A Presentation about Lighthall Books

We are just back from visiting our friends Jean and Stan who live in Solivita near Kissimmee, Florida. While we were there, Russ did a presentation about writing and publishing for a community book club. The members had read his most recent novel, Oswegatchie Green, in which Fish and Wildlife Service scientists get caught up in a murder investigation and a wind farm proposal while trying to forestall environmental devastation. Russ's presentation led to discussions of four main topics:

• The book's plots and subplots---community tensions in an economically hard hit town where people are torn by simultaneous desires for good jobs and wilderness tranquility, viability of a wind power business in a region such as New York's Adirondack Mountains where the story takes place, the roles of science and scientists in public policy, and whether the scientist-protagonists will ever sort out their relationship with each other. 
• Being an author---story genesis, genres, plot and character development, writing and rewriting, voice and tone
• Getting published---fiscal and logistical issues related to commercial publishing and self publishing.
• The next offering from Lighthall Books---The Summer of a Thousand Cheeses a non-fiction book coming this month about exploring the phenomenal changes in the world of cheese starting with the cheddars of our childhoods and leading to our the summer we discovered a thousand types of American-made, artisanal and farmstead cheeses.