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Bill's Letter Dear Friends-
It's fall in New England, which may be the best time to be here. The sky's blue, days shortening, and leaves turning. I hope your summer was a good one. Ours was wonderful, although everything is tempered with the sadness we feel over the hardships of people on the Gulf Coast and the continuing war in Iraq. Around here, we ask ourselves every day if we're doing what we can do. Our thoughts (and actions) are with those who need help.
It's also a big change for my family – our youngest son, Dylan, has headed off to college (Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana), and Debbie and I are looking at each other, wondering what to do with the space and time. How do sadness and happiness live so comfortably next to each other? Debbie got another dog so we now have two – she says it's to keep the older dog company, but I suspect other reasons. Food Bank Benefit I want to let you know that on Saturday, December 3, I will be doing a benefit concert for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank at their offices (200 Niantic Ave, Providence). I want to extend a special invitation to you and your family for this special day of songs and stories.
My wife Debbie and I decided to offer our services to the Rhode Island Food Bank to help in their important work insuring that people in our area don't go hungry. You can read more about the Food bank on their website www.rifoodbank.org. With the recent catastrophes in the Gulf Coast and around the world, we're more aware than ever that a generosity of spirit is needed to make sure that all are cared for. All proceeds will go to support the Food Bank's important work.
If you are in the Rhode Island area, and were planning on seeing me in concert, please put this one on your list. There will be two shows, one at 1:30pm and one at 4:30pm. Tickets will be $10 each. For more info or to purchase tickets call 401-942-6325. I'll have my new recordings and picture book there too. We'll send reminders via email as we get closer to the date.
If you aren't in the Rhode Island area, but which to support your local food bank we recommend you check out the Second Harvest website www.secondharvest.org. Second Harvest is a national organization but you can look up local Food Banks by either zip code or state. There's also lots of information about things you can do to help. Traveling around I have a busy fall with appearances in New York, Tennessee, New Mexico, Arizona, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and California – you can check out my concert schedule. With gas prices being what they are, it all makes me wonder how much longer I'll be running around burning fossil fuel – so come see me now! go to Calendar |
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New Releases- I may look like an overachiever this fall, but through some weird timing, there are WAY TOO MANY THINGS coming out by Bill Harley this fall. They include:
Dear Santa - a picture book, illustrated by my friend R.W. Alley, released by Harper Collins (the pictures on this page are from the book).
One More Time – a compilation of songs from previous albums, with the new story “Alicia and the Little Monster.”
Blah Blah Blah – a collection of stories/poems/songs I found in my head one day, including “The Ballad of Dirty Joe”; “Joe, Chloe and the Swamp Monsters”; “Bow Wow Wow”; and “The King of the Clams”. Pretty funny, I think.
Flyboy – a serial middle grade novel, a new chapter released every two weeks, on the Maricopa County (Phoenix AZ) Library System web page http://libcat.maricopa.gov/flyboy/ I'm especially proud of this, and there are accompanying materials for classroom use. I wrote the first draft of this book almost fifteen years ago, it's been rewritten many times before finding a home. AND we're currently working with Peachtree Press to make arrangements for a printed version for next year. I couldn't be happier.
Do It Together - a songbook of some of my most requested songs – with melodies, lyrics and chords, published by Hal Leonard. (Update: We just received word from the publisher and the songbook's release is being pushed back to February. We're so sorry but are please that Hal Leonard is working hard to put out the best book possible. Please feel free to check in with us after the New Year and thanks so much for your patience and understanding!)
Is that enough? Jeez I hope so. You can find them all in The Bill Harley Store. Or go to your local bookstore and plead. |
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Books on the bedstand- I just finished reading Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman by James Gleick. I find myself reading more and more about science and scientists – go figure. I've also enjoyed The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, and Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. I recently re-read The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs, and was reminded how wonderfully creepy his books are, especially for 10-13 year olds looking for something beyond the Goosebump series. What a great writer.
Debbie is reading The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz, In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl and Blessed Are the Cheesmakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch. For those of you who love to cook, her new FAVORITE cookbook is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.
Both boys are in college – do they read anything they're not supposed to? Let us know what you're reading. We're always interested in knowing and glad to share with all of our fans.
to see past book picks go to our books page. |
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From the Office Volunteers: Because we are a small independent record label, we're always trying to figure out ways to publicize all the great songs and stories that Bill Harley performs without going bankrupt. We've found over the years that our best publicity has been word of mouth by people who have seen Bill perform or heard one of his recordings. Therefore we are asking for some help from his fans.
We are looking for volunteers to help promote Bill Harley in your community. Here are a list of ideas of things you can do to let people know who Bill Harley is and why you think they'd like him:
Let us know what you're doing in your community and if you've come up with a great idea that anyone can do! Holiday Special: In addition to our cassette sale (click here to see title list) we're having our traditional Holiday Sale, which means you can get 10% off all of Bill's titles! When you place your order online, you'll need to enter "05NoSnow" in the promotion code and 10% will automatically be taken off. As ever, when you buy 3 or more items, shipping is free. (Sale begins November 12 and ends December 16) |
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