Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Memortality
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Emrys, Stifyn
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.stephenhprovost.com/
CITY:
STATE: CA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.stephenhprovost.com/contact-adirondack/ * http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14158636.Stephen_H_Provost
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2015037793
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2015037793
HEADING: Provost, Stephen H.
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053 _0 |a PS3616.R75
100 1_ |a Provost, Stephen H.
670 __ |a Fresno growing up, 2015: |b ECIP t.p. (Stephen H. Provost) data view (grew up in Fresno in the 1960s and 1970s; journalist and author; lives on California’s Central Coast)
670 __ |a Memortality, 2017: |b ECIP t.p. (Stephen H. Provost)
PERSONAL
Born c. 1963, in Fresno, CA; married; wife’s name Samaire (a writer); children: stepson.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, editor, and journalist. Cambrian, managing editor; San Luis Obispo Tribune, assistant news editor. Has also worked for the Fresno Bee, Visalia Times-Delta, and Tulare Advance-Register, and as a substitute teacher.
WRITINGS
Editor of young adult novels, including the “Mad World” series by Samaire Provost.
SIDELIGHTS
Stephen H. Provost has written both fiction and nonfiction under his own name, and under the pseudonym Stifyn Emrys. Provost’s best-known works, the nonfiction Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age, 1945-1985 and the novel Memortality, appear under the author’s given name. Regardless of which name he writes under, Provost told an online Authors Interviews reporter that his style is “conversational” and “action-oriented.” Provost noted: “I don’t want the reader to get bogged down in a lot of flowery description. I like to move the story along with lots of action and dialogue. And twists. If I’m writing fiction, I love a good twist.”
Provost also commented on the difference between writing nonfiction and writing fiction, and he explained: “I write both fiction and nonfiction, and I’ve done far more of the latter. I find it easy because all the pieces are there: You just have to find them and put them together in an interesting way, like a puzzle. Fiction is the bigger challenge for me because you have to make things up out of whole cloth, then keep everything straight. I’m not big on formal outlines, because I want the story to take me where it’s going to go, but the more complex the world you build, the more meticulous you have to be in terms of consistency.”
Fresno Growing Up
With Fresno Growing Up, Provost provides a history of a small town as it grew into a city. Focusing on the postwar years, Provost details the ins and outs of the central California outpost, discussing everything from arts and culture to economy and community. The author explains that Fresno began as a small farming town, and it has been home to many immigrant groups. The city also served as a cite for Japanese internment camps. From there, Provost writes about the small business and restaurants that were built just after the war. The author profiles local celebrities and personalities, and notes which ones went on to wider fame. From pancake houses to drive-ins, Provost touches on all that is or was once notable about Fresno. This includes Christmas Tree Lane and Fulton Street, Harpain’s Dairy, and the Sunnyside Drive-In. The volume is rounder out with vintage photographs, allowing readers to see all that Provost’s text describes.
Lauding the volume in the online Central California Life magazine, a critic stated that “Fresno Growing Up shines a spotlight on several influential figures in local radio and television.” Furthermore, the critic noted that “Provost celebrates Fresno’s rich ethnic diversity and traces the arrival of various immigrant groups to the city, including the Armenians, the Mexicans and the Hmong. He also describes the hardships many of these communities faced.” A Midwest Book Review Online, was equally laudatory, asserting that Fresno Growing Up “is impressively well written, organized and presented,” and declaring that the book “could well serve as a template for similar histories for community.”
Memortality
The plot in Memortality, Provost’s fantasy novel, begins with a fatal car accident. Six-year-old Minerva Rus is left paralyzed from the waist down, but her best friend Raven does not survive. Now Minerva is twenty-one, and she meets Raven, who has also aged. Minerva discovers that Raven is still dead, but she can give her memories new life. Minerva’s strange psychic power brings her to the intersection between the living and the dead, and it also makes her highly valuable to a secret government agency. The agency plans to use Minerva’s powers for their own ends. Minerva, who’s grown isolated as she grew up paralyzed, suddenly finds herself at the center of international intrigue.
A Kirkus Reviews Online correspondent was somewhat reserved in their praise, observing: “Although Minerva’s special ability isn’t particularly riveting, the plot possibilities multiply after its revelation.” Thus, the correspondent concluded that Memortality is “an adventure that’s slow to get started, but its otherworldly aspects help it to race to its conclusion.” Heather Clawson in the online San Francisco Book Review also offered pros and cons, and she remarked: “Provost’s writing is decent, I just wish a little more time had been spent on framing up the world of the Revived.” Amazing Stories magazine columnist Ricky L. Brown was more positive, and he commented: “As for the paranormal element, the most intriguing scene involves Provost’s ability to take readers into the void between life and death. This willingness to examine a setting which many writers of supernatural literature tend to overlook is a testament to the author’s confidence; it also brings a sense of believability to the otherwise unbelievable.” Claire Rudy Foster, writing in the online Foreword Reviews, was also impressed, and she found that “Memortality reads like a graphic novel. Its short chapters are exciting, well plotted, and compelling. Provost, a reporter, is a no-nonsense writer who delivers on the action without ruminating too much on character motivation or description.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
California Bookwatch, October, 2015, review of Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age, 1945-1985.
Publishers Weekly, November 21, 2016, review of Memortality.
ONLINE
Amazing Stories magazine, https://amazingstoriesmag.com/ (April 11, 2017), Ricky L. Brown, review of Memortality.
Authors Interviews, https://authorsinterviews.wordpress.com/(August 21, 2017), author interview.
Central California Life magazine, http://www.cencalilife.com/ (November 30, 2015), review of Fresno Growing Up.
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com/ (March 2, 2017), Claire Rudy Foster, review of Memortality.
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (February 1, 2017), review of Memortality.
Midwest Book Review Online, http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (September 1, 2015), review of Fresno Growing Up.
San Francisco Book Review, https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/ (July 1, 2017), Heather Clawson, review of Memortality.
Stephen H. Provost Website, http://www.stephenhprovost.com (August 21, 2017).*
About
Many authors will tell you it's important to work from the proper environment. A cat is essential to the creative process, and the sound of the ocean can get the creative juices flowing. I can't exactly hear the ocean from my balcony, but I can imagine it, and imagination is the next best thing to reality. Sometimes, it's better. If you don't believe me, ask my cat. He won't answer you, but cats are independent that way.
But then, I digress. (How many times has an author used that particular phrase in transitioning from one tangent to the next?) So here I am on California's beautiful Central Coast, editing my own weekly newspaper, writing my own books and living my own life the way I've always dreamed.
Well, I did dream I'd have a little more cash in my pocket, and the newspaper isn't exactly mine: I'm the editor, but it belongs to the company that employs me. The books aren't all mine, either: They're issued by my publisher. But the point is I have a publisher. Plus a brilliant and beautiful wife who also happens to be an author, and, of course, the aforementioned cat. Who could ask for anything more?
YOU'RE WHAT KIND OF WRITER?
Hey, even Stephen King wrote an epic fantasy. And J.K. Rowling finally stopped after seven Harry Potters to write a totally different sort of book under a nom de plume. So I figure I'm in good company being eclectic. I grew up in Fresno, so I wrote a book called Fresno Growing Up. My parents shuttled between our home and Southern California - where I spent six largely forgettable years of my childhood - on the Golden State Highway. So I wrote a book about that, too: Highway 99. Almost as much fun as the writing was the process of going on the road to take photos for both those books. I take photos for the newspaper, too, which doesn't make me Ansel Adams but it does make me, technically speaking, a professional. (If you're wondering, the answer is "yes": The photos you see on this website are mine.)
I've written a novel for teens and anyone else who likes a good adventure with a twist. Then there's that children's story, my response to a request by my wife, Samaire, that I write her something for Christmas. I sat down at the keyboard, and eight hours later, there it was. Wouldn't it be nice if all my books poured out so quickly? The Phoenix Principle took me a decade to write and wound up being more than 700 pages long. Even at that, I had to shrink the type smaller than I would have liked to make it fit in the maximum space allotted by CreateSpace.
I've published independently. I've also published traditionally with Fresno Growing Up, and I'll be doing it again with The Golden Road. On top of that, I've written newspaper columns, covered sporting events, churned out blogs and run an editing business. I've worked for daily publications, run a weekly newspaper, and I've even written copy for TV and radio (albeit as a college student gratis for the experience back in the day). My hairline may have receded all the way since then, but imagine a perm-frizzed greenhorn delivering sports scores via community access television in the early 1980s. Then again, you might not want to imagine that. The image was probably pretty frightening.
GO AHEAD, PIGEONHOLE ME - I DARE YA
I'm a slob. I'll admit it. I have a lot more patience for tapping out a bad impression of Morse code on a computer keyboard than I do for cleaning a litter box - even though I have a fondness for felines.
I'm tall to most people at 6-foot-5, but no, I didn't play basketball in high school. And I didn't look particularly tall when I interviewed Mark Eaton, then the center for the NBA's Utah Jazz, who checked in at a full 11 inches taller than I was - and am (unless I've shrunk in middle age, which is entirely possible).
Philosophy's a "thing" for me, and you might call me a fringe nerd. Turn the TV to any incarnation of Star Trek, and I'm there. But please don't ask me to speak Klingon or tell you what happened on which stardate. Or will happen. I've got other things to memorize, such as miscellaneous arcane rules of grammar, usage (lay vs. lie, further vs. farther) and the like that general populace seems to have forgotten. Gotta stay sharp in this business. You won't make a fortune - unless you're King or Rowling - so you're well advised to get the most you can out of pride in your craftsmanship.
My inspiration? There's a reason for the "muse" in music. When it comes to tunes, I'll listen to everything from Billy Joel to Nightwish to George Strait to P!nk. It's all good. I even went back to school for voice lessons and sing karaoke from time to time in an effort to soothe my frustrated wannabe Freddie Mercury alter ego. When you work night shifts on the copy desk, you don't get the chance to try out for a rock band. Not that I've got the chops to actually sing with professional musicians. At the bar, I always get compliments, but I never win any prizes. I'd rather have an adoring public than an award from some hoity toity types in any case.
Sour grapes? I'm not telling.
I root for underdogs because I identify with them. There's something American about that. Besides, the rewards are sweeter on the rare occasions when they win, and I enjoy living vicariously through the achievements of others when mine aren't coming fast and furious. Lately, though, I seem to be in a good groove, and I plan to stay there for the foreseeable future. If you keep your eyes open, chances are you'll see something I've written, whether it be a book, a column, a blog or a newspaper article. I write. That's what I do. And I'm privileged that enough of you folks out there enjoy it that I can actually make a modest living from it.
Books. Cats. Inspiration. Life is good.
CURRENT PAST
The Cambrian - Managing Editor
Author - Linden Publishing
The Tribune (San Luis Obispo) - Assistant News Editor
The Fresno Bee
The Visalia Times-Delta
The Tulare Advance-Register
Fresno Unified School District
Samaire1.jpg
News Editor, Assistant News Editor
Sports Editor, News Editor
Sports Editor, News Editor
Substitute Teacher
Stephen H. Provost Goodreads Author
Born in Fresno, California, The United States July 05
Websitehttp://www.stephenhprovost.com
Twittersproauthor
GenreParanormal, History, Fantasy
InfluencesJ.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Lynn Asprin, Terry Goodkind, Kiersten White, Sa ...more
Member SinceJune 2016
URL https://www.goodreads.com/sproauthor
edit data
Stephen H. Provost is an author, editor and columnist with more than 30 years of experience as a journalist. He has written on subjects as diverse as history, religion, politics and language and has served as an editor for fiction and non-fiction projects. His book "Fresno Growing Up," a history of Fresno, California, during the postwar years, is available on Craven Street Books, an imprint of Linden Publishing.
His "Memortality," the first release on Linden's new imprint, Pace Press, is out February 1, 2017. His next work of historical non-fiction, scheduled for release June 1, 2017, will examine the history of U.S. Highway 99 in California.
In addition, the author has published several books as Stifyn Emrys, beginning in 2012 with "The Gospel of the Phoenix" and also including the nonfiction works "The Way of the Phoenix" and "Undefeated." He also has published three works of fiction: "Feathercap" (children's); "Identity Break," (young adult science fiction/adventure) and an accompanying novella, "Artifice."
The author served as editor of four young adult novels: the "Mad World" series by Samaire Provost - "EPIDEMIC," "SANCTUARY" and "DESPERATION" - and the award-winning "Lorehnin: A Novel of the Otherworld," Volume 6 in the Otherworld series by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson. He has worked in journalism as a news editor, sports editor and reporter for four daily newspapers in California, and is currently managing editor for an award-winning weekly, The Cambrian. He has worked as an educator and has been featured at occasional speaking engagements.
He lives on the California coast with his wife, stepson, cat and dog. (less)
Here is my interview with Stephen H. Provost
28
Wednesday
Sep 2016
Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized ≈ Leave a comment
Name Stephen H. Provost
Age 53
Where are you from?
Born in Fresno, California; living in Cambria on California’s Central Coast where I’m editor of The Cambrian weekly newspaper and pursuing a second career as an author. My wife, Samaire, is an author, as well.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
My fantasy adventure novel “Memortality” will be out in February. It’s the story of a woman who can bring the dead back to life through the power of her eidetic memory and paranormal gift. It’s my first traditionally published novel and the first title on the new imprint Pace Press. It’ll be out Feb. 1 and is available for presale on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2dqIJjJ. My second historical nonfiction work, on the history of Highway 99 in California, is also due out next year, on Craven Street Books. Meanwhile, I’m writing the sequel to “Memortality.” (I try to stay busy!)
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
I took a creative writing class as a junior in high school and wrote an Arthurian spoof called “The Adventures of Krack.” I’ve been writing in one way or another ever since.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I began getting my stories published in the college newspaper at Cal State University, Fresno.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
That would be “The Phoenix Principle,” which I published under the name Stifyn Emrys. It was my attempt to figure out “where everything came from” – the political and mythological underpinnings of western religion.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Conversational. Action-oriented. I don’t want the reader to get bogged down in a lot of flowery description. I like to move the story along with lots of action and dialogue. And twists. If I’m writing fiction, I love a good twist.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
“Memortality” is a combination of the words “memory” and “immortality.” It came to me in the car when my wife and I were driving home from a book signing for my nonfiction book on the history of my hometown, “Fresno Growing Up.”
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Memories are important. If you can preserve the memories of the people and things that are important to you, you can, in some sense, keep them alive.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
The protagonist, Minerva Rus, is paralyzed from the waist down. I drew some of the inspiration for her character from my mother, who was left paralyzed on her right side by polio as a young teen.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most? a mentor?
Robert Lynn Asprin’s “Myth” series (I love a good pun); Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s “Good Omens”; Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book;” Tolkien (like nearly everyone who enjoys fantasy, I suppose); Terry Goodkind’s “Wizard’s First Rule,” and a bunch of others. No mentor. I’ve worked out my identity as a writer, for the most part, on my own.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest and who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Most recently (although he’s not really new anymore) Ransom Riggs with “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.” I liked his combination of childhood innocence, an original idea and the connection to history he made through the old photos he found at garage sales, swap meets, etc.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
My publisher, Linden Publishing, has been great. Not only did they accept my unagented query for “Fresno Growing Up,” they did a heck of a job with the book and then, on top of that, accepted “Memortality” even though they’ve published very little fiction in the past. The fact that they created a whole new imprint and are kicking it off with my book still blows me away.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
As a journalist, it’s been a career for me for 30 years. Although much of that time has been spent a lot of that has been spent as an editor, I’ve always considered writing my first love. Working as an author is another aspect of that. I’m having a blast.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Nope. I’m very pleased with it. Of course, I’m still waiting for editorial suggestions, so we’ll see!
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
In that creative writing class. After that, I wrote a fantasy book longhand in my early 20s. It was very uneven, and I’ve never tried to publish it, but it was a good practice run for what I’ve done more recently.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
The tagline (which my publisher came up with) is, “Minerva Rus can raise the dead. And it might get her killed.” As you can imagine, being able to revive the dead can make someone the target of everyone from government agents to people with their own agendas. And that’s what happens to Minerva, a 21-year-old introvert who’s isolated herself because she’s been picked on by peers and neglected by her mother. The first dead person she happens to revive is her childhood best friend – who becomes her romantic interest. There are historical connections, fantasy worlds to explore and plenty of danger and intrigue.
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I write both fiction and nonfiction, and I’ve done far more of the latter. I find it easy because all the pieces are there: You just have to find them and put them together in an interesting way, like a puzzle. Fiction is the bigger challenge for me because you have to make things up out of whole cloth, then keep everything straight. I’m not big on formal outlines, because I want the story to take me where it’s going to go, but the more complex the world you build, the more meticulous you have to be in terms of consistency.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
For my historical nonfiction, I’ve traveled quite a bit within California, because I do the photography for the books in addition to writing them. That’s been a lot of fun for both me and Samaire. We’ve gotten to visit the California redwoods and some other beautiful country. I’ve also done some traveling for book signings, and I expect to be doing more of that next year.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
I designed my own covers for the self-published works (eight titles, both fiction and nonfiction) I produced under the pen name Stifyn Emrys. My publisher designed the cover for “Fresno Growing Up.” The cover for “Memortality” is by Claudia Lucia McKinney, whose work can be seen at http://phatpuppyart.com. I was struck by her work and suggested it to my publisher, who was equally enthusiastic. I love what they came up with for “Memortality.”
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
It wasn’t hard at all, actually. The story just flowed. It’s 89,000 words, and it took two months to write from start to finish.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
That I’m not just a nonfiction writer. I can do this.
Fiona: If any of your books was made into a film who would you like to play the lead?
That’s a hard one. Maybe Elizabeth Olsen, who played Scarlet Witch in “Captain America: Civil War.”
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Inhabit your world. When you’re writing, block out everything else and focus on your story as if you’re living it. Imagine you’re the protagonist. Then go for it!
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I think you’ll love “Memortality.” Whenever I write something, I try for something original, and I haven’t seen anything else like this out there. It’s not about ghosts or vampires or werewolves or zombies. It’s an entirely new kind of paranormal adventure.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Mike Fleetwood’s autobiography. I’m a music lover, and I get a kick out of reading biographies of rock musicians.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
“The Horse that Played Centerfield” by Hal Hidgon. I’m also a sports lover. I read it in summer camp because I realized I’d rather read than go horseback riding.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
Laugh: “The Big Bang Theory.” Cry: My father just died last month.
Fiona: Is there one person past or present you would meet and why?
Maybe King Arthur, because I’d love to find out how much of his story is history and how much is myth.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why?
Storyteller, philosopher, historian. Because that’s what I am.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies?
Well, I don’t consider writing a hobby. It’s more of a passion. I enjoy going to concerts, watching football and basketball, traveling.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
“Seinfeld,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Star Trek” (all incarnations), Marvel movies, “Once Upon a Time,” “Grimm,” “Pushing Daisies,” “The Twilight Zone.”
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Food: Mexican. Colors: Blue and forest green. Music: Symphonic rock (Nightwish, Delain); classic rock (Queen, KISS, Def Leppard); but I like some country, pop and classical music, as well.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I probably would have been a historian, because how we got from “then” to “now” fascinates me.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
Blog/author website: www.stephenhprovost.com.
Amazon page: http://amzn.to/2diX6kT.
Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/shprovost.
About the Author
Stifyn Emrys is a veteran journalist and educator who has written on subjects as diverse as history, religion, politics and language. He has served as an editor for fiction and non-fiction projects, and his first book, "The Gospel of the Phoenix," was published in the summer of 2012. This work, based on years of research into the political and pagan origins of Judeo-Christian thought, follows in the tradition of such writers as Kahlil Gibran, Thomas Jefferson ("The Jefferson Bible") and Robert Graves ("King Jesus"). It examines the life of Jesus in biblical style through the lens of sources including the canonical gospels, the Jesus sutras, the Gnostic gospels and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. His second book, "Requiem for a Phantom God," provides a critique of monotheism from a historical and philosophical perspective. Most recently, he has published "The Phoenix Principle: Pagan Birthright of the Christian God," a comprehensive look at the pagan and political underpinnings of the Judeo-Christian tradition. This exhaustive 736-page work will appeal to readers of Sir James Frazer's "The Golden Bough." It offers a look at the strand of mystical tradition that runs from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through Jewish and Christian lore to the legends of Robin Hood and King Arthur. He has also produced "The Way of the Phoenix," a series of fables, proverbs and parables in the tradition of Aesop, the Book of Proverbs and the Tao Te Ching. Also in the non-fiction category, he produced "Undefeated," a series of vignettes focusing on individuals who have triumphed over bullying, bigotry and oppression. More recently, he has published three works of fiction: * "Feathercap," a new fairytale for children and adults. * "Identity Break," the first installment in a new "Identity Quest" YA/science fiction/adventure series and the author's first novel. * "Artifice," a novella in the "Identity Quest" series. He is currently working on the a companion volume to "The Gospel of the Phoenix," as well as the second installment in the "Identity Quest" trilogy. The author has lectured occasionally on the pagan origins of Christianity and continues to research the development of religious traditions. He has worked as an editor, columnist, educator and reporter and serves as editor of the young adult novels "Mad World: EPIDEMIC" and "Mad World: SANCTUARY" by Samaire Provost. He lives in California with his wife, stepson, one cat and one dog.
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Print Marked Items
Memortality
Publishers Weekly.
263.47 (Nov. 21, 2016): p95.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Memortality
Stephen H. Provost. Pace, $14.95 trade paper (260p) ISBN 978-1-61035-289-5
This creative yet clumsy contemporary fantasy opens with a fascinating scenario, but bogs it down with stock
characters and predictable intrigue. A Los Angeles car accident left six-year-old Minerva Rus paralyzed from the waist
down and killed her eight-year-old best friend, Raven. Fifteen years later, Raven returns to Minerva, apparently alive
and all grown up. Minerva soon learns she is one of the gifted few who can bring people back to life--to an extent--
through memories. This gift makes her a target of a secret government agency, and she and Raven are soon caught up in
their dangerous machinations. Short chapters make the suspenseful plot speed along but also give it a choppy feel.
Characters' motivations and backgrounds are often unclear--in particular, not much thought appears to have been given
to what Minerva's life has been like in the 15 years since the accident, except that she's become bitter and isolated.
Provost's debut novel shows promise but will frustrate readers seeking a deeper connection. (Feb.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Memortality." Publishers Weekly, 21 Nov. 2016, p. 95. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA471273969&it=r&asid=fccc5dbf0c8f1a64f9119ec69692a310.
Accessed 12 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A471273969
8/12/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Fresno Growing Up
California Bookwatch.
(Oct. 2015):
COPYRIGHT 2015 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Full Text:
Fresno Growing Up
Stephen H. Provost
Craven Street Books
c/o Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721-9875
www.woodworkerslibrary.com
9781610352505, $24.95, www.CravenStreetBooks.com
Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985 provides the first history of California's valley town of Fresno
to cover the postwar decades many still remember, and combines surveys of the culture, arts, and atmosphere that are
rarely seen in assessments of Fresno's evolution from a small valley farming town to the city it is today. Vintage black
and white photos and some color shots compliment text history and provide a lively survey of what it was like to live in
Fresno after the war, and includes insights on businesses, town personalities, sports, and culture from pancakes to
drive-ins. Any seeking a lively, fun survey of the area will find this an inviting 'must have' local history.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Fresno Growing Up." California Bookwatch, Oct. 2015. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA432680481&it=r&asid=65609a6c9272a9a3d3e5a142db5e77d4.
Accessed 12 Aug. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A432680481
Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985
Stephen H. Provost
Craven Street Books
c/o Quill Driver Books
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
www.quilldriverbooks.com
9781610352505, $24.95, 230pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Stephen H. Provost grew up in Fresno in the 1960s and 1970s, and is now a journalist and author living on California's Central Coast. Therefore he writes in "Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985" with a very special expertise and insight into the people and places of Fresno, California, including Al Radka; Christmas Tree Lane; Fulton Street (before it became the Fulton Mall); Harpain's Dairy; The Sunnyside Drive-In; Dean and Don and The Breakfast Club; Gottschalks; The Tower District -- and so many more parts of Old Fresno, some that are still with us and some that are now long forgotten. "Fresno Growing Up" is the community biography to tell the story of Fresno during the times Stephen Provost remembers, when the city was growing up fast and so was he. "Fresno Growing Up" documents the Fresno experience and Fresno popular culture during its dramatic postwar period, when the city abruptly shifted from a small town to the fastest growing city in the United States. Surveying the businesses, restaurants, movie houses, malls, personalities, sports, bands, and fads that made Fresno fun from the forties to the eighties, "Fresno Growing Up" is a nostalgic look back at both the city's adolescence and our own.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985" is impressively well written, organized and presented. As informed and informative as it is entertaining and absorbing, "Fresno Growing Up: A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library 20th Century American History collections and could well serve as a template for similar histories for community anywhere else in the country.
Stephen H. Provost’s Fresno Growing Up
Nov 30, 2015 04:01AM, Published by Kevin, Categories: Today, Arts+Entertainment in this issue
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Gallery: Book Review, Autumn 2015 - Fresno Growing Up [7 Images] Click any image to expand.
Looking back on the good old days of Fresno might seem a strange exercise to some, but if you lived there between 1945-1985, you just might empathize with Stephen H. Provost when he says he misses the Fresno that used to be.
Provost recently published Fresno Growing Up (Linden), a nostalgic look at the city’s coming of age.
A native son of Fresno who now lives on the Central Coast, Provost got the idea to write the book because he found himself “missing the Fresno I’d grown up with,” he said. “I keep boomeranging back to my hometown – Fresno – which led to my big idea.”
“No one has ever focused on this period of Fresno’s history. Most writers have looked at the pioneer days, founding fathers and politicians,” Provost continued. “I wanted to explore the growing years of Fresno I have such fond remembrance of.
“So I decided to write a nostalgic book that reflected my interests in the Fresno of the past.”
Provost chose to focus less on politics, agriculture and crime – the typical subjects a journalist would be inclined to write about. (Provost is a veteran journalist and currently serves as editor of a weekly newspaper based in Cambria.) The three-part book looks instead at the growth of the city (“Fresnocentric”), pop culture (“Fresnostalgic”) and sports and recreation (“Fresnolympics”).
Provost was surprised to learn how many former Fresnans he wanted to interview now live on the Central Coast. Even more striking to him was the wealth of information he uncovered about Fresno – discoveries that he said left him “utterly fascinated” and provided numerous “I never knew that” moments.
Among the factoids he discovered:
• Cher attended Fresno High until she was 16.
• Kirk Kerkorian left Fresno to become a billionaire investor in Las Vegas.
• The idea of universal credit cards was first tested in Fresno.
• The identify of the arsonist who set a dozen fires in the city during a four-hour period on June 10, 1953 remains one of Fresno’s great unsolved mysteries.
• The best-known local band of the 1960s, the Road Runners, released several hit songs on 45 records.
Born at the old St. Agnes Hospital, Provost lived in Fresno until he was 9 years old. He returned to Fresno when he was 15. He attended Bullard High School and Fresno State, where he served as sports editor of the campus newspaper and earned a journalism degree in 1986.
Provost knew firsthand much of what made Fresno unique during the 1960s-1980s.
He patronized well-known local establishments such as Me-n-Ed’s, Di Cicco’s, Lauck’s Bakery, Harpain’s Dairy, Coney Island, Perry Boys Smorgy and The Upstart Crow, a coffee house in Manchester Center.
“The Fresno I grew up with was smaller, before all the freeways and commercial chains,” Provost recalled. “There were more locally-owned businesses and places with [an] identity, like the Tower District.”
Fresno Growing Up shines a spotlight on several influential figures in local radio and television, including entertainment personality Al Radka and journalists Roger Rocka and Gus Zernial. The book also looks at radio programmer Bill Drake, who perfected the Boss radio format with Gene Chenault at Fresno station KYNO. The format, with its emphasis on fewer records that would be played more frequently by “boss jocks” who spoke sparingly, was wildly successful. Hip radio stations throughout the state soon followed suit.
Quarterback Daryl Lamonica, Indy 500 racecar driver Billy Vukovich, and professional baseball pitchers Tom Seaver, Jim Maloney and Dick Selma are among the local athletes Provost showcases. He also recalls the growing success of the Fresno State Bulldogs at the national level – the NCAA title won by the women’s softball team, the NIT championship won by the men’s basketball squad, and the many bowl victories garnered by the football team. Such successes contributed to the expansion of Fresno State athletics overall and the creation of new, larger stadiums for Bulldog softball, baseball and football.
The vision behind the Fulton Mall is explored in the book and attention is paid to the sculptures and architectural features of the thoroughfare. Provost believes the initial popularity of the outdoor mall was undermined by the need to beat the heat of Fresno. In contrast, Fashion Fair, built several years later in the city’s growing north end, offered patrons a completely enclosed mall with air conditioning. It quickly overtook Fulton Mall as the place to shop.
Provost celebrates Fresno’s rich ethnic diversity and traces the arrival of various immigrant groups to the city, including the Armenians, the Mexicans and the Hmong. He also describes the hardships many of these communities faced. He notes how Fresno was the site of two camps, one at the fairgrounds and another in Pinedale, used in the Japanese American internment program during World War II.
One of the book’s most interesting stories concerns the arrival of migrants from the Midwestern Dust Bowl states. Turns out the former Bible Belters are often credited with influencing the cessation of “unsavory” establishments for gambling and prostitution in the city.
Provost is already at work on a new project. The Golden Road: Memories of Highway 99 in California, will look at the significance of the state’s first major highway to the Central Valley.
Provost lives in Arroyo Grande with his wife, Samaire, who is also a published writer.
“She has always been an encouragement and inspiration to me,” Provost said.
He has written several other books under the pseudonym Stifyn Emrys, including dystopian novels, a collection of historical stories and an old-style romantic children’s book he wrote for his wife.
Fresno Growing Up is available at All Things Fresno, A Book Barn and Petunia’s Place, where Provost will have a book signing on November 28. The book can be purchased online through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Written by Jeffery Williams, a high school English teacher of 27 years. He is also a freelance writer and the award-winning author of the novel “Pirate Spirit.”
Photos courtesy of Stephen Provost.
BOOKS REVIEWED BY KIRKUS:
MEMORTALITY by Stephen Provost
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61035-289-5
MEMORTALITY
Provost (Fresno Growing Up, 2015, etc.) delivers a novel of supernatural suspense about a young woman’s ability to shape reality.
After a car accident at the age of 6 leaves her paralyzed from the waist down, Minerva Rus’ life seems to be one long struggle. Not only did the accident confine her to a wheelchair and kill her dear friend Raven Corbet, it also left her at the mercy of her cruel mother Jessica Meyer, who doesn’t possess the skill set to properly care for a disabled daughter. Fifteen years after the fateful accident, Raven suddenly appears in Minerva’s bedroom. Although he’s now apparently 23, he still wears his old Legend of Zelda T-shirt and shows a fondness for her. But is it really Raven or merely an apparition? Meanwhile, Jessica gets closer to a man named Bradley Carson that she met at the supermarket. He’s no ordinary suitor, but actually an undercover operative whose real name is Anthony Biltmore, working for a secret government organization known as the Federal Intelligence Network. He’s no stranger to covert operations or to the violence that they often require. It’s soon apparent that Minerva possesses a power that’s of great interest to Carson’s organization—one that may get her killed. The narrative takes some time to gather speed, as it begins somewhat clumsily with a flashback to one of Carson’s missions and a slow-paced scene that focuses on Minerva’s difficulty returning to her classes after her accident (“School was different now”). Once things do get going, however, readers will find it hard to predict what will happen to Minerva, particularly as the characters mature and the plot developments blur the line between the living and the dead. Carson proves to be more than just a coldblooded agent, and later portions suggest that even Jessica is capable of change. Although Minerva’s special ability isn’t particularly riveting, the plot possibilities multiply after its revelation.
An adventure that’s slow to get started, but its otherworldly aspects help it to race to its conclusion.
Memortality
We rated this book:
$14.95
The accident that crippled Minerva Rus as a child also killed her friend Raven. So when he appears in her bedroom fifteen years later as an attractive adult man, she dismisses him as a figment of her depressed psyche, especially when he tells her that it’s her photographic memory that’s brought him back to life. But after she taps into the hidden power inside herself, Minerva knows he’s not just a dream.
Now she’s on the run, pursued by a rogue government agent who intends to use her power to resuscitate a long-dead evil straight out of history. But Minerva’s control over her powers is growing, and she won’t let Raven die a second time.
The premise for Memortality taps right into humanity’s soul—after all, who hasn’t dreamed of bringing a lost loved one back to life? But the execution is a study in inconsistencies that made it hard to understand what the limits were. Why does it take 15 years for Raven to come back to life? Did Minerva never think about him in all that time? Provost’s writing is decent, I just wish a little more time had been spent on framing up the world of the Revived so as to cut down on confusion.
Reviewed By: Heather Clawson
Author: Stephen H. Provost
Star Count: 2/5
Format: Trade
Page Count: 260 pages
Publisher: Pace Press
Publish Date: 2017-Feb-01
ISBN: 9781610352895
Amazon: Buy this Book
Issue: July 2017
Category: Science Fiction & Fantas
Book Reviews
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Memortality
Reviewed by Claire Rudy Foster
March 2, 2017
Lost loved ones live on in our memories—at least, that’s what people say. For salty, sarcastic Minerva Rus, memory has the power to resurrect the people she’s lost. Part psychedelic journey, part conspiracy theory, Memortality is an unforgiving fantasy about unfulfilled desire and overcoming unimaginable obstacles.
After a tragic traffic accident that costs Minerva the use of her lower body and her best friend, Raven, Minerva learns that she can summon the dead through her memory. Her power gives her access to a world she didn’t know existed, but it also makes her a target for people who want to misuse her gift. Minerva, who uses a wheelchair, considers her first enemy to be her own unreliable body. However, as she learns to trust herself, she loses her self-hatred.
It’s refreshing to find a disabled main character who isn’t limited by her wheelchair, although Memortality does follow ableist tropes. When she’s reunited with her dead best friend, Raven, Minerva stops thinking of herself as “broken” and begins to see herself as powerful and desirable. Together, the friends face off against a government agent who pursues them through the labyrinth of Minerva’s imagination.
Punchy and fast paced, Memortality reads like a graphic novel. Its short chapters are exciting, well plotted, and compelling. Provost, a reporter, is a no-nonsense writer who delivers on the action without ruminating too much on character motivation or description. His style makes the trippy landscapes and mind-bending plot points more believable and adds a thrilling edge to the novel.
As Minerva regains her confidence, she finds out what she’s truly capable of. As she learns to use her incredible powers, she explores the depths of her mind in this vivid crossover fantasy.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Review: Memortality by Stephen H. Provost
Ricky L. Brown April 11, 2017 Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Review, Romance 0
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Memortality by Stephen H. Provost (February 2017) from Pace Press (imprint of Linden Publishing) is a well-paced adventure filled with horror, mystery, fantasy and a touch of romance. But at its core, the story takes readers into the enigmatic realm between life and death, examining the ultimate “what if” question: What if you could bring the dead back to life?
This is not a retelling of the Mary Shelley Frankenstein saga. No. We are not talking about monsters here. Though the possibilities of evil linger in the background of this story, this is more of an emotional look at the human element and the limitations of our existence.
Anyone who has lost somebody near-and-dear to them knows that dark feeling of helplessness and despair, that yearning to do the impossible, to turn back time before the loss – a mortality do-over. THAT is what author Provost introduces to the readers in Memortality. A well written novel with modern prose and social concerns directed more for the young adult fan, the complex idea of mixing morality and mortality is a fresh twist on the human condition that is sure to draw other demographics as well.
Minerva is injured in an automobile accident that takes the life of her longtime friend Raven, but the realization of a new dark power takes her down a twisted rabbit-hole from which there is no return. After she brings Raven back from the dead, she must learn to harness this magical power while avoiding capture from a determined government agent.
As for the paranormal element, the most intriguing scene involves Provost’s ability to take readers into the void between life and death. This willingness to examine a setting which many writers of supernatural literature tend to overlook is a testament to the author’s confidence; it also brings a sense of believability to the otherwise unbelievable.
The cat-and-mouse plotline are cohesive and genuine to the characters, but the crossover presentation is what separates this work from most others. One such scene occurs when Minerva is guiding Raven through the space between the living and the dead as they encounter Raven’s parents.
“That’s one reason you can’t take them out of here,” she answered. “Raven, you’re dying. You aren’t strong enough. Even if you were, you wouldn’t know how. That’s why I need your help. To save them. This place – I call it ‘Between’ – is like a no-man’s land between life and death. Like what the Catholics call purgatory or limbo.”
The story does close with a satisfying conclusion, but given the vast possibilities of changing history and altering the future, readers will assuredly want – if not expect – more. Memortality by Stephen H. Provost is one of those books that will incite more questions than it answers. And for fandom, that’s a good thing.
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