WordFest will feature accounts and stories about Bigfoot on Tuesday, November 14, 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

Popular naturalist and writer Robert Michael Pyle will read from his book, Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide. First published in 1995, the book has been recently re-issued with a new chapter examining evidence that suggests such a creature may exist. Awarded a Guggenheim fellowship to investigate the legends of Sasquatch, Bob trekked into the unprotected wilderness of the Dark Divide near Mount St. Helens where he discovered a giant fossil footprint and more recent tracks. He interviewed Indians who told him of an outcast tribe, the Seeahtiks, who had not fully evolved into humans, and met scientists, hunters, and others who have devoted their lives to the search. The result is a moving and witty narrative investigation of not only the phenomenon of Bigfoot, but also of the human need to believe that something is out there beyond the campfire.

Bob​ is the author of eighteen books, including Wintergreen, Rambles in a Ravaged Land, Chasing Monarchs, Sky Time in Grays River: Living for Keeps in a Forgotten Place, and a poetry collection Evolution of the Genus Iris. A Yale-trained ecologist and Guggenheim fellow, he is a full-time writer living in Wahkiakum County.

You can watch an interview with Robert Michael Pyle about Bigfoot on BookChat.

 

 

 

Captain H.J. “Pete” Pettersen will read from his novel, Port Orford’s Youngest Fisherman, the story of a young boy who goes to live with his grandfather following the death of his parents and learns the art of fishing. Living in a fisherman’s shack in the little coastal village of Port Orford, Oregon, the boy works through his grief, finding a new home and a new life.

 

 

Pete has spent most of his life at sea. Raised in the San Juan Islands, he was commercially fishing with his dad and brothers on the Pacific coast and in Alaskan waters by the time he was eight, and was captaining a fishing boat in Alaska at the age of thirteen. After obtaining his Captain Oceans license, he worked and traveled the world. Recently retired, he and his wife Kat live in Longview.

 

 

 

 

 

William Alton will be reading from a novel he is co-writing with John Saxon, titled A Change in the Wind. Set in Central Europe at the beginning of the 19^th Century as Napoleon is building his empire, it chronicles a spiritual battle spreading across the quiet villages and bustling cities of the Germanies. Räder Wunderwahn, a young man with a past he cannot remember, is searching for his identity, which is tied to the darkness rising where the old gods are intent on conquering the world and establishing a new Reich.

Bill was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2010. He has written a collection of flash fiction, Girls, two collections of poetry, Heroes of Silence and Heat Washes Through, a memoir titled My Name is Bill and a novel, Flesh and Bone. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

WordFest will feature stories about love between concert pianists, World War II from a German soldier’s perspective, and murder with questions of  justice, next Tuesday, October 10, 6:00 pm, at the Cassava Coffeehouse, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

 

Laura Baird will be reading from her debut romance novel, Keyed Up:

As pianist with the Seattle Symphony, Penelope Dixon is unexpectedly reunited with Sebastian Mauer, her first love from ten years earlier. Sebastian, once a famed performer, had foolishly pushed aside his love for Penelope, thinking it for the best at the time. Now a reclusive composer, he’s wants to prove they deserve a second chance together, and Penelope is forced to face her buried desires and the impact of those desires on her career.

 

 

A dental hygienist for more than seventeen years, Laura has been writing steadily during that time, resulting in three of her stories recently being accepted by three different publishers.  Copies of Keyed Up will be available for purchase at WordFest. Second Time Love (Evernight Publishing) and Resort Virgins (Wild Rose Press) will be appearing in six to nine months.

 

 

 

 

 

Philip Brock will be reading from his novel, Silk Cocoon, set during World War II:  With a beautiful wife and child and a successful business, Hans Schultz is living an almost idyllic life in pre-war Germany. He believes the future is bright and promising under the new Nazi government with its vision of Germany becoming a world leader once again. But with the onset of war, his world spins out of his control. He’s called to military service in the infantry and, as the war progresses, begins to question the actions of his government. When he witnesses the slaughter of men, women and children at the Plunda Work Camp, Hans realizes the country is run by monsters. Eventually, he will have to answer for the part he was forced to play in these atrocities.

Philip, a 1972 graduate of Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington, worked for more than 30 years as a Certified Public Accountant. Now retired, he lives in Cathlamet, Washington, on the shores of the Columbia River. His interest in Nazi Germany began as a child living in Wurtzburg, Germany. He remembers lying in bed, watching the morning sunlight streaming through a bullet hole in the window shutter, playing in a back yard still pock-marked from exploding shells, and finding his landlord’s garden shed filled with Nazi uniforms, flags and other memorabilia.

 

 

Kevin Hunter is president of the Longview Downtowner’s business group and an international video broadcaster and podcaster. As host of The Business Forum Show, he produces content seen and heard in 220 countries and territories around the world. He will be reading from a book he wrote with his wife, Stephanie, titled Justice was Served.

Though fiction, the story is based on a true event about a young nurse who disappeared from a hospital parking ramp after finishing her shift. The investigation into her disappearance bogs down in the dead of winter, but in the following spring, her body is discovered with the melting snow. As the perpetrator is awaiting his trial, some people think that three meals a day, cable TV, and a warm jail cell isn’t really justice for snuffing out the life of young vibrant woman. The FBI say the case may be compromised. What if he is set free? How will they know that justice was served?

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

 

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava. The events are free and open to the public.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.