Author of St. Michael Poker & Drinking Club and Baxter's Friends
There is at least one reference to the late actor James Dean in Baxter's Friends. The book is set in the mid-1980s. At the time the male characters were growing up, Dean was an icon, a symbol of rebellious youth, cool beyond comparison. When Baxter, Ferguson and Mitch were teenagers, every boy wanted to be James Dean. It is interesting to note that after his more...
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"Baxter's Friends" is an unbridled narrative of three male friends that are searching for ways to deal with the responsibilities, quell the boredom, and fulfill unrealistic desires that plague them as they reach middle age. Ned Randle brilliantly pens their intimate thoughts, reckless actions, and dire consequences that lead two to tragedy and one to self awareness. A more...
I've been asked, since the release of my novel Baxter's Friends whether I am familiar with the novelist Jonathan Franzen and whether his writing influenced me. The answers are- yes, I am familiar with him and no, he has not influenced my writing, for several reasons I will set out hereinafter. I assume I am asked these questions because we both are originally from the more...
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I have had a number of friends, acquaintances and family members give me positive feedback on Baxter's Friends. It is very gratifying when people you know and respect like your work. I hope the word spreads to others. Thanks to more...
Love’s Alchemy Review by O. Victor Miller Running at Night: Collected Poems 1976-2012 By Ned Randle I don’t read much poetry anymore, never write about a living poet, never would’ve discovered Running at Night by Ned Randle without a personal connection to the poet, his wife Rita, his niece, his deceased sister Carol, to whose memory this thin book is dedicated more...
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Baxter's Friends Ned Randle Coffeetown Press PO Box 70515 Seattle, WA 98127 9781603811620, $13.95, www.camelpress.com Middle age is where we wonder if there's more to life than what we've seen. "Baxter's Friends" tells the story of Jerry Baxter and his associates, as they struggle with the burden of entering the second half of their lives, dealing with their more...
Baxter's Friends, a work of literary fiction, was officially released June 1st. The book looks great. Coffeetown Press did an excellent job. The book is available through this website, www.coffeetownpress.com and more...
My short story "The Boston Tar Baby" is included in Prism Review #15 recently published by University of LaVerne, LaVerne California. The review can be purchased from the more...
We want our writers, our poets, our storytellers to make rainbows, not black or white nor even simply varied shades of grey. Ned Randle, who touches all three of these descriptions, paints in hues we don't often want to see, but occur in nature, human nature, regardless of what we want. I think Jerry Baxter, would agree with this assessment. In Baxter's Friends, we more...
Down Cemetery Road is the much-anticipated prequel to the unforgettable Baxter’s Friends. Ned Randle raises the curtain on the formative years of Billy Bright’s life, revealing a formula for his adult years that is at once both intoxicating and utterly sobering. Down Cemetery Road delves into the disillusionment of adolescence sadly often shot down by mid-life.
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