|
|
|
Author Profile In 1978, while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Dennis Ruane began keeping a journal with the intention of writing a novel. Two years later he turned a long-time hobby, woodcarving, into a part-time business when he began carving and selling wooden spoons. In 1982, Dennis abandoned his science career to follow the life of a craftsman and moved back to Pennsylvania that spring.For many years he carved wooden spoons for a living as he accumulated woodcarving tools and taught himself how to use them. Dennis' woodcarving repitoire expanded over the years to include a wide array of hardwood sculptures. The time demands that come with such an occupation, made it difficult for him to pursue his dream of writing a novel but Dennis continued to write in his journal. The journal was always at hand, a stenographer notebook lying somewhere in his workshop. He did in fact make a number of attempts to write a novel based on his own experiences. The story was to be woven around the idea of a person walking away from their profession and charting a completely different course for their life. These early attempts only ended in frustration and eventually the conviction that he should give up writing. Dennis Ruane and his wife, Jean Alvarez moved to Waynesville, North Carolina in 1999. They purchased a bulding on Main Street and opened Hardwood Gallery. The building also served as their home and Dennis' studio. Hardwood Gallery was open for eight years. During the latter part of this era, Dennis fulfilled a long time desire to write a novel. In the summer of 2006 he self-published his first novel, Wooden Spoons. Dennis was so encouraged with the reaction to Wooden Spoons that he began to write another novel as soon as Wooden Spoons was published. The rough draft of Cataloochee Man was completed in ten months. The inspiration for the story came during many solo hikes Dennis took in and around the Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hardwood Gallery was closed at the end of 2007. Shortly after, Dennis purchased a house and a small building located near Marshall, North Carolina. Over the next year and a half, between moving and working on his studio, Dennis prepared the manuscript for publication. He wanted to completely self-publish this time. That is, to write the story, format the text, and design the cover. It was a long slow process of learning and along the way, Walnut Creek Press was established. Cataloochee Man was published in September of 2009. |
|
|
|
Copyright © 2009 Walnut Creek Press. All rights reserved world wide. All images and writing are property of the author. No part of this document can be used without written permission from the author. Art is a good idea. |
|