Never Never Never Never Say This

It's really quite simple. I wrote that it takes 2 days to get to desde Desdemona from everywhere, so I wasn't surprised that it actually took me 2 days to get to desde Desdemona on my recent trip. What amazed me was that to get home it took me about 4 days of calamity, two of them at the airport of a major Caribbean Capital, the name of which I am not now disclosing, and an evening sleeping on a bench, along with others stranded by the storm that ultimately devastated New Orleans and the US Gulf Coast. What did I say or think or do to deserve this stressful experience? I don't know. But if you do, please do yourself a favor, don't say or think it any more. And if you know what it is, please post it in the comments below so that none of us will say or think it again.

Desde Desdemona For A While

On Saturday, I'm taking the plane to the yellow sea plane. It takes two days to get there from here (I bet you knew that), and I'll be in desde Desdemona for a little more than a week. I will leave my watch, my cell phone, my palm pilot, and my ordinary, habitual waking consciousness here. My short term goal: to swim and float near the reef and to sample those salty, pretzel shaped stories floating in the sea. I hope to bring some of these stories back for all of you to enjoy. I hope I can find some in English or Spanish or some other language we know. While I'm gone refreshing myself and collecting these, you can always leave your own stories here as comments.

A friend reports that last week he was in Ireland. He stopped by the ocean, the great cold, grey Northern Ocean, while he was reading The Dream Antilles, and was inspired by Ona to pick up some bags of plastic detritus the Sea had deposited on the beach, just as Ona does. I'm extremely thankful for this. That's what The Dream Antilles is trying to inspire in us.

And The Register Star (Hudson, NY) Too

Taitia Shelow's story (see below) ran in the Hudson Register Star on Sunday, 8/14/05, on page A3. The result: lots of people asking me if I'll sign copies of the book and where can they get them? I get such a kick out of this. I autographed a copy for a Town Court judge on Monday night. I autographed a copy for a friend of a friend today in Hudson. I never imagined while I was enjoying writing this book that anyone would ask me to do such a thing. I thought people read books and then passed them on. I didn't think of this as a collectible.

The book is now available at the new bookstore in Hudson at 440 Warren Street. They have a few copies, and I have some as well (at my office, in my car). And, yes, of course, I'll sign your book no matter where I am when you ask. The book is also available at the book stores in Lenox, Mass, Great Barrington, Mass and Chatham, NY. There may be a copy or two at Crystal Essence in Great Barrington. And of course, you can always gets them at amazon.com, bn.com, and iUniverse.com, but the BEST is the local bookstores.

We're talking about book signings in Chatham, Lenox, and Hudson. Those will probably be in September, 2005. Exact dates soon.

Chatham (NY) Courier Article

The August 11, 2005, Chatham Courier has an article about The Dream Antilles on page A2. Because the Courier is not on line (can you believe that?) here is a brief excerpt. If you're in Columbia County the Courier is only 50 cents and it has a nice picture of me with the article.

Defense attorney tries his hand at writing fiction
by Taitia Shelow
SPENCERTOWN -- Lawyer David Seth Michaels is known around Columbia County for his prowess in the courtroom as a defense attorney.
For 30 years he's been a defense attorney, 20 of them as a Spencertown resident after he and his family moved here from New York City. His work has been out there for all to see recently in such high-profile cases as the Henry Gropp murder trial, where he represented Chris Anderson, convicted of burglary; and the case of Robert Conn, a man accused of kidnapping and raping a woman along the highway in Claverack. * * *
These days Michaels is putting forth another, more philosophical side of himself for the public to see. His self-published paperback book "The Dream Antilles" came off the presses last month, and is being sold on Amazon.com, iUniverse, Barnes and Noble and can be ordered at local bookstores. * * *
His first foray into fiction had been floating around in his head for a long time. Many years ago he planned to take a one-year sabbatical when his wifewould support the family so he could write. His wife was agreeable to the proposal, Michaels said, but he couldn't disengage himself from his work.
Finally, about 7 years ago when vacationing on Cape Cod, Michaels looked at the box of work he had brought along to tackle and decided he flet like writing his fiction instead. He typed about 20 pages on his computer. "I didn't know how much of that ws even usable," he said.
Once the ice was broken, Michaels kept working on his novel piece by piece. Though he didn't write at a specific interval or time, he got into a kind of routine where he would write chapters in his head and carry them around until he had time on the weekends to "download" the information, so to speak. * * *

There's more, but this is enough for now.

Dreaming On

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on. And our little lives are rounded with a sleep."

I return to desde Desdemona often. The island is most beautiful now in the hurricane season: humid, windy, smelling of coming rain. A wet jewel, and very precious. When it's overcast, I lie in a hammock, read Alejo Carpentier's "The Last Steps," and eat fat cherries. I spit the pits over the railing into the sea. I delight in my good fortune. I am grateful for being such stuff as dreams are made on.

Welcome to The Dream Antilles

What's The Dream Antilles?

David Seth Michaels’s magical, utopian novel The Dream Antilles explores desde Desdemona, a secret Caribbean island that submerges at each high tide. For decades, the locals have lived on the island in tree houses. With humor, wit, compassion, and spirit, they ward off repeated threats to their privacy from the outside world, even as they integrate two newcomers into their community who themselves could easily betray the island’s secrets.
The island’s treasures are many. Its existence, location, and massive disinformation campaign, combined with its long and mysterious connections with a pod of dolphins and the Great Mother turtle, make desde Desdemona vulnerable to destruction if discovered. The island also has an unusual relationship with time. But it is the community of traditional plant healers and the magical teachings of Swamiji, its trickster spiritual teacher, that truly must be safeguarded.
The Dream Antilles stands in delightful and hopeful contrast to the blandness and predictability of the everyday world. You will return to the island of desde Desdemona for refreshment over and over again.


How To Buy The Dream Antilles

First Choice: Your local bookstore. And especially, the Book Store in Lenox, MA and the Chatham Book Store in Chatham, NY and the Book Loft in Great Barrington, MA where it is in stock. And your local bookstore can order it for you if it's not in stock.

Second Choice: amazon.com, iUniverse.com, and bn.com all carry this wonderful book.


What's The Buzz About The Dream Antilles?

Reviews From Amazon:
P. A. Turpel The Dream Antilles is a magical book book that fills the imagination and the soul. Be ready to be transported to a tropical island. Have plenty of fresh fruit available, as immersion in the story is sure to occur. It is one of those books that stays in the heart, and the memory even tho the story has ended. can see it as a great movie!!

D. Moore (Milford, CT USA) Ardent island lovers unite, this book will take you to your favorite place. The Dream Antilles re-hydrates the soul. If Desde Desdemona exists I need to find it. The worst part of this book is that it ends.

Laura Benting (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviewsA mellow read that slows our pace so that we can find the deep peace, serenity, relaxation and joy that life was truly meant to be. Opens a window to our own inner paradise.


Why Is There A Dream Antilles Blog?

So you, dear reader, can comment, raise questions, make jokes, learn the latest about book signings, readings, and appearances, read and discuss the reviews, scheme your way onto the yellow sea plane.