Ten Was The Deal

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

Laurens native hosting book signing at museum

Laurens County Advisor featured an article on book signing by John P. Faris, Jr. at the Laurens County Museum. View the newspaper clipping or read the excerpt below.

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

Jimmy Todd, left, brought his son Jim to meet his former neighbor, John Faris, Jr., at a book-signing held for Faris Friday in Laurens. The signing and reception was hosted by the Laurens County Museum, and large numbers of Faris’ friends came out to see the Laurens native who has written a book, “Ten Was the Deal,” which is described by the publisher as a collection of stories of life growing up hunting and fishing throughout Laurens County. Faris tweaks that description somewhat. “They’re really more coming-of-age stories, most of which occurred on hunting and fishing trips across Laurens County.” The Laurens County Museum on Laurens Street has many more copies of the book available.

Laurens native hosting book signing at museum2020-11-12T03:05:00+00:00

“You Got My Attention”

Excerpt from Ten Was The Deal

“The cold salt water was up to our calves.  It was rising slowly, but rising nonetheless.  Both Dad and I had on chest waders and neither of us would have given the height of the rising water a second thought, except for the fact that, where we were standing, the water level for half a mile in every direction was neck deep.  To be exact, the two of us were shoulder to shoulder in a curtain blind behind the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in the middle of Croatan Sound.  Hunting from such a strange contraption was quite new to both of us.  The delicious mixture of danger, the adventure of the unknown, and the anticipation of my first goose hunt had me shivering.”

This hunting story, “You Got My Attention,” can be found in the book Ten Was The Deal by John P. Faris, Jr. To read additional excerpts from John’s book collection, to include a complete chapter from this first book, click here.

“You Got My Attention”2020-11-12T04:41:33+00:00
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