The Ruin: A boy's quest to rebuild his self-worth by seeking refuge in the wilderness available globally

I thought it would be fun to spend a few minutes this morning to Google my novel The Ruin: A boy's quest to rebuild his self-worth by seeking refuge in the wilderness and see what what was happening with it. This was partly because in early June a new blitz went out to media around the country that included a large number of "book bloggers". I've discovered a world of book lovers out there who have linked together to share their love of literature of all kinds. The age seems to be from very young adult to my own generation and beyond. All genera are covered. 

Getting back to Google. I typed in the title and multiple pages came up, not all originating with this blog attached. I soon learned that it is for sale in most countries of the world including South Africa, India, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, and so on. The currency made it difficult to tell exactly what it was selling for. And it is all online, so they aren't walking into stores and buying copies off the shelf. It is truly a global online economy. 

It takes awhile for reviews to start coming in. One of the first is in the post just preceding this this from a lady named Teresa. She requested a copy of The Bee Tree. It seems from her note to me that she writes for a number of outlets, rather than her own blog. 

I visited the blogs of all those who requested a copy of the book to review and the profiles of the individual bloggers. What an interesting group of folk. A community who link together to share like a huge book club.

It is a new dimension to this field that I wish I'd discovered a long time ago.

My best to you,

Kenneth Fenter

Five Star Review of the Ruin by GoodReads Reviewer

Here is the 5 Star Review by GoodReads Reviewer Teresa.
She is now reading The Bee Tree.

Title: The Ruin
Author: Kenneth Fenter
Publisher: Arborwood Press
Book URL: http://arborwoodpress.com/
Release Date: Available Now
ISBN: 978-1-4536-5992-2
Format: e-book; Trade Paperback
Page Count: 415
Genre: Young Adult - And Mature
Reviewer: Teresa
Rating: 5

Cliff Kelly is about to retire from his teaching position when the last day of school is destroyed by an act of terror. He learns that a student in a nearby school who brought a gun to school after killing his mother leaving an unknown number of students hurt. Cliff has not only to deal with his students grief, but it brings up one day that was the turning point in his life. As Cliff reflects about his youth, his past unfolds revealing a history similar to the young man above.

Cliff was harassed throughout grade school not only by the students, but for a long time by his teacher until Mrs. Campbell took over. In her he found a mentor and some level of protection until he decided one day to stand up for himself. Unfortunately, Hector, a student, taught him a lesson that ended up with Cliff beaten. Cliff ran off and in his anger decided he would get even, but something kept him from acting on his anger driving him to run away into the Mesa Verde hills that he loves so much. Thus begins Cliff’s journey to find himself as he struggles to heal himself through the beauty and wildness of nature.

Mr. Fenter’s story The Ruin is a beautiful and inspiring saga that taught me not only the beauty of nature, but how it can help to heal a broken soul. It was incredible how Cliff made a home in an Anasazi ruin in spite of the odds. It was moving watching Cliff struggle to survive fighting his own fears and in the end triumphing, finding peace. I loved experiencing the Mesa Verde through Cliff’s eyes as it’s beauty  unfolds. It was hard to watch the agony Cliff’s family went through, but it was wonderful how the community came together to help them. Hector’s life was also changed by Cliff’s absence as he struggled with his actions and learned how what he did effected others. I look forward to reading “The Bee Tree” the sequel to “The Ruin“. Mr. Fenter’s ability to incorporate the past and nature into a contemporary story is riveting and inspirational.

The Bee Tree File Updated

     On June 12, an updated file for The Bee Tree was uploaded to the printers correcting a series of typographical errors. Copies ordered from the original file distributed to selected readers discovered errors not found in the original final reading by our proofing staff. This updated file should have eliminated this condition. We have records from Create Space for the number of copies purchased between May 5, and June 12 and because it had not been advertised, it is not significant. However if you are one of those and wish to return the book for a copy of the updated edition, we will be glad to swap it. The updated file has already replaced the original file in all e-book editions as of June 16. I apologize for this inconvenience.
     We use a print on demand service. It is environmentally responsible. I upload the file and can order a few copies instead of thousands that sit in a storage facility gathering dust and mold while I market them. If it is successful, they eventually are out in the world. If it is an unsuccessful gamble, trees were sacrificed for nothing. Using the POD method, if it doesn't go, nothing is wasted but my time. Unfortunately, in a spiral bound form, a manuscript can be read by seasoned readers and brought to a finely tuned point. In the case of The Bee Tree this amounted of months of rewriting, editing, re-editing, proofing, reading by a number of individuals who have not seen the manuscript before. All errors, marked by yellow tabs, are carefully entered, and the final product again read by new eyes.
     When the file is uploaded a few copies are ordered and distributed to new readers where typos jump out, if they were missed, and that comes back. Fingers are crossed that there will be no yellow tabs protruding, but alas this time that was not so. A new file was uploaded.


This wasn't meant to be a rationalization for sloppiness. At Arborwood Press we face the same problem that all small presses face. We operate with each of us doing multi roles. Author, editor, designer, publisher, market planner.


In an ideal world there would be a department for each of those functions. The author would spend his/her time creating and handing the product to the editor who makes it coherent. From there the design-printers-and public relations people do their jobs and turn it into a best seller.


Oh well.
I, along with thousands of others who wear all the hats of getting our books to print, am having fun at this time while I can.
Kenneth Fenter

The Ruin featured on Midsummer eve Blog Hop

        Win a copy of The Ruin this week, June 21-27, in the Midsummer Eve Blog Hop. Go to The Literary Imaginarium Blog. The site hosted by Zoe Rayne is featuring several items you can win such as a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, Grave Robbers by Samantha Bayarr and The Ruin by Kenneth Fenter. You have a chance to win one of the items.
    But wait! The Literary Imaginarium Blog this week is linked with over 200 other book blogs during the Midsummer Eve Blog Hop to offer books that you can also take a chance on winning. At the end of the week an independent service will choose the winners and publishers sucn as Arborwood Press will send your book to you. So click on the link above and have a ball.

With my best wishes
Kenneth Fenter

The Kirkus Indie Review is In on the The Bee Tree

Here is the Kirkus Indie Review on The Bee Tree in its entirety.

        Teenager Cliff Kelly learns to balance his family’s values with a newfound independence in Fenter’s sequel to 2010’s The Ruin.

        The novel begins in 1955, as Cliff returns home after spending a year living alone in a cliff dwelling near the rural Colorado community in which he grew up. After this period of self-reflection, Cliff resumes life armed with stronger character and confidence.
        These values are immediately tested when he deepens his relationship with Angelina, whose Catholic upbringing and Latino heritage clash with the Anglo-Christian Kelly family.
        Cliff befriends his former nemesis Hector and their relationship brings closure to events preceding his sojourn in the wilderness.
        Cliff’s family is a minority in the predominantly Latino area, and his outsider status lessens as Hector and Angelina educate Cliff on their culture’s customs and language. Cliff returns their favors by helping Hector with his schoolwork and showing Angelina the survival skills he cultivated during his solitude. Cliff introduces Angelina to beekeeping and the two work on capturing a swarm.
        During the process, Larry, a mentally unsound young man, threatens Cliff and Angelina, and the danger they encounter ultimately intensifies their bond.
        Cliff is a great role model for the book’s young adult audience, though parts involving Larry may not be appropriate for all readers.
        Teenagers will relate to Cliff’s struggles as he moves into adulthood and admire the mature choices he makes when confronts challenges. The book can also benefit parents raising kids coming of age in adverse societies.
       Yet the book’s pith—the importance of forgiveness, of forging common ground no matter how extreme the difference—become buried in longueurs describing the Colorado land, farming methods and bee-keeping procedures. The veracity of these expositions is undisputed, but they draw readers away from the nexus of messages Fenter imparts. The plot’s climactic moments slow from prolix dialogue; the cast of diverse characters all speak in the same formal, long-winded style. This implausible phrasing enervates the compelling, emotional moments between Cliff and Angelina—nevertheless, their relationship is inspiring.
        Fenter provides worthy social commentary tucked inside this tender tale, but a languid delivery keeps the message from fully resonating.

Fenter, Kenneth

THE BEE TREE: A Novel of Friendship and Self-Discovery
CreateSpace (298 pp.)
$17.95 paperback
$9.95 e-book
April 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-1461093473

ForWord Clarion Review of The Bee Tree

The First Review is in For The Bee Tree. Here is the Review from ForWord Clarion Review of The Bee Tree. I'm presenting it here exactly as it came in, good with the bad. Every reviewer looks for something different. It is a measure of how the book measures up to the other novels out there. I was generally pleased with it and on the weak spots... That is something that we're working on. The arborwood e-mail address is on the website and we invite feedback on any of the things the reviewer brings up or if you read the book, you would like to add as a criticism or observation. Also at the bottom of each post is a spot to add comment or for that matter, if a reader sees an error and forwards that to us, those are compiled and will be corrected with a new upload when it appears we have them all. Kind of like an update in software. No change in story, but fix in bug. Here is the ForeWord Clarion Review. Next post will be the Kirkus Indie Review.

ForeWord Clarion Review

FICTION: ACTION & ADVENTURE
The Bee Tree
Kenneth Fenter
CreateSpace
978-1-4610-9347-3
Four Stars (out of Five)

Set in rural southwestern Colorado in 1955, The Bee Tree is the sequel to Kenneth Fenter’s 2010 novel, The Ruin, in which readers first met Clifton Kelly, a young boy who runs away from home to escape being maliciously bullied at school and in the community; his year-long solitude in an ancient and previously undiscovered Anasazi cliff dwelling puts him on intimate terms with nature and the spiritual world and teaches him about life-saving survival skills. The Bee Tree takes readers back and forth through time as Cliff, recently retired from his teaching career and attempting to recover from the memory of a school shooting, recalls how his Anasazi experience had equipped him to return to his family’s farm a year away, and confront his tormentors with a maturity and spiritual depth far beyond his years.

       Teen readers will be able to empathize with Cliff, who not only was ostracized and bullied for being an Anglo child in a predominantly Hispanic school, but was also tormented by an older, emotionally disturbed Anglo youth, Larry Harris. When Cliff returns from his wilderness sojourn, he befriends Hector Rodriguez, the Hispanic bully, but finds himself in a life-and-death conflict with Harris. Now a young soldier injured in the Korean War, Larry Harris is AWOL, armed, and angry, and he seeks to destroy both Cliff and Angelina, whose friendship would grow into love and, later, marriage.
        Fenter is a gifted storyteller with an engaging writing style and a seemingly natural sense for effective plot and pacing. Blessed with a good eye for detail, he is able to impart a sense of place and landscape without overwhelming the reader with elaborate descriptions. Although his handling of the information about the background of the area, its farming culture, and bee-keeping can occasionally be a bit didactic, Fenter does engage the reader in the lives and concerns of his characters and the history of the place they call home.
        The Bee Tree addresses topics as wide-ranging and timely as racial and cultural relations, religious intolerance, the horrors of war, bullying, mental illness, and illiteracy. Its protagonists thrive and prevail because of their strength and resilience, clear thinking, willingness to take risks, and respect for the human and natural worlds. A hint of magic helps, too. Fenter beautifully describes both the blossoming of teen love based on honor and respect and the love between family members that enables them to surmount their differences.
          The book is marred by typographical errors, misspellings, missing or incorrect punctuation, a few awkward scene changes that leave the reader disoriented, and even a name change that throws the wrong antagonist into a scene. That it remained an enjoyable read despite such errors demonstrates Fenter’s ability to create a real page-turner that will be enjoyed by young adult and mature readers alike.
          Fenter is a retired high school language arts teacher and the author of numerous short stories and a series of three nonfiction books under the heading An American Family in Japan. He is co-editor of an anthology of Fenter family history.
         Kristine Morris