

- I always wanted to be a procrastinator, but I never got around to it -
J.T. Blossom

Ella takes Lenore to College and Changes the World!

Lenore and the Problem With Love is the sequel to The Tunes of Lenore (see below), but it is fine to read them in any order.
Award Winning! The Tunes of Lenore
A YA Coming of Age Adventure!




THE TUNES OF LENORE
March 19, 2019/in Discovery Awards 2019 /by Indie Reader Staff
IR VERDICT:
J.T. Blossom’s THE TUNES OF LENORE incorporates elements of magical realism in a near-future setting. Its 2026, and protagonist Ella attends an extreme wilderness boarding school, accompanied by her golden retriever, an unusually gifted dog, and her grandfather’s violin, Lenore. It’s a not to be missed and refreshing take on the coming-of-age novel that, along with the delightfully unique story, includes beautiful illustrations that enhance the text. A book written to capture the imagination of both young and older readers alike.
"Hi John, I finished your book the other day, and I was really, really impressed. I found it absolutely captivating. I found Ella very likable, her thoughts about the events felt real and engaging, the dialogue extremely well done, and the storyline compelling. Truly this is very, very well done. I'm glad you shared it with me. If you want any feedback beyond gushing admiration, just let me know." - CS


HORSE BOYS
#ToxicMasculinity -#MeToo
The hierarchical and exploitive domination of the horse boys over workers, animals, and women sparks thirteen-year-old Michael’s confusion about who he is and what it means to be a man. A sensitive, school-loving student from the suburbs of Milwaukee, Michael is more interested in getting good grades, acting in school plays, and playing tennis than riding rough horses. When his father dumps him off to work at a very gritty riding stable run by wild and unsupervised young men, Michael faces many challenges and has to grow up fast. Set in the late sixties.


Uplifting and sometimes terrifying, "Trespassing" will change for the better the way your heart views the beauty and power of nature.
I believe that any “truth’ is by its very nature simplistic. Belief in a “truth” leads to negative judgments of others who do not share the same belief in that truth. It also leads to tribal-gathering of those who do. Sadly, as many have pointed out, it is human nature to divide ourselves like this and is likely genetic due to the evolutionary necessity of prehistoric humans existing in groups in order to share scarce resources.
The planet’s age of plenty for human life is rapidly coming to an end due to our greed and over-expansion. Sadly, the lessening of exploitable resources to support capitalistic elitism will likely result in increased tribalistic behavior rather than less. (Censorship and nationalism is a symptom of this form of spreading greed, not a cause.)
Our only hope for humanity after nature’s coming reckoning is that the resultant tribes of humans who survive will model themselves after ancient indigenous cultures, who while openly and sometimes savagely tribalistic, at least had mature respect for humanity’s integrative place on the planet. Another plus of the indigenous lifestyle is a general respect for and openness to the “crazy” ideas of artists and visionaries; there is a general understanding among groups that live close to nature that life is a mystery led on multiple planes, not just the simplistic transactional plane where territory and resources are by necessity divvied up contentiously.
We could use a little more of that indigenous, open attitude toward the richness of life beyond materialism right about now. Maybe with increased attention to mysterious and artistic realms, liveable solutions to our dire dilemma can be found.