There’s a true genius in Holton. As is often the case, a genius sometimes is misunderstood, even to themselves. The author on the book says L.D. Fooks. In Holton, he’s more commonly known as Dave…he’s behind thousands and thousands of plants being grown annually. He’s provided watermelons to the Holton Area Schools as a sweet lesson in the importance of food sustainability and now, after 40 years of trying to find the words….a dark series of fantasy novels is out! “The Bond” is the first part of the saga. Let’s get caught up with “L.D.”
Dave’s next steps always amaze me. His proficiency at plants and deep knowledge of growing them to be self sustainable is hard to top. Then, he comes along with an experienced based learning opportunity for elementary school kids at Holton Schools that ends up providing fresh, delicious watermelon….for the whole school for over a week. Now, he’s find a way to get his mind to begin to output what’s in there artistically and share with the world a deep and dark saga that crosses time, dives in to the darkness of what we thought we knew and draws from a deep base of being restricted as a kid from a few things…that to many seem harmless.
Growing up, the idea of fantasy was forbidden. However, at a friends house, Dungeons and Dragons set off a spark inside Dave. Only thing is, as the images and story lines developed, he had no way to get them out. Family beliefs stagnated things like that thinking they may lead to distraction from faith. The story didn’t stop though. Life kept coming and time goes by, and like many of us can relate, we tend to think of what we once dreamed as “childsplay” and as it gets forced deeper down, it gets harder to express it. Not wanting to go to the grave someday without at least trying…Dave set to typing, on the only device handy…his phone. Speaking of the grave……
“The Bond” is the first in this series. What if vampires were not much different than us? Average everyday Joe’s who didn’t sleep in coffins, avoid sunlight, freak out when there’s holy water and all that? But, they are eternal creatures and truly the undead? Welcome to this series. It’s not recommended for younger audiences. Dave wants to point that out first and foremost. Very much a freedom of speech guy, Dave is quick to point out that with freedom of speech, comes responsibility and this is NOT a “teen friendly graphic novel”. It is an idea of the true complexity of what it would be to be a vampire and the darkness the surrounds a hidden life. That’s kind of a metaphor of the darkness that surrounds anything we have to keep hidden doesn’t it?
The book has gotten a lot of attention from publishers and critics, but to get it out, self published was one of the steps Dave wanted to take for his kids to see. Much like his plants and educational growing experiences, showing and implementing by example for his kids, and other kids who have been along for a lesson or two with Dave is paramount. He’s even found a way to help another local author..”The Artless Poet” get published through this work, including their poetry in his books and featured in the stories. It’s a lesson we can all share no matter how long it takes to “get out” of us. Lead by example….do it…don’t just talk about it. Like L.D. Fooks…..the day will come when it’s time to tell your tale….and when it does, what you need will be there for you to tell it with. Even if it’s a cell phone with a keyboard on it.
Our congratulations to Dave on this milestone. To get yourself a copy, you can scan the QR Code. You can CLICK HERE for a copy from AMAZON. You can order a hardcover copy by CLICKING HERE. Barnes and Noble shopper? CLICK HERE
To follow the series on Facebook, CLICK HERE.
