Ashley, N.D., author and newspaper publisher Tony Bender will sign books and meet the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the grand re-opening of the Grand Forks Air Force Base Mall.
In a news release, Bender said his novel, "The Last Ghost Dancer," published in July, has drawn reviews and e-mails from readers around the country that have been both satisfying and surprising.
"Surprising because it is so hard to get noticed and satisfying because of the enthusiasm for the book," he said.
After his appearance at Grand Forks Air Force Base, Bender will travel to Minot where he will be at Barnes & Noble from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. He'll give a brief reading and take questions at 6:30 p.m. Friday, he'll be at Minot Air Force Base Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
'The Last Ghost Dancer" unfolds with a sense of time drawn out slow and easy, under a vast, cloudless prairie sky. It's about a mechanic named Bones in a small South Dakota town with a best friend named Woof, a mentor named Joe Big Cloud and a red-haired girlfriend called Maya.
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"Every moment is weighted and magical," according to a review in the Clayton (Calif.) Pioneer. "Bender is a bit of a poet, and the novel is not just well-crafted, it is beautifully written."
Bender, born in North Dakota and raised in South Dakota, may be best known for his long-running weekly humor column, published in newspapers across the state, including the Ashley (N.D.) Tribune and Wishek (N.D.) Star, which he and his wife own. Bender has published three collections of columns, all regional best sellers. In 2008, his novel, "If Every Month Were June," was published and optioned for a motion picture.
Tower Records and Books recently had "The Last Ghost Dancer" listed as the No. 2 hardcover in sales to foreign English-speaking countries, which Bender says is not quite like making the New York Times bestseller list.
"I think it's the literary equivalent of winning a fat man's race."
Still, his agent, C.K. West, said, "I think this story has legs. It's one of those books that readers are excited to share. Most books come and go very quickly. I think 'The Last Ghost Dancer' will continue to build at a grass roots level."
Bender is a former president of the North Dakota Newspaper Association. His website is www.tonybender.net .
