ONE STORY OUT OF A MILLION

The other day I was doing research on the Internet when I came across the obituary of a man named William Witherspoon of Dayton, Ohio, who passed away in Holiday, Florida on July 6, 2009 at the age of 61.

A funeral home in Dayton posted condolence messages on their website, and I was particularly struck by one posted by a man who wrote about having worked with "Spoon" for ten years at a warehouse where his co-worker unloaded trucks, stocked shelves, and made deliveries.

"You always knew when Spoon was working," he wrote, "you could hear his singing ringing through the rafters."

Last weekend I attended the semiannual vinyl record show in Ottawa, and as usual I kept an eye out for records I've never seen before. I took a flyer on Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble by a band called Melting Pot. It had a small scuff on it and I almost put it back in the bin, but at $2.50 I changed my mind and added it to my little pile.

Part of the fun after bringing them home is to hit the Internet to see what I can find out about these relatively unknown bands. I learned that Fire Burn was recorded in 1971 at Capricorn Studios in Macon Georgia, which was at the time a hotbed of southern rock. It looks like the only one ever cut by this group, who were more along the lines of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago than the Allman Brothers.

Trying to trace the individual band members was a little difficult. Keyboard player Dick Gentile was one of the primary songwriters for the album, but he didn't come up in any searches. The same results for Howie McGurty (sax & trumpet), Steve Nichols (trombone - later a bandleader?), Mickey Smith (guitar), and Joe Rudd (guitar).

Bass player Kenny Tibbetts, however, was a fixture for several years as a studio musician. He passed away in 2012 at the age of 73 in Indianapolis. According to his obituary, he recorded and toured with Greg Allman, Dickie Betts, and Roy Buchanan, among others, drawing on southern rock connections no doubt made through Capricorn. After leaving the music business in the late 1970s, he worked in printing. Whoever wrote his obit proudly pointed out that he was known for being able to chord on his bass while simultaneously playing keyboards, which he apparently did while Melting Pot was recording the track "Feeling Alright."

Finally, there was sax player and vocalist Bill Witherspoon.

As the Reverend Curtis Lynn of Clearwater, FL wrote in his condolence message on William Witherspoon's death notice back in Dayton, "Little did I know that the Sax player at Countryside Church 3 miles from my house here in Clearwater was the same Bill Witherspoon (spoon we called him) ..."

Life, my friends, is a very strange and wonderful trip. Sing on, Spoon, and may your voice always ring loud and clear in the rafters.

Q & A: THE GHOST MAN

It's October and Hallowe'en is approaching, so our attention is inevitably turning to the supernatural. We thought it might be fun to do a short question-and-answer session with our mascot here at the Plaid Raccoon Press regarding The Ghost Man.

The Raccoon: The Ghost Man was your first novel. Where did you get the idea for it?

A: After leaving the public service to write full time, I spent almost a year researching my family history. The McCanns emigrated from Ireland in the early 1840s and settled in North Crosby Township, near Westport, Ontario. After a year I'd accumulated quite a bit of information not only about my family but the township in general, and I wanted to do something with it. I considered writing a local history, but my son, who was into the paranormal at the time, suggested I write a ghost story. So I did.

The Raccoon: Where was it published?

A: The novel was originally published by a small press in Alberta in May, 2009. I though my dreams of being a published author had come true, and didn't realize that the responsibility for marketing the book lay entirely on my own shoulders. Thankfully it was a short-term contract, and when it expired I re-acquired the rights and published it through our Plaid Raccoon imprint on February 13, 2013 -- 2/13/13. The significance of the date didn't strike me until later. Serendipity!

The Raccoon: Tell us about the main characters, Simon Guthrie and Dr. Doris Fowler.

A: Neither character is based on anyone in particular, which I suppose is a bit of an accomplishment for a first novel. I was an avid foodie at the time, and the idea of working with a protagonist who is a former celebrity chef really appealed. Simon's sudden descent from fame, his long recovery from injury, the near-death experience, and his subsequent encounters with earthbound ghosts of the dead all struck me as a fascinating combination.

As for Doris, I wanted a character opposite Simon who is equally accomplished in her own field--Canadian history--but lacks Simon's natural affability and self-confidence. As an academic she's naturally predisposed to look for rational, material answers to the phenomena Simon claims to be experiencing, and when she begins to experience them as well the shift from rationalization to fear and profound sadness brings out a side of her character previously hidden, particularly from herself.

The Raccoon: Why the cover change?

A: The cover of the original 2009 edition used a photograph taken by my son. Unfortunately he hated it, so after repatriating the novel I designed a new one. It's now five years old, and I've never been completely satisfied with it, so I thought it was time for a fresh look.

The Raccoon: How do you feel about the novel now, nine years later?

A: I'm a writer, so of course there's stuff I'd like to go back and change. But I won't, because on the whole I really like the story and the characters. The best part is that people still come up to me and talk about how much they enjoyed reading it. If they liked it that much, then that's good enough for me.

The Ghost Man is available from Amazon here. It's also available from Kobo, Barnes and Noble for Nook, and iTunes. 

IT'S OCTOBER -- TIME FOR A GHOST MAN MAKEOVER!

It's October, which means that Hallowe'en is right around the corner. Time for tricks, treats and scary stories.

With that in mind, we've given The Ghost Man, my first novel, a little face lift in the spirit of the season.

As you can see, we've changed the cover to a new image, courtesy of LoweStock/Thinkstock. The revamped design brings the look and feel of the novel somewhat more in line with my other publications.

The story itself remains entirely unchanged, with only front and back matter adjusted to reflect the new image credit and an updated list of my other novels. (The paperback edition will migrate to the new cover in the near future.)

It's still scary, still thrilling, and still a real good Hallowe'en read!

The Ghost Man is available for Amazon Kindle HERE.
Also available from Kobo, Barnes and Noble for Nook, and iTunes.