BriefingWire.com, 3/15/2011 – Homosassa, FL – Programming Services Manager Karen Slaska, of the Citrus County Library System, announced meet and greet author events with novelist Cole Alpaugh this summer. Alpaugh will be reading from his book, The Bear in a Muddy Tutu, on July 20, at the Homosassa branch at 10:30am, and the Coastal Region branch in Crystal River at 2pm.
Four days after Seattle’s Camel Press released Alpaugh’s novel it rose to #3 on Amazon.com’s Bestseller List for its genre. The book is a modern fable about lovable misfits, both animal and human, whose fates become intertwined in a ragtag circus troupe.
“A deftly written story driven by raw and vivid characters and rich with evocative language and colorful descriptions,” author Rhiannon Ellis said of Alpaugh’s book. “With every page another layer is peeled back as this fascinating, magical tale unfolds–sad or humorous, but always thoughtful. Alpaugh’s writing does not rely on cheap tricks or predictable plot points, but slowly pulls you in and compels you to stick around for a while. Rest assured, in The Bear in a Muddy Tutu, you will constantly be surprised by what happens next.”
Alpaugh began his newspaper career in the early 1980’s, at a daily paper on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he covered everything from bake sales to KKK meetings. He moved on to a paper in Massachusetts to specialize in feature essays, where his stories on a Hispanic youth gang and the life of a Golden Gloves boxer won national awards. His most recent newspaper job was at a large daily in Central New Jersey, where he was given the freedom to pursue more “true life” essays, including award winning pieces on a traveling rodeo, and an in-depth story on an emergency room doctor. The physician’s story was nominated by Gannett News Service for a 1991 Pulitzer Prize. Alpaugh also did work for two Manhattan-based news agencies, covering conflicts in Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and guerilla raids conducted out of the refugee camps along the Thai/Cambodia boarder. His work has appeared in dozens of magazines, as well as most newspapers in America. Alpaugh is currently a freelance photographer and writer living in Northeast Pennsylvania, where he also coaches his daughter’s soccer team. Find him online at ColeAlpaugh.com.
The Bear in a Muddy Tutu is available in Kindle ($4.95) and print editions on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and Amazon Japan. It is also available in print and Nook versions at BarnesAndNoble.com. Bookstores and libraries can order by contacting [email protected] or through Ingram or Baker and Taylor. Other electronic versions can be purchased on Smashwords or at any of the major online ebook stores.
For more information, contact the Homosassa Public Library at (352) 628-5626, or the Coastal Region Library at (352) 795-3716.
