The Sarasota area is home to a number of famous authors both seasonally and year round. Well, now we have one more. Local author Ryan S. Praefke has just published his first novel, Eternity’s Missing Children. "I actually wrote it years ago.” The young author explains. “The publishing process is so extensive that with the edits and re-writes, I thought it would never actually get printed. The industry can be quite unromantic at times. I knew it was finally time for publication when we started discussing cover art."
The book calls to you from the shelf with stark white letters on a glossy black background. Never judge a book by its cover. The simplicity of the cover gives way to the complexities of interwoven stories. Filled with vivid imagery, not often found in first time writers, the individual but intertwined stories paint characters so clearly they seem to become friends you've known for years. Filled with great quotable lines, the book is an easy read. It pulls you from one character to another. Leaping from The French Quarter of New Orleans to the Caribbean Islands, tropical destinations that remind you of a thinly veiled Sarasota. As you read, see if you can spot familiar Sarasota landmarks decorated as Caribbean casual. The characters ride a line of balance and seem to hold on by just a thread, everyone walking through a hard life trying to understand an invisible God. There almost seems to be a soundtrack to the book, hearing music in the background as you plow through the pages. For my second read, I actually had some blues playing, low in the background and I really felt “in” the world created by the author.
For his “day job,” R. S. Praefke works at Starbucks listening to the music the corporate cafe wants us to be nostalgic about it. I had a chance to sit down with the author at his St. Armands café and ask him a few questions. What’s the book about? “Unplanned effects, plain and simple. My book is a work of fiction and should be taken as such, but I really used this book to vent about the unplanned effects of organized religion. Why does religion have to be organized? Why does it have to be forced into our daily lives? Why does it have to permeate our politics like never before in the history of this country? You’d think we would’ve been able to move beyond that type of pedestrian meanderings, but it’s obvious we haven’t and most likely never will. I just think it’s all very intriguing and scary at the same time.”
Tell me about your characters in Eternity’s Missing Children? “The book is basically about the Devil and Jesus getting together for a cocktail in a dive bar just outside of New Orleans. There are more subplots involved, lots of blues music, good drink and conversation. Definitely the fringes of society trying to answer to big, everyday questions about religion and life and how it came to be—still trying to make sense of that bizarre, religious noise we still hear two thousand years later.”
So are you in the book? "Depends on which character you're talking about. I mean, we all have little devils and angels on our shoulders. I'd have to say there is some of me on every page."
Tell me about the editing process. "Well, I wrote a War & Peace, and the book you have in your hands is roughly 270 pages. Let’s just say, first time authors are subject to harsh cuts and a few delicate trimmings."
I can tell you the book is well edited. It flows in and out of individual stories with the fluidity of merging traffic. As one story line slows down you pick up with another zooming by. Never are you left looking back. The new stories carry you farther faster and you want more and that's just what you get. Even in the last chapter. I don't want to give too much away, but Eternity’s Missing Children is truly a “revelation.”
Who influenced you? “That’s easy. I never would’ve put pen to paper if it wasn’t for Bob Dylan’s ink. I came across Dylan’s music in early high school, when I lived up in Wisconsin and there was a magic to those words, a poetry packed with images and underground vibe. I was just drawn to his style. I knew I was never going to be a big rock star, so I aimed artistically in another direction. If you ever get a chance, listen to Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” and you’ll get what I’m saying. I tried to make that song into a book. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to feeling like a rock star.”
Any more literary figures? “Hemingway’s bravado has been a major influence, along Jack Kerouac’s highway speed and the great Gonzo of journalism himself, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. All those guys sit around me as I attempt to hammer out words at my desk. It’s sad that those guys aren’t around anymore, or even guys like them. That generation knew how to party and knew how to manufacture art. It’s sad to say, but I believe sterilization has taken over the publishing industry, with everyone aiming for the middle, making sure they don’t disturb the proverbial apple cart. Those guys knew the fringes of society. That was their comfort zone. I’m highly attracted to those motivations. I think it comes across in Eternity’s Missing Children.”
As I read Eternity’s Missing Children, I could see what R.S. Praefke was talking about, but there’s a different angst to his style, a different point to be made—definitely more friendly with the fringes of the map than the middle road, as he so assertively described. So it’s true, Sarasota has one more author in its community and we don’t have to find him on the outskirts of town—he’s right there in the middle of the mix, between all the locals and tourists on the Circle, most likely writing his next novel and serving coffee, too—fascinated by all the characters Sarasota has to offer.
Written by Bob Stone.
Future events: Thursday, December 1st. Eternity's Missing Children Book Launch, at Derek's Culinary Casual. Hours, 5-7
Monday, December 21st. Book signing at Circle Books on St. Armands Circle. Hours, Noon to 3.
For more information, check R.S. Praefke’s website: www.rspraefke.com
