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“An honest, often funny, sometimes painful, accounting of the communal “back to the land” movement of the early seventies, newly married idealists Ben and Sarah Tucker set out with their varied collection of long-haired freaks to find a place where they can build a countercultural utopia.” Guy Maynard SPRINGFIELD, OR, January 25, 2025—GladEye Press is proud to announce the release of Guy Maynard’s third novel in the Risk of Being Ridiculous trilogy. Ash Valley: The Promise of the Land is a raw and honest look inside the dynamics of a fledgling “commune-ity”. Although the conclusion of a series, Ash Valley is a strong stand-alone novel that anyone who was ever young will enjoy. Its official on-sale date is February 28, 2025. Ash Valley continues the journey of revolutionary, idealistic lovers Ben and Sarah. Freshly married and finally clear of the legal issues and challenges they’d faced during Boston’s violent anti-war protests, they hit the road, heading West with a ragtag group, seeking a freak’s paradise. With luck, naïve utopian dreams, very little money, and good timing, they arrive at a remote Southern Oregon ranch, Ash Valley. This beautiful and isolated spot becomes home to dozens of free-spirited young adults determined to live a different life. The realities of communal living, the romantic entanglements, the very nature of what their community could and should be, refuse to be answered during the hard work, raucous partying, and excessive optimism among the glorious cast of social radicals. With a bucolic, yet rugged backdrop of stately old growth forests and mountains this magical spot certainly has promise, but can Ben, Sarah, and the rest of the refugees from the big cities make it work? Eugene, Oregon author and editor Guy Maynard has been a small-town newspaper editor, the editor for niche trade magazines, and editor of Oregon Quarterly, the University of Oregon’s alumni magazine. He’s been the singer in a rock and roll band, a hippy, and a prolific and steadfast community writer and activist. GladEye Press is an independent Oregon-based publisher founded in 2013. GladEye Press has published many popular novels in addition to Maynard’s Trilogy (The Risk of Being Ridiculous; Trial: A Long Year from Here to There; and Ash Valley: The Promise of the Land). For more information about the press, or to request review copies of the first installments, contact J.V. Bolkan ([email protected]) or visit http://www.gladeyepress.com Ash Valley: The Promise of the Land Book 3 of the Risk of Being Ridiculous Trilogy, Guy Maynard Format: Trade Paperback, 526 pages ISBN: 978-1-951289-19-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2024949939 Pricing: $23.95 list |
| Oregon-based author Guy Maynard, along with publisher GladEye Press, has released the third book in the Risk of Being Ridiculous Trilogy. Maynard has been a small-town newspaper editor, the editor for niche trade magazines, and editor of Oregon Quarterly, the University of Oregon’s alumni magazine. He’s been the singer in a rock and roll band, a hippy, and a prolific and steadfast community writer and activist.
The official launch event for Ash Valley will take place at the Universal Unitarian church in Eugene on Mar. 13. |
Jeffrey Bolkan
Oregon-based author Guy Maynard, along with publisher GladEye Press, has released the third book in the Risk of Being Ridiculous trilogy. Maynard has been a small-town newspaper editor, the editor for niche trade magazines, and editor of Oregon Quarterly, the University of Oregon's alumni magazine. He's been the singer in a rock and roll band, a hippy, and a prolific and steadfast community writer and activist.
