New Books in the Works

This year will see 2 new books!  Nature's Garden of Crystals is described in the December 23 blog (Please scroll down for details). Already have lots of enthusiasm expressed and have a line up of beautiful images already. Will post example images as time rolls along. (Be sure to subscribe to this blog for updates.) Whether Tucson 2010 is better than expected or worse than expected, Nature's Garden of Crystals should reach it's minimum number of subscribers. (If business is good, optimism will prompt subscriptions, if business is poor, optimism will prompt subscriptions.) At any rate, advertising accelerates sales. Of course, figured specimens don't have to be for sale and the intent of the book is to provide an artistic venue about good specimens for public appreciation. All of the authors so far have opted for an aesthetic discussion of their minerals combined with the historical lore associated with the specimens. The content is very interesting! Publication is anticipated before the end of the year, 2010. Pre-orders will be accepted in November, 2010. Be sure to re-check up-dates of this blog.

Book 2: Collector's Guide to Granite Pegmatites was submitted to the publisher on December 8, 2009. The pre-layout was corrected in May, 2010. This book will also be available in December, 2010 and pre-orders will be accepted in November.

Up-coming Books


Minerals After Dark is being prepared and will appear in 2011. Research, writing, and photography is partly finished. This book is about collecting fluorescent minerals and will have an entirely new approach to this beautiful aspect of our hobby.  Be sure to re-check up-dates of this blog.

I had hoped to complete a new history in 2010. It is about the gem mining in the Newry-Rumford, Maine mining district, and which has the working title: Tourmaline and Goldfields of Maine: Newry's Secret. But funded projects must take precedence over labors of love (Besides, the companion volume - Minerals of Oxford County - Northern District will have a huge number of species to work on. Newry's Secret is about half way through writing. Research is about 80% completed.) This will have to be a 2012-2013 book. The new history of Mount Mica (I have a great title to be revealed later; over 400 pages written so far!) and the companion book Minerals of Oxford County - Eastern District is also scheduled for 2012-2013. The remaining books in the sequence George Howe: Founder of the Boy Scouts and the Campfire Girls: Norway, Maine (400 pages of text so far) and Minerals of Oxford County: Southern District will be finished in 2013-2014. (George Howe is the man who named Watermelon Tourmaline.)
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In the immortal words of Robert Frost: "Miles to go before I sleep".