New comments on The Ruin

Well today is my birthday. My folks picked an auspicious day for my birthday, April 15th. Too bad the IRS decided to share it. Made it easy to remember. I got two birthday cards that especially made my day. Both concerned my novel.

I shared my sister's comments on the Ruin when it first came out (See comments on Jan 23 post "The Ruin Novel Available"). She received the first copy and sped through it in a couple of days. She then ordered a copy for her daughter. Her daughter had to wait until March for her copy and her comments came this week. She said she read it too fast and didn't want it to end. She had recommended it to many of her friends.

My older brother shares credits on the copyright page for several passages in the Ruin. He is a painter and when he writes it is as though he writes with a paint brush. I relied heavily on his description of the La Plata Mountains of South West Colorado. In his card he commented on the book at some length. He also attended the school featured in the book and lived on the farm described in the book. As he said, "To tell the truth I had a real hard time distinguishing between what was fiction and reality." He went on to say, "Fact or fiction, I could empathize with "Cliff in his corporal punishment and the emotions that go along with it, and I think you did a fantastic job of capturing that feeling in the pages."

I was pleased by by my brother's and niece's words. Sometimes those close to us can be our harshest critics. To have their approval was very gratifying.

On another note, my daughter, a third grade teacher in the Bend-LaPine public schools was talking to me this morning about a bullying problem they are having in their school. The school officials have narrowed the problem down to two or three who are most frequently named. She overheard the discussion about what should be done, how harshly should they deal with them. My daughter is no shrinking violet, especially after hearing me carry on and having read my book and teaching in Springfield during the school shooting episode. When she heard the comment, "well we don't want to traumatize the boys...." she said, "Well yes, we do want to traumatize the boys, if that is what it takes to get the point across to them that what they are doing out on the playground to the other kids can lead to serious consequences. And those consequences somewhere down the road could lead to suicide or a school shooting. You have to stop it here. And stop it now!"

Way to go girl.
Respectfully submitted, Kenneth Fenter