he edited All There Is to Keep by Rita Riddle. Minick has won grants and awards from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Appalachian Writers Association, Appalachian Heritage, Now and Then Magazine, and Radford University, where he teaches writing and literature. His work has appeared in many publications including Shenandoah, Orion, San Francisco Chronicle, Encyclopedia of Appalachia, Conversations with Wendell Berry, The Sun, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Roanoke Times. He lives in the mountains of Virginia with his wife and four dogs. Visit his website at www.jim-minick.com.

 

Monday, July 25, 7:00 p.m. Michael Wallis reading and signing. 

Steeped in legend, shrouded in folklore, the real David Crockett - American frontiersman and cultural icon- finally emerges in DAVID CROCKETT: The Lion of the West, an engrossing new biography by best-selling author Michael Wallis.

His name was David Crockett. He never signed his name any other way, but popular culture transformed his memory into "Davy Crockett," and Hollywood gave him a raccoon hat that he hardly ever wore. Best-selling historian Michael Wallis now casts a fresh look at the frontiersman, storyteller, and politician behind these legendary stories. Borninto a humble Tennessee family in 1786, Crockett never "killed him a b’ar" when he was only three. But he did cut a huge swath across early-nineteenth-century America – as a bear hunter, a frontier explorer, asoldier serving under Andrew Jackson, an unlikely congressman, and, finally, a martyr in his now-controversial death at the Alamo.

"The truth has a way of being more interesting than the made-up," wrote Jim Lehrer of DAVID CROCKETT, "most particularly when in the talented writing mind and hands of Michael Wallis." And Allen Barra, author of InventingWyatt Earp, wrote that Wallis "brings Davy out of the shadows of myth created by Walt Disney, John Wayne, and by Crockett himself, and -- surprise! -- the real man proves to be more interesting than his fictional recreations. Michael Wallis is our greatest living writer of Americana."

More than a riveting story, DAVID CROCKETT: The Lion of the West is a revelatory, authoritative biography that separates fact from fiction, providing us with an extraordinary evocation of a true American hero and the rough-and-tumble times in which he lived. Michael Wallis is the best-selling author of Route 66, Billy the Kid, and Pretty Boy.

 

Saturday, July 30th, 3:00 p.m. Sharon Lovejoy book talk and signing. 

What did kids do for fun before the days of computers, video games, and television? They played, explored, discovered, and interacted—while enjoying nature, arts and crafts, tea parties, puppet shows, cooking, gardening, and any activity that let them use their vivid imaginations.  

Here to bring that sense of creativity and excitement back to today’s plugged-in youth is Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars. Created by Sharon Lovejoy—a grandmother of four and author of numerous classic books on gardening—this inspired guide to 130 activities has all the information needed to entertain children of all ages. 

Illustrated with Sharon’s distinctive, delicate watercolors, Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars provides innovative ideas and projects for grandparents (as well as moms, dads, educators, and friends) who want to connect with the children in their lives. It offers endless opportunities to enjoy the wonders of the backyard and beyond.

Sharon Lovejoy, an author, illustrator, lecturer, and teacher, is the children's garden adviser to the American Horticultural Society, and has been a guest on Today at NBC, PBS's Victory Garden, and the Discovery Channel.

 

For more information about these events, please visit our website here:http://www.watermarkbooks.com/  

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The Book of the Week is "Blockade Billy" by Stephen King (Cemetery Dance, ISBN 9781587672286, originally $25.00)

Even the most diehard baseball fans don't know the true story of William "Blockade Billy" Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history.

Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse... and only Stephen King, the most gifted storyteller of our age, will be able to reveal the truth to the world, once and for all.

This original, never-before-published novella represents Stephen King at his very best, and this Cemetery Dance hardcover edition brings it into print for the very first time. 

Shop online or in the store, this week "Blockade Billy" is 30% off.

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This week's winner of a free lunch from Watermark Café is Jenni Harris of Derby. Thanks for signing up for News & Notes. 

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First line(s)...  

"When I got home at five and told Sally I was heading for Kansas City, she blew right up and wanted to know where the hell I got off just taking off without any advance warning." 

... from "The Adjustment" by Scott Phillips (Counterpoint, ISBN 9781582437309, $25.00) 

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Watermark Bestsellers.

1. "Risk Only Money" by Jack DeBoer

2. "The Wichita Divide" by Stephen Singular

3. "The Quadfather" by Billy Graf

4. "The Eight Wonders of Kansas" by Marci Penner

5. "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

6. "Unraveled" by Maggie Sefton

7. "Smokin' Seventeen" by Janet Evanovich

8. "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo

9. "Doc" by Mary Doria Russell

10. "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan

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"David Crockett: The Lion of the West" by Michael Wallis (W.W. Norton; ISBN 9780383067583, $27.95)

Many people know Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier; "born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, killed a bear when he was only three.” A simple homespun frontiersman dressed in buckskin clothing and wearing a coonskin cap, he lived an adventure-filled life, hunting, telling stories, fighting Indians as he pushed further and further west, dying a hero’s death at the Alamo in 1836.   

Davy Crockett is an American hero wrapped in legend and myth. The play, The Lion of the West, or a Trip to Washington, a farce featuring Colonel Nimrod Wildfire, a thinly disguised Colonel Crockett, opened in New York City in 1831. This play, most performed production in America until an 1852 staging of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin,"  was followed in 1833 by "The Life and Adventures of Colonel David Crockett of West Tennessee."  Crockett then wrote his autobiography, "A Narrative of the Life of David, Crockett, of the State of Tennessee."  More recently, of course, is the Disney-created Davy Crockett of the 1950s. 

Fewer people know David Crockett, also known as Colonel Crockett.  A war veteran, a skilled hunter, justice of the peace, a member of the Tennessee legislature, a member of the United States Congress and a public celebrity, he also owned slaves; failed at several business and farming endeavors; was in debt most years, and was targeted by political enemies, including President Andrew Jackson.     

Nothing is more difficult  to write about than an American hero, a mythical figure who symbolized three beliefs--the drive to the west; the worth of the ordinary people and the coming Age of the Common Man--that were emerging in the young United States. Making the task more difficult is writing, at the same time, about the historic figure.    

Wallis carefully and patiently separates the man from the myth; at the same time, he recognizes the power of the myth in American culture. His style, sometimes brisk and sometimes meandering, reflects two things; his travels through Crockett country in Tennessee, Texas and other places and, secondly, the depth of his research and thought as he read personal narratives, maps, letters and, of course, Crockett’s autobiography. 

Wallis considers the latter “a fairly reliable source,” much information in it can be supported by other accounts. A best-seller when published, it provides Wallis’ work with colorful episodes of Crockett’s youthful years, his bear hunts; his war experiences; his campaign methods which usually included tobacco and whiskey as vote-getting incentives; and his use of jokes, anecdotes, sayings and local idioms in his political career.  

In 1835 Crockett put on his hunting clothes, grabbed his rifle and got on his horse. Defeated in the election of 1835, separated from his wife and dreading the election ofMartin Van Buren to follow Andrew Jackson as president, he was ready to go hunting,go exploring and acquiring some land.  Like many men, he went to Texas and joined the volunteer army poised for conflict with the army of Mexico lead by General Santa Ana.

Accounts of the battle of the Alamo and the death of Crockett on March 6, 1836, are many and varied. Wallis considers the strongest source for the event, a memoir of Jose Enrique de la Pena, a Mexican army officer present at the battle. Translated in 1975, the 680 page diary supports the version that Crockett was one of the seven survivors captured and executed. 

Described in 1827 as “…about 6 feet high, weighed two hundred pounds, had no surplus flesh, broad shouldered, stood erect, was a man of great physical strength, of fine appearance, his cheeks mantled with a rosy hue, eyes vivacious and in form, had no superior.,” Davy/David Crockett is not easily captured in words, but Wallis succeeds in his portrayal of a simple, yet complex, man. After reading this book, you might think that you would like to sit down and drink a few horns of whiskey with David Crockett. 

Review by Joyce Suellentrop         

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Sarah's book reviews can be heard on alternate Mondays on KMUW 89.1. You can read her most recent review below or listen to it here:

http://www.kmuw.org/index.php/book/july_4_turn_of_mind_by_alice_laplante/

“Turn of Mind” by Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly Press, ISBN 9780802119773, $24.00)

 

Dr. Jennifer White, a 65-year-old woman who is losing her mind to Alzheimer’s, is the narrator of Alice LaPlante’s inventive first novel, “Turn of Mind.” She is also a suspect in the murder of her best friend, Amanda O’Toole, who was found dead in her home--the four fingers on her right having been surgically removed. Moving in and out of lucidity, exploding in fits of madness and anger, Dr. White is a retired hand surgeon and widower. Her two children are as confused as their mother with regard to what happened to Amanda.  

Questioning at the precinct goes like this:   

“Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?  With these rights in mind do you wish to speak to me? 

“I want to go home. I want to go home. Am I in Philadelphia? There was the house on Walnut Lane. We played kickball in the streets.  

“No, this is Chicago. Ward Forty-three, Precinct Twenty-one. We have called your son and daughter. You can decide at any time from this moment on to terminate the interview and exercise these rights.   

“I wish to terminate, yes.” 

"Turn of Mind" is an unconventional murder mystery. Alice LaPlante gets us into the head of Dr. White, giving her dignity even as disease cripples her once razor-sharp mind. However, you must beware the unreliable narrator; she’ll set you on a confusing path of unpredictability. In the end, she will blow your mind, twisting reality on a whim, or according to plan. You may never know.   

Review by Sarah Bagby 

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Later.

Beth