Desolation Ghosts is a 65,000-word adult literary fiction novel in the vein of The Human Stain. It is set in North Cascades National Park and is about a missing traumatized female veteran with alcohol and relationship addictions who changes her mind about killing herself, but then falls off a mountain and must survive in the wilderness while park rangers battle over how much effort should be spent to locate her. The story takes place during the Covid-19 pandemic and the beginning of law enforcement reforms following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. This book will appeal to readers who are interested in national parks, outdoor recreation, the Pacific Northwest, and the controversial issue of how emergency services treat people with mental health challenges. It includes exciting stories, based on real-life events, about using rock climbing and short-haul helicopter techniques to rescue a pack string mule who fell off a trail and a mountain climber who fell off a crag, a shoot-out and its impact on park rangers, a couple drownings, an aquatic body recovery and other sad outdoor tragedies, and funny and scary encounters with bears and other wildlife. If you like Jack Kerouac, Nevada Barr, Bree Loewen, Jon Krakauer, Michael Connelly, James Dickey's Deliverance, Matthew Quick's The Silver Linings Playbook or Scott Heim's Mysterious Skin, you may enjoy Desolation Ghosts.

Monday, October 17, 2022

Second Proof

Printed five copies. Turned out okay. Still found about 20 typos and such to change in it and a couple tedious spots. Also discovered I talked about Sedro-Woolley without mentioning the chainsaw-carved statues on the downtown sidewalks! Major oversight. Fixed that! One copy for proofreading, one to keep, one each for two awesome rangers who influenced it, and one for Henry Rollins who's mentioned as an influence but probably will not be at all excited to receive it. I think I might be on his bad fan list (stalkers) if he has one. But I don't know. Who doesn't like to hear they've helped people?

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