Well, here it is, folks...the cover for "Vis Major!" And yes, I'm pretty damned excited. There's been a small hold-up...the publisher is less than stellar in their communication skills and thus we're having "issues" getting the maps embedded in the text, but even at that, I'm still thinking the book will be in production my mid to late September. iUniverse is the publisher, they are a "print on demand" press. The title will eventually be listed on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and I believe Boarders as well, but you probably won't see it in your local independent bookstore anytime soon, unless it really takes off. Whether that happens is actually up to your folks.
Anyways...along with a glimpse of the cover, here's a little taste of the story itself.
Enjoy and put "Vis" on you Christmas wish list!
Dougherty’s nose and ears had grown numb, but he scarcely noticed. He sat on the roof of the plow, peering through the blizzard. The excitement he felt just prior to leaving Cascade Tunnel Station now consumed his mind and body. Lantern in hand, he knew it, he felt it, he truly believed it—all of the Great Northern Railway was depending on him at that moment.
Just clear of Snow Shed 2, his eyes squinting against the attacking snowflakes, Dougherty picked up a shadow of something large on the tracks. His heart leapt to his throat.
“Slide! Half a car length!” he hollered into the cab below.
5 comments:
...wondered where ya been. You've been polishing off a "major" project. (And getting a bunch of strawberries into Sakuma Bros.)
Congratulations! This'll be good to see.
Obviously, Wellington and what happened there is close and personal to you. I know what that feels like.
Wayne
Dear Martin:
We've e-mailed in the past about
my grandfather, Seth Chambers,
and how you planned to use his name in your book "Vis Major" since he was at the 1910 Wellington Disaster. Did you ever do that? I plan to buy your new novel no matter if you did or not and will be looking forward to this new novel of yours.
Noticed in your blog that your eldest son is named Seth. Highly unusual that he'd have the same first name as my grandfather since the name Seth in not very common.
Seth Chambers was born 4 Nov., 1882
in Wilkes Co., NC. He was named after his father Seth Chambers born
about 1851/52 in Wilkes Co., NC
AND his great, great grandfather,
Seth Ranney a Revolutionary War hero born in 1856 in Connecticut.
Seth Chambers died 4 March, 1946
in Seattle, Washington and buried
at the Evergreen Cemetery in Seattle...not the Evergreen Cemetery in Everett (I believe).
Better check with his 90 year old
daughter named Virginia (Chambers)
Horton that is still alive in Seattle. Both Evergreen Cemeteries
which is quite interesting. I bet
ole' grandpa Seth Chambers attended
the funerals of all his friends that died in the 1910 avalanche and buried at the Everett Evergreen Cemetery.
Grandpa Seth Chambers began work for Great Northern Railway in 1907 and became a steam, locomotive engineer in Sept., 1910...soon after this Wellington disaster and believe he was promoted due to his
efforts/help at Wellington. He received a letter of merit and
$50.00 for his help at Wellington.
Bob Kelly said $50.00 was one of the highest monies paid out by Great Northern and Bob felt he must have done something to get so much.
Better close for now for I could go on and on about all this since I've done Wellington research for over 20 years. I have a legal
document (legal-size paper, double spaced and about 3-4 pages long) where my grandfather Seth Chambers
documents he was at Wellington when the slide happened and what he did, etc.
Hope to hear back from you on this.
Ruthi
Hi Rithi!
Yes, I did make mention of Seth "Rich" Chambers. He was assigned to the electric motors until the lines went dead, then worked relief on the snow plows until they stalled. Most notablely, he was one of the many that had to dig out the remains of his friends after the slide hit.
I tipped a snowplow over near Holyoke, CO once...
I'm gonna want a signed copy ya know... I'm pay for it, but I'll want you to sign it. Sign it like Mickey Mantle, will ya?
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