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"I was told it could not be published,"
Yoho says. "It's not about alien abductions or dysfunctional
families, incest, rape or drug addiction. But I still thought there
was a place in the reading world for a book that was relatively
innocent and produced a good belly laugh or two."
Others
agreed with Yoho. He even got award-winning Western author Don Coldsmith
to read an advance copy. Coldsmith loved the book so much that he
agreed to write the foreword for the novel.
So now Yoho, a retired machinist who had previously
written short stories and poetry, has a well-received book on his
hands, and his own publishing venture to market and promote the
tome. A book signing is planned from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday
at Hastings Books, Records and Video, 1900 W. 23rd St.
For Yoho it's a victory of substance over books
offering chock value, and he sees that in the clientele who purchase
his work.
"People who have bought copies for themselves
are coming back to buy copies for their families and friends,"
he says.
"The Revival" is told through the eyes
of Edwin, an 11-year-old in a small Kansas town. Each year a "Holy
Roller" church revival is held, and that leads the local Methodist
church to hold their own gathering. Soon the two religious groups
are waging their own holy war for the souls of the townspeople.
Along the way, Edwin deals with such thorny issues
as a meddlesome teen-age sister and learning to shave for the first
time.
Yoho meant to tell tales from his past, not to
skewer organized religion.
"It's not making fun of religion,"
he says. "When I was a kid, you attended (revivals) because
they were a spectacular show. It was fun to do. It's about my own
experience with revival meetings. It started out based in fact,
but it departs from reality. There is scarcely a shred of truth
in it."
Yoho thought it would be a serious short story,
but his creative muses turned it into a laugh-out-loud novel.
"Even when I try to write seriously, people
laugh, so I decided to write a humorous story anyway," Yoho
says.
Along with good-natured jabs at small towns and
the residents' quest for anything entertaining, Yoho says the book
hits on several societal issues that anyone, whether from a small
town or big city, can relate to.
"As Edwin tells the story, he deals with
family relationships, parameters of life, religion, the love of
two girls and just growing up," Yoho says.
Yoho began writing after the death of his first
wife. He started taking writing courses at Washburn University and
collaborated with on-campus writing groups. He remarried, and his
second wife, Carol, is an adjunct faculty member at the university.
She was instrumental in creating their Web page design.
Ironically, it was another small-town experience
that enabled them to come up with their publishing company's name,
Dancing Goat Press.
"We were down in Lindsborg (Kan.) in a small
coffee shop, and I saw the name 'Dancing Goat,' and I said there
is our new name. It has such a whimsical, wonderful quality about
it," he says.
And what does the fledgling novelist hope readers glean from his
recounting of a rural lifestyle?
"When they finish the book and put it down,
I hope they've had a good time and that they walk away in a better
mood," Yoho says.
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