Say you’re watching a movie about a huge forest fire,
and don't realize the theater is burning, until you run outside
and find yourself in a huge forest fire? Reading Ellie Belew’s
fireball of a novel is like that. The edge between real and unreal
keeps shifting, brightness brings darkness, and the lives of ordinary
people in a small American town strike across each other and flare
up into pain and beauty.
– URSULA K. LE GUIN
Ellie Belew writes with such a precision of language and breath
of imagination that she’s able to shift through time, space,
and the memories of her characters with a wonderful ease and grace.
She’s a delightful writer.
– JIM CRUMLEY
In this her debut novel, Ellie Belew combines the care of a
seamstress with the relentless honesty of an intrepid reporter.
She reminds us that no small town is normal if you look at it
closely and no small-town community is uninteresting if you expose
its mysteries and secrets with compassion and understanding. The
book unlayers Raventon, Washington, a one-time logging and mining
town that is on its way down. Into this world comes the futuristic
Simulator, a virtual entertainment center that one character describes
as "somewhere between the Mall-of-America, Disney World,
and a therapist." The Simulator is hardly a curative for
what ails people; the only curative is the truth that gradually
surfaces in the lives of Belew’s many memorable characters.
I admire this book both for its masterful construction and for
its brave explorations of the complex human desires, fears, and
needs in seemingly simple people.
– JIM HEYNEN
To buy Run
Plant Fly:
Order directly from me, above.
Or, consider orderingfrom your local independent bookstore, so that your purchase
supports those who have a long-term commitment to keeping a variety
of authors in print.
Order from Pika Press
POB 38
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
541-426-5810
http://www.pikapress.com
Email address: info@pikapress.com
In
Kittitas County
Jerrol's
http://www.jerrols.com
111 E 8th, Ellensburg
800-858-2427 or 509- 925-9851
In Seattle
Elliott Bay Books
101 S. Main
800-962-5311 or 206-624-6600
http://www.elliottbaybook.com
Third Place Books (two locations)
Ravenna Third Place Books
6504 20th Ave. NE (Ravenna)
206-525-2347
and
Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE (lake Forest Park)
206-366-3333
http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJ
University (of Washington) Bookstore
4326 University Way NE
800-335-READ or 206-634-3400
http://www.ubookstore.com
And if you must, you can order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
and Borders. I would ask you to consider instead ordering directly
from Pika Press (online http://www.pikapress.com)
or from your local independent bookseller, so that your purchase
supports those who have a long-term commitment to keeping a variety
of authors in print.
Updates and Events
We are now in our second printing, no small feat
for an unknown author and a tiny press. Thanks to all of you who
helped make this possible.
I have been hard at work at a new novel,
the first set entirely before I was born. I've posted a few of teh opening chapters, and you can tell me what you
think. As Though There Were No Tomorrow overlaps the characters
and settings of Run Plant Fly, as well
as another novel I have written (but not yet published),
Joined at the Throat.
I have also been working on a project dear to my heart, Heritage
Interviews, an ongoing project to document the heritage and
culture of our community. We have completed two projects so far,
and are at work on a third.
If you have ideas for an event or venue featuring Run Plant
Fly, please get in touch. I am especially interested in meeting
or talking with book clubs, so let me know if you and yours are
interested.And don't forget to Try Living Your Dreams!®
========
Want to listen to an interview?
I had an opportunity to be interviewed by Seattle radio host,
Megan Sukys, on The Beat (KUOW 94.9 FM). Nothing like hearing
about the Simulator in the station break of Morning Edition. You
can hear it still, if you have the technology.
http://www.kuow.org/TheBeat.asp
and search for March 9, 2004, or go to http://www.kuow.org/defaultProgram.asp?ID=6404
====================================
Is there someplace I should do a reading?
Please email details to info@elliebelew.com and I'll see what
I can do.
If you'd like to receive a quasi-monthly email that tells you
all about what's a-happening, send a message to info@elliebelew.com
Book
Club and Reader Questions--
Twenty or so...
A sampling of questions the author might ask readers, or that
readers might ask themselves, in no particular order.
If you have a book club that is interested in reading Run
Plant Fly, please contact us at info@elliebelew.com
Regarding characters
* Does gender play an critical role in the actions and experiences
of the major characters in Run Plant Fly? How would the story
have been different if Cuz had been male? If Raso Cantoni had
been a woman?
* What are the differences between Raventon’s society and
your own? How much if this is based upon geography? How much on
economics? How much on individual characters?
* The Llamados move to Raventon and are watched carefully in large
part because they are Hispanic. Do any of the Llamados become
a part of Raventon’s society?
* Is Waterqueen a realistic character? How would you use her to
describe the difference between mysticism and dementia?
Regarding characters
* What was your impression of the physical setting of the novel?
What part does geography play in determining what happens in our
lives? Does living in a city or small town or the countryside
affect the degree to which we are affected?
* The author has described this novel as being written is a style
she defines as “Northwest Noir.” Do you think this
story is particular to the Northwest? Simming and the Simulator?
* Both the Simulator and Experiences have registered trademarks.
At what point should common objects, verbal expression, and DNA
be protected from becoming private physical or intellectual private
property?
* Frankenstein was created from human parts but acted as a monster.
What are the differences and similarities between Frankenstein
and the Simulator? Does the Simulator have good or evil aspects
or do such qualities come from those who Sim?
* How would you compare the Simulator to what P.T. Barnum and
his circuses, Walt Disney and his animation, or Cirque du Soliel
are attempting as “entertainment?”
* Cuz considers the possibility of Simming for God (p.80-81).
Are all acts of faith equally subjective?
* Do we as human beings crave ever more intense stimulation? Are
Sim junkies plausible?
Regarding plot, and the unfolding of events within the
novel
* One reviewer spoke of the “healing part of the novel”
in referring to Dorth’s performance piece? Do you agree?
If so, who or what was healed?
* Is the novel a tragedy?
And then there is the business of
themes and possible symbolism...
* What is the relation between water and fire in this novel? What,
if anything, do they symbolize?
* Does the title, Run Plant Fly, and the Prelude which
uses it as metaphor, relate to any particular character or situation
within the novel? What do you think about using such an analogy
for our own conscious actions?
* What do you think of the Prologue?
More Information
Request more information at: info@elliebelew.com
