Had a great time at the reading the other night. However, the evening did not go exactly as planned. My guests started arriving before 6 pm and I got there early to set up. As I walked towards the venerable building, I was amazed that I would have the opportunity to speak in such a hallowed hall. I felt that before performance giddiness that feels so good. Not only had I come home, I had come home in style. The problem was there no one was there to let us in.

 

   The rain was falling and we were locked out. My contact numbers proved to be no good and so we held an impromptu performance on the front porch of the Oaks Ames Memorial Hall. I mean what else could we do. Noone complained and a certain kind of magic occurred. The kind made from using ashes to make something whole and good.

 

   Many of my old friends came and some new ones. People I knew well from FB but had never met. And they came out in the rain. So thanks to all of of you.

 

   I read from the new book Love Rescue me and a few excerpts from some others. But a party is a party, no matter where it is held. Its success will be determined by the people who attend not the venue where it is held.

 

   And so, all was well in the literary world, for yet another night. Thank you all who came, and all those who wrote to wish me well. It went well.

 

    I will close with the quote of the day that came to me this morning.

 

     It’s from Harry Truman "A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an opportunist is one who makes opportunities out of his difficulties." See you at the next one. JOHN

 

 

   Here is the orginal invite.....

 

 

 

   Hello everybody,

 

  The  date and time for the reading I will be doing at Oaks Ames Memorial Hall in N. Easton is on Friday July 26th, 2013.

 

   I will be reading from my new book, Love Rescue Me / Love on a Mission.

 

   I will send out other announcements as the date draws nearer.

 

    I will also be doing some readings in Los Angeles.    Dates and time to be announced.

   

   There will also be a Q & A after some other selected readings from a few of my other books.  I will be signing copies of my first book, The Road Runner during this event.

   

    Oaks Ames Memorial Hall is a wonderful venue and I’m proud to be able to appear there.  It has a large capacity and with all of your help, perhaps we can fill it.   I’m hoping many of you will come, tell others and bring all your friends.  This is my first book in seven years and my first appearance in Brockton in all that time.   Many of  you know I broke my neck a few years back and it’s been a long, hard climb back to a productive life.  I’m fine now, drug and pain free and writing every day, mostly of my recent experiences.

 

    My contact info is. JStover6151@aol.com

 

   Web site is   http://jstover6151.wix.com/johnstoverauthor

 

 The information is….

Friday July 26th from 6-8 pm
Oaks Ames Memorial Hall
Barrows Street Extension,
North Easton, MA 02356
508-238-9995
Info@OakesAmesHall.org

  

   My new book is called Love Rescue Me and is a love story for our turbulent times.  It follows the adventures of its anti-hero Jack St. Clair over forty tempestuous years.

 

   Jack had been involved in a politically motivated bank robbery, back in his student activist days.  He was forced underground, leaving the love of his life Diane Dante.  Unbeknownst to Jack, Diane has changed her name and moved to Paris where she has had their baby.

 

   Jack is a singer /songwriter / Golden Gloves boxer.  These skills serve him well while he is on the road.

 

    Jack is a good man who makes a difference in people’s lives wherever he goes.  We follow Jack’s travels from a safe house in Vermont, to a hideaway retreat on Nantucket Island, a collegiate circus in Tallahassee Fla. as well as a dangerous hobo camp in Northern Fla.  It is in this unusual place called Dogtown, where Jack must fight another man, in order to save the young girl he has befriended.   Forced to flee, Jack ultimately ends up in Los Angeles where he makes his fortune in the apparel business.

 

   Jack’s best friend, who he meets in Dogtown, dies of AIDS and subsequently Jack becomes an AIDS activist, dedicating most of his time and money to the cause.  This move nearly costs him his business and family.   In the course of his travels Jack meets such noted celebrities as Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, Kris Kristofferson, Jackson Brown, Michael Dukakis, and even President Ronald Reagan.

 

     The timely topics of AIDS, organized religion, local and National politics, Hollywood celebrity, the trappings of the Rock ‘n Roll lifestyle , 9/11 and its aftermath, homelessness, addiction and recovery are all deliberated in the course of the novel.  In other words, it’s a typical John Stover book.

 

    But here’s the kicker… After surviving the 9/11 attack while on the 39th floor of the North Tower, (taken from a real account of a good friend of mine) Jack falls on hard times, ending up in a downtown Los Angeles Mission.  It is while in this mission that Jack repairs his damaged life and regains his optimism and usefulness.

 

     One day, while Jack is at the Midnight Rescue Mission, Jack sees Diane from across a crowded room.  Diane has returned from France and is on a ten city charity tour with her church.  Jack and Diane’s daughter Emma has since become a doctor and Diane now lives alone.  The Midnight rescue Mission is Diane’s last stop before returning to Boston and her empty life. She has never given up on her love for Jack.

 

    Ashamed at what has become of himself, Jack is unable to approach the very woman he has been looking for most of his life.  Finally, on the last day of her stay, Jack walks up to Diane and says, “Excuse me, …….”

 

     I guess you will have to buy the book to find out what happens.  It will be available in late August.

 

     Hope to see you all Friday, the 26th in N. Easton  or sometime in mid -August in LA.

 

     Other than that, I remain yours in letters, John Stover aka Jack St. Clair

 

  John Stover /  The Road Runner

 

  http://jstover6151.wix.com/johnstoverauthor

 

                                      A special place

 

 

   If you're looking for a truly unique and intimate setting for your event, we invite you to consider Oakes Ames Memorial Hall. Designed by world-renowned architect H.H. Richardson in the late 1800s, the Hall is a National Historic Landmark and a favorite of photographers.

 

    Approached by terraced steps set into natural surroundings designed by famed landscape architect F.L. Olmsted, the Hall is a dramatic presence in the village of North Easton. The town itself reflects the days of yesteryear, with rolling pastures, open spaces and a treasure trove of period architecture. The Oakes Ames Memorial Hall is conveniently located mid-way between Boston and Providence.

 

     http://www.oakesameshall.org/