May 21, 2009

Local author’s book to benefit

Ritzville chamber, Project 56

Ritzville resident and civic volunteer Miles Athey has published a book of ‘zany cowboy poetry and sagebrush wisdom’ with the sole purpose to support two community organizations.

The book, Stay Small In The Dark, is available for purchase during the Historic Ritzville Days Western Art Show this weekend as well as at the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce office on Main Avenue.

Athey wrote the book under the pen name of Cowboy Mac. All proceeds from this book will be shared by Project 56 and the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce for revitalization of the Ritzville downtown district and the Lind-Ritzville athletic facilities.

The books retail for $10. Athey has indicated that each organization will receive at least $2 for every book that’s sold.

Athey’s biography includes more than 300 articles on business, education, engineering, science and health topics for radio, newspapers, journals and professional societies, two dozen classified reports for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, dozens of engineering and environmental reports for industry and more than 50 major environmental assessment and impact reports.

In addition to printed works, Athey wrote and presented a series of 50 one-minute radio spots, Consider This, on marketing and management keys for business owners that aired for a year on radio station KRKO of Everett in 1987.

He published his first novel in 1991, and has written seven stage plays since1992. His works of poetry began in the mid 1960s. His first poetry was penned under the moniker of Red Fang and was regularly read on the air by Jim Dunbar (Radio Station KGO, San Francisco) host of Saturday Night Mysteries.

In 2007, Miles’ poem, Shalom, won him the honor of Distinguished Poet of 2007 by Poetry.com and, as such, was published in 2007 as the first poem in the compilation, Forever Spoken, International Library of Poetry.