Hello {{first_name | Reader}},
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New Writing
After taking a break from writing while Julie and I published Journal of the Plague Years as a three-volume series of books, I’m ready to start again. I’ll try to publish more regularly under the new Low Visibility Ahead rubric on my website. Since I’m worried about human agency in a world that seems irrevocably opposed to it, I’ll be writing stories and essays about places where it still lives, however briefly and improbably.
I’ve just posted a new entry, “Shadows in the Ice.”
“Our language is a delicate and limited tool, dependent on a direct relationship with reality for any kind of substance. Once that relationship slips into abstraction, words lend themselves to psychosis….”
You can read the rest on my website at johnrember.com/blog/shadows-in-the-ice.
I’ll send an email whenever I post a new entry.
Upcoming Readings
It was great to see old friends and meet new readers at my recent readings in McCall and Caldwell. (Big shout-out to Casey Bruck at McCall Public Library, Alumni Relations at College of Idaho, and the good folks at Shared Stories Bookshop in Caldwell.) Six years later, my own writing about those first few months of the pandemic surprised me—so much has been forgotten. But I’m cheered to see that some of the stories I told in Journals of the Plague Years provide a roadmap for how to survive tough times.
I’d love to see you at my March readings, which will focus on my new Journal of the Plague Years books:
Missoula, Montana: Thursday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. at Fact & Fiction Books
Salmon, Idaho: Friday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. at Salmon Public Library
Ketchum, Idaho: Wednesday, March 25, 5:30 p.m. at The Community Library
If you’ve been waiting to get Journal of the Plague Years, why not sign up for a chance to win a copy? Now through March 23, I’m giving away 100 free Kindle copies of the first volume, End Notes, on Goodreads.
Of course, you can always buy the books now (the End Notes ebook is on sale for just $2.99!) at your local independent bookstore or:
As always, I appreciate reviews — they help other readers discover the books. If you’ve bought a hard copy, autographs are free whenever you can catch up with me.
What I’m Reading
If you need cheering up, I recommend Virginia Evans’ novel The Correspondent, a book that gives us hope that humans can transform themselves for the better.
Congrats to my friend Christopher Farnsworth on his latest, Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot. It’s his second Jesse Stone novel and a fun read.
Thank you for reading. It’s always good to hear from you, so feel free to comment on my latest journal entry on my website, or shoot me an email at [email protected].
Take care,
John
Low snow year
Juno on a recent ski day