Wayne King’s New Novel Echos New Hampshire’s Own Ongoing Battle Over Northern Pass

News Release

For Immediate Release

1/23/18

For more information: 603-515-6001

“Sacred Trust” Now Available in Bookstores and on Amazon

Wayne King’s New Novel Echos New Hampshire’s Own Ongoing Battle Over Northern Pass

If the cover of “Sacred Trust”, created by Mike Marland, doesn’t clue you in, it won’t take long to realize that this novel is written as a vicarious homage to New Hampshire’s own ongoing battle over the controversial “Northern Pass” project and other similar projects.

Author, former State Senator and 1994 Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Wayne D. King adroitly weaves a story with a familiar ring . . . the clash of ordinary people confronting money and power in an epic battle to protect the land they love.

“Sacred Trust” is the tale of a rollicking campaign of civil disobedience against a private powerline, pitting nine unlikely environmental patriots, calling themselves “The Trust”, against the “Granite Skyway” transmission line and its powerful, well-connected consortium of investors.

With an obvious deep fondness for both the people and the land, King weaves a fast-paced tale filled with both real and fictional stories from the political world and life in the Granite State.  In a rich tableau that includes sometimes hilarious and sometimes hair-raising stories of Senators driving North in a Southbound Interstate lane after a night of drinking at the Highway Hotel; Doctors sneaking a pregnant Llama into a hospital surgical ward for ACL surgery; A bear and a boy eating from the same blueberry patch atop Mount Cardigan as his father, the Ranger, watches helplessly from the fire tower, and more.

Among the heroes of the story is Sasha Brandt, an Iroquois woman from Canada. While hiking the Mahoosuc Range of the Appalachian Trail with her companion - a wolf named Cochise - Brandt meets Daniel Roy, a New Hampshire “boy” and now a guide and outdoorsman. After a unique first encounter they continue their trip together, eventually finding themselves camping with an unusual assortment of people including a former Olympic paddler, a conservative deer farmer, a retired spook, sidelined when he became the first US victim of Lyme disease; and an iconoclast and former Army Ranger named Thomas who lives in multiple backwoods abodes in the Great North Woods and rides a moose named Metallak – aptly named for the “Lone Survivor of the Megalloway” tribe, who in the late 1800’s was reputed to ride a moose himself.

The group quickly discovers that – despite their very broad range of ideological beliefs - they are united in their deep concern about the Consortium’s proposal to bisect the most beautiful parts of the state with massive 150 foot towers and clear cut forests for the sole purpose of transporting electricity from Canada to more affluent markets beyond its borders.  Like Oligarchs of the Gilded Age who minimized their costs by creating a legacy of polluted land and water, these modern Oligarchs stand to reap 100% of the benefits while passing off a large portion of their costs through the generations-long visual pollution of the public commons and all the economic shockwaves that result.

Determined to do more than shuffle papers and employ lawyers, the compatriots form a band of brothers and sisters - along with Cochise and Metallak. Armed with only their wits and a lot of heart they embark on a rollicking campaign of civil disobedience that would make Thoreau and Dr. King proud.

Although “Sacred Trust” is a work of fiction, King says that educators will find the novel a great classroom resource as well. Adding a new dimension and lively discussion to classes on the emergence of the renewable energy era, sustainability, and the American tradition of protest and its place in an “Era of Terrorism”.

“in the coming “Age of Electricity” “ King says, “a principal battleground will be over who controls the production and distribution of electric power. Across America today, the battle lines are being drawn. Utility companies, many in an existential battle for survival, are pitted against advocates of a new distributed energy paradigm where small, renewable power sources replace today’s large electricity generation plants.”

“Most Americans” King asserts, “notice that things are changing, but have yet to fully grasp what a sea change in life it will be for every American.”

“Sacred Trust” follows the trail of heroic citizens banding together to stop one especially egregious powerline. The citizens who stand to lose most are dead set against the project . . . but the political winds are against them. It is in this setting The Trust takes on the Consortium.

As the actions of The Trust gain traction and momentum, other citizens join in support including a wave of supporters on social media; “The Gazetteers”, a group of citizen activists writing in the style of the Federalist Papers; and journalists including one business writer who weaves together details of the historic record leading his readers through a virtual primer on the evolution of a post-carbon energy paradigm beginning with the 1972 election of Jimmy Carter and the passage of the National Energy Policy Act into which NH Senator John Durkin inserted an eight word amendment that rocked the world.

"Sacred Trust" is a hilarious and vicarious, high voltage campaign to stop the “Granite Skyway” leading the reader through the hijinks of The Trust, and the series of choices we all are currently confronted in the emerging “Age of Electricity”.

For each of the members of The Trust it is a sacred campaign fought against an impending legacy of steel towers and scarred lands - an existential threat to an entire way of life. The Trust is all that stands between the people and their worst fears . . . and they are willing to pay any price to prevail. 

                                                             

“Sacred Trust”

Paperback: 354 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN-10: 1981490302

http://bit.ly/STPaper

Price: $14.95*

Sacred Trust Kindle eBook

http://bit.ly/STrust

Price: $2.99*

https://thesacredtrust.blogspot.com/

* Special discounts are available to schools, libraries, and nonprofits. Please contact 603-515-6001

Asquamchumaukee - Place of Mountain Waters - A Ramble Through the Baker River Valley

Here's a great idea for holiday gift giving. . .

Asquamchumaukee - A photographic ramble through the Baker River Valley of New Hampshire

Storm Over Tenney Mountain

Asquamchumaukee - Place of Mountain Waters

A photographic ramble through the Baker River Valley of New Hampshire

This book and the images from it are available in a number of different formats including a large landscape hardcover, signed and numbered, limited edition art book; an open edition in hardcover, softcover and eBook formats as well as other related products including calendars, clocks, mugs, cards, posters and prints.

Signed, Numbered Limited Edition, Large Format $165.00

This book requires the artist to sign and number the books, it can ONLY be ordered directly from me at this secure address:

Asquamchumaukee Cover

http://bit.ly/OrderAsquam

Purchase the signed limited edition and receive your choice of two complimentary posters

Open Edition (unsigned) - Large Format $98.76

Available through Amazon.com

Large Landscape Hardcover 13” x 11” 

42 Pages printed on standard paper

http://bit.ly/AsquamNo3

Open Edition Small Hardcover (unsigned) - 8"x10" Format $59.35

Available through Amazon.com

Standard Landscape Hardcover 8” x 10” 

42 Pages printed on standard paper

Hardcover with Dust Jacket: 

http://bit.ly/AsquamNo5

Softcover "Keepsake Version"  8"x10": $39.58

Plus shipping & handling

http://bit.ly/AsquamNo6

eBook from Blurb

42 Pages

$4.99

http://bit.ly/AsquamNo7

Detailed information about Calendars, cards, clocks and other gifts can be found here.

http://bit.ly/Aquam_Gifts

Asquamchumaukee Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Asquamchumaukee-Baker-River-Valley/189924584514401?ref=hl

http://bit.ly/Asquam_FB

Dedication: This book is dedicated to the "Ladies of Got Lunch! Rumney" who saw a need and selflessly stepped forward to help and the millions of heroic people who volunteer in their communities, small and large in the quiet of anonymity and the glow of the hope they create through their actions.

ebook

http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/491117-asquamchumaukee-place-of-mountain-waters-open-edition

http://blur.by/1EISj5I

50% of the net  proceeds from sales of this book will benefit the local "Got Lunch!" programs in the Valley. 

The Need for an Alternative Vision on Tax Reform

The Democrats have missed a golden opportunity in not offering up a competing vision on Tax Reform, even if they cannot do any more than introduce it in a news conference - and by the way its time to reform the rules that allow the majority party to completely ignore proposals from the minority party in the Congress.

I have made it clear that I favor the radical centrist position of eliminating the business tax entirely and shifting all the taxation on income to the progressive income tax.

Most people don't know that currently all those people who have benefitted from the dramatic increase in the stock market pay less in taxes on the sale of stock or their dividends than Americans who earn their income by the "sweat of their brows".

Let me say that again: Work your ass off every day and pay a higher tax rate than the guy (or gal) who doesn't do anything more than move money around.

In other words, passive income is taxed at a lower rate than what is earned by someone with a traditional job. We could eliminate the business tax entirely and bring in MORE tax revenues if we simply asked those who earned passive income to pay taxes at the same rate as other Americans. We could generate substantially more revenues if we also instituted a small tax on stock trades, thus allowing us to lower taxes on middle income Americans in other ways or we could enhance coverage of things that will serve as a public good and reduce cost of living expenses, thus creating the same effect for middle income and working class families.

Can you imagine how the people who are trying to sell the public on the bill currently masquerading as tax reform in the Congress would have to scurry if the Democrats offer a proposal that eliminated the Business Tax, gave all those companies reason to repatriate their money and really lowered taxes for middle income families? Even if the proposal did not shame the majority party into action it would establish a real position that demonstrated genuine concern for working class families and middle income families.

I'm sure to get flack from some folks about this but I'm going to keep saying it until someone listens.

A Childs Walk Thru Lupine

One day left! Free Download October 19-21! "Sacred Trust"

One day left! Free Download October 19-21! "Sacred Trust" A vicarious eco-thriller where citizens take on a "Northern Pass-like" powerline project using creative civil disobedience to stop the travesty. To download the ebook go to Amazon.com and type in any of the following keywords: Eco-thriller, Creative Civil Disobedience, Environmental Action, Sacred Trust. The eBook is free for 3 days only (10/19-10/21). If you like it I'd appreciate a review from you but its not required.

Short cut link:
http://bit.ly/STrust

"Sacred Trust" Published as ebook on Amazon

News Release
For Immediate Release

"Sacred Trust" Published as ebook on Amazon
Available from Kindle Books
Moosewood Communications Publisher

http://bit.ly/STrust

"Sacred Trust" A vicarious, high voltage adventure to stop a private powerline has been published on Amazon.com as an ebook with the paper edition due soon.

Described by one reader as "The Monkey Wrench Gang Meets the Third Industrial Revolution" the book is a fictional account of a group of unlikely compatriots who join together to stop a powerline proposed by a private consortium, employing creative civil disobedience in the traditions of Alinsky, Thoreau and King. 

In the book, Sasha Brandt, an Iroquois woman from Canada who travels with her companion, a wolf named Cochise, meets Daniel Roy, a guide and outdoorsman while hiking the Mahoosuc Range of the Appalachian Trail. The two find themselves unexpectedly camping together on Lake Umbagog with a group of unlikely compatriots including a former Olympic paddler, a deer farmer, a retired spook who was the first US victim of Lyme disease and an iconoclast named Thomas (just Thomas) who lives in multiple backwoods abodes in the Great North Woods and rides a moose named Metallak. The campsite itself is said to have been frequented by the Indian medicine woman Moll Ockett in the early days of the American Republic. 

They find, in short order, that they have one very important thing in common - a deep concern about a proposed private power transmission line proposed to transport electricity from Canada to the toney suburbs of Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. 

The project, dubbed "Granite Skyway", proposes to bring massive 150 foot towers through the most beautiful parts of a state that boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire country.

The threat to the environment and the scenic beauty are only the tip of an iceberg that includes the value of homes, farms and businesses built by generations of men and women in this hardscrabble land. Already affecting life for many caught up in the mere rumor of this proposed transmission line, Granite Skyway poses an existential threat to an entire way of life.

Determined to do more than shuffle papers and employ lawyers, the compatriots form a band of brothers and sisters - along with Cochise and Metallak - calling themselves "The Trust". Armed with only their wits and a lot of heart they embark on a rolicking campaign of civil disobedience that would make Thoreau, Alinsky and Dr. King proud.

While the book is a work of fiction, teachers and professors may find it a book that would add a new dimension to classroom discussions and an interesting touch for classes on sustainability, renewable energy or the American tradition of protest. Woven into the story narrative are news stories by a journalist observing the shifts and upheavals of climate change and the renewable revolution as well as a group of patriots writing in the style of the Federalist Paper authors in opposition to the power project.

Throughout their adventure the members of "The Trust" examine many of the most important questions of our time including how America can continue to make an honored space for free speech and civil disobedience in an era of terror; how social media can help create accountability in an increasingly corporatized mega-media landscape; and, how citizens can challenge the corporate oligarchies that threaten our planet's future.

"Sacred Trust" is written by Wayne King a former State Senator, Democratic nominee for Governor of NH, and most recently CEO of environmental cleanup company MOP Environmental Solutions. Not coincidentally, King worked his way through college as a White Mountain Guide which explains his detailed knowledge of New Hampshire's White Mountains. The book is filled with political and environmental stories that will have you laughing and gasping and wondering what is true and what is fiction. 

"Sacred Trust' is a vicarious, high voltage campaign to stop the Granite Skyway power transmission project and its short-sighted and in some cases greedy corporate sponsors, intent on using political muscle and money to lock up the region's energy production and distribution, short circuiting efforts to bring about an energy future based on sustainable, and renewable energy deployed through micro-grids, smart-grids and a competitive environment that makes energy more - not less - affordable. 


Available from Kindle Books
Moosewood Communications Publisher

Two Wayne King images chosen for North River Arts Juried Show "Focus on Figures" Juried Show April 22-30, 2017

Two of Wayne King's images have been chosen for North River Arts Juried Show "Focus on Figures" Juried Show April 22-30, 2017

On The Vineyard:

Woman sits on a beach along the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Monochrome image printed through textured glass and used for the creation of two limited editions. The first an edition of 10 individually hand painted prints.

The second edition is a limited edition of 100 printed using one of the hand painted images and scanned for output with archival inks. The image is used for creation of a digitally initialed open edition but otherwise archived and kept only for historic purposes and publications. To purchase a 1st or 2nd edition original, or an open edition digitally initialed print, click here: http://bit.ly/1mwWnk1

Into a Misty Wood:

Male nude runs into a misty wood.Only one original edition of 10 prints of this image is created, signed, dated and with a certificate of authenticity Printed on fine art paper with archival inks. The image is used for creation of a digitally initialed open edition but otherwise archived and kept only for historic purposes and publications. To purchase an original contact the artist at waynedking9278@gmail.com. Or click here: http://bit.ly/2ooGnCz



The Exhibit is open for one week only, beginning with an opening night reception April 22 from 7-10pm at the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA. For directions, click here: http://northriverarts.org/index.html

Holiday Cards

Holiday Cards made from award winning Moonlight on the Stone House image. Peace, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Peace on Earth themes. Click here.