Book Notes: Aunt Kimmie to sign at Auntie’s
Aunt Kimmie Bebo will make a special appearance at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave., today from 1 to 3 p.m. to sign her new children’s book, “Magic Sprinkles” (Dog Ear Publishing, $12).
Aunt Kimmie is actually Kimmie (The Princess) Bebo, a manager and waitress at a downtown Spokane institution, the Satellite Diner.
In fact, the Satellite figures into her story. A character named Auntie is working at the diner when Santa Claus walks in for a big plate of pancakes. Auntie and Santa strike up a conversation and before long, Santa has whisked Auntie to the North Pole to meet Mrs. Claus.
Mrs. Claus gives Auntie her secret supply of magic sprinkles, which, when scattered on cookies and cocoa, make kids run faster, jump higher and be smarter.
The story is charming and the illustrations by Spokane artist J.R. Battell (also known as the “Dumpster Artist”) are colorful and whimsical.
‘Matterhorn’
A Washington author, Karl Marlantes, won this year’s Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, a national award presented by the Center for Fiction.
Marlantes, from Woodinville, spent 30 years working on “Matterhorn” (Atlantic Monthly Press), which is about a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam. The New York Times called it “one of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam – or any war.”
Marlantes, a decorated Vietnam Marine vet and a former Rhodes Scholar, spent 30 years working on this book.
‘The Hat Pin Murders’
First-time Cheney author Joyce Caudel has just released her novel “The Hat Pin Murders: A Red Hat Mystery” (Gray Dog Press, $14.95).
Caudle is a longtime member and officer of the Red Hat Society (a social organization for women) and the plot involves a group of Red Hat ladies. The publisher calls it “part mystery, part thriller and part celebration of the society.”
At age 69, Caudel has fulfilled her “lifelong dream” to be an author. Go to www.graydogpress.com to order a copy, or check local bookstores.
‘Trudging Through Moose Creek’
A volume of previously unpublished poems by the late Coeur d’Alene poet Dick Case, “Trudging Through Moose Creek,” is now available.
His sister, Shirley Wagoner, and editor, Timothy Hunt, have gathered poems that Case left behind after his death early this year.
The subjects include all of the themes that interested Case during his life – the arts, family and nature, to name a few.
You can order a copy by contacting Hunt at thunt3@Frontier.com or at 8674 N. Maple St., Hayden, Idaho 83835. The price is $7.50 plus $1.75 shipping.