Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:27:02 -0800WeeblySat, 18 Dec 2021 17:08:53 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/buried-in-time-is-available-for-purchase
Buried in Time, my sixth novel, is complete and ready for purchase on Amazon in paperback form. The Kindle version will be available shortly. 

This is an historical fiction novel, set in north central Florida in 1964 and 1884. It combines memories of events from my life, family and friends along with historical events from each time period. There are many people who helped to make this book a success. Below I have included a copy of my acknowledgement page that should help to give you a bit of the flavor of this story. In a later Blog I plan to include some teasers from parts of the novel to hopefully encourage you to make a purchase. Thanks!

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the following people for their assistance in seeing this novel through to its completion:

Bob Lee and Jack Owen of the Putnam Writer's Group were instrumental in pushing along the writing and concept of this book. We spent uncounted hours together which added up to many days of intense manuscript critiques. Unfortunately, Jack Owen passed away in late 2020 and is sorely missed. His dry British wit and long time writer's insight have been invaluable in this and other of my manuscripts.

Special thanks to my sisters, Patti Golden and Wendy Norris, who gave generously of their time to edit and proofread numerous times, and to Jeanie Ginn for loaning her Aunt Margaret A. Rosenberger's journal from the nineteenth century which provided a unique period insight. Additional thanks to Alan and Lori Screen for the baptism anecdote which was adapted for chapter four.

Thanks also to the town of Melrose, Florida which I always name as my second home because of all the wonderful times I spent there growing up and for the amazing and generous people who have lived there since its founding.

Some events depicted in this novel actually took place historically while others portray the prevailing culture and morals of the time. On February 29, 1884, the steamboat, F.S. Lewis, actually sank in the canal linking the Santa Fe lakes with Lake Alto, which connected Melrose to the railroad lines in Waldo.
From 1871 until 1891, Paynes Prairie filled with water and became Alachua Lake, whose waters were plied by steamboats transporting produce and other products. The reasons it filled and later drained is not fully understood.

With the ending of the Third Seminole War in 1858, small bands of Native Americans ventured through different parts of Florida. After the end of the Civil War in 1865 there were also some former slaves who were displaced and moved from place to place seeking ways to make a living.
​
Fashions in Europe and New York drove up the price of feathers until they were worth their weight in gold. Unscrupulous fortune hunters nearly wiped out the entire wading bird population in Florida at this time to enrich themselves. They often came into conflict with farmers, settlers and ranchers and anyone else who they felt was encroaching on their hunting territory.
​
The main idea for this novel came from Hal Griffis whose great-grandmother was abducted by a small group of Seminoles when she was six years old. Ten years later she was asked if she wanted to remain with the tribe or return home. She opted to return.


Original book cover illustration was created by Katy Jordan.

]]>Fri, 04 Mar 2016 14:47:33 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/gnome-in-the-tapestry-and-racing-the-moon-2nd-editions-now-availableThis evening I will be setting up a booth for this weekend's Azalea Festival in Palatka, Florida. The event takes place on St. Johns Avenue in downtown Palatka. I will be selling my four novels and a large amount of comic books. My daughter will be joining me and has jewelry, semi-precious stones, and her baked clay art for sale.

I'm finally making good progress on my fifth novel, right now titled: Buried in Time. It's an historical novel and is set in Melrose, Florida in the years 1964 and 1884. I am making good progress now and hope to have it finished by the end of the year and start looking for a publisher.

I hope that you will stop in and visit during the Azalea Festival. I'd love to talk for a bit.
]]>Thu, 17 Sep 2015 02:50:23 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/the-gnome-in-the-tapestry-second-editionMy copies of the second edition, The Gnome in the Tapestry have arrived two days early for Saturday's show at the Crescent City Woman's Club. I've added 7000+ words to the novel, a new chapter, and rearranged a few chapters to make the story easier to follow. I'm proud of the new cover by Norwegian artist Yngve Martinussen and feel it matches the art of the other three novels in the series. I'll be sending you a copy soon, Yngve!

Paperback and e-versions of Gnome in the Tapestry will both soon be available online and in our local Palatka bookstore, Read (Think) Books on St. Johns Avenue.
]]>Tue, 01 Sep 2015 20:37:44 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/read-a-book-buy-a-book-days-are-comingA couple of funny or weird holidays are coming up next week and I'm not talking about Labor Day, although one does fall on Monday.

Sunday, September 6 is "Read a Book Day," and Monday, September 7 is "Buy a Book Day." If you've been meaning to get into that novel or non-fiction book for a long time, resolve to break the spine and get started on it next week. If you've got a local bookstore, get out there and support them on Labor Day. Most will probably be open, so get out there and help them have a great day.!

Our local bookstore in Palatka, Florida is: Read (Think) Books, at 627 St Johns Avenue. They have a great stock of new and used books and they do take trades. They offer a great atmosphere with a more than friendly staff. They host a couple of local author groups and is just a pleasant place to hang out.

You can always click on my books button on my website and download an ebook or order a novel. Hope you all have a happy two days reading and buying books!
]]>Sat, 16 May 2015 22:06:11 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/hawaii-and-taiwanA vacation to Hawaii and Taiwan with a lot of time in the air can lead to free time to write. I was able to put together a couple of chapters of my current novel, Buried in Time, and am hoping for a finish date in 2016.
   Along with rewriting and rearranging some chapters in my first novel in the Soul Sword Chronicles, The Gnome in the Tapestry, and writing a weekly feature for the Putnam County Courier Journal is giving me plenty of practice and keeping me busy. Searching for new ideas and getting out to meet new people always involves time searching.
   Racing the Moon, the revised edition, should be ready for uploading either this month or in June. That will put all my novels back on the market as both versions, printed and electronic.
   Along with my duties as a deacon at church and with helping a new pastor move in his family's new home, retirement hasn't allowed me to slow down too much. Some days finding time to write is not too easy. However, as I spend some days recovering from surgery, I plan to get some extra words down in the novels I have been working on.
]]>Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:02:21 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/racing-the-moon-revisedMy second novel, Racing the Moon, part 2 of the Soul Sword Chronicles is off sale as a paperback right now. It is undergoing some changes to get the format more in line with Links to the Past and MoonFall. The Gnome in the Tapestry, the novel that began this four-part storyline, will be next. I plan to republish through Create Space so the paperback versions will be more in line with the pricing of the final two novels. A new cover for The Gnome in the Tapestry may be required as well.
   The e-version of all the books will remain available but will also be updated in a couple of weeks when I finish my changes to Racing the Moon.
   The rough draft of the first seven chapters of a historical fantasy I'm working on are in process as well as the outline of the novel. I plan to have it completed in 2016 and seek a traditional publisher.
   My novel, The Last Skunk Ape, remains a novella for the present. My plans are to complete it sometime in the future. My planned young adult novel set in Australia is on hold. It is simply a concept and will likely remain so for the near future.
   I started working as a staff writer for the Putnam County Courier Journal in February. The paper is published once a week on Wednesday. I normally post the link on Facebook for those of you who would like to check it out. As a part-time job, it is more in line with what I enjoy doing during my 'semi-retirement.' I have the freedom to write about people and events in Putnam County that I think others might find interesting. If you've missed the announcements, the website is: http://www.cjnewsfl.com/]]>Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:09:22 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/february-02nd-2015Scrunched between chaperoning a youth trip to Planet Wisdom in Lakeland, writing feature articles for the Putnam County Courier Journal weekly paper, and reviewing chapters for our Putnam Writer's Group, is a small amount of time I've been able to spend on writing a new historical fantasy (as yet unnamed) set in Melrose, Florida.

Although, I first planned to have the writing completed in a couple of months, it's become obvious that it will probably take me six months to a year to finish the first draft. I've discovered this manuscript will require a lot more research to make it as accurate as possible, even though it's a work of fiction.

As I mentioned above, I've become a part-time writer for a weekly newspaper located in Crescent City, Florida. In this week's edition, I may have two articles included: the Palatka Municipal Airport Fly-in and another about buzzards wintering in Florida. Last week, on section B1, I wrote about our church's youth trip to Planet Wisdom. Check out the e-Edition of the paper at: http://www.cjnewsfl.com/]]>Mon, 19 Jan 2015 01:47:13 GMThttp://dunnscreekfantasy.com/blog/welcome-to-the-new-dunns-creek-fantasy-siteAfter a number of hacks to my previous site, a completely new website was in order. I hope that the new look of this site meets with your approval, as I strive to spend more time developing my writing skills and promotion of my novels. As time goes on, I plan to offer short stories for you to download for free and a few looks at my current project, a historical fantasy set in Melrose, Florida.

I pray that 2015 has been a blessing to you so far, and that God will grant you success in this new year.

Keep the Faith,
G.A. Teske
]]>