BRINNON — Mitch Luckett fell for the Duckabush River valley at first sighting. He wanted to honor this, his adopted home, and to use storytelling skills learned in the wilds of the Northwest.
Now Luckett, the retired Sanctuaries Director for the Audubon Society of Portland, Ore., has released The Man in the Loon, a novel whose heroes are a man and, yes, a common loon.
The book stars the troubadour Harp P. Gravey, his dog Medusa and Qo-oo-la, his avian avatar, alongside the fictitious Dosanomish River. They share a community Luckett calls Port Quinnon — that’s Brinnon, Hoodsport and Quilcene spliced — with the lovely veterinarian April Old Wolf. Then there’s her father Malcomb, a semi-shaman who introduces Harp to another world.
Available as an e-book only, The Man in the Loon is fantasy, magic realism and murder mystery interwoven. It comes from a writer who’s seen plenty.
Born in Hawk Point, Mo., Luckett grew up on a hard-scrabble, red soil and limestone farm. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, then went to Truman University in Missouri. He landed in Portland in 1971 and has worked as a school bus driver, private-school counselor, juvenile court counselor and music teacher. The last 17 years before retiring to Brinnon, he worked for Portland Audubon, caring for its sanctuaries and writing for its newsletter The Warbler.
Luckett is well known in these parts for his music; he plays banjo, guitar, ukulele and harmonica at farmers markets and fairs around the North Olympia Peninsula. His CD, “Tall Tales and Bluegrass,” is available via www.MitchLuckett.com.
He’s also a contributor to the Peninsula Daily News, having written Point of View columns on topics including the adventures of Mim, his West Highland terrier, and Milo, his mutt-terrier. Luckett has written some two dozen pieces for the PDN since 2009, and said he has plenty more in his “half-baked oven.”
Luckett’s website has links to his new book, too, as well as to its predecessor. The Man in the Loon is a sequel to To Kill a Common Loon, his 2001 novel. Signed copies of the trade paperback are available via the site.
Both To Kill a Common Loon and The Man in the Loon can be purchased in the e-book format through Amazon.com; BarnesandNoble.com; Smashwords.com; Diesel-e.books.com and ebookstore.sony.com.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.