On the way to New Hampshire I stopped at the Horseshoe Curve Restaurant and Tavern at Snickers Gap, Virginia. In my book, Three Hundred Zeroes, the dogs there, Brigan and Buca played a significant role in helping me with my lunch. They were two adorable old dogs, sisters, that won my heart.

I didn’t get to see them on this visit, although I did hear them. The owner, Tracee Wink was away and I don’t think the manager there at the time felt he could turn them loose without the owner being there. Too bad, they probably would have gotten most of my lunch again.

The Horseshoe Curve Restaurant is situated on an extreme downhill horseshoe curve and is a journey back in time. As I describe in the book, it was the closest thing I have ever seen in this country to a British Pub. The food is wholesome, homemade and for a hungry hiker, it is perfect. The atmosphere is friendly and will be certain to take away your worries. The walls are a virtual beer museum.

If you’re out that way, or hiking the Appalachian Trail, it is a must! On the north side of the A.T. trail crossing, before it goes back into the woods after crossing VA 7, just mosey down the road there and you won’t regret it.

Tell them I said hello.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

I was driving through Bristol, Connecticut yesterday and talking with some friends on my VHF ham radio and they were telling me about an article they read in the Hartford Courant that I had written a few weeks back. After I submitted it, I never heard anything and didn’t realize that they actually printed it. It has a nice photo of my rattlesnake friend on the trail.

Hartford Courant piece: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

Enjoy.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

We had a larger than normal (for this time of year) turnout for our Sarasota Authors Connection meeting at the Fruitville Library. I was invited to speak about Indie Publishing: What works, and what doesn’t. We had about an hour and a half and it was fun filled and I hope, informative.

We covered a lot of material in a short period of time and I gave out handouts that referenced most of what I covered so the audience could just follow along without having to take many notes.

Since the meeting I have had a number of folks ask if I could come and give the presentation at their organization. As time permits I will take it under consideration and see what I can do.

Thanks to all that attended, it was a great audience and there is nothing better that makes a presentation go well than a lively, interested audience.

Dennis

I just wanted to post a quick thank you to all you folks that are ordering and reading Three Hundred Zeroes. As an author there is nothing more gratifying than knowing that people are not only reading your book, but really enjoying it. We had a 60th birthday party for a member of my family last night and a number of friends, some that I had not seen in some time, attended and naturally there was some discussion about Three Hundred Zeroes.

It was wonderful to hear all the laughter and discourse about the book and to realize that I’ve been able to bring so much joy and laughter into so many lives. If there is any purpose to one’s life, it should be to create those things that bring us all together and I can’t think of anything better than a book.

Thank you everyone, it does my heart good.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard
Sarasota, Florida

Just a quick note that I’m using @k1ypp for the Twitter address for the book, Three Hundred Zeroes . Do follow and I will in turn follow you on Twitter. My plan is to just Tweet things of interest, such as book signings, hiking presentations (I have a ton of nice photos from the Appalachian Trail) and fun things related to the book.

I’ve received a new shipment of books with the 2010 Next Generation Indie Awards Contest medallion on them and they look great. Of course their available on amazon.com, or as signed copies via Paypal. (see button on this page).

I was talking with a group of people today that have already read Three Hundred Zeroes and we had a riot laughing about all the funny incidents that occurred along the trail. Thus far my bear encounters seem to bring the most laughs. what do you think? Post a comment.

Thanks once again for tuning in.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

If you’ve ever thought about putting that story of yours into a
book, come and find out how you can do that.

I’ve been invited to
speak at the Sarasota Author’s Connection writers
club on July 13 at
the Fruitville Library at 6:00
pm. (Actually 6:15, but they do like to allow
schmooze time). The club is open to the public, and membership is FREE.
The club exists merely to give local authors and wannabe authors a
place to meet and exchange ideas.

My presentation is on Indie
Publishing (or self-publishing as it is otherwise known).
I’ll present a quick summary of how to get your book into print and how to market it and create buzz around your book.
I’m a relative novice in this area, and I’m still on the steep part of
the leaning curve, but I have learned a lot, sold a bunch of books and
would love to share what I’ve learned with you. Additionally, I get to
use my Toastmaster skill set in a real-world environment.

The
club usually has coffee available. Feel free to invite anyone interested, it should prove to be a fun and informative evening.

Dennis “K1” Blanchard

Quick update: The book has been updated to
include the Indie Award Medallion on the cover and inside pages. The
book is available for orders again. Thanks for your patience. As time permits I’ll put the image of the cover on this blog.
I also
want to thank those of you that have been writing reviews on Amazon
about the book. An Indie writer doesn’t have a massive budget to get th…e
word out about their work; thank you all. Customers really do read your
reviews!

Here it is, the first day of summer. Those thru-hikers that set out in March/April should be in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania in substantial numbers now. Those hardy individuals setting out on a southbound (SOBO) hike from Maine should be showing up in New Hampshire.

By now a good portion of those that have decided that a thru-hike is not for them have dropped off the trail by now. The attrition rate will slow and most of those that leave the trail now do so because of physical injury, family problems back home, or, they just tire of hiking every day. What many don’t realize by looking at a map of the Appalachian Trail is that the hikers are not even halfway until they get up into Pennsylvania. A full quarter of the trail is contained within the Virginia border! This is a very long walk.

The individuals that are now continuing on their thru-hike are lean and mean. They’ve seen it all: harsh weather, cold, heat, insects, animal encounters and difficulties getting food resupply. The other welcome thing that they are starting to see more of are “trail angels”. Trail angels are a unique phenomenon, and I don’t know about other trails, but I would bet that the A.T. has more trail activity than any other on the planet. Please do comment if you know otherwise.

For those of you that don’t know, trail angels are common folk, ex-thru-hikers, friends of hikers, family, etc. that go out and help the hikers wherever they can. They leave stuff at road crossings like energy drinks and water in coolers, food and treats and even basics like toilet paper and hygiene materials. Some get really carried away and bring out hot dogs, hamburgs, salads, you name it. The really thoughtful ones even brought veggie burgers, that was really neat and considerate.

Another not so obvious service is hauling away trash for the hikers. I recall on a number of occasions being absolutely thrilled to find a trash bag to put my junk in; how thoughtful.

If you have a chance, and you’re in any of those states I mentioned above and you have a spare day, go out to the trail, take some treats and treat some hikers, they will appreciate it very much.

This is a long interview, 58 minutes. Marty covered just about every aspect of hiking the trail, preparation, food and how the book came about.

I recall when my kids were young they would ask, “Dad, what would you like for Father’s Day?” I would usually answer, “A nap.” They’d twist their face and look at me like I was nuts (they didn’t realize, I really meant it.) Anyway, one time they got me a copy of Bill Bryson’s “A Walk In The Woods,” and I was hooked. It was a story about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Unfortunately for Bill, he didn’t finish the hike, so I guess I get braggin’ rights.

The important thing about this story is that I thoroughly enjoyed the gift of a book. Tools for Father’s Day just means more work, a book on the other hand is many hours of enjoyment and time spent alone with your gift.

That gift of a book has stuck with me to this day. In the ensuing years I’ve given many books as gifts. Unlike the Mother’s Day chocolates that Mom inevitably ends up sharing, a book can be shared, but the reader can at least consume the whole thing before sharing it.

Happy Father’s Day…

Dennis “K1” Blanchard