Petoskey, Michigan, is a quaint resort town in the upper part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, population around 6,000. The most exciting stories in headlines of the local paper talk about things like school lunch prices, parking in downtown, and a car accident on cemetery road. About the best thing going for Petoskey is tourism. Strategically located on a bay of beautiful Lake Michigan, tourists flock there to enjoy the scenery as well as recreation, such as, boating, golfing, kayaking and skiing.
Petoskey’s claim to fame is the fact that novelist and journalist Ernest Hemingway spent his childhood summers in the area, and it is the setting for some of his stories. Hemingway is not the only writer to spend his youth in Petoskey. Another favorite son is W. Bruce Cameron; recently named Columnist of the Year by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Cameron was born and raised in Petoskey before moving to Colorado and finding fame as a humor columnist for the Rocky Mountain News.
On August 23 Cameron will return to his hometown to speak at the local Charlevoix Public Library. He will be talking about his newest book, “Emory’s Gift,” due to be released August 30, as well as well as life lessons that he shares in his writing. “Emory’s Gift” is the story of an adolescent boy and a Grizzly bear, and we suspect that Cameron’s life growing up in Michigan may have inspired the story.
Cameron‘s previous novel, “A Dog’s Purpose,” is a best seller that is being made into a movie. Another book, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter,” became a TV series. His latest novel, “Emory’s Gift,” has received mixed preliminary reviews, depending on whether the reader is able to accept and appreciate fantasy or demands that stories be realistic and believable. You can pre-order a copy now from Amazon and decide for yourself.
Autumn is coming soon and we hear that the leaves are glorious in upper Michigan. You might just want to load up the family and take a little trip to Petoskey to check out the scenery and some of the recreational opportunities. Who knows, you might find the inspiration for a story or novel yourself.
~ Sheila Moss
NSNC Web Editor
