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Ah Aruba. Sun. Sand. Books? Lately, this tiny Dutch island just off the Venezuelan coast has been splashed in a new shade of blue. Adding color to the warm, azure Caribbean Sea and the bright turquoise of the Aruban flag, is the dark blue cover of An Island Away. Freshly-tanned hands can be found clutching the novel everywhere you look — on the beach, at the hotels, in the airport. Readers find the story, which takes place in Aruba's refinery town of San Nicolas, titillating for many reasons. Putkowski explains, "After several years of coming to Aruba and eventually living here, I've met extraordinary people and heard incredible stories. This provided the fabric from which my novel was woven. Though fiction, I strived to incorporate real people, real places into the mix. San Nicolas is unlike any place I've been. It was the perfect setting to bring my characters to life." Frequent visitor to the island Dr. Greg Trubowitsch of El Paso, TX, said, "It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a novel as much as this one. I couldn't put it down."
After attracting crowds at his Aruba book signings this summer, the author has returned to the island for a series of events. This week, Arubaphiles gathered at the Renaissance Mall in Oranjestad to talk to Putkowski. Janet Smith, Boston, MA, said, "I've been vacationing in Aruba every year since 1997. I heard about the book over the summer but wanted to wait and buy it here and read it here on the island. I can't wait." Now available in dozens of retail locations throughout Aruba, the book is quickly becoming a favorite among tourists and has been featured in Xclusivo Magazine, Aruba Today, The News Aruba, and Aruba.com, the official website of the Aruba Tourism Authority.
Putkowski switched careers in his late thirties after more than a dozen years as a marine business owner on the Philadelphia waterfront. "I've always wanted to write. Even when I was loading barges on the Delaware River, I was thinking about plot lines." His next book, Bonk's Bar, will arrive in stores this spring and follows the hard choices of a Port Richmond, Philadelphia, man who suddenly inherits his father's bar. But what readers are most anxious for is the sequel to An Island Away. "I receive emails almost every day from readers wanting a preview of Under a Blue Flag, the follow-up to An Island Away. I'm writing the sequel and on a good day, it just pours out. I have no doubt that writing is what I was meant to do."
Through February, Putkowski (danielputkowski.com) continues this book tour in Aruba with stops to include Casa del Mar Beach Resort and Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort. In the United States, the book can be found in select Barnes & Noble stores as well as online at amazon.com and bn.com. For more information and tour dates, visit his website.
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