Regal House Publishing
April 1, 2020
Paperback: 260 pages
ISBN: 9781646030040
US $16.95 / CAN 22.95
Epub ISBN: 9781646030316
US: $6.99 / CAN $12.99
They were not at risk. Nonetheless, they were about to imperil both their reputations and their freedom—not for themselves but for their friends and neighbors. It was an utterly dishonest act plotted by perhaps the most honest and honorable people I have ever known. It was also a conspiracy worthy of Arthur Conan Doyle or Robert Louis Stevenson.
And I was to be part of it!
Book blurb:
A unlikely treasure found then lost, an intricate conspiracy, and a first love, make the summer of 1934 one of great adventure for young Connor O’Halloran. Almost overnight, his sleepy, seaside village is comically transformed into a bastion of consumerism when Conner magnanimously decides the valuable ambergris he found should belong to the whole town (except for the miserly, cantankerous, and allegedly felonious, Cyrus Dinkle). A commode with a jeweled seat cover, a pair of genuinely fake rare documents, a mail-order bride, and an organ-grinder’s monkey named Mr. Sprinkles, come to call Tesoro home as the sudden influx of wealth heavily influenced most of the townspeople. When Dinkle plots to take the treasure from the town, Connor and the small group who managed to keep their heads in the face of too much money, must find a way to save the town. Along the way, Connor learns that some of the best treasures in life have no monetary value whatsoever.
Praise for Treasure of the Blue Whale
Treasure of the Blue Whale is a tale spun into magic. We sense from the first page that we are in the hands of a master storyteller. Mayfield doesn’t just tell a story; he spins a tale that is humorous, entertaining, delightful, and deeply satisfying. This is the kind of book we remember. This pleasure is why we read in the first place. We step into this world and when, we come back, we are changed.
– Mary Rakow, author of The Memory Room and This is Why I Came
With Treasure of the Blue Whale, Steven Mayfield has written a fable for our time, a novel we need now more than ever. From the moment Connor O’Halloran and Angus McCallum find a treasure with all its promises, readers are swept up in a journey filled with plot twists and rich characters who continually surprise us with their humanity and ability to find hope.
– Chris Dempsey, author of Winter Horses and former artist-in-residence, Idaho Commission on the Arts
Steven Mayfield’s Treasure of the Blue Whale is a fascinating and wildly inventive narrative that artfully weaves the timeless themes of greed, survival, and love into an epic American tale that grips the reader from start to finish. This story is told through the lens of a talented and empathetic writer whom I’ve long admired for his ability to observe and to make sense of our complicated world and the individuals who make a community. This is the novel I’ve been waiting for, and it does not disappoint.
– Thanh Tan, Two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and multimedia storyteller.
There are many splendid surprises afoot in Treasure of the Blue Whale, the first of which begins in the churning belly of a middle-age whale. Author Steven Mayfield launches his moral balancing act of a story with the greasy glob of maritime discharge that delightfully changes form throughout the novel, morphing from a town’s hope for salvation to that thing which undermines its core. Treasure of the Blue Whale is a mystifying tale capable of accomplishing what the great American novels often do. It fosters conversation and debate about who we are as people and what makes us tick, while entertaining to the very last page.
-Erick Mertz, author of The book of Witness and The Lies & Truth of Doctor Desmond Brice
Mayfield’s storytelling combines whimsy and mystery in a clear and compelling writing style. Treasure of the Blue Whale hooks the reader to discover what wonders and foibles the Whale’s ambergris will bring.
– Jennifer Bowen Neergaard, Founder of BookHive Corporation
LITERARY PUBLICATIONS
STORIES/POEMS
The Tourist (short story), Mari Sandoz Award, 1971.
At the Place They Called the Wounded Knee (poem), Lincoln Gazette, 1972.
Reliquary (short story), Black River Review, Glaefke, D.S., Coller, K., Smith, J.D., eds. 1994.
Reliquary (short story), Event, Zieroth, D., ed., Douglas College Press, Vol.23, Number 3, 1994.
The Next One (short story), The Long Story, Brabham, R.P., ed., Number 13, 1995.
Short Stories:
“Mothers” – artisan 2005
“Reaching Out” – From Eulogy to Joy 2000.
“Food Chain” – cold-drill 1998
“The Next One” – The Long Story 1995
“Reliquary” – Event 1994 and Black River Review 1994
Poem:
“At the Place They Called the Wounded Knee” Lincoln Gazette 1972
Winner Mari Sandoz Award 1971
At the Place They Called the Wounded Knee (poem), Lincoln Gazette, 1972.Mari Sandoz Award for “The Tourist”, 1971
Literary awards:
- Mari Sandoz Award for “The Tourist”, 1971
- Awards for Howling at the Moon:
- Best Books of 2010 selection, USA Book News
- Finalist, Eric Hoffer Award
- Semi-finalist, San Francisco Book Festival
- Semi-finalist, New York Book Festival
- Semi-finalist, New England Book Festival.
- Special award for contributions to Verbose City Literary Reading Forum, 1999
Literary associations:
- Founding board member, The Cabin Literary Center, Boise, ID, 1997-9
- Member, The Cabin Literary Center, 1997-2011
- daho Writers Guild, 2008-11
- Willamette Writers, 2016-present
- Association of Writers and Writing Programs, 2019-present
- Literary Arts
- Poets & Writers
Thanks for featuring my book, Treasure of the Blue Whale! Much appreciated! Please note that I am donating 50% of the first year’s royalties to Save With Stories (https://support.savethechildren.org/site/Donation2?df_id=4067&mfc_pref=T&4067.donation=form1&vanityurl=savewithstories), a children’s book reading series created by actresses Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner. They funnel their proceeds into Save the Children and No Kid Hungry, programs that will provide meals to kids who depended on school breakfast and lunch programs.