In the meantime, let's meet the final two authors involved in the giveaway, Michael T. Fournier and Kenneth Fenter.
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Hidden Wheel
A new novel by author/rock critic Michael T. Fournier uses the indie art and music scenes as the backdrop for a hard look at the current banking crisis.
Amherst, MA-- 11/21/2011—In Michael T. Fournier’s debut novel “Hidden Wheel, ”an opportunistic trustfunder named Ben Wilfork starts an all-ages art/music space in the Midwestern town of Freedom Springs, intent on profiting on the artists and musicians he promotes, no matter the cost.
Max Caughin, who writes graffiti under the name Faze, gets famous quick with a series of paintings on CD covers. His buddy Bernie Reese donates sperm to raise money for a new drum kit so his two-piece noiserock band Stonecipher can record. Bernie's romantic interest (and former chess prodigy) Rhonda Barrett does dominatrix work by day and paints her life, sixty words at a time, on giant canvases by night to help stave off the Singularity. Their fates intertwine in a story reconstructed by William Molyneux, a 24th Century scholar reconstructing the Hidden Wheel scene after a solar flare erases all digital data in his era.
Hidden Wheel, Michael T. Fournier's debut novel, is an unflinching reflection of the growing complexities of navigating art, commerce, and the internet. Its use of intersecting plotlines illustrates the confusion and potential of the early 21st century and the evolving ways in which its inhabitants try to make a mark in the specter of financial upheaval and shifting technologies. Author Selah Saterstrom says “Don’t be surprised if, upon finishing this book, you remember – and long for – an art, writing, and music you have never even encountered.”
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Michael T. Fournier is a veteran of the indie music scene. He is the author of “The Minutemen’s Double Nickels On The Dime,” the 45th installment of Continuum Press’s influential “33 1/3” series. His music writing has appeared in the Oxford American, Pitchfork, Chunklet and the Boston Phoenix, and his fiction has appeared in Stolen Island Review, Barrelhouse and Pennsylvania English.
You can purchase Hidden Wheel from the Three Rooms Press Website and Amazon. Find out what Michael is up to on his blog and on the Three Rooms Press Facebook page.
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After the loss of his wife, Charlie Kelly departs on a world tour to assuage his grief. He is convinced to start his tour in Japan, a place he hasn't seen in two decades, since he was stationed there while in the Army. Many old memories return, not the least of which, is the memory of the young Japanese teacher he once loved and lost.
This romantic novel is filled with suspense, intrigue and tragic comedy. It involves romances discovered in the wake of sacrifices. Will the long lost prince and princess find each other and reunite? This book contains the elements of a spy novel.
There is the intrigue of a cat and mouse chase. Are the private eye's intentions good or evil? A mystery is resolved in the end, as the characters do not realize how much danger they really were in from mobsters in hot pursuit. A central question posed is who has the right to judge others?
This novel is also about the lives of two gifted individuals, an artist and a musician and the impacts they have on the lives they come into contact with.
The author, Kenneth Fenter, draws on his experience living and working with the Japanese in Nagasaki as both a teacher and an artist. Gifted Hands is the fourth Novel for Kenneth Fenter. The first novel in this Series is The Ruin followed by The Bee Tree, Pivotal Times: The Freshman Class and then Gifted Hands. The main Character Charlie was a minor character in the first two books and a main supporting character in Pivotal Times. The character Keiko was also introduced in Pivotal Times.
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Kenneth Fenter lived for two years in the village of Isahaya Japan with his family 1977-79 and continued the association with Japan for three years making stained glass windows and lamps for customers in Nagasaki and Isahaya from 1980-83. Gifted Hands pulls on his experience during those five years in Japan. It is also a continuation of the three novels he has written beginning with The Ruin, The Bee Tree and Pivotal Times. The novels are not autobiographical. But, he writes from experience and about what he knows best.
Kenneth Fenter is the author of three non-fiction books: Gaijin! Gaijin!; MoIchido: Once More; and Suteindo Gurasu: Stained Glass. Fenter is a retired language arts teacher who lives in Bend, Oregon, USA with Lora, his wife of 51 years.
