Pat McGauley

It’s warm and rainy and across the lake (beyond the window where I’m sitting) is an old alligator waiting for the sun to pop out so he/she can bask in the promised sun. Obviously, I’m not in Hibbing this morning. In Hibbing it will be a frigid minus thirty something. In Naples, Florida it’s supposed to be . . . well, I’m not going to elaborate beyond what I’ve already said. I have a nice place here–a new condo in the new community of Traviso Bay which is a few miles east of Olde Naples and the Gulf coast. Actually, the community was carved out of the Everglades and it teems with wild life–critters that can do some damage if you wander off where you shouldn’t go. I’ve enjoyed furnishing the place and getting settled and have played the nearby TCP golf course a couple of times. Life is good . . . I am blessed.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and are ready for a wonderful 2014. I was able to share Christmas with my daughter (Erin) and her family and my inlaws. My lovely granddaughter, Grace Ann, experienced her first Christmas and stole the show without even trying. Kids can do that.
I’d like to extend my wishes for a Happy New Year to each of you. I’m superstitious and have always preferred even-numbered years so I’m especially optimistic. My last book, ‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ has been off to a good start and has been nominated for a Minnesota Fiction Award and the NEMBA award as well. Ironically, I’ve still been unable to get the book to the shelves of Twin Cities Barnes and Noble stores. HELP ! ! If you haven’t read it, please ask your local book store to get some copies. Seriously, my FB friends can help a lot. (Oh, the book is available on Kindle and Nook and can be ordered through Amazon.)
A winter’s work lies ahead. I’m ready to start the next story even though I don’t have a clear idea of where it might go. I do know that Father Mickey (my protagonist in the past two books) will proved the energy, the story will be set within a contemporary frame-work, and will probably move from northern Minnesota to southwestern Florida in some fashion. It’s exciting when you don’t know where your characters are going to take you. The places that I know the best are Hibbing and the Range, Duluth, and the Gulf coast so that’s where my creativity is grounded. I do have a ‘working title’ which is always subject to change–‘The Last Moran’–and a nifty connection to my past two novels to get me off in the right direction. Some of my readers have suggested that Father Mickey is too handsome and cool to remain committed to his priestly calling and would delight if he went afoul in some manner. I won’t specify what manner and I really don’t know if such a thing is possible. We’ll have to see . . .
One thing I will be doing, after I push myself away from this computer in mid-morning, will be driving up to Ft. Myers where the Twins hold their spring training. My favorite team has upgraded their pitching staff and made a few minor moves and will . . . absoluteley WILL be much improved.
Again, my sincere wishes that you and your loved ones have the best new year ever. I’m planning on doing just that myself. God Bless . . .

Is it the ‘luck of the Irish’ or . . . is the power of prayer? Whichever, the past week has been like getting a gorilla off my back. First, the sales of my new book–‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ have been most encouraging and the word from my readers most positive. Next, my computer/website guru, Jeremy Hendrickson (with the files created by Renee Anderson) has put the new title on Kindle and Nook for those of you who are e-readers. I’m hoping to get ‘The Hibbing Hurt’–my top selling title– on Kindle, etc. soon.
In a previous blog I mentioned meeting best-selling author William Kent Krueger at a book event. Well, the last time I saw Kent I gave him a copy of ‘The Sons . . .’ and asked him to let me know what he thought of the story. He agreed and offered to give me a ‘cover blurb’ for my next publication. Would you believe he actually followed up on that! Here’s what he gave me for all and any future promotions: “Pat McGauley is an author who knows his territory, and knows how to write a compelling story. It would be difficult to find a more authentic literary voice coming out of Minnesota’s North Country.” To say that I was flattered by his endorsement is an enormous understatement.
When you’re on a roll things fall into place. For weeks I’ve been trying to interest an established book distribution company to open the door to Barnes and Noble stores across the country–and especially in the Twin Cities. That also happened this week! Partners Distribution of Holt, Michigan signed a contract with me and ordered five cases (and four titles) of my books. That means that I’m in the BN system and any of their stores can order these titles for their customers. I have written to all ten BN’s in the Cities Metro Area and encouraged them to order my books from Partners. Now–once again–I’m asking my friends on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and in my small email directory to help me out. If you and your friends and your relatives and coworkers and neighbors will go to the local bookstore and ask for any of these titles:
-The Sons Of Marella Windsong’
-A Passage of Redemption
-Saint Alban’s Day
-The Midnight Hour (a delightful children’s Christmas story)
I would be delighted . . . and you will be rewarded with a wonderful read. Guaranteed! I’d have to say that Kent Krueger was ‘spot on’ with his endorsement. Honestly, I’ve had great feedback on all of these as well as my seven previous books.
Now that many loose ends have been tied I’m eager to get back to writing my next story. I have a few vague ideas right now but with some ‘Irish luck’, and with more than a few prayers, I’m hopeful that the next story will be told. After Thanksgiving I’ll be off to Florida for a while. My last two books have been largely written down there. I keep a mental picture of ‘home’ (Hibbing and Minnesota) alive in my thoughts so while I’m away I can draw on a million mental pictures of the North Country. On my trip down I’ll make a Michigan stop and visit my son and his family–I’ve got three wonderful grandchildren there and Maddie will be having a 3rd Birthday party while I visit. Daughter Shannon will up in Hibbing for Thanksgiving and daughter Erin (and family) as always will be getting my place in Naples in fine order. Of my many blessings in this life, my family is my greatest treasure and my friends are the icing on the cake of life. As a footnote, one of my longest and dearest friends passed away last month. Those who knew Pat McNulty will miss him always.
My wishes to all of you for a blessed and bountiful Thanksgiving. God bless . . . Pat

Contrary to what most people might believe, writing a story is truly a joy . . . creating the people and places and plotting scenarios is a creative ‘trip’ for me. I almost hate to add ‘The End’ to my months of escape into a fantasy world of my own making. It’s everything that follows the story-telling . . . it’s all that needs to be done when the story becomes a book. That’s when I begin my journey from an imaginary world to reality.
My new story, ‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ is now a copyrighted, ISBNed book of 296 pages and ready for its introduction to the marketplace. I’ve invested a considerable sum of money to get the story to this point and now I will try to recoup the expenses. I try not to stress over the sales aspect although I often lament the cases of unsold titles staring from the bowels of storage. “They will sell . . .” I keep reminding myself as I add twenty new cases to the overloaded shelves. “This one is different.” “This one transcends the regional ‘label’ some have given to my first eight novels.” “This one will appeal to a broader demographic (younger readers and men) than my earlier books have done. I should clarify, however, I have sold thousands of books over the years to all kinds of readers . . . but, alas . . . I wish more men were readers of fiction. I will be getting some feedback next week as my story is the ‘book of the month’ selection for the esteemed literary society know as the GMMBC. The only preliminary review was emailed from RD . . . “Your best yet. Bravo!” he said. I’m encouraged.
This weekend I introduced the new book to several literary folk at the Minnesota Book Festival in St. Paul. Something I’ve not done before. And, also for the first time, my book has been nominated for the ‘Minnesota Book Award’ in the fiction category. I have put copies of ‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ in the hands of William Kent Kreuger and Jim Northrup, two award-winning Minnesota authors. Each had promised a review. Earlier this week I made a circuit of Twin Cities book stores–a humbling experience to say the least. Most owners don’t want to carry ‘unknown’ authors and/or ‘self-published’ authors from the boondocks. (They didn’t day that last part but I had a feeling nevertheless). And, the cost of hiring a distributor who can get the book in the big box stores is too prohibitive for my little publishing company. To say that I was majorly frustrated is an understatement. I did, however, succeed in getting copies of ‘The Sons . . .’ in two great St. Paul bookstores: Micawbers (on Carter Ave) and SubText (on Western–in the historic Blair building). Kudos to both.
Now, having said all that, I feel compelled to ask a HUGE favor of those who read this blog. Please call or visit your local book store–especially Barnes and Noble stores and especially in the Cities–and ask for this book. When told “We don’t have that title,” ask them to order it from corporate. Ask your friends to do the same. If you not only demand the book but actually purchase a copy I guarantee that you will enjoy it. A strong word is ‘GUARANTEE’–but a confident word as well.
Today I will get ‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ on the shelves of Howard Street Booksellers in Hibbing and later this week at the Bookstore at Fitgers in Duluth. It should be available on Amazon and will become a Kindle and Nook read in November. With your help good things can happen. Thanks from me and Father Mickey and God bless.

For most of my life September has been the most special of months. Being a teacher, my years held two seasons–the school term and summer vacation. Labor Day weekend was always colored with shades of melancholy and expectancy . . . sadness that summer had passed and the adrenalin rush of a new classes to share my love of teaching with. Yes, love! If nothing else, I always brought a fresh energy and enthusiasm to each new year and found myself lamenting the graduation of each crop of seniors that turned onto another of life’s many roads. But, like this marvelous summer, that part–the teaching part– of my life has passed and my Septembers have been filled with fresh, although different, expectancies. I guess I’ve never really been retired. Let me explain. Each of my eight novels have been projects of approximately nine months from September to May–from the first awkward sentence to the final ready-to-publish manuscript. So, writing has replaced teaching these past twelve years. Ironically, my books take about the same amount of time as a teaching year and . . . a pregnancy. And, however corny it may seem to any woman who has experienced childbirth, a new book is like a new child in my not-to-be misunderstood scheme of things.
Speaking of which, very shortly another new book will be born. I’ve already blogged about the latest Moran family adventure and my ‘great expectations’ for it– but now I will have something tangible. “The Sons of Marella Windsong’ is with the publishers as I share this news today. Just the other night, my website maestro, Jeremy Hendrickson, added a ‘Coming in October’ page. (If you, or somebody you know, could use a professionally designed website, check my link or go to Dedicated Web Services.) As with ‘A Passage of Redemption’, Renee Anderson at Express Print designed a fantastic cover. Kudos to both Jeremy and Renee and to Gail Nevalainen and Sandy Bolf who did a super editing job.
And speaking more of which, there is a baseball substory in ‘The Sons . . .’, a Minnesota Twins element that blends my fictional characters with some of the real people in the Twins organization. If you know me you know of my passion for our beleaguered Twins. I continue to watch the games, study the box scores, debate the ebb and flow of the season with my coffee buddies, and try to find that ray of hope that next year will be better. I’ll admit that it has been another painful year, capped with the trade of my favorite player, Justin Morneau.
Finally, I hope that your summer was as productive and enjoyable as mine. Reflecting on some of my highlights: a wonderful family reunion at my brother David’s home, my fourth ‘Irish Fest’ in St. Paul,
a weekend outing at Dinter’s place on Crane Lake with the book club guys, a few book events across the Range, a few hundred biking miles, a couple of Twins games (both losses), a garden that offered marvelous blooms all summer, and time with Gail. This year my oldest granddaughter, Cali, began her senior year at Shakopee High, my grandson, Braden entered Kindergarten in Novi, Michigan. Noah and Madeline McGauley will follow their ‘big brother’ to school in the next couple of years. Each of my six grandkids are my greatest love in this life and I miss not seeing enough of them. In two weeks, I’ll make a brief trip to Florida to visit Erin and Jim and see my darling new granddaughter, Grace Ann, and her big brother, Jack. I have a wooden sign on my deck that reads . . .’Faith, Family, and Friends’–that’s what life is all about. God bless.

P.S. If you want to pre-order an autographed copy of my new novel–or purchase any others– email me from this website. (The book along with S/H is $18.00.) I hate to taint this blog with a promo, but please forgive my indiscretion.

I had the day off today (extended vacation time) and no had plans whatsoever. When that happens, and it happens quite often, I’m most likely to do one of two things: work in my garden and/or go biking. Often both work out.
Anyhow, I’ve added a new ‘plot’ near the alleyway fence and wanted to find some rocks for making a border. I have a favorite ‘rock-hunting place and decided to go hunting. It was hot and humid again this morning so I wanted to get my chores out of the way early. I took the pickup to a gravel pit east of Ranger Chevrolet on the beltline to do my exploration. Although I knew that beyond the pit the road went up into the old mine dumps, I’d never driven up there. I also knew that there was an airplane accident memorial somewhere up the road. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’ve never been up to the memorial site, despite the fact that I knew two of the passengers that were killed there.
The road was rather well marked and wound through some interesting country–in many places the vistas were quite awesome and I got out of my truck more than a couple of times to wander around. It was quite obvious that the road did not get much traffic and at times it resembled an old logging road.
Being intrigued by our area’s history, wandering in old abandoned and overgrown mining locations puts me a ‘mood’– I’m always reminded of those miners who labored in the many gaping pits from that bygone era. Probable the historian gene in me is piqued by the thoughts of the danger. Anyhow, I found the memorial without difficulty. A metal cross about eight feet tall has been erected there. On the cross are the names of the eighteen people who were killed when the Northwest Airlink Flight 5791 crashed into the side of a mine dump on its decent toward the Hibbing airport. At the base of the cross were several chunks of iron ore and a weathered artificial flower that someone had left long ago. How soon we forget. It has already been twenty years since that historic tragedy.
I remember that December night quite well. It was unseasonably warm and foggy; snow was melting on my driveway. I remember that two of my friends were among the first responders to locate the crash–one was a doctor and the other a newsman. The airplane was demolished. It was December 1, 1993. The time was 7:58 PM.
As I stood on the flat top of the dump, I tried to imagine exactly where the plane might have crashed. The walls of the dump are quite steep there. It was an eerie feeling for sure. While standing at the site I wondered . . . twenty years ago a cross was considered to be an appropriate ‘memorial’ marker. I wonder if the government would consider such a ‘Christian’ display appropriate (or politically correct) in our present times. I was disturbed by that thought. I still am.
Oh, I did find some nice rocks and some chunks of iron ore as well. Whenever I see them I will be reminded of that night twenty years ago. And I’ll say a prayer. God bless.

July 6, 2013
The Fourth of July was gorgeous. We (Gail and I) went out to Side Lake for the annual parade and then to Bimbo’s for pizza. Great pizza! On par with Sammy’s and Vi’s in Biwabik. And, later, I flipped some ribeyes on the grill. Not a bad day. As you may know, Hibbing on the 4th is a quiet place. For the smaller Range towns, Independence Day is community ‘reunion’ day–from Nashwauk and Keewatin to the west, and Eveleth, Gilbert, Biwabik, and Aurora to the east– there are parades and fireworks and the beer flows in typical Ranger abandon. The big towns, Virgina and Hibbing and Grand Rapids have their own summer festivals– the ‘Land of the Loon, the ‘Mines and Pines’ or ‘Jubilee’, and Tall Timber Days, respectively. Speaking of Hibbing, my adopted ‘home town’, next weekend is the Jubillee celebration with parade, races, art and craft shows, and the always fun Saturday night street dance. (I’ll be one of the arts vendors during the day; selling/signing books and visiting with anybody that stops by to say hello.) Next year, Hibbing is planning a huge all-class reunion in July–should be a wonderful time so (if you have Hibbing roots) make your plans early.
Since returning from Florida at the end of May, I’ve been working on my next novel for an hour or two on most days. Gail has done some thorough editing and I’ve been doing another rewrite–the fourth, I think. Hope to file copyright papers next month and have a finished book by the fall. ‘The Sons of Marella Windsong’ will be my eighth novel and, I think, the best so far. ‘So far’ . . . seems to imply that one or more will follow. I hope so. I met William Kent Krueger last month at a book event and purchased his latest novel, ‘Ordinary Grace’. He feels that it is his best writing yet and he’s had several NY Times bestsellers. He has stepped out of his usual genre and crafted a truly wonderful story. I’m inspired to do a ‘first person’ story and hope it will turn out to be a fraction as good as his. Krueger is a classy guy, he was thoughtful enough to purchase a signed copy my last novel.
The ‘backside of summer’ has also been the ‘backslide of summer’ for my beloved Minnesota Twins. Despite their travails I continue to watch them on TV every day. Masochism! Although difficult to justify, I’m planning to get down to the Cities for two games at Target Field before the end of the summer. Our ‘Greater Mesaba Men’s Book Club-GMMBC- had it’s annual outing at Rich Dinter’s place up on beautiful Crane Lake last month. Beer and bean bag competitions preceded the ‘intelectual hour’. Some selected few from the club will be Rich’s guests at a Twins-White Sox game next month. The Sox are the only team worse than our Twins.
In closing, I would like to share a bit of trivia–on this day in 1937, the world was introduced to SPAM from Hormel of Austin, MN. The name was derived from ‘spice and ham’ according to the Hormel officials, but . . . to most, it’s better known as ‘something passing as meat.’ Also, on this day in 1954, Elvis recorded his first song: ‘That’s All Right (Baby)’–just thought you’d like to know.
Have a wonderful remainder of the summer. God bless . . .