World Adventurer Due Home For Saturday Book Signing

By Steve Bigham

Brendan Carson was in Alaska and Canada last week and spent the early part of this week in Vermont. But he promises he will be in town on Saturday to sign copies of his new book. His car should be out of the shop by then.

Carson, a 1989 Newtown High School graduate, has been on the road the past 10 days or so, making his way across Canada. He had spent the summer as a river raft guide and decided it was finally time to come “home.” Carson, 28, penned a fictional novel entitled Tug of War three years ago and he decided to head back East to promote his book, which he will do Saturday afternoon at the Red Rooster Tobacconists. Carson is one of the owners of the local business (near the Big Y) with high school buddies Mike Zavatsky, Todd Suhar, and Dean Fattibene. Saturday’s event promises to be a grand reunion as Carson plans to sign his book for both new friends and old.

But getting there has been a bit of a challenge. The 4,500-mile trip hit a bit of a snag over the weekend. Carson and his aging Subaru cruised through Canada anxious to get back into Newtown, but man and car only made it as far as Quebec. The car conked out after suffering a blown out U-joint on the drive shaft.

“My mechanic said it was from driving too fast,” Carson said this week during an interview.

Fortunately, his sister, Megan, happens to live in Vergenns, Vt., which is about a four hour drive from where the car broke down. The mechanic said the car would be ready by Thursday of this week. Carson will then head home.

A Long Road To The       Book Signing

Brendan Carson graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1993 and promptly headed to Alaska where he became a river raft guide in the Juneau area. In 1995, he received his master’s degree from the University of Alaska Southeast (in Juneau) and was soon on his way to South Korea where he would spend the next 18 months teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). Carson taught in Pusan, which is South Korea’s southernmost city.

 It was Carson’s experiences in Pusan that inspired him to write the book. It is a story about an American man and a Korean woman who defy family disapproval and cultural taboos in their quest for love.

“It’s a page turner,” said Carson, who wrote the book three years ago following his return from the Orient. He found time to write while teaching ESL at the University of Bridgeport. It was also during this time that Carson and the others opened Red Rooster. Tug of War was released June 21, 2000, by Rutledge Books publishing company of Danbury, but Carson hasn’t had much time to promote the book since then.

In July of 1999, Carson went back to Juneau and spent the raft season there as a guide that summer. He also taught at the Alaskan Vocational Institute, where he taught an adult job-training program. When his contract was over in May, Carson headed to Denali National Park (home of Mount McKinley) where he continued to work as a river raft guide. In Denali, the sun shines for much of the summer, including 24 hours a day in late June. With the summer coming to an end, Carson is heading “home.”

“Life in Alaska is great. There is tons of outdoor stuff to do,” Carson said. “In fact, I plan to bring along some smoked salmon to the book signing for people to try. I caught that in Gastineau Channel outside Juneau.

So stop by and meet Brendan Carson this Saturday at the Red Rooster Tobacconists… and try the smoked salmon while you’re there.

Tug of War can be purchased at Amazon.com and Borders.com for $17.95. Those who show up at the Red Rooster can buy the book for $15.95.