Wooden Spoons: A novel about life, death, love, and art.

When Professor Daniel Whaley abandons his position at The University of Wisconsin, leaves his wife and isolates himself on a mountain in southwestern Pennsylvania, it appears to be an act of desperation. Events that envelop him during his one year tenure on Hemlock Knob suggest that the professor has been pulled toward a fate that long awaited him. Rising above Lick Hollow, the town where Daniel grew up, Hemlock Knob is where his great-great-grandfather, Adam Reilly, settled after returning home from the Civil War. Daniel remains on the mountain to restore the family homestead, which has been neglected for decades, and, as Adam once did, carves wooden spoons. While thus employed, the professor mysteriously comes to resemble his legendary Irish ancestor in dress and demeanor. Daniel's arrival on the mountain is timely. Attorney Maurice Nicklow and his treacherous son, Donald of Nicklow Developers Inc., are moving to acquire Hemlock Knob for a wealthy client from Pittsburgh. The transformation in Daniel is to his great advantage during the inevitable confrontation with the Nicklows.

Author: Dennis Ruane
Publisher: Walnut Creek Press
Published: 12/10/2010
Pages: 274
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.89lbs
Size: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.62d
ISBN: 9780978748425

About the Author
In 1978, while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Dennis Ruane had two hobbies, writing and woodcarving. At that time, he began keeping a journal with the intention of writing a novel one day. Two years later, he turned his woodcarving hobby into a part-time business when he began carving and selling wooden spoons. In 1982, Dennis abandoned his science career to follow the life of a craftsman and moved back to his native Pennsylvania. At present, Dennis has been self-employed as a woodcarver for twenty-seven years. He continued to write in his journal, but a number of attempts at writing a novel over the years proved unsuccessful. Dennis was never satisfied with these efforts to the extent that he was inspired to continue. Four years ago, as he approached his fiftieth birthday, the urge to write a novel returned. This time a story came together to his satisfaction and a year later, his first novel, "Wooden Spoons", was completed. Because of the encouraging reception of Wooden Spoons by the public, Dennis was inspired to try again. His second novel, "Cataloochee Man", is a story that was inspired by the many hikes that he took through the Cataloochee Valley in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dennis carves and writes from his home and studio near the town of Marshall, North Carolina

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