Coco Twain Tells the Truth

On October 22, 2007 Jan Shapin (Snug Life Somewhere) and Judith Porter did a book presentationi at the Yarmouth Council on Aging, 528 Forest Road, South Yarmouth, MA. We enjoyed speaking with the group but didn't enjoy getting caught in Cape bridge traffic. That was a new experience.

On Monday September 17, 2007, Jan Shapin (A Snug Life Somewhere) and Judith Porter made book presentations at Bleinheim on Valley Road, Middletown RI.

Judith Porter and Jan Shapin did a presentation at Heatherwood at Kingsway  in Yarmouthport, MA on Cape Cod on May 7, 2007. They discussed their books and the road to publication.

On Friday April 7, 2006, Judith Porter visited several Language Arts Classes at Asheville High School in Asheville, NC. She discussed the how and why of her writing process and had a great time.She's home now and tired.

1311 West Main Road
Middletown, RI—02842
Phone: 401-846-3313

Local Author’s Reception.

Thursday, 30 March, 2006 at 7.00 PM

Author Signing / Discussion

FEATURING

Amateur Soldiers, Global Wars: Insurgency & Modern Conflict by Michael Fowler examines aspects of war and insurgency in many places around the world.

Bottom of the Ninth, a Chris Parsons mystery by Peter Spring, takes us into the world of art smuggling, death and famous Boston quirks.

Coco Twain Tells The Truth, is a funny and poignant coming of age story set in rural Oklahoma in the late 50’s by Judith Porter.

Jerry Elmer’s, Felon for Peace: Memoir of a Vietnam-Era Draft Resister, provides insight into non-violence, protest and the draft.

The Hessian Occupation of Newport 1776-1779 by Walter Schroder talks about the Hessian contributions to RI history.

Quest for the Source of Darkness, by Patricia Perry takes us into the world of potent magic filled with an evil demon, dwarfs, elves and the struggle for the dark sources of power.

And, Take Charge of your Child’s Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Kids & Teens by Dr. Judith A. Owens explores sleep problems in children and teens, providing age-specific recommendations for each problem discussed.

Without giving more away come meet the authors, discuss their books and get your copies signed.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Judith Porter presented a book talk at the Tiverton Community Center on Thursday January 12, 2006 at 6:30 pm. The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Tiverton Public Libraries.

 

 

Judith read from her book and discussed writing at the Portsmouth Free Public Library on Thursday, November 10, 2005 at 7pm. Thanks to all who attended.

 

Judith Porter participated in the 2nd annual Books and Author's Festival at the Newport Public Library on Saturday, October 22, 2005. Photographs are posted in the photo section of this website.

Judith Porter gave presentations to freshmen journalism and drama classes at West Moore Junior High School in Moore, Oklahoma on Thursday, October 13, 2005.

Thank you to everyone who attended the launch of Coco Twain Tells the Truth,held on Sunday, July 31, 2005 at the Potter League for Animals in Middletown, RI. We had an impressive crowd of almost 80 people. I appreciate your support!

If you missed the event, watch for future book talks and signings mentioned here.

PROFILE: Local author living to write

By James J. Gillis/Daily News staff

NEWPORT - Judith "Judie" Porter loves books, piles of them.

Maybe it's because there was no library in her Oklahoma hometown.

But she's usually sifting through four books at once. There's a short stack of must-reads and a tall stack of the same. When they overwhelm her house, she walks to Broadway and sells some to Dennis Kelley at his shop.

And then she buys new ones.

"I always have a steady rotation coming in and going out," she said.

Now Porter can put her own book on one of those stacks. This week she releases "Coco Twain Tells the Truth," a story aimed at adults and teenagers. The story is of a 14-year-old girl in rural Oklahoma and the two escaped convicts who hide out in her best friend's house.

That scenario is the framework of a coming-of-age story involving friendship and loyalty. It took Porter about a year to write (she is working on a second novel) and borrows from stories she's heard. A friend mentioned how an escaped prisoner once hid behind her family's couch, and Porter once read a story in The Newport Daily News about inmates who broke out of the pen by crawling through a toilet maintenance hole.

And while her tale is fictional, the setting is close to where Porter, a retired Portsmouth School Department library/media specialist, grew up. She technically grew up in the town of Shidler, but the truth is her hometown was an off-the-map place called Carter Nine.

Her dad was an electrician for Skelly Oil, and Porter, her brother and parents lived in an oil camp - three rows of fenced-in houses. She attended one tiny school for 11 years, part of a class of 30.

"And it was the same 30 the whole way through," she said.

But life changed, suddenly, when another company bought Skelly. Her father changed jobs and moved the family to Tulsa for Porter's senior year of high school. "It was a real culture shock," she said. "It was tough because I'd gone from a class of 30 to 360 and I was only there for a year. But Tulsa was a good experience in that I never would have been able to handle the University of Oklahoma if I hadn't had that time in Tulsa first."

Porter earned her bachelor's degree in journalism and language arts education, married Frank Knapp, who was in the Navy, and moved to Newport. They are now divorced but friendly and have three children, Jeanette Bessinger, Frank and Micah Knapp.

Porter taught at the former New School (now The Pennfield School) and spent 27 years in the Portsmouth school system, also earning a master's degree in educational technology and library science. And she kept her hand in writing.

She wrote for school library journals, crafted and sold some short stories, and joined a series of local writers groups. "But writing a novel is a whole different story," Porter said. "I don't think I ever had the time to devote to it before. To me, it's very exciting. I've always loved the world of books and writers, and this is a way to be a part of that."

Not that Porter is kidding herself. She is not expecting a J.K. Rowling overnight success story. She hopes some people will buy the book, read it and enjoy it.

Her publisher is Publish America of Baltimore, which specializes in finding new writers. She received no advance but will earn royalties from copies sold.

Porter jokes that setting up her Web site (www.jaykay100.com) was as much work as writing the book. "The publisher strongly suggested putting together a Web site," she said. "So I followed the directions and it came together. It's not something I knew a whole lot about (on the other hand, son Micah deals in computer chip technology) going in. It's not a very fancy site, but it has what you need."

In her basement, Porter keeps a small office in which she writes, usually for two hours in the morning. The rest of her life is packed with activity the way her home is filled with books. She spends time with her 86-year-old mother, who moved from Oklahoma a few years ago and lives one floor below.

Porter volunteers at the Potter League for Animals a few hours a week. She plays tennis and works out at the Newport Athletic Club. She's also a grandmother of three. And there are few cultural events that escape her attention. She goes to festivals and lectures, plus meetings with her writers group.

Quite an imagination

Jack Galvin, a retired Rogers High School English teacher and author, has been in the same writers group with Porter for a decade. And he and the other group members have helped her shepherd "Coco Twain" through its drafts and completion.

"Judie has a wonderful sense of setting, just about everything is in Oklahoma," Galvin said. "And she is great at showing a point of view. A teenage girl isn't the most reliable character in terms of point of view, but Judie gives Coco a great deal of believability."

There's an aspect of Porter's personality that materializes in her writing. "There's always a hint of humor, maybe a little sarcasm in whatever she writes," Galvin said. "That seems to come through no matter what."

Her first novel allows her to visit a time and place long gone. Shidler remains but the Carter Nine camp is down to one building. Porter's childhood was a time when a visit to a place called Ponca City, where they had things like libraries and restaurants, was a big deal.

It was life on the outskirts, and for a while as a girl, Porter feared that Charlie Starkweather, the infamous "Badlands" murderer of the late 1950s might show up to wreak havoc - a remote chance but the product of a developing imagination.

"I couldn't wait to get out of there fast enough," Porter said. "Moving to Tulsa in a way was like heaven. But now I look back on it and realize I had a wonderful childhood."

Porter seldom misses the school life. She enjoyed her time but not the bureaucracy. "I really liked being with the kids," she said. "But I hated the red tape, the battles over budgets every year."

Now, she's enjoying her time as a published author ("I would never call myself a writer. It's a hobby.") and taking advantage of Newport's annual swirl of summer events.

Porter is not one of those bothered by the hassles of summer, the influx of people: "Hey, try living in Carter Nine, Oklahoma."

Judie Porter will celebrate the release of her novel, 'Coco Twain Tells The Truth,' Sunday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Potter League for Animals on Oliphant Lane in Middletown.

Porter will have copies of the book for sale. The book, which officially will be released Wednesday, is available through amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. Porter also is hoping to sell her first book in local bookstores. For more information, go to Porter's site at www.jaykay100.com.

Publish America put  Coco Twain Tells the Truth in the 'Up in Lights' column on their webpage on June 2, 2005, to announce that her cover was illustrated by Robert Barry. www.publishamerica.com

On Sunday, April 24, 2005, Judith Porter participated in a poetry and fiction reading to benefit the Newport Review at the Barnes and Noble store in Warwick, RI. She did a reading from her novel "Coco Twain Tells the Truth".

The author is available for book signings and readings and also for visits in schools. Please contact her for information.