Steve Wiegenstein
New Book!
I'm thrilled to announce that I have a new book out! Unlike my novels, this one is a collection of short stories. The title is Scattered Lights....that's a line from one of the stories, and (in my mind) an appropriate metaphor for the people in the stories, and the stories themselves: a collection of things that may seem random at first, but which are deeply and firmly connected, if only we take the time to look.
I've started a Scattered Lights page on this site and will be placing news about the book on it, for the most part, although I'll put headlines here on the home page occasionally, too. The publisher is Cornerpost Press, a new venture out of West Plains, and they have been absolutely magical to work with! I think this new book will look great.
And for those of you who only know me through my novels, I think the stories will provide a different look. They're not set in historical times, but in the contemporary setting.
Troubled Times
These are troubled times nowadays, with everyone stuck inside while disease is rampant in the land. I was reminded of Walt Whitman's poem "This Compost" as a result. In the poem Whitman begins in fear, contemplating how much death and illness there is in the country (the 1850s, when he first added the poem to Leaves of Grass, were in the era of cholera epidemics, among others). He shrinks from all the things that brought him joy. Then resolves to pierce the earth with plow or shovel and see just how horrible it is.....and discovers "this compost." The revelation fills him first with joy as he realizes that flowers still bloom and birds still make their nests. And finally he is stunned by the incomprehensibility and power of the natural world: "it is that calm and patient, it grows such sweet things out of such corruption." Here's a link to me reading the poem aloud.
https://www.facebook.com/stevewiegensteinauthor/videos/663189471161418/
Some Days . . .
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Some days being a writer is just plain fun. That was the case recently when I visited with some residents of the Bethesda Hawthorne Place assisted living facility in Oakland, Mo., just outside St. Louis. Their book group had been reading Slant of Light, and indeed to help some of the residents with reading difficulties some of the staff members had read the book aloud to them, chapter by chapter. So this was a well-informed bunch!
We had a delightful conversation that went on longer than I had expected, and we covered all kinds of topics, book-related and not. During a discussion of nineteenth-century utopian communities, one resident stepped out of the room. I thought she had just tired of the discussion, or perhaps needed to rest, but a few minutes later she came back with a magazine article on Nauvoo that she had been reminded of by the conversation. Some of the folks had memory issues, and others did not; but everyone got something out of the visit, especially myself.
I was reminded of how lucky I am to be a writer, and to have books that a wide variety of people can enjoy, and to have readers who are so engaged and attentive. And yes, they took me to task over certain plot twists that occur toward the end of the book, and which I will not go into here for fear of spoiling the story for future readers.
Those who underestimate old people do so to their own detriment.
A Great Event!
I had a delightful time in Fredericktown talking about the time period featured in The Language of Trees. This was an updated version of a talk I gave at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City earlier this year, and I'm still updating and revising it as I accumulate more anecdotes and information. The Fredericktown folks are always inquisitive and well informed!
Grown Up Book Fair
Phyllis York, an author whom I had not met before, had a brainstorm this summer: organize a book fair in conjunction with a local craft brewery or winery. Her pitch was: 'Remember how excited you were when the Scholastic Book Fair came to your school? Just think of a book fair for grownups!' I loved the idea and signed up to participate. So we held our first Grown Up Book Fair last night, with seven authors attending. It was great fun! Lots of casual strollers, lots of offbeat converations, lots of variety among both authors and readers. We're planning to make this a regular event at other brewpubs and wineries around the area.
Missouri Life
Loved this review of THE LANGUAGE OF TREES in Missouri Life magazine:
"A beautiful Ozark tale full of unlikely romance, an experiment in communal living, conflict between a lumber company and those idealistic settlers, a murder trial, and a flood caused by a dam break that changes everything for everyone. . . You need not to have read the previous books to enjoy this story, but you will be inspired to seek them out for more of his lovely language." - Danita Allen Wood, Missouri Life.
Delightful News
I was thrilled to learn that THE LANGUAGE OF TREES has received the Walter Williams Major Work Award for 2018 from the Missouri Writers Guild! This award, named for the founder of the Missouri Writers Guild (and the Missouri School of Journalism), honors a publication that is worthy of special recognition because of research or the high literary quality of its creation. I have been involved with the MWG for more than a decade, and it is a great group of committed writers who are truly dedicated to their craft. This recognition is humbling news that motivates me to do even better on my next book.
OzarksWatch
I've admired OzarksWatch magazine for many years. So I was delighted to see an appreciative review of THE LANGUAGE OF TREES in its most recent issue! A brief quote: "Ostensibly about the challenges and temptations encountered by citizens of a nineteenth century utopian community in the face of a changing world, this book tells that story in the context of the equally absorbing saga of the deforestation of the eastern Missouri Ozarks. . . . author Steve Wiegenstein has captured a sense of the area, its history, and its people. Recommended."
Book Club Reading Guide!
Many thanks to Caitlin Hamilton Summie for putting together this awesome reading guide for book clubs for THE LANGUAGE OF TREES! I always love talking to book groups. They are so interesting and involved in their reading!
"In Steve Wiegenstein's new novel, The Language of Trees, a stunning balance of love and power occurs, between women and men, between wilderness and human ambition, and between the varied machinations of the body and the multivalent clarion of the spirit borne by those who people this fine work of historical fiction. The Language of Trees is aware of transcendent love, wise and clear-eyed with regard to human greed, and thrilling in its descent into both and emergence into greater life." -Shann Ray, National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and American Book Award winning author of American Copper, Balefire, and American Masculine
"At thirty, the utopian community of Daybreak, Missouri, again faces challenges from outside and within. Capitalist industry threatens Daybreak’s communal principles—and its lands. Buried passions roil the town’s calm façade; the few remaining founders struggle to retain their vision of a better world; and nature itself resists the assault of miners and loggers. In The Language of Trees, third in the Daybreak Series, Steve Wiegenstein explores, with a deft touch and an unerring sense of the rhythms of nineteenth-century life, the intertwined fates of a complex and delightfully human cast of characters." -C.P. Lesley, author of The Swan Princess and other novels
—Steve Yates, author of The Legend of the Albino Farm, the Knickerbocker Prize-winning Sandy and Wayne, and the Juniper Prize-winning Some Kinds of Love: Stories.
Good time at Washington U.
Every year, the men of Alpha Delta Phi at Washington University choose a Missouri author to read and discuss. Recently I was happy to be selected, and here's a picture of us after my talk! They are aptly known as the Eliot Chapter of their fraternity. We talked for more than an hour, and they had some great comments and questions. Thanks especially to Tarun Chally (third from left), who was my contact person/organizer for the event. And despite the general glow, we aren't about to be transported into a spaceship . . . just standing in a brightly lit foyer.