I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Gary Guinn. Today, Gary shares the highlights of his ongoing road trip and his two novels, A Late Flooding Thaw and Sacrificial Lam.
Here’s Gary!
Mary Ann and I are about half-way through a two-month road trip, and we might decide to make it three. We bought an old Safari Trek RV (Safari Treks are a whole story in themselves) and decided to head for warmer weather and places where cedar allergies are not an issue. And we wanted to see some of the country we’d never seen before. We’ve traveled about 2,500 miles. We’ve refueled our love for New Mexico, fallen in love with parts of Arizona, and finally arrived in our idea of heaven—Padre Island National Seashore, where we have no phone service, no wi-fi, and no worries.
I was concerned, before we set off, about driving an RV all day and then trying to write in the evening. But the problem solved itself in an unexpected way. For several reasons, I’ve never been an early morning writer. Didn’t think I ever would be. On this trip, I wake up at six o’clock, and Mary Ann sleeps till eight. I spend the two hours of silence sitting between our two dogs on the sofa writing, getting more done than I would in two hours at home in my study. If good writing comes, at least in part, from absorbing the world through stimulation of the senses, I may be a better writer when I get home.
Here are just three things about this trip we will remember.
The sky at Aguirre Spring Campground. I thought I knew the night sky before Aguirre Spring, but I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t have a clue. The overwhelming breadth and depth of black backdrop. The startling number and the brilliance of the constellations. On a good night in my small-town home, I can identify several constellations. When I stepped out of the RV the first night at Aguirre Spring, I couldn’t restrain a groan of pure wonder. Constellation after constellation, distinct and bright, sometimes overlapping, more than I could have imagined. The experience redefined the word awe for me.
The Cactus RV Park in Tucumcari. Nothing fancy. Right on the main road. No good places to eat nearby. But it was like stepping back into the 1950’s. Surrounded by what must have been one of those early highway motels, now defunct and shuttered, we almost had the feeling we were intruding on the lives of those people who stopped there fifty or sixty years ago in their Ford or Chevy or Plymouth or Chrysler. There would have been a central, tree-lined courtyard, where the people sat to cool off in the evening and watch the kids play, having casual conversation with strangers. It’s all now just sandy slots for self-contained RV’s, and not many of those. A bit of a haunted place.
And finally, this little slice of Heaven, the Padre Island National Seashore. Mary Ann and I love the ocean, and we try to get to its shore as often as we can. It has a magical effect on us. When we first smell the brine in the air as we approach the coast, the stress begins to melt from our shoulders down our backs. When we catch our first glimpse of the water, it’s like an electromagnet with the drawing power growing as the current increases. And finally, when we walk on the sand—well, when we walk on the sand, a kind of joy rises in us and we can’t help laughing. This time, when our aging lab-mix, Seamus, ran out onto the beach, he was like a puppy again. A puppy who didn’t know which way to turn first, who couldn’t contain all the sensual stimulation hitting him.
We understood. We felt the same way.
Blurb – Sacrificial Lam
When English professor Lam Corso receives a death threat at work, he laughs it off. A liberal activist teaching at a small Southern conservative college, he’s used to stirring up controversy on campus. It’s just part of the give and take of life. Even when violently attacked, Lam is convinced it has to be a mistake. He can’t imagine anyone who would want to kill him for his beliefs.
When his home is broken into and his wife’s business vandalized, Lam is forced to face facts. The police can’t find a single lead. Lam’s wife—a passionate anti-gun crusader—is outraged when Lam brings a gun into the house for protection. Left to their own devices, Lam and Susan must examine their marriage, faith, and values in the face of a carefully targeted attack from an assailant spurred into action by a different set of beliefs.
What will it cost to survive?
Blurb – A Late Flooding Thaw
Henry and Walter Bass struggle to escape the shadows of their alcoholic father, their reclusive mother, and the prejudice of the small town of Delaney. When Walter marries Emma Sinclair, the only child of one of Delaney’s oldest families, tragic events are set in motion that change the lives of everyone involved. Each character in the drama that follows must struggle with the shadows of the living and the dead. In the violent world of Pentecostal religion, grace offers hope, but the failure of love brings destruction and the sins of the fathers curse the lives of the sons and daughters.
Bio
Gary Guinn taught literature and creative writing at a small private college for more than thirty years. His short fiction and poetry have been published in literary magazines and anthologies. His first novel, A Late Flooding Thaw, was published in 2005, and his second novel, Sacrificial Lam, was released March 3, 2017. He loves traveling, dogs, and brewing beer.
Where to find Gary…
Website | Amazon | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Reblogged this on NEVA BROWN & BOOKS.
Thank you, Neva and Joanne, for re-blogging this post! I appreciate your interest. Your blog looks good, Neva.
Thank you for sharing your travel experiences, Gary. I remember those black skies where the sky was filled with stars – awe-inspiring sights I haven’t seen in years. Best of luck with your books!
Thanks, Joanne, for everything. It was fun!
My pleasure, Gary. Enjoy the rest of your road trip. 🙂
Oh my goodness, Gary, you and your wife’s trip sounds amazing! And I can’t imagine why I haven’t yet read Sacrificial Lam–but I’ll remedy that as soon as possible.
Thanks, Barbara! We are having a ball. Hope you enjoy the book.
You brought some memories back to me. I was one of those kids in the 50s who use to stay at those highway motels with her parents. Growing up in S California, all of our vacations were around the western states. That was the only place I saw the milky way in all it’s glory. Best on your book!
Thanks, Ilona. Glad we revived some memories for you. I remember passing those motels and wondering who was staying there and what they were doing.
Gary, you’ve made me want to visit the ocean! Your trip sounds amazing. Hope the rest of it is just as inspiring, and you write yourself into history.
If you haven’t been to the Gulf Coast (or any other coast) I highly recommend it. We are really having fun. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks for sharing some of the highlights of your adventures. I’m adding South Padre to my list. Your books sound good in an unsettling way. Couldn’t find you via the posted Amazon link though.
Hi Charlotte, I’ve updated the link for Gary’s Amazon page. You can find his books here – https://www.amazon.com/Gary-Guinn/e/B01N4GPT7P/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 🙂
Thanks, Charlotte! You’ll love Padre Island. I do hope my books are good in an unsettling way. I want people to be thoroughly engaged and i want to challenge their minds. As a great screenwriter (name is escaping me) said, “Grab ’em by the throat, and don’t let go.” 🙂
Thanks for fixing the link, Joanne. 🙂
Mornings are my best writing times, but with a full-time job, I have to squeeze in my words wherever they’ll fit. Sounds like you had quite an RV adventure, Gary. I’m jealous 🙂
It really has been a great trip. I’d be jealous if I were you too. 🙂
I may try to keep writing in the mornings.
Thanks for the comment.