Harvey's Lake 
& the 40 Page Poem
written by Amber Lenore Winckler
ISBN 978-0-9842736-3-8
$11.95 trade paperback
Kindle coming soon
Sassy Britches Publishing 2011
This book is now available on AMAZON.com
COVER ART by Vince Jackson
Harvey's Lake & the Forty Page Poem is the first revealing glimpse into the life of the character known as Louise. Louise is the author's main character in her other novels; The Final Bath, and Into the Hands of Strangers. Dark and mercurial in essence and form, the story laps languidly over the shore of powerful, angst-filled moments and events. It is emotional, guttural, and yet endearing in its approach of telling the story of a girl's uncertain search for meaning in life. Black, like the turbulence under the still waters of Harvey's Lake, secrets are revealed. Some are released, while others sink into silent obscurity.
The accompanying Forty Page Poem plays an integral role in Louise’s life. It is both sensitive, yet volcanic in its intensity. Thoughtful and piercing-to-the-heart, the lyrical words in this poem play the soulful background music in the unfolding drama of Harvey’s Lake. Written in the uncensored hand of a girl "who has been 15 for so long," the tender verse reveals a very old soul trapped in the confines of youth. She would have to wait years to make any sense of it all.
EXCERPT from the story, Harvey's Lake:
I sit here and think of the night’s dreams. I think I drink too much. I think I smoke too much. I think three cups of coffee a day is too much. I think I daydream too much. I think I wish too much.
Seems like I dream every night now.
I think I throw too much away. (It seems to me that one shouldn’t throw away so much.)
I want to go home. I don’t like it here anymore. I hate it here. And I hate you.
It feels like I have been fifteen for so long…
EXCERPT from the story, Harvey's Lake:
“He’s gay, you know. Your little friend… what’s his name… Marcus?”
“Mark.”
Aunt Gina flared her already offensive nostrils. “Well he is! Trust me. He may not even know it himself yet, but I can tell.” She tapped her temple with one stubby finger. “I have a sense.”
I shrugged. “Oh well.”
“Is he your boyfriend? You make sure not to do anything with him… that boy! I know of his family… they are strange people. If I didn’t know the boy’s Dad was married, I’d say he was gay, too. Strange people… strange eyes, too! Crazy eyes, the whole lot of them. I don’t understand why you want hang around with that fag when Lisa is right next door… she was your first friend here, in case you forgot.”
EXCERPT from The 40 Page Poem:
And you loved him, and he loved you.
And at dinner one night he and your Mother got together and spit and blew smoke all around you and you felt safe right then.
The man at the fair with the crooked teeth and the bras that didn’t fit when you tried them on at home.
And dear God, when you saw the dirty movie it made you so sick.
And so you jumped from the top of the stairs, and again, you were surprised when you landed on your face.
You think you would have learned, and you felt so ashamed.
And the next morning when you screamed the Pledge of Allegiance, people laughed and your teacher looked concerned.