By Carl E. Feather, Lifestyle Editor
Photo by Jim LeisyASHTABULA, OH--For Ashtabula native Kat Ricker, the publication of her first book, "Something Familiar," is sufficient reward in itself. She has no illusions of it making her rich or famous. Indeed, chances are Ricker won't be around to discover if her ultimate wish for the book comes true.
"My ultimate dream is that in 100 years someone would come across it at a garage sale, pick it up for 50 cents and just love it," said Ricker in a phone interview to her home in Oregon last week.
"Something Familiar" is a collection of poetry and short stories Ricker wrote during the past 14 years. Published by her own publishing house, Trillium Press, the book is available online at amazon.com for $10.
A resident of Newburg, Ore., a town of about 20,000 population halfway between the coast and Portland, Ricker retains strong roots to the county. She is an Ashtabula High School graduate and was active in the theater department of the Ashtabula Arts Center for many years. Her three brothers and parents, John and Emily, still live in the area.
Ricker dedicated the book to her parents, and a childhood photograph of her father graces the cover.
"He really made me the writer that I am," says Ricker of her father, a retired English teacher. "All through school, everything I wrote, I would run by him. It's just a big deal for me to produce it with him in mind.
"She also gives a lot of credit to the late Bob Keenan, her high school English teacher.
"He was really special," she says.Ricker went to Youngstown State on a theater scholarship, but decided to major in English, as a backup to her chosen career. Life did a flip-flop on Ricker; the writing waxed while the theater waned as she matured.
"I'm glad I had (writing) in my back pocket," she says.
Ricker's next move was to get out of Ashtabula County and experience life.
"I really just decided I didn't want to be stuck in Ashtabula without seeing what else was out there," she says.
Ricker chose Oregon, where she worked for a series of newspapers. Covering crime and city government didn't get in the way of her creative writing, however.
"The creative stuff comes whether you want it to or not. It just comes," she says. "The other stuff is just work."
Writing news stories taught Ricker to write tight, brief prose and poetry, as evidenced by the works in "Something Familiar." Most of the poems occupy only one page.
Her work as a journalist also gave Ricker fodder for creative grazing. Her poems are about real people, incidents other people told her about and "poetic moments" she recorded.
"A lot of it is just that, that's really where my work is going lately," she says.
Three years ago, Ricker and her husband, Reed Burch, returned to this area so she could earn her master's degree in professional writing from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. While the degree hasn't paid the teaching-job dividend, Ricker does work with words: She handles publicity and production for a book publisher.
Her writing career has gone in many directions. On the nonfiction side, Ricker has written about body building and fitness (she's a body builder herself), agriculture, domestic abuse and natural resources. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Yankee magazine, Talus and Scree anthologies, PanGaia, Coffeehouse, Voices from the Edge and others. She's also been published in Paris-Atlantic (France), Poet's Voice (Austria), One Earth (Scotland), Cambrensis (Wales), Nova and The Third Alternative (United Kingdom).
In selecting material for her book, Ricker first selected works that had been well received in magazines/ journals or that had won awards. She asked those in her close circle of literary friends to review her selections and respond to their inclusion. Finally, she made sure the material remained cohesive and consistent with the book's overall flavor.
Ricker's employer is serving as distributor of the book. She drew upon her experience there to create anticipation for its roll-out later this month. Readers who received advance copies posted glowing reviews at the amazon.com site and Ricker created a Web site and Blog for the book launch. She even had a Flash teaser trailer made.
In short, she's creating a lot of buzz.
Ricker's debut tome is small, only 72 pages, but it is tightly packed with strong, thought-provoking writing. Although many authors would like their first book to be three or four times larger, Ricker sees a benefit to brevity.
"... this seems to be a consumable size," she says. "It can be read in one sitting, and I think that's a really good sign. The object is to get it read."
Star Beacon Print Edition: 10/18/2006
"My ultimate dream is that in 100 years someone would come across it at a garage sale, pick it up for 50 cents and just love it," said Ricker in a phone interview to her home in Oregon last week.
"Something Familiar" is a collection of poetry and short stories Ricker wrote during the past 14 years. Published by her own publishing house, Trillium Press, the book is available online at amazon.com for $10.
A resident of Newburg, Ore., a town of about 20,000 population halfway between the coast and Portland, Ricker retains strong roots to the county. She is an Ashtabula High School graduate and was active in the theater department of the Ashtabula Arts Center for many years. Her three brothers and parents, John and Emily, still live in the area.
Ricker dedicated the book to her parents, and a childhood photograph of her father graces the cover.
"He really made me the writer that I am," says Ricker of her father, a retired English teacher. "All through school, everything I wrote, I would run by him. It's just a big deal for me to produce it with him in mind.
"She also gives a lot of credit to the late Bob Keenan, her high school English teacher.
"He was really special," she says.Ricker went to Youngstown State on a theater scholarship, but decided to major in English, as a backup to her chosen career. Life did a flip-flop on Ricker; the writing waxed while the theater waned as she matured.
"I'm glad I had (writing) in my back pocket," she says.
Ricker's next move was to get out of Ashtabula County and experience life.
"I really just decided I didn't want to be stuck in Ashtabula without seeing what else was out there," she says.
Ricker chose Oregon, where she worked for a series of newspapers. Covering crime and city government didn't get in the way of her creative writing, however.
"The creative stuff comes whether you want it to or not. It just comes," she says. "The other stuff is just work."
Writing news stories taught Ricker to write tight, brief prose and poetry, as evidenced by the works in "Something Familiar." Most of the poems occupy only one page.
Her work as a journalist also gave Ricker fodder for creative grazing. Her poems are about real people, incidents other people told her about and "poetic moments" she recorded.
"A lot of it is just that, that's really where my work is going lately," she says.
Three years ago, Ricker and her husband, Reed Burch, returned to this area so she could earn her master's degree in professional writing from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. While the degree hasn't paid the teaching-job dividend, Ricker does work with words: She handles publicity and production for a book publisher.
Her writing career has gone in many directions. On the nonfiction side, Ricker has written about body building and fitness (she's a body builder herself), agriculture, domestic abuse and natural resources. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Yankee magazine, Talus and Scree anthologies, PanGaia, Coffeehouse, Voices from the Edge and others. She's also been published in Paris-Atlantic (France), Poet's Voice (Austria), One Earth (Scotland), Cambrensis (Wales), Nova and The Third Alternative (United Kingdom).
In selecting material for her book, Ricker first selected works that had been well received in magazines/ journals or that had won awards. She asked those in her close circle of literary friends to review her selections and respond to their inclusion. Finally, she made sure the material remained cohesive and consistent with the book's overall flavor.
Ricker's employer is serving as distributor of the book. She drew upon her experience there to create anticipation for its roll-out later this month. Readers who received advance copies posted glowing reviews at the amazon.com site and Ricker created a Web site and Blog for the book launch. She even had a Flash teaser trailer made.
In short, she's creating a lot of buzz.
Ricker's debut tome is small, only 72 pages, but it is tightly packed with strong, thought-provoking writing. Although many authors would like their first book to be three or four times larger, Ricker sees a benefit to brevity.
"... this seems to be a consumable size," she says. "It can be read in one sitting, and I think that's a really good sign. The object is to get it read."
Star Beacon Print Edition: 10/18/2006
