Many of you who have followed this blog for a while understand that I seldom honk my horn, attempting to promote the books I write. Occasionally, though, a new work is issued and I’m justly proud to release it like a bird from the hand. That’s right, Wings Over Water, The Late Notes of a Naturalist has just been issued from Wood Thrush Books.
My seventh full-length volume of creative non-fiction is a fine one, says my publisher in his back-cover blurb: In this collection of personal essays, the author describes the flora and fauna he encounters while plying some of his favorite trout streams in the Mid-Atlantic states, New England and the American West. Walt Franklin is as much a bird watcher and amateur naturalist as he is an avid fly fisherman, with a strong desire to protect the lands he has walked and the waters he has fished for decades. Wings Over Water is a blend of fishing tales, folklore, natural history, and riverine ecology. It is also a lighthearted narrative that turns poetic whenever the wild comes into full view.
PA brown trout, released 2.23.22.
2nd PA brown, 19″, released 2.23.20.
Get a preview of this 196-page work at Amazon Books (available also on Kindle). Please consider purchasing a copy from Wood Thrush Books (see link on my blogroll) or directly from Amazon (see “About” page). A purchase ($14.95) will help support the world of nature writing and small-press publishing, as well as helping keep alive a hungry blogger who will be retiring from his classroom job this June!
P.S. If you purchase from Amazon and like what you see, consider dropping off a quick customer review. I can use all the help I can get! And thank you, folks, sincerely.
Western tanager (WY), back cover, Wings Over Water…
Rivertop Rambles 
I’m very much looking forward to reading the new book, especially with that incredibly inviting (dare I say, Glacier National Park-esque) cover scene!
The cover does evoke that area, doesn’t it… Thanks Brent.
Congratulations on the new book, Walt! Looking forward to receiving it soon.
Retiring? Aren’t you too young to retire?! You’ve probably got mixed feelings about June, but an educator definitely earns their retirement – they’ll be struggling to fill your shoes (waders?!) for September!
Enjoy the weeks ahead as you prepare to take flight (in the most positive way) at the end of the academic year.
Thank you much, Adam; your support has been crucial here. You bet, some mixed feelings when it comes to shifting gears in June, but yep, my hoary gray head tells me it is time. I’ll leave a nice pair of educator’s shoes for someone to fill, and maybe get a new pair of wading shoes to shuffle off quietly into the sunset riffles with a rod in hand.
Walt, the new book looks and sounds great. Congrats on the release of it. Also, congrats on your impending retirement
Thank you, Ross. Like you, I’ll get to know something about that state of mind. Also hope to do a couple of area readings, and maybe catch up with you at one of those.
Bravo, Walt! My favorite phrase from the write-up: “Walt Franklin is as much a bird watcher and amateur naturalist as he is an avid fly fisherman, with a strong desire to protect the lands he has walked and the waters he has fished for decades.” This is what i love about your wrting – the experience that resonates in every sentence, every paragraph. P.S. Are the browns from the DHALO above Coudy?
Bob, Yeah the browns were caught there… Thanks for your support, as always, pal. You’ll see that you unwittingly contributed to the book by reminding me of that Gartside quote. I used it as an epigraph to the chapter named “Wings Over Water.” You’re a positive influence, for sure!
Congratulations and best wishes on the next leg of your life journey.
Thank you, Tio!
Congratulations, Walt — I’m so happy for you, another published book, another great accomplishment. I look forward to reading “Wings Over Water.” Upcoming retirement — congratulations on that too. Great photo of the Western Tanager — male in breeding, always a gasping moment.
Jet, Thanks so much for your support & thoughtfulness. It truly means a lot. And yeah, the male Western is a beauty. Glad I caught this one along the Greys River in Wyoming.