09:40 – Barbara just called from Winston. She has a few more errands to run, then lunch with friends before she leaves for home. She should be back in Sparta mid-afternoon. We’ll need to get the kitchen cleared for the guys from Blue Ridge Electric Co-op, who are arriving tomorrow morning to install a 250-gallon propane tank, run lines, and install our gas cooktop.
I’m re-reading the first three books in Franklin Horton’s Borrowed World series. If you haven’t read them, you should. Horton is one of the very, very few recent authors whose PA novels deserve an A+. There are other decent new-breed PA novelists–notably Angery American (AKA Chris Weatherman)–but Horton stands head and shoulders above the scores of other recent PA novelists I’ve read. His books are as good or better than classic PA novels like Earth Abides, Lucifer’s Hammer, and the like.
After I read the first Borrowed World title, I emailed Franklin to congratulate him for doing a stellar job. We started corresponding regularly, and at one point seriously discussed co-authoring a non-fiction prepping book. Franklin regretfully concluded that he just couldn’t fit it into his schedule, at least right now. He’s currently putting the finishing touches on his fourth and latest Borrowed World novel, and I offered to do a “sanity check” read-through, which he immediately accepted. I’m re-reading the first three right now to make sure I have context for doing a kitchen-cabinet pass on his first draft.