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So far Outdoor Stories has created 22 blog entries.

Sporting Classics Review of We’ll Do It Tomorrow

I was honored that my new book We’ll Do It Tomorrow was reviewed by Sporting Classics magazine. Click on the picture to see the article in context or read the excerpt below.

Review of We'll Do It Tomorrow

“Finally, as a nice counterpoise to stories of big game and distant locales, there’s John P. Faris Jr’s We’ll Do It Tomorrow: Southern Hunting and Fishing Stories (Hardbound, 253 pages, illustrated, $28.99 from www.outdoorstories.com).  This is the talented author’s second book-length venture into storytelling, with his previous effort, Ten Was the Deal, having carved a comfortable niche in the ranks of contemporary Southern tellers of sporting tales.

The book’s subject matter ranges widely and encompasses the quarries and activities that typify local outdoor pursuits in the heartland of the South – whitetails and cottontails, bass and a first gun, simple culinary pleasures, little things that are part of the sporting experience, and much more.  If you read the book’s title story and don’t find yourself dabbing your eyes or with a catch in your throat, some serious self-examination is in order.  The piece is that moving and meaningful.

Mostly though, this is just relaxed literature on the outdoors in the vein of Havilah Babcock, Archibald Rutledge, Robert Ruark in his “Old Man” pieces, or Charlie Elliott at his best.  As Southern as a slice of pecan pie or Vienna sausages and Saltines on a summer fishing trip, this is a book meant not just for sons and daughters of the South, but anyone who relishes those warm and winsome hours devoted to being astream or afield.”

Sporting Classics Review of We’ll Do It Tomorrow2020-11-16T15:43:33+00:00

A Father’s Day Gift Idea

Eastside Living Magazine featured an article written by John P. Faris, Jr. in their May 2017 issue. Click on the magazine clipping or read the excerpt below.

Magazine article clipping of Southern Storyteller John P. Faris, Jr.

Written by resident John P. Faris, Jr.

Once my two children were grown with families of their own, choosing Christmas presents for them became very difficult. In 2006, I decided I’d write each an original outdoor story instead of buying something, even though I’d never written anything before. My children were surprised and seemed to genuinely appreciate what I’d written.

Years later, I wrote a story for my dad about our last hunting trip together while he lay critically ill in a hospital bed following a stroke. He could not open his eyes or speak. I waited for a time when we were completely alone and read the story to him. He never moved. I wasn’t even sure he heard me. But as I arose to go, I took his hand. Big tears ran down his cheeks. He had heard every word. Dad died the next day.

It was then I was sure I would continue writing.

In the March 2017 issue of Sporting Classics Magazine, I was surprised to see that Senior Editor and Book Columnist Jim Casada reviewed my recent book. Jim wrote: “We’ll Do It Tomorrow is as southern as a slice of pecan pie. If you read the book’s title story and don’t find yourself dabbing at your eyes or with a catch in your throat, some serious self-examination is in order. The piece is that moving and meaningful. This is the talented author’s second book-length venture into storytelling, with his previous effort, Ten Was The Deal, having carved a comfortable niche in the ranks of contemporary Southern tellers of sporting tales.”

My friend, Kirk Neely, says: “More than just hunting and fishing stories, John’s books are about the joys and sorrows of life. Sportsman or not … you will enjoy We’ll Do It Tomorrow.”

I am very pleased that Spartanburg’s own Nancy Kochenower did the beautiful painting for the book’s cover and each chapter’s hand drawn illustrations.

Need a special Father’s Day gift? You can order a copy at OutdoorStories.com or pick one up at Hub City Books. I donate all proceeds from the sale of my books to The Encouraging Word.

A Father’s Day Gift Idea2020-11-12T04:09:17+00:00

Sporting Classics Review of Ten Was The Deal

I was honored that my new book Ten Was The Deal was reviewed by Sporting Classics magazine. Click on the picture below to see the article in context or read the excerpt  below.

A NOTEWORTHY NEW BOOK
John P. Faris Jr., Ten Was the Deal: Southern Hunting and Fishing Stories. Indianapolis, Indiana: Dog Ear Publishing, 2013.

Available in hardback, paperback and e-book forms through major retailers.

This work, illustrated by Ralph A. Mark Jr., is a throwback to a time when storytelling was considered an art and outdoor magazines actually published material of that genre on a regular basis as opposed today’s fixation with how to, where to and trophy hunting. Faris’ book is largely autobiographical in nature and exhibits the author’s obvious appreciation of Robert Ruark’s Old Man and the Boy. There are a dozen pieces in all along with an introduction that pays warm tribute to his father as a sporting mentor. The book’s title comes from one of the stories, and along the way you’ll fish for bream, hunt ducks and turkeys (the latter in a piece with the unlikely but eye-catching title “Big ’Possums Walk Late”), and enjoy the camaraderie and closeness to the land that loom so large in Southern storytelling. I greatly enjoyed the book, and it’s no secret that I can be picky and sometimes downright peevish when judging works dealing with hunting and fishing.

Sporting Classics Review of Ten Was The Deal2020-11-03T19:14:12+00:00

ABOUT JOHN P. FARIS, JR.

John P. Faris, Jr. is a native of South Carolina. His passion since childhood has been hunting and fishing. He enjoys farming, boat building, woodworking, photography and writing. John’s first three books, a collection of hunting and fishing stories, is on bookshelves now and available to purchase online.

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