About the Book, Dreams of Arcadia 
- Genre: Contemporary Fiction
- Publisher: Legacy Book Press
- Date of Publication: June 27, 2023
- Number of Pages: 222 pages
- Scroll down for Giveaway!
Veterinarian Nate Holub takes a job in his father’s Texas hometown, wondering if a city boy has what it takes to be a country vet. As he struggles to adapt, Nate reconnects with his family and discovers that his father’s accidental death thirty years earlier was much more complicated than he realized.
Nate delves into the past, afraid of what he might find. He encounters a resentful cousin, a wary town patriarch, a reclusive uncle, a beguiling hidden garden, and a mysterious illness. Nate is drawn to the Holub family farm, where he seeks refuge in nature and tries desperately to reach Viola, his inscrutable grandmother. The farm is a place that haunts his memory, a place where dark secrets dwell.
Dreams of Arcadia is a touching portrait of an American family. It explores the enduring ties that hold us together and bind us to the land.
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About the Author, Brian Porter 
Brian Porter lives in College Station, Texas, where he works as a veterinary pathologist.
He previously worked in private veterinary practice and once taught high school chemistry.
Dreams of Arcadia is his first novel.
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My Thoughts 
On the surface, Brian Porter’s debut novel Dreams of Arcadia is a simple story of a man returning to his rural roots. But in the deft hands of this virtuoso storyteller, Nate Holub’s story is more than merely simple. Rather, it explores the complex relationships we all have with the places where we grew up, the people who raised us, and the dreams that were dear to us, some of which never came true, and some of which evolved into unexpected choices. In this case, we have a “big city” veterinarian who has returned to his rural Texas hometown to discover new facets of himself, and the father who died thirty years before. Nate is a father himself, which adds depth to the story. In addition to discovering truths about his family, he must also provide a strong foundation for his girls – one that is tied to the land he came from,
but not necessarily beholden to it.
I’ve worked in pet rescue, so I’m a sucker for an animal story, even when it’s really a people story, as Dreams of Arcadia is. In this case, I felt making Nate a veterinarian was a wise choice. Moments with the animals and vet staff interjected light and humor when they were needed, but also provided poignant counterpoint at times. I got a kick out of Nate limiting a local farmer on the amount of medicine he’d provide, so he wouldn’t treat the entire rural community. I also think Nate’s rapport with animals also softened some aspects of the story, like his relationship with his cousin Wink – who seems to have an issue with him – and with his aging grandmother Viola and his aunt Ruthie and her family.
I appreciated the pacing of this novel. Nothing was rushed, but neither did the story feel like it was too slow. Rather, this was the literary equivalent of a balmy summer day. You know crisper weather is lurking behind the sunny skies but you have time to savor the light and heat. I also loved the vivid descriptions of the land, especially the gardens – including one that’s essentially secret – where Nate finds himself. The land in this novel is truly a character in its own right. Part family drama, part “All Creatures Great and Small – Texas edition,” and part mystery, this book has elements to please any reader, and what’s better is that they form a cohesive whole and satisfying story.
Goes well with a summer salad with garden fresh greens, nuts and berries, and a glass of sweet tea.
Giveaway
THREE WINNERS:
Signed copy of Dreams of Arcadia.
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 7/7/23)
Visit the Other Great Blogs on This Tour
Click to visit THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE for direct links to each blog on this tour, updated daily, or visit each blog directly:
| 06/27/23 | Shelf Life Blog | Excerpt |
| 06/27/23 | Hall Ways Blog | BONUS Stop |
| 06/28/23 | Reading by Moonlight | Review |
| 06/28/23 | LSBBT Blog | BONUS Stop |
| 06/29/23 | Chapter Break Book Blog | Notable Quotables |
| 06/30/23 | Bibliotica | Review |
| 07/01/23 | Jennie Reads | Review |
| 07/02/23 | Forgotten Winds | Author Interview |
| 07/03/23 | The Plain-Spoken Pen | Review |
| 07/04/23 | StoreyBook Reviews | Deleted Scene |
| 07/05/23 | The Book’s Delight | Review |
| 07/06/23 | Rox Burkey Blog | Review |
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I am a 63 year old Accountant who semi-retired to explore my love of creative writing. In my career I held Board level jobs for over twenty five years, in private, public and third sector organisations. I was born in Coventry, a city then dominated by the car industry and high volume manufacturing. Jaguar, Triumph, Talbot, Rolls Royce, Courtaulds, Massey Ferguson were the major employers, to name but a few.
AMES SHELDON: was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Wayzata, Minnesota. After graduating from Northrop Collegiate School, she attended Bryn Mawr College, where she majored in English. After graduating, she worked in the legal department of a chemical company, as a reporter at two newspapers, as office manager of a start-up auto salvage business, and eventually as a grant writer and development officer for a variety of nonprofit organizations, ranging from the Sierra Club in San Francisco to the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minneapolis Public Library. She has an M.A. in American Studies and was lead author and associate editor of the groundbreaking Women’s History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States (R.R. Bowker, 1979). In the process of working on this monumental reference book, Ames discovered her love of women’s history and of using primary sources for research. Her debut novel, Eleanor’s Wars, won the 2016 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Best New Voice: Fiction. Her second novel, Don’t Put the Boats Away, was published on August 27, 2019, by She Writes Press. Her third novel, Lemons in the Garden of Love, will be published in 2021.