F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Leisure

Tattered Cover Book Store, MileHiCon, and Bookmarks!

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Paranormal Fiction Bookmarks (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)
Paranormal Fiction Bookmarks (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)

Yesterday, I’d received an e-mail from the Tattered Cover Book Store informing me that they want to take on consignment of my novels Psychic, ERO, and The Uninvited! There’s a one-time consignment fee per book, and it’s a 90-day contract. They’ll go in the Local Author section. Let’s see, 90 days…what‘s within the next 90 days…

Oh, yeah, Christmas!

So, hope this works out in a stellar way (happy dance!), cause Tattered Cover is a legen-(wait for it…) dary book store. Thanks, Tattered Cover!

I’ve also been informed I will be attending several panels at the upcoming Denver MileHiCon this month (October 24-26th)! I’ll be sitting on the following panels (barring any last-minute changes):

  1. Friday, 6 p.m., Self-Pub Part 1
  2. Friday, 7 p.m., Self-Pub Part 2
  3. Friday, 8 p.m., Autograph Alley
  4. Saturday, 3 p.m., Threat From Above
  5. Sunday, 11 a.m., What If: Alternate Worlds/Readings

Aaand…I’m having some really cool bookmarks done up by Lon Kirschner, of Kirschner Caroff! Lon did my ERO cover. I’ll have them with me at MileHiCon. Do look me up and say “Hi!” Hope to see you there!

That is all.

Bookmark Front (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)
Bookmark Front (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)
Bookmark Back (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)
Bookmark Back (© F. P. Dorchak and Kirschner Caroff, 2014)

 

 

Psychic Review—Black Sheep, Issue #121

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© Psychic (F. P. Dorchak and Duvall Design, coming mid-2014)
© Psychic (F. P. Dorchak and Duvall Design, coming mid-2014)

I just received my October-November issue of The Black Sheep in the mail yesterday, Number 121. In it, Madelon Rose Logue, aka “MRL,” included a review of Psychic:

“This gritty, new (Sethian) remote-viewer-spy thriller (the fourth novel by Frank Dorchak and his best to date) is set in a future probable reality in which both John F. Kennedy and his brother became Presidents of the USA and are not assassinated.

“It is packed full of unanswered questions (until later, that is) intrigue, and an assortment of dreams, OOBEs, fragment and whole personalities. There are giddy time and place shifts that sweep you hither and yon in most fiendish, devilish, Halloweenish ways that won’t let you stop to put it down for even a really good glass of iced tea.

“As I was caught up in this fantastic story I was surprised to find out what JFK had done that reminded me of a talk I went to hear that was sponsored by The Monroe Institute  back in 1977 (the “cold war” years). We were told how the American and Russian government-trained-remote-viewer spies would meet out-of-body and decide which ‘secrets’ to let their respective government have!

“Frank’s three other novels are” Sleepwalkers (2001), The Uninvited (2013), and ERO (2013).”

Here is a shot of the actual review. MRL’s fanzine is only hardcopy:

Psychic Review, The Black Sheep, #121, October-November, 2014.
Psychic Review, The Black Sheep, #121, October-November, 2014.

And you know the most interesting thing about the whole review? This line: “We were told how the American and Russian government-trained-remote-viewer spies would meet out-of-body and decide which ‘secrets’ to let their respective government have!”

Wow. The amazing world we live in!

Thank you, MRL! Madelon is quite the nice lady, we met years ago at a Seth Conference that had actually gone on in my town. I’ve never been able to attend one for scheduling reasons (you know, that “day job/shift work” thing), so jumped at the chance to meet her. Ever since, we’ve been corresponding and keeping in contact, and I occasionally submit to her fanzine.

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Colorado Leaf Peeping

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Colorado Highway 67 to Cripple Creek/Victor, Sept 26, 2014
Colorado Highway 67 to Cripple Creek/Victor, Sept 26, 2014

Yesterday I took the day off to do some Colorado Leaf Peeping with my wife and mom-in-law. It was a beautiful day!

We drove Highway 24 west, to Divide, Colorado, hanging a left on Highway 67, to Cripple Creek/Victor. On Highway 67 we headed to Victor, Colorado, a still-active mining town, on Highway 64-cum-81, then took 67 into Cripple Creek. After Cripple Creek, we hooked off to the left, and took Teller County Road 1 to 11, met up with Highway 9 to 50, and went through Canon City and Penrose on our way home. From Teller Country Road 1 through Penrose, there isn’t any leaf peeping—none—but it is a gorgeous drive in its own right up to Highway 50. But don’t drive it if you’re looking for golden aspen leaves.

However, do take the drive from Highway 24 through Victor and Cripple Creek!

Edges of Fire! Zoom in real close on this tree! Leaves just starting to turn!
Edges of Fire! Zoom in real close on this tree! Leaves just starting to turn!

This drive is Colorado gorgeous! It may last another week, or just days, I don’t know when it started, but I’m thinking it’s already been about a week, because last week Highway 24 was packed, and that highway isn’t normally that packed this time of year, except for when everyone’s heading out of town for some sort of vacation, and the only thing going on now is leaf peeping. A friend asked me to use my “superpowers” to keep the changing leaves bright and awesome so she and her boyfriend could catch them on their Harley trip, but I don’t know if I can. I can hold off rain when I’m mowing my lawn, but…I’m doing my best, Mandy!

Here’s a link for the rest of Colorado.

Enjoy the turning leaves wherever you reside!

Happy Fall!

Colorado Highway 67, Sept 26, 2014
Colorado Highway 67, Sept 26, 2014

 

Vigilance is Job 6

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The Cottage

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The Cottage, Lake Placid, New York (Aug, 15, 2014)
The Cottage, Lake Placid, New York (Aug, 15, 2014)

I’m not a foodie in any sense of the term—I jokingly consider myself a “functional eater”—but I do appreciate good food, ambiance (and, of course, the company!), and a killer view, all of which this little place has!

It’s called, The Cottage Restaurant, and it sits directly on Lake Placid’s Mirror Lake, at 77 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid, New York 12946.

You can sit inside or outside, and we always opt for outside. You can see why. The view is fantastic, and this time out, we spotted all kinds of activity on the lake (despite the weather), from actual swimmers (we’re talking long-distance, here; this is the Adirondacks and the home to the 1932 and 1980 Olympics!) to paddle boarders.

When you’re done, take a drive around the lake and through the town and the surrounding area, maybe even check the ski jump (we’ve been up inside the ski jump 2 or 3 times), Olympic Center Museum, Whiteface Mountain (I skied it once), or High Falls Gorge (we haven’t yet seen this, it was raining when we stopped by, after having visited Ausable Chasm earlier in the day), down the road a little ways…

Or not.

And just hang out for spell, enjoying the view….

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Donnelly’s Corners

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Donnelly's Corners, Saranac Lake, NY (Aug 12, 2014)
Donnelly’s Corners, Saranac Lake, NY (Aug 12, 2014)

If you go anywhere upstate New Yorkish during the summer, and by “upstate” I mean within an hour’s driving distance of the “Tri-Lakes” area (Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake), you absolutely need to stop and partake of the heavenly delights at this little soft serve ice cream stand that has been in business for 61 years.

Donnelly’s Corners.

“Okay there are ice cream stands and then there is Donnelly’s…It was my first time there, after a 3 hour ride from Albany to have lunch in Lake Placid , you might as well go 45 mins more for this ice cream, it’s smooth, rich and creamy and nothing like you’ve tasted before.”

Kevin J., of Troy, N.Y., Yelp review, 7/9/14

Donnelly’s Corners is at the intersection of the Harrietstown Road and Route 186 (aka, Routes 86 and 186). The actual address is 1556 State Route 86, Saranac Lake, New York 12983.

I’m told they no longer make their own cream, but wherever they get it from, it continues to taste like I remember it. Outstanding. They also deliver “their” cream to at least one other ice cream soft serve stand, up in Brainardsville, called Harrigans, at the intersection of Brainardsville Road and Lake Street (aka, Routes 374 and 24/190). The actual address is RR 374, Brainardsville, NY 12915.

Donnelly’s is open 11 a.m. to 9 or 9:30 p.m., but only during the summer, so, sorry, you just missed ’em, having closed after Labor Day weekend (Harrigans also closes after Labor Day weekend; sorry, I tried to get these posts out quicker, but just didn’t happen…).

As to its history, here it is, from the yelp page:

“Established in 1953.

“Crystal Spring Dairy was purchased by Martin and Nora Donnelly in November 1920.  The dairy farm grew and expanded over the years. In 1953, their daughters, Rita and Mary, went to a trade show and saw the unique machine that made the Ice Cream that we still make today. Their son, Francis, turned the warming hut that had been used on the ski hill just down the road into the stand we have today.

“We opened in August of 1953 and haven’t missed a season since. In the early years the stand operated 6 days and were  closed on Mondays. It opened July 4th and closed before Labor Day. Family members worked the stand, and in the 1960’s, family friends were hired to help out.

“Peter (Francis’ oldest son) re-joined the dairy in 1968 and is still operating the stand today. In 1969 we started opening 7 days a week, and a year later pushed our opening date up to Memorial Day, and stayed open thru Labor Day. Over the years, the flavor offerings were expanded and hours have been extended.”

I went to school with one of the cousins (I believe the relation was) to that family. When we used to ride our bikes to high school (uphill both ways—if you don’t believe me, drive that route), we sometimes stopped at that house up on the rise to the stand’s left.

Donnelly’s does a twisted-with-vanilla, dual-flavored cone, the schedule of which is listed on their Facebook page. Vanilla is the constant flavor.

My favorite flavor?

Black raspberry. And, for once, the day we first went (we made two trips…), it was a Tuesday, so that was what we got!

Yes, we’d come here many times, when I was a kid, and even now, when I visit this stand, it’s never empty for very long.

But, there is one unknown lady I simply must call out: the second time we were there, this one lady and her family were walking back to their van (on the end of the parking lot), when she did a most heinous thing: without batting an eye, she took one more lick of her cone—then summarily dumped it all in the trash!

And…and…she never looked back!

I was…aghast.

Where were New York’s Finest when you really needed them, for cryin’ out loud?

The world wept that day.

Okay, don’t be like Unknown Donnelly’s Dumper…when you get your cone (sizes “small” and “large,” and by that I mean “large” and “HUGE“), relish it.

Enjoy it.

Revel in its flavor and texture.

But, not for too long, okay, ’cause, you know, it is soft ice cream, and it is summer.

Mark this as “Must See” for 2015…and the rest of your life.

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