Fan Mail Friday!

Good morning!

Can you believe that we're approaching the end of 2021? Time sure does fly by!

For this month's Fan Mail Friday, I'm sharing another older review. This one is for a collection of pet and animal stories that I published back in 2013. I self-published the book so I could easily donate a portion of the sales to a local animal shelter. I initially chose Pacific Cove Humane Society because they were fund raising to build a new local shelter. Eventually, the organization re-reviewed their priorities after realizing that there was no longer a need to build a second shelter. Since then, I've been making donations to the Coos County Animal Shelter.

"Paw Prints" was a lot of fun to write! It's a bit of a memoir since it includes numerous stories about myself, my childhood, and the pets that I've had over the years. I also invited a few friends to contribute stories to the collection-- including my mother and sister-in-law.

 

The best part? The photo on the cover is Loki, my black Labrador Retriever. She's a puppy in the photograph, but she'll be 10 in February 2022. Like I said earlier, time flies by!

 

 

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

~ H. S. Contino

Welcome Fall!

 Good morning,

Here on the Oregon coast we've transitioned into the time of year where it's necessary to wear layers. It tends to be chilly in the mornings, warm up to t-shirt weather during the afternoons, then get overcast and chilly again overnight. The result is a bunch of people constantly adding and removing layers of clothing as needed. (LOL)

Nature's Fall Color Show...

 

It's also the time of year that I start planning my holiday shopping. I've always been an introvert and large crowds give me anxiety, so I like to shop early. It's also always a relief to have the shopping done ahead of time.

Since I'm sure I'm not the only one that takes this approach to gift shopping, I like to start running early sales and other promotional offers in my online Etsy shop, Reprieve's Corner. Beginning October 1st, I've marked everything in my shop 30% off. This includes everything-- my hand painted signs, hand made jewelry, hand sewn plush toys, autographed copies of my books, and even my new clay art!

 

 Save 30% Shop Wide!

I've also been lining up fall and winter in-person markets. As everyone knows, we're still in the middle of a pandemic, so it won't be a normal holiday shopping season. Some events have already been cancelled. Others are still being planned with plenty of restrictions in place to try to keep everyone healthy.

I'll be posting more in the next few weeks as I line up in-person markets. If you're local (southern Oregon coast) and here about an upcoming market, please feel free to send me a message. I'm always open to suggestions!

Meanwhile, I hope everyone is enjoying watching the leaves change colors and having an excuse to sip more warm beverages while snuggling in our warmest sweaters!

Happy reading!

~ H. S. Contino

2021 Florence Festival of Books

 Good morning!

Mark your calendars! This Saturday is the Florence Festival of Books. I hesitated to write about this before because I was worried that the event would be cancelled due to the current coronavirus surge in Oregon. However, I received an email this morning from the event sponsor and we're still good to go.

As my regular followers are aware, I'm a big fan of the Florence Festival of Books. It's one of the largest annual book festivals on the Oregon coast. The first annual event just happened to be in 2011 which was the year I published my first full length book, Shipwrecks of Coos County (Arcadia Publishing). I had good timing! Because of this I can proudly say that I have had a booth at every Florence Festival of Books.

 

Last year (2020) would have been the 10th annual event but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. As I mentioned earlier, I was worried that year's event would be cancelled as well-- especially since we're int he middle of a virus surge-- but they're going forward with the event. In order to keep everyone safe, there will be some additional rules and restrictions. For instance, everyone-- both attendees and authors/publishers-- will be required to wear masks. They're also encouraging us to have hand sanitizer available at our booths and the event hosts will be setting up hand sanitizer stations throughout the building.

The Florence Festival of Books is a great venue. Every year it gets a little bit bigger. The majority of the booths are for authors, but there are usually a few publishers as well. One of my favorite parts is the diversity. The event draws a mix of traditional and independent (self) published authors who represent a variety of genres and reading levels. 

My booth at the 2019 Florence Festival of Books.

 

Since I usually attend the events alone, I don't get a lot of time to wander through the booths. But the venue does provide volunteers that are available to watch your booth for short periods of time. I like to take advantage of this opportunity to walk around, say hello to the authors I know, and purchase a few new books for my personal collection. 

 

There's something for everyone! During past events, I've visited with fellow authors that write books for kids through adults, fiction and non-fiction, and a variety of genres. My personal favorites are local history, science-fiction, and I have a soft spot for children's books (I have a healthy inner child!). But, the event draws a variety of other genres as well includes graphic novels, romance, and mystery.

***

The Florence Festival of Books is held at the Florence Events Center which is located at 715 Quince Street in Florence, Oregon. It's a two day event.

On Friday night (September 17th, 2021) they will have a presentation featuring Melody Carlson as the keynote speaker. There will also be an educational panel featuring local authors Bob Welch and Bill Sulllivan.

The actual book fair will be held this Saturday, September 18th from 10 am until 4 pm. Attendance is free, but there will be numerous books available for sale. They also have a small cafe that sells food and drinks.

If you're in the area, please stop by my booth and say hello! If you mention this blog post, I'll give you a 25% discount toward the purchase of any of my autographed books.

I hope to see you there!

~ H. S. Contino

Out & About: Finding Big Foot

 Good morning!

I've got a fun blog post for you today. :)

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I frequently encounter references to "Big Foot" (also known as Sasquatch). After all, we're living in his habitat. 

A few examples-- The Sugar Shack Bakery in Reedsport sells a "Big Foot" donut. It's a maple bar with a big foot painted on it with white frosting-- and my niece's favorite! There's also a local company named "BigFoot Beverages." and it's pretty common to spot "Big Foot" themed art work or bumper stickers while driving around. 

My favorite:

 

Decal for Sale on Etsy from Snappy Turtle Decals 

When I worked at the Coos History Museum, it was still located in Simpson Park which shared a parking lot with the North Bend Visitor Center. I lost count of the number of times that people came in asking for a map of local Big Foot sightings.

Periodically, Geocaching HQ has programs where geocachers can collect souvenirs. In 2018, they had a program called "Hidden Creatures." 

 

Naturally, Big Foot was one of the mythical creatures that we could find, and he was featured in some of the promotional materials. We attended a local event when the program launched where each of us signed a "Big Foot Crossing" sign. The event hosts hung the sign up near a new geocache that they hid a short while after our gathering.

As you can see, we have a lot of fun with Big Foot and all of the above are great. But, recently, I found my favorite yet...

Appropriately, a friend and I were out searching for geocaches when we discovered a Big Foot couple!

The metal sculptures are on display in front of the North Bend Powersports store. I reached out to the owners to try to find out more about the sculptures and the artist that made them. Unfortunately, all they knew was that the store owners purchased the statues from the Baja Imports store in Bandon, Oregon. I tried reaching out to the store, but I didn't receive a response. 

While I wish that I knew more about who built them, the statues are still awesome! More pictures below:

How about you? Have you ever found Big Foot (in any form)?

Happy summer everyone!

 

~ H. S. Contino

 

Welcome to the world, baby book!

Good afternoon!

 

A little while ago, the postman delivered the box that I had been waiting for... After two years of hard work, my novel "Alternatives" is finally here!

 

 

I have a box of signed copies ready to enter the world. If you're interested, they're available in both print and e-book (Kindle) editions. I've included the links at the bottom of this post.

 

 

 ***

Book Blurb:

Sci-fi meets romance in this quirky read!

Theoretically, there exists a parallel version of reality for every possible outcome of our life choices. What if you were given a glimpse into your alternative lives? What version of yourself would you see? How would it influence your future decisions?

Francis Marino's quiet life on the Oregon coast was interrupted when two military officers arrived on her doorstep with a bizarre story and urged her to come with them. Thus began an unexpected adventure that forced her to leave her comfort zone and confront many of her beliefs about the world we live in.

As the commander of a highly classified military facility, Colonel Dominic Davis was dedicated to his job. But, after being exposed to an alien device, he is given visions of two alternative realities. Dom realizes that he needs to make changes-- both personal and professional.

Life on Earth hangs in the balance...

 

***

 If you're interested in purchasing a signed copy, they're available through my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/ReprievesCorner/listing/1037439983/alternatives-by-h-s-contino-autographed?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1623890586887

If you'd prefer an e-book copy, they're available in a Kindle format through Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TP1KTCQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

 

 

Thanks everyone! As always, I appreciate your support. Without readers, I'd have no one to share my books with!

~ H. S. Contino

 

Out & About: Circles in the Sand

 Good morning!

Welcome to the first entry in my new series, “Out & About.” Today we’ll be talking about “Circles in the Sand.” This is a local event that people can check out every summer– and it’s a lot of fun.

 

 

“Circles in the Sand” was created in 2011 by local artist, Denny Dyke. He draws elaborate labyrinths in the sand on the beach near Bandon, Oregon. The designs are both beautiful and interactive. The artist creates paths for people to walk through his designs. He also includes a place for people to sign their names in the sand. 

 

 

As Denny Dyke states on his webpage: “The intention of Circles in the Sand is to share love, joy and kindness.  Team Circles will be creating a sandy path surrounded by intricate designs and artwork for everyone to enjoy a walk on the sand path.” (Circles in the Sand)

 

Since the drawings are made in the sand, they’re temporary. Most drawings take around 2 hours to complete then visitors have 2-3 hours to visit and enjoy them before the tide comes in and washes it all away.

The drawings are completed on the beach below the Face Rock Viewpoint, so visitors can get an aerial view of the entire labyrinths before walking down the wooden steps to the beach to get an up-close view.

Each drawing has a central theme. For example, when my family visited recently, it was “You are my sun, my moon, and all my stars.” Appropriately, there were suns, stars, and moons incorporated into the design.

 

Since it’s clear that a LOT of work goes into each drawing, I thought it would be good to credit the entire team behind the “Circles in the Sand” (from their webpage):

• Denny Dyke, Labyrinth artist and founder
• Christine Moehring, Sand artist
• Bethe Patrick, Sand artist
• James Ferreira, Labyrinth artist
• Jacquie Ferreira, Shell/Sand artist

 

 

After walking through the labyrinth, it’s fun to check out the local tide pools which are always overflowing with local marine life. On this particular trip, I was with my nieces and nephew. It was fun showing the different animals to them– especially the well disguised little crabs and pointing out the sea stars (starfish) that were in the middle of consuming shellfish.

 

I’m looking forward to sharing my future summer adventures (away from my computer and keyboard) with you! Until then, happy reading everyone!

~ H. S. Contino

 

New Blog Series: Out & About

Good morning!

Inspired by the gorgeous weather we’ve been having, I’ve decided to start a periodic blog series called “Out & About.” As the name implies, the posts will discuss my adventures away from my computer and keyboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Living on the Oregon coast, we are blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. There are tons of outdoor activities to choose from– walking/hiking, camping, kayaking, beach combing, geocaching, swimming (just not in the ocean– brr!), … Just to name a few!

There are also quite a few annual local events and celebrations including North Bend’s July Jubilee (which celebrates the city’s birthday), Coquille’s Gay 90’s, Lakeside’s Crawdad Festival, and Coos Bay has several including the Fun Festival and Blackberry Arts Festival.

Coos County is also proud to be the home of Shore Acres State Park. The land was once owned by Louis Simpson, the father of North Bend. The mansion is long gone, but the gardens and caretaker cottage are still there. People come from all over every summer to view the gardens (my particular favorite is the wide variety of roses). And then, every winter, volunteers decorate the entire garden with lights. Some of them are even animated! Once again, lots of people travel to the coast to view the light display– which gets a little bit bigger every year (my favorite is a small display of forest animals including a porcupine– my spirit animal!).

 

 

And a list of things to do on the Oregon coast wouldn’t be complete without mentioning our excellent museums, visitor centers, historical markers, and memorials.

I love the Oregon coast. Can you tell?

I plan on writing an “Out & About” once a month or so. I’ll include photos and information on how to check out the places yourself (if you’re in the area).

So, stay tuned…

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

 

~ H. S. Contino