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Damon Thomas
Goodreads Author
Born
in Old Town, FL, The United States
Website
Genre
Influences
Member Since
July 2023
URL
https://www.goodreads.com/ruralgloom
More books by Damon Thomas…
Damon’s Recent Updates
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Damon Thomas
made a comment in the group
Goodreads Librarians Group
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Claiming Southern Gothic Children's Book
topic
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Thanks!
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Damon Thomas
liked
Jerry Jones's review
of
Southern Gothic Children's Book: A Rural Gloom Graphic Novel:
"A must for any fan of Florida writing. Art is simply stunning. "
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Damon Thomas
shared
a
quote
“Gainesville, FL was soft on teen shoplifters in the 90s. The police were rarely involved. But you got banned from the store. This divided friend groups. Some had to wait outside. They would be beside every record store. Caught with a Sonic Youth CD down their shirt. Waiting. I'd join them. Not because I was banned. I just liked flirting with the Bad Girls.”
...more Damon Thomas |
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Damon Thomas
shared
a
quote
“When I was a kid I had an illustrated "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" book. A yard sale non-Disney version that was already vintage. The dwarfs had no names but got along well. All sharing the same bedroom. Sleeping in a row of beds with their feet out from the covers. Because of this I started sleeping with my feet uncovered as well. And now as an adult it is still the same. Feet out even as it gets cold. We are what we read.”
...more Damon Thomas |
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Damon Thomas
rated a book it was amazing
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| Surrealism in images and words. A life lived by night and shared with the greatest of care. This is a beautiful book. | |
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Damon Thomas
made a comment in the group
Goodreads Librarians Group
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Claiming "They Say Truth Matters Most"
topic
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Thanks!
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Damon Thomas
is now following Laina Johnston's reviews
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“I was tossed into a pool beside the Suwannee River. Out behind an old motel. Sink or swim. Arms flailing in the deep end. Chlorine and Fear. I hurt my shoulder. Tweaked my ankle. Had to be pulled out. They laughed about it all summer. Now pools are reminders. That your friends watched you sink.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“The blackjack oak is a hard tree. I chopped ours down. Sitting to the side of our wooded acre. Standing 20-feet tall. The ax was old. Older than I was at the time. A weathered handle hurt the hands. A rusty head barely cut. Chipped away at the tree. Over hours. Over days. And the tree fell. A creak. A crack. A soft thud on sandy ground. My blistered hands dropped the ax. Tired legs limped away. Summers were long then. And trees fell.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“Mythologist Joseph Campbell once spent 5 years living in a shack in rural New York where he read 9 hours a day. I did something similar as I was in middle school but I suspect Campbell read much better books. Most of my books were acquired at the flea market in Chiefland, FL where a hoarse voiced lady sold musty paperbacks 5 for $1.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“My great-grandmother died almost 20 years before I was born. Hit by a train near Branford, FL. A very Southern Gothic way to go. I grew up with her stories. Pinches of snuff filled her mouth. Pinches left bruises on your arm. She was a witch. The black snakes crawled as she whistled. There were nail covered photos on the side of her barn. Songs to the cypress trees. Her daughter shared these things. All told with Affection. Enthusiasm. Awe. There is a life after life for those who are a good story.”
― More Snakes Than People: A Rural Gloom Graphic Novel
― More Snakes Than People: A Rural Gloom Graphic Novel
“The flea market looked like an old chicken coop. All rusted wire and weathered wood. A few scattered tables under a tin roof. One table was covered in old paperbacks. We don't need a word for "old book smell" to appreciate it. The lady there sat in a plastic lawn chair and slowly ate a sandwich. A title caught our eye. How much? A dollar. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to sell it. We left frustrated. Some books are not for sale.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“Work brought my family to Tennessee. I was just a kid. We lived in a green house off Old McClure Road. A big mimosa tree in the yard. Fern-like leaves and summer blooms. It reminded me of Florida. The mimosa was an invasive species there. State wanted them cut down. But we left ours alone. A tree growing where it should not be. Like my family. We were invasive too.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“The Florida side of my family is huge. People married young. Were Fruitful. Multiplied. As a kid a family fish fry might see 50 gather in someone's First District yard. A great-uncle frying mullet. Adults in the shade as kids played. Games of tag with complex rules. Jumping Live Oak roots. Flinging Chinaberries. You'd limp to the shade bruised and breathless. Hear a story about a cousin caught stealing hogs. Quickly get sent away – "Go play! This is Grown People Business!" We'd head back out. Climb trees. Make palm frond swords. Years passed. I grew up and found that most of those relatives were gone. I had missed the Grown People Business.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
“During my 4th grade year the National Park Service announced an essay contest about the importance of parks. I was inspired by some now forgotten prize to begin writing with this contest. It seemed progress was being made as I declared that "Parks are like old photos" only to be asked to clarify – "How exactly are parks like old photos?" This question created a case of Writer's Block that extended through the essay contest deadline. Lewis Carroll was content with leaving us with "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" but I kept working on my answer. How are parks like old photos? You'll know when they are gone.”
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
― Some Books Are Not For Sale
