Raven
Woman's Tavern
by
Laura Koerber
Genre:
Dystopian, Magical Realism
A
backwoods bar run by a shapeshifter.
A
road that changes length, direction, and destination.
A
young man, lost in the forest and dying, hears the cry of a
raven.
Set
in a dystopic near future, Raven Woman’s Tavern is the story of a
collection of survivalists who are squatting in the remains of a dead
timber town in the Northwest. The residents—most of them old, sick,
and in need—help each other by means legal and extralegal under the
watchful eye of Rachel, the tavern keeper. When the peace of the
community is disturbed by the sudden visit of four members of the
local militia, the survivalists are frightened; not all of them are
law-abiding and some are not citizens.
But,
as Crazy Mary said to Charlie the Poet, “You don't piss Rachel off.
She's got her ways.”
Laura
started off life as an artist. Even in early elementary school she
could draw with near-photo realism. She liked to tell herself
stories while driving, or doing boring tasks such as housework, but
never thought of herself as a writer.
That
is, until she got involved in the rescue of an abused dog. Her first
book, a collection of short stories entitled The Dog Thief,
made the Kirkus Review list of one hundred best indy publications and
set her on a course of writing.
With
one exception, her subsequent novels are in the genre of fantasy,
though four have themes relating to current events, and three are
also dystopias. Wild Hare, the story of a half/man-half/nature spirit
and his feud with the local civic powers also made the Kirkus Review
“best of” list.
The
exception, I Once Was Lost But Now Am Found, is the nonfiction
account of the largest dog rescue in the US to succeed without help
of local authorities.
Laura
is a retired teacher and lives on an island in Puget Sound with her
husband; her one-eyed cat; and her elderly, disabled and chronically
grumpy shih tzu. She is volunteers at a rescue for unadoptable cats.
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