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The Trilogy

Coming soon ... Life in DeGraff: An Automythography Trilogy
Books II and III

"Just like you sitting there,
they come and talk to me,
just the same."
-- William Carlos Williams

The Side-Yard Superhero is the first book in a trilogy about a boy growing up in the mythically real town of DeGraff, Ohio. The second book, Fanfare for a Small Town, will soon be available for publication.

In Fanfare for a Small Town, Rick, again the book's narrator, goes back to DeGraff for an alumni band reunion planned in honor of his father, the retired music director for DeGraff's one-building public school. Alumni from sixteen years of classes return to play in "Lewie's Alumni Band." During the return journey home, Rick relives the memories of his childhood and the DeGraff citizens who shaped his life. Along the way, he tries to deal, once again, with the early deaths of two childhood friends. Past memories and present realities intersect poignantly through him.

The third book in the trilogy, And We Gathered Around Her, vividly describes the last four days in the life of Rick's mother. Again using flashbacks to his childhood in DeGraff, Rickie recounts his mother's life. And We Gathered Around Her will conclude with the same words that began The Side-Yard Superhero, bringing the trilogy full circle.