Event Celebrates Local Author

A beautiful autumn day provided the perfect backdrop for Una Vida Meditation and Movement and Inkberry Books' joint celebration of the release of "Hidden Buddha: Lama Rinzen in the Hungry Ghost Realm."

The novel by Boulder author Jim Ringel is the second in a series featuring Lama Rinzen, who must both learn a lesson and solve a crime.

The free event took place Saturday, Oct. 22 at 3:00 p.m. and began with live music by Elizabeth Morrow on cello, Keith Waters on keyboards and Kevin Garry on guitar. Ringel read passages from the book and answered questions from the crowd. The event was capped off with a wine and appetizer reception. Approximately 60 people (and one well-behaved pet bird) attended.

In discussing his book, Ringel abashedly stated that his book is "a little kooky" but thoroughly embraced the fact. "In my books, I write for the humor and the confusion. That's the fun." He added that the reason he loves writing mysteries is "because of the way they swallow us in confusion."

Ringel explained that in his writing, he starts with an outline but that, as he's writing, "The story always changes because the characters change. The people in my story continue to change through the process."

He said that he's had to learn to be open with the way everything changes as the writing progresses. He admitted that he didn't know how the book would end. "I knew how I wanted it to feel," he said, "but I didn't know what would actually happen until I got right up to [the end]."

"Hidden Buddha: Lama Rinzen in the Hungry Ghost Realm" and Ringel's other book in the series, "49 Buddhas: Lama Rinzen in the Hell Realm," are available at Inkberry Books in Niwot and at other national retailers.