I’m happy to announce that my new novel, THE EAGLE TREE, has just completed the first edit cycle,...

I’m happy to announce that my new novel, THE EAGLE TREE, has just completed the first edit cycle, and it’s out to early readers and reviewers. (NOTE: this novel is NOT published yet, and a publication date will be listed here when avaiable)

If you’d like to sign up to be an “Early Reader”, just contact me through the form on the website here, or via nedhayes AT gmail.com .  Here’s a description of the novel.

THE EAGLE TREE is an unusual coming-of-age story told in the first person by March Williams, an autistic 14 year old boy obsessed with the trees of the Pacific Northwest. March’s ebullient embrace of trees is counter-balanced by his unconscious indifference to most human relationships and his (sometimes hilarious) misunderstandings of many social signals.

March’s powerful obsession with an endangered old-growth pine — the Eagle Tree — is the driving engine for his actions throughout the book. He alternates between active escape from other human beings and uncertain attempts to draw them into his campaign to save the unique tree. In the course of his unusual and often blindly-destructive story, March proves his voice deserves to be heard in his community.

Informed by my past experience teaching young people on the autistic spectrum, the EAGLE TREE is a rare story told in a lyrical and peculiarly entrancing voice that reads like an autistic memoir.

I believe that THE EAGLE TREE will appeal to readers who enjoyed the award-winning CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, as well as Jim Lynch’s THE HIGHEST TIDE, which is also set in my hometown of Olympia Washington.

Here’s a Pinterest board all about the novel…

was originally published on NedNote