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HARDROCK Crazy Jake's Fish
Bomb |
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Announcing
HARDROCK The first book in a series of fictional humor by L. Bracken Summary When a family looking to escape the corporate pressures and gas shortages of a crowded 1979 Houston makes a break for Hardrock, Colorado — a tiny town supporting a winter population of less than a dozen — what could they possibly hope to find? Adventure! And outfitting the neglected Quartz Creek Inn with an operational café, saloon, trading post and motel in preparation for a hectic summer tourist season is where the story of Hardrock begins. Hardrock’s pronounced lack of amenities, unforgiving conditions and well-defined, likeable characters set the stage for hilarious situations in a primitive place where humans make up the happily out-populated minority. Languishing behind America’s modern culture, Hardrock’s pace is decidedly slow – some might even say stunted. But, at the end of this county road, life is yours for the shaping. Ex-lawmen and outlaws, hippies, cowboys and mountain men and women all add spice to an eclectic recipe for retro-lunacy. Join the handful of Hardrock locals in the remote wilderness of the Colorado Rockies, where 14,000-foot peaks and the rustic setting of the Quartz Creek Inn conspire to provoke memorable misadventures and might just inspire you to stay. HARDROCK: Crazy Jake’s Fish
Bomb is a fun, fast-paced and engaging read leaving you wishing your
virtual vacation to Hardrock could last a little longer.
Introduction to Excerpt Despite his being wanted on a questionable charge, Crazy Jake is one of Hardrock’s most defining and loveable characters. Without means, but certainly not without method while subsisting in an abandoned house a quarter-mile from the inn, Crazy Jake devises a homemade fish bomb by which he hopes to secure a summer food supply. In the following scene, he has failed to properly detonate his illegal fish-catching device which has resulted in a mild injury and inadvertent swim in the icy waters of Muskrat Lake. Unbeknownst to Jake, the Division of Wildlife (D.O.W.) stock truck has just pulled up to release a load of fish into the lake. As Jake soon discovers, ruining his device and wrangling captured trout are about to be the least of his problems… “Cripes, I’m f-freeeeezing to death!” Jake chattered as he slowly made his way toward shallower water. Finally, the transfer was finished, and the warden packed up the truck and headed back into town. Scrambling out of the water, Jake slogged as quickly as he could toward the dumping area and waded out to the pool of stunned fishes loitering about the surface. Shivering madly, Jake grabbed a fish only to have it vibrate out of his hands. Then he remembered his bag hanging in the tree across the lake. “D-d-d-dang it all...” With numb fingers, Jake jammed his shirt into his pants and furiously stuffed listless trout down its front. Hurrying down the road toward home with his sides, back and belly bulging with violently flipping fish, Jake wriggled through the woods, trying to avoid the business end of needle-sharp dorsal fins. “Quit your squirmin’ around, d-d-d-dang it. Yeeeeeee heeeeheeehee, d-d-damn fish, YEEhee YOW!” Jake had nearly made it to his front door when he looked up and saw the game warden standing on his porch. Read More… Read More of Crazy Jake’s antics in three introductory stories plus a bonus fourth story all linked via the table of contents below and available at www.hardrockbooks.com About the Author Lisa Bracken — an internationally published author on the topic of corporate negotiation, a creative writing instructor and independent marketing consultant — is a 30-year Colorado native deeply dedicated to the diversity of the high country wilderness which has fostered not only her love of rugged, wild places, but also her sense of humor in co-existing with them. Hardrock: Crazy Jake’s Fish Bomb is her fictional humor debut. Reviews Midwest Book Review / August - 2010 "Colorado's population in the
70's was an eclectic stew of cowboys, miners, hippies, corporate execs,
celebrities, college kids, and desperados, all mixed together. But there
were also families like 12-year old Lisa Joe and her parents and foster
brother who were searching for a simpler way of life. As the new managers of
the broken down Quartz Creek Inn, they don't necessarily find a simpler
life, but it's way more exciting than suburban Houston. Nestled among
14,000-foot peaks far from civilization, what the tiny town of Hardrock
lacks in creature comforts, like grocery stores or malls, it makes up for
with an abundance of creatures and characters. "This has got to be the funniest book I have read in YEARS. I spent quite a bit of time on the couch laughing at the stories. My wife, on the other hand, was trying to watch t.v. with me relating some of them to her through garbled words. I was sent outside to read by porch light. It was either that or risk spending the next several days eating my own cooking. Porch light is better, anyway. This book brought back tons of childhood memories. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a great laugh." -- Robert Cumming, Texas service tech and outdoorsman
Book Information Title HARDROCK: Crazy
Jake’s Fish Bomb Sure to bring a smile, Hardrock: Crazy Jake's Fish Bomb is reminiscent of Patrick McManus, Erma Bombeck and Jean Shepherd in reflecting a uniquely humorous sense of time, place and point of view. L. Bracken's original voice creates an authentically rich and imaginative landscape for an under-served demographic eager for new, light and engaging literature.
Editors Reviews (Midwest Book Review: coming August 2010)
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are Copyrighted (C) 2009-2010 L.
Bracken. Reproduction and/or distribution of any content by any
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All rights are reserved. Limited use of "Media Kit" contents, including summary, excerpts and reproduction of book cover for purposes of reviews or academic discussion is permitted as long as credit is given to the author/copyright owner (L. Bracken). Reviewers: a copy of the review - regardless of the reviewer's perspective - is always appreciated and can be sent to info@hardrockbooks.com. Thank you. |
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| This website and all content are Copyrighted (C) 2009-2010 L. Bracken. Reproduction and/or distribution of any content by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner is prohibited. All rights are reserved. In accordance with fair use laws, reasonably small portions of excerpts and reproduction of book cover for purposes of reviews or academic discussion is acceptable as long as credit is given as to author/copyright owner. A copy of the review - regardless of reviewer's perspective - is always appreciated and can be sent to the e-mail address provided above. |