A family is forever changed in the summer of 1956.

One Star Out of Five

ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE

Well this is a first, and sadly probably not the last. My coming of age novel, The Cherry Pickers, got a ONE STAR review - - - and I'm thrilled. This is what the review said:
This had the potential of being a great story. Then a little over halfway it had to bring a homosexual relationship into the mix. Also some weird non Biblical evolution bs but I can overlook some ignorance in a novel. Trying to "normalize" a homosexual relationship. Ended the story for me.

Two slaps in the review, one for the "normalized relationship" and the other for some unstated slant on evolution (no idea about this one, but I'm intrigued). I've received many tearful reviews and letters about this novel, how it affected my readers and made deep, long lasting impressions. For many it was a return to their youth, to family, to a time almost forgotten. It's not sugary, or gooey, but an honest look at one summer in the life of a fourteen year old boy and the dying of another man - an honest man.
It's sad that we approach life in ways that only substantiate what we believe, and not take a stroll on paths not normally taken. And since I know the person who made the review downloaded a free Kindle copy, then felt it necessary to post this very personal (their's of course) review, I'm saddened.
I read dozens of books from many genres every year, I look for the challenge that the writer imposed on themselves, and I look for the humanity (sometimes dark, sometimes enlightening), but always human.
My fist is held high for the ONE STAR review.
Click on the image and go to the Amazon site.

Have a Wonderful Christmas and prosperous New Year.

The Cherry Pickers Now Available



Today August 8, 2017, the young adult novel The Cherry Pickers is now available at the following locations.





I am thrilled about this book and while aimed at the fourteen to eighteen year crowd, adults have raved about it.

Autographed copies are available, just send me an email to rpd@lmi.net. They are $17.00 and include postage.

I'll also be signing books at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California on October 20, 2017. Hope to see you there.

Stay tuned for more . . . 

The Cherry Pickers - Autographed Copy

The Cherry Pickers is now available through Amazon for pre-release ordering. The official date is August 8, 2017. As you can read from the posts below the buzz has been fantastic - so pre-order and have it delivered to your Kindle device.

Th unconfirmed word is that if you order the trade paperback version of The Cherry Pickers through Amazon, you can have it delivered -- now!

And finally, if you contact me through my email at rpd@lmi.net (use The Cherry Pickers Book in the subject line) and send a check for $17.00 I will send you an autographed copy. I have five copies available. I will get back to you with an address.

I will also be signing books at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California on October 20, 2017 at 7:00.

Thanks.

Greg Randall
I am in the process of building this blog, our released ate for the book is in early August, 2017. It will be available as both a trade paperback and ebook. Both through Amazon and Createspace. A hardback version may also be available at some time int he future for libraries and collections.

I have a limited number of Author's Review Copies available through April 15, if you would like one please email me at rpd@lmi.net.

Thank you for your support and please drop by occasionally.

And here are a few reviews from NetGalley Reviewers:

Review #1
4 and 1 / 2 stars
The writing in this book is beautiful, lyrical and almost musical. It is 1956 on a farm in Michigan. 

A move from the city of Chicago to a farm dominated by an orchard in Michigan makes an indelible impression on a young boy. A 14-year-young boy named Howie delineates his small world by naming the orchard where he lives as man’s world, while the forest below has no sovereign. The forest is “below the hill.” That is to say below the safe, the comfortable and the known. 

Here during a beautiful summer, he hangs about on the edge of the woods. He is sometimes proud of his deformed arm and uses it to shock teachers and play pranks on his sometimes friends. His drunken Aunt hates him, but his step-grandmother feels sorrow for the boy. His little brother is a tattletale, so he goes to the woods to smoke. He fantasizes about what goes on in the forest. 

Life in the orchard is both routine and seasonal. Life in the woods, the boy imagines, is quite different; both wild and unpredictable. As Howie observes all, he grows in many ways. 

I want to thank Netgalley and Windsor Hill Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

Review #2
I loved this book! A summer of coming of age for a 14 year old boy at his grandparents' cherry orchard. It is a good story and provides readers with very moving events throughout the summer.

Today's Blog Post

One Star Out of Five

ONE STAR OUT OF FIVE Well this is a first, and sadly probably not the last. My coming of age novel, The Cherry Pickers, got a ONE STAR ...