A whopper of an endorsement for 'The Fracking War'

WATKINS GLEN, New York - When your writing is referred to in the same paragraph as a book by John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath) and another by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin), there is only one rational response: You blush.

So Sunday afternoon I had a thoroughly beet-red face for quite a while after I read a book-jacket blurb kindly offered by environmentalist, biologist and author Sandra Steingraber.
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Sandra Steingraber

"It was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, not economic data, that turned the page on slavery.  It was The Grapes of Wrath, not demographic reports that opened a nation's eyes to Dust Bowl dislocation.  Out of that tradition comes Michael J. Fitzgerald’s The Fracking War.  Here, within a smoldering crucible of social crisis, is a tale of power, money, fateful choices, and consciences aroused.   If you like your drill rigs served up within the context of a fast-moving plot line, you’ve got what you want right in your hands.” 

  —Sandra Steingraber, author, Living Downstream and Raising Elijah

The beet-red blush was also because Sandra Steingraber is one of my heroes. Working here in New York as a journalist, I've published reams about her courage in fighting the hydrofracking menace, helping to lead the struggle against a manifestly dangerous propane storage project in Watkins Glen, and her arrest and jailing earlier this year on trespassing charges following a protest.

So to have her praise The Fracking War so highly, well, I'm blushing again.

Book cover art by Will Sweeney

All of the pieces have fallen into place - with a little pushing - for electronic publication of The Fracking War this week. There may be some last-minute surprises from the publisher to delay the e-launch. But as they say at NASA, 'Confidence is high.'

And the print version is on track to be available in early 2014.

By the way, my sincere thanks to all the folks who supported The Fracking War through the Kickstarter.com campaign. We made our goal. And right now Adm. Sylvia Fox and I are scrambling to get the promised T-shirts done and mailed out. I'm also trying to put together an author's website.

At a fabulous end-of-the-season party last night at The Stonecat Cafe in Hector, several people asked me about a sequel to The Fracking War. The answer is yes, there will be one. But I won't say much more about it until Wednesday at the book publishing celebration at the Hector Wine Company, which not surprisingly, is in Hector, too.

'The Fracking War' novel is ready to lock, load and publish

WATKINS GLEN, New York - The moment is almost here!

Sunday night, Adm. Sylvia Fox and I ended a successful Kickstarter.com campaign, taking 180 pre-orders for the novel, The Fracking War, as well as donations for other publishing needs to get the book from manuscript to bookshelves.
Many, many thanks to all the folks who pledged - and who also passed along the Kickstarter link.

The publicity and exposure from the campaign - and peoples' generosity - has already sparked interest from media here in New York and on the West Coast.

Tres cool as the French almost say. Tres cool.

The e-book is still on schedule to be done before Thanksgiving with the printed version showing up in early 2014. That's about as specific as I can be at this moment.

But as soon as I know, I'll pass along updates.

In the meantime, thanks to everyone for your support... "Cry havoc and let slips the dogs of war..."

The Fracking War WRFI FM radio interview is posted

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Posting the audio from my radio interview with Bob Fitzsimmons Tuesday on WRFI-FM Watkins Glen-Ithaca seemed like it would be easy.

I took my Olympus DS20 digital recorder into the studio, flipped it on for the entire 27 minutes of chat and then flipped it off.

Tuesday's interview at WRFI-FM in Ithaca, NY

That truly was the easy part.

Back at my home office/studio, the software to move that digital recorder sound file onto my Mac was so outdated it wouldn't run at all. And attempts to update and/or find a new package didn't work.

For nearly two days of on-again, off-again attempts, it didn't work.

Finally, I did it the old fashioned way, using a microphone, Apple's garage band software, and iTunes.

Easy-peasy.

But make that easily accessible for a mass audience proved complicated, too.

Consequently, a link to a recording of the interview is posted below. The link takes you to a YouTube video. It seemed like the easiest way to post it. Unfortunately, I only had a single still photo - and no video - of what turned out to be a great conversation.

Regardless, it was the first stop on The Fracking War book tour, and fun.

Here's the link to the video/sound recording: WRFI Interview