Angus Keegan is a desperate man—so desperate he hires a couple of shady agents who claim they have the contacts to bring his band, The Cosmic Poets, to stardom. Buckling under the pressure to get gigs, Angus books a tour, neglecting to tell anyone that he's fabricated most of the dates in order to impress his girlfriend. The "tour" quickly degenerates into one comic disaster after another, culminating in a life-and-death confrontation in the California Sierras. When all seems lost, a mysterious hitchhiker awakens Angus to the real purpose of his music, setting the stage for the biggest gig of his life...

The Poet Chronicles

Literature & Fiction

McHugh, Tim

Poetry

Kearney Street Books

Choosing

McKinney, Gary

Contemporary

"Tribute to Orpheus" an anthology of prose and poetry: from jazz to classical, from punk to pop, from penny whistles to Martin guitars and Marshall stacks. Plus an impressive swath of themes and emotions: love and loathing, compassion and humor, outlooks and insights. Kearney Street Books motto is Books that rock! and "A Tribute to Orpheus" rocks indeed, from concert stage to jazz club to attached garage, from the hearts touched by musicians to the hearts of the musicians themselves.

Tribute to Orpheus

Over 30 authors represented

"Slipknot" is a mystery with an ecological twist, featuring Gavin Pruitt, Willapa County Sheriff and Deadhead. Black Bear Ridge, the last 1,000 acres of old-growth forest in Southwest Washington State, is up for sale. But when world-famous ecologist John Carpenter is murdered and his Environmental Impact Statement goes missing, the mystery is set in motion. Pruitt s small town ways come under national scrutiny: How could a Deadhead get elected county sheriff in the first place? How could he possibly solve this crime? The suspects mount: a radical environmental group ANGER (A Noble and Green Earth will Remain); multi-national logging companies; an Asian timber cartel; and locals who see the old-growth as their economic salvation. Yet besides a ripping good mystery, "Slipknot" reveals the inner and outer character of Sheriff Gavin Pruitt. A Deadhead from the sixties, Pruitt may now be a cop, but he has not forgotten his roots. Daily, Pruitt s dilemma is how to continue changing the establishment even as he has become the establishment. Pruitt loves the Grateful Dead, but he especially loves the lyrics to their songs, using them to help him makes sense out of what can often seem a chaotic and brutal world. Pruitt also deals with the loves in his life: his daughter, his girlfriend, and the mysterious and alluring Olwen Friday, a recluse living in a magical home on the edge of Black Bear Ridge. Plot twists begin to reveal a parallel to how people treat one another and how they treat the environment. Pruitt may or may not solve the crime nor save the forest, but his voice will resonate with readers as strong, soothing, and sane.

Slipknot

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Gary McKinnney

Mystery

Part mystery, part journey, completely heart-felt, Now's the Time follows jazz trumpeter Didi Heron as she searches for the lost tape of her father s last gig before he tragically died. A celebration of family ties and musical legacies, Now s the Time is a meditation on jazz and jazz players. Drawing inspiration from a potpourri of stories from the American jazz tradition, notably those of trumpeter Clifford Brown, Strauss has created a fictional work rooted in historical fact.

Now's the Time

Larry Strauss

The Storyteller Speaks: Rare &amp; Different Fictions of the Grateful Dead is a collection of literary short stories inspired by the Grateful Dead. Authors include Robert Hunter, Ed McClanahan, Vincent Louis Carella, Stephan Graham Jones, Mitch Myers, and many others.

The Storyteller Speaks: Rare & Different Fictions of the Grateful Dead

Gary McKinney

Robert G. Weiner

Short Stories & Anthologies

The second in the mystery series featuring Sheriff Gavin Pruitt, Deadhead. Darkness Bids the Dead Goodbye picks up several months after Slipknot, with Gavin now married with a child, not to mention a grandchild, on the way. Of course there is ...murder, black and foul... (Philip Baruth, The Millennium Shows), not to mention ...Chase scenes, SWAT teams, and an unpredictable cast... (Scott MacFarlane, The Hippie Narrative). As Dennis McNally (A Long Strange Trip) notes: ...Sheriff Pruitt really is both a Deadhead and a cop. And wrapping your mind around that conundrum makes for great reading.

Darkness Bids the Dead Goodbye (Sheriff Gavin Pruitt)

Cows with Guns is based on the song Cows with Guns, a global radio and web hit, #1 for a year on Dr. Demento, #2 on the Australian Country charts, #1 in Seattle, for six months was on on the Irish Top 40.

Cows with Guns

Comics & Graphic Novels

Dana Lyons

Comic Strips

Tribute to Orpheus 2 follows Tribute to Orpheus as the second collection of short stories and poetry about music. From classical to rock, topics are inclusive and fascinating. A sample of opening lines:
We hoped the music would save us. We knew the musicians wouldn't. 
You've heard of bedroom eyes; well, Sheena had a bedroom voice.
 When I was a teenager, Ann Wilson of the rock band Heart was my beard.
 Great stuff!

Tribute to Orpheus 2

Danielle Roark (Editor)

Gary R. McKinney (Editor)

Sheila Grezek Johnson (Editor)

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