Arborwood Press Authors present their works at the River Rim Coffee House Dec. 15 5-8:00 P.M.

The River Rim Coffee House is located on Amber Meadow Dr. in the Brookswood Meadows Village. From the Old Mill District take Brookswood Blvd about 3 miles to Amber Meadow Dr. Turn right to the entrance to the shopping area and the River Rim Coffee House is right there. If you go out third street, turn on Powers west to Brookswood Blvd. Amber Meadow Dr. is just past the elementary school.

Arborwood Press authors at Bend's River Rim Coffee House Dec. 15th

Kenneth Fenter, Jim Henson and Linda Mitchell Maddox will appear in a new event at the River Rim Coffee House on Dec. 15 from 5-8:00 p.m. The local Bend authors will read and discuss their recent books in Bend's favorite gathering place an already familiar place to meet for open mic, date night, and music. December 15 will be the first time for local authors to their literary work. A link to the River Rim Coffee House.

Linda Maddox rolls out her debut novel Resonating the Sound. The novel appeals to all audiences but will be an especially appropriate Christmas gift for any middle school or young adult person on your list. It is an inspirational story of an eighth grader who is in her second year of recovery from traumatic brain injury. She is well on the road to recovery in her motor skills. She is yet to recover her ability to speak. Through an "augmentative communication device" and the help of a classmate with Gifted Asperger's syndrome, she explores ways of overcoming this last obstacle.

Linda, speech language pathology assistant for Bend-LaPine Schools, works with middle school students on a daily basis and captures the way students interact to create a beautiful story of student life.

Jim Henson, retired mental health clinician, has two non-fiction “Metaphorical memoirs”. The first, Pee Up A Tree: A Mental Health Memoir, released in 2010, is about his first four years’ practice in Oregon in the Umpqua Valley. The second book, Satisfaction Guaranteed: In Chicago which is actual a prequell, released May 2011, is a humorous story of young lovers from California who trek across Canada to Chicago in the mid-60’s and encounter a diverse landscape filled with warm, passionate and strange characters whose customs entertain and mystify. Survivors of the Democratic National Convention/police riot, the terrifying aftermath of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., and the biggest snow fall in the history of Chicago.

Jim writes in a humorous, engaging storytelling style that entertains as he educates the reader to how the community health worker goes about the task of helping people cope with living in our modern world.

Kenneth Fenter will be at River Rim Coffee House with his two novels: The Ruin: A boy’s quest to rebuild his self-worth by seeking refuge in the wilderness; released in 2010 and the sequel The Bee Tree: A novel of friendship and self-discovery, 2011. The two novels’ main character is Cliff, a 14-year-old boy in The Ruin who flees to an Anasazi cliff dwelling after persistent long time bullying. The sequel has Cliff, now 15, as he re-enters society after his experience in the ruin. Both are set in SW Colorado near Mesa Verde Ntl. Park. Bullying and regaining self-worth are the main themes.

Fenter grew up near Mesa Verde and uses his memories of his youth in writing the novels although they are not biographical.

The Arborwood Press authors invite you to come out to River Rim Coffee House to join us for conversation, hear us present from our newest books. Our books both new and earlier editions will be sale. We will be glad to autograph them for you. Books are always welcome gifts for Christmas and are seldom returned.

Kenneth Fenter

Resonating the Sound by Linda Mitchell Maddox Available Nov. 14

Resonating the Sound by Linda Mitchell Maddox became available on the morning of November 14. The debut novel is about an eighth grade girl who has suffered a traumatic brain injury during sixth grade. After two years of therapy and recovery she has regained the ability to walk with help of braces and can attend school with her friends. However, she has not regained her voice. Finally in the latter part of her final year of middle school, she agrees to try the latest technology, an "augmentative communication device."
Through that device she begins to communicate again in a more normal way, and in the process a special relationship develops between her and a boy in her class who has Gifted Aspergers. He plays a major role in helping her to learn the use of her augmentative communication device and in altering the device which gives the main character access to pieces of a dream she thinks are lost forever.
It is a touching story, with a few lessons, in tolerance, and perspective into the ordeal of a person going through recovery from traumatic brain injury.


Perhaps the quote from author Rachael Schuetz, author of Long Road to Change says it best: "Resonating the Sound wraps you up into the world of Jana, a middle schooler, who barely survives a tragic accident. Her recovery path is brightened by unique perspectives, unexpected friendships, and unrelenting perseverance. Capturing teens and adults alike, this beautiful story encourages us to see beyond any limitation."


Linda's book is now available at: Linda's e-store or Amazon

Kenneth Fenter

Janelle Rebick Featured Quilter November at Quilt Works, Bend

Central Oregon Quilters displaying Holiday Quilts at Quilt Works. In time for the holiday season the upstairs gallary at Quilt Works displays quilts of the holidays. Among the quilters featured are

 l to r: Catherine Essary, Susan Beyer, Sue Jorgensen, Jill Monley, Janelle Rebick, Kristin Shields, Pat Jones, Marilyn Will, Marilyn Ulrich, and Toni Morris. Visit Quilt Works.

Quilt Works owners Dave and Marilyn Ulrich
with Featured Quilter Janelle Rebick.

The Quilt Works 926 Greenwood in Bend introduced Janelle Rebick as the November featured Quilter showing 19 of her favorite quilts and holiday season quilts by 9 talented Bend Quilters. In first Friday tradition, refreshments prizes added to the festivities. 

Oh Christmas Tree, 2010, Janelle Rebick
a Christmas present for sister-in-law Lisa
Elegant for its simplicity.
Fused and free motion stitched.
Janelle's own hand dyed fabrics.
It took two large cones of thread to quilt the pebbles.

Hawaiian Star, 2008, Janelle Rebick
Following her first major paper pieced quilt Janelle swore off
paper piecing until she saw this pattern and fell in love
with it. The back is made from her hand dyes and really
shows off the quilting which she did on her
domestic machine. She finished it just in time for
the 2008 Sister's Outdoor Quilt Show.

Folded Log Cabin, 2007, Janelle Rebick,
Sarah Kaufman class. Machine pieced.

Laughing Leaves, 2011, Janelle Rebick,
Frieda Anderson class at Quilter's Affair.
Fusing. Stitching came with quilting.
Fused, free motion quilted and embroidered.

Bird in Hand, 2008, Janelle Rebick,
Jane Davila class at Quilter's Affair.
Quilt from a proverb.
Time constraint challenge.
Janelle's hand dyed fabrics.
Machine appliqued and free motion quilted.

Modern Square, 2011, Janelle Rebick.
Hand dyed fabrics.
Machine pieced and free motion quilted.

Long Time Coming, 2007, Janelle Rebick
Paper Pieced and free motion quilted.

What is Beer but Liquid Grain
An image from the book,
The Good Pig, by Sy Montgomery.
Janelle tried new techniques
such as caveman piecing, weaving,
Texture Magic, and heavy thread painting.
Machine pieced, appliqued and quilted.

Hide and Go Seek, 2006, Janelle Rebick
Wendy Butler Berns at Quilter's Affair.
Photo of Janelle's son Connor
hiding behind a tree in the backyard.
It is Janelle's way to scrapbook. It features
some of her hand dyed and hand
painted fabrics.
Machine appliqued and quilted.

Dylan at the High Desert Museum, 2007, Janelle Rebick
The second quilt based on the Wendy Butler Berns class.
Dylan, Janelle's youngest son looks into the pond at the Museum.
Machine appliqued and quilted

The Moon Knows, 2011, Janelle Rebick
The second quilt for the Undercover Quilters Book Club. Based on
the novel, On the Divinity of Second Chances, by Kaya McLaren.
Machine pieced, appliqued and quilted

Pink Lemonade, 2010, Janelle Rebick
Machine pieced and quilted

Earl and Jewell, 2010, Janelle Rebick
Photos of Janelle' Grandparents printed on fabric.
Mixed media quilt. Hand dyed fabrics.
Machine quilted

Heliconia, 2009, Janelle Rebick
A pattern from a book called Black and White.
Paper pieced.
Red fabric is silk-cotton blend that is soft.
Paper pieced and quilted

The Ruin, 2010, Janelle Rebick
Janelle's commemorative quilt of her father's novel The Ruin
which takes place near Mesa Verde Ntl. Park.
All hand dyed and hand painted fabrics.
Machine pieced and quilted

Ginko, 2009, Janelle Rebick
Two classes from Barb Shapel at the Quilter's Affair 2009.
One was machine quilting and one was the Ginko class.
All Janelle's hand dyed fabrics. As much time in the
quilting as in putting the top together.
Machine appliqued and quilted

Goose Chase, 2008, Janelle Rebick
Guild Challenge Quilt - Flying Geese.
"Traditional flying geese in a realistic representation of a goose."
Machine pieced and quilted.

Couch Quilt, 2010, Janelle Rebick
A quilt to snuggle in.
Machine pieced and free motion quilted

The Good Pasture Covered Bridge, 2007, Janelle Rebick
For a few years Janelle's father made stained glass windows. In 2007 when her parents were out of state for awhile
She "borrowed" the original design. This quilt hangs in her parent's home close to the original stained glass window.
Machine appliqued and quilted by Janelle.

Photos of Janelle's show presented by a proud dad,

Kenneth Fenter

Audio version of The Ruin and The Bee Tree? Use the Kindle or IPad Audible Audiobooks

My Aunt Vee who turns 97 on 9/11 and who is blind relies on technology for her reading material. She has a better memory than I do, is confined to an electric wheelchair and wheels about her assisted living facility in Billings, Montana like the matriarch of the Fenter family that she is. Her blindness is the result of Macular Degeneration which gives her slight peripheral vision so she can make out just enough of her surroundings that she can navigate.

Her sons have fixed her up with a program through the state that provide her the resources available to those like her whose access to the world is through her auditory rather than visual sense, the talking book.

I suggested to them the Kindle with sound enabled and was told that the kindle had been disabled by the major publishers because they had the resources to hire actors to record their works on audio. Too bad for us independent publishers who don't have that kind of resource. Of course, I could sit down and record it myself. An an earlier age, I would have found that a challenge. My radio days ended years ago, however and I don't find that a challenge anymore.

Today, however, when I checked my e-mail, I got a note from Amazon advertising a new feature called Audible Audiobooks. That led me to do a little digging.

I found that when Apple released the IPad 1 they didn't go along with the request to disable the audio function on their e-book function and if you use the "voice-over" function of the device, it will read the e-book to you. So in effect turning your kindle download or any other e-book download into an audio book. The Audioble Audiobooks program is to enable the audio function in the first generation Kindle. Apparently the second, third, generation Kindles have been able to read the book aloud. I don't have a Kindle, so I can't verify all that. What I read was that the publisher had to choose whether to allow their content to be audible or not. If that is the case, I don't remember being given that choice when uploading my books. If it was there, I would not have checked to disable it as I had no intent of creating an audio book in the near future.

So there you have it. If you try it works, contact me so I can pass the word along to my Aunt Vee who can finally hear my book. Thanks.

Kenneth Fenter

View YouTube videos of Atlatl the weapon used in The Ruin by Kenneth Fenter

I checked out the Trailer for The Ruin that I posted on YouTube this summer (Ruin Trailer) and found that quite a few videos of the atlatl are linked to the Trailer. It was really interesting to watch them. One was on the history of the atlatl going back to the Aztec. The name "atlatl" comes from the Aztec. In The Ruin, Cliff the main character makes an atlatl, spear thrower, from a pamphlet he has picked up at Mesa Verde National Park. He learns to use the weapon to hunt rabbits and even brings down a deer with it.

There are fine examples of the atlatl that the Ancestral Puebloans used in the museum at Mesa Verde National Park and at the Anasazi Cultural Center at Dolores Colorado.



Atlatl at the museum at Mesa Verde National Park.



Atlatl in a case at the Anasazi Cultural Center at Dolores Colorado.

Kenneth Fenter

Under Covers Book Club interpret Divinity of Second Chances in Quilts

This is part two of the Under Covers Book Club Quilts and their interpretation of a novel. This year the Bend book club read the novel by Kaya McLaren, The Divinity of Second Chances. Each year they choose a book with the mission of each member interpreting the book with her quilt in time for the outdoor quilt show in August. I'm showing the quilts in my blog because I find it fascinating how if you give a group of people the same book, each one will come away with a different message or it will affect him or her in a different way. That is what makes the creative process so fascinating to an author.
(Note: I originally used the quilts from the outdoor show and the provances that were pinned to the quilts. On Friday, Sept. 2 the quilts and an updated provenance opened for a month long showing at The Quilt Works, on Greenwood in Bend. I have updated this post with new photos and the updated provenance. The showing will be in the Quiltworks through the month of September.)

Several of the quilters wrote fairly extensive provenance to go along with her quilt. I took close ups of those to run along with the quilt so you can share them.

Jane put mental images of settings into her quilt.

Susan used a quilting technique to represent characters in the book.

Martha's "Second Chance" is in the Sunflower....

Cindy liked a personification of the moon...

Kristin used the first line of the book On the Divinity of Second Chances

Betty focused on an item very important the widow Pearl

Sally used an excerpt from the book and featured the ancient cottonwood in her quilt.

Erin's quilt represents some of the things that stood out for her.

Janelle's quilt is in story quilt form.

Lani's quilt sees the light at the end of the tunnel.

Wanda's quilt represents her personal journey.

Kaya's quilt tells the story in quilt form.

The talented ladies who made the quilts.

If you live in the Bend area or are visiting the area during the month of September, the quilts based on the Kaya McLaren book On the Divinity of Second Chances will be featured up stairs at the Quiltworks Quiltshop-fabric store located on 926 Greenwood in Bend. Find Kaya's book at Barnes and Noble and other local book stores in Bend.

Kenneth Fenter,

proud father of a member of The Under Covers Book Club