Pete Hautman, author of Eden West, will read Sunday at the Loft.

One thing Pete Hautman remembers well is the way some schools and libraries balked at putting his 2004 YA novel, 'Godless', on their shelves. The book is about a boy who is raised Catholic but decides he wants to leave the church and start his own religion. That religion, it turns out, involves worshiping the town water tower.

"It's based on a true story," says Hautman, "because I based it on my own experience when I was fifteen." Although there isn't much he'd change if he could write that book over, Hautman does say that he would probably change the name, admitting that even winning the National Book Award didn't quell everyone's concerns over the novel's blasphemous title.

Not one to worry about future backlash, though, he's finished another book in which the story's primary focus is on religion. This time, Eden West follows the life of a boy raised in a doomsday cult. The protagonist has lived most of his life within a remote, fenced off area of Montana, but he begins to question his beliefs when he meets other young people from outside.

Hautman created a fictional religion for the novel, mixing Christian and Mormon beliefs with some of the more bizarre stories of the Aprocrypha. In doing so, he avoided targeting any real world beliefs.

"I didn't want this to be an anti-cult book," says Hautman, noting the high profiles of cults like Heaven's Gate, the Branch Davidians and the Peoples Temple. "These are the cults we hear about, but there are cults and cult-like groups all over the place and a lot of them are very functional, and some of them have gotten so big we just don't think of them as cults anymore."

"What I wanted to write about was just how a cult mindset interacts with the rest of the world," he adds. His original vision for the cult in Eden West was of a happy, functional cult. He wasn't aiming for a dark story, "but the more time I spent with it, the more it veered away from a happy cult. Things go wrong."

Hautman will read from Eden West along with Bryan Bliss, who will read from his book 'No Parking at the End Times' on Sunday, as part of the Second Story reading series at the Loft.

Sun, April 25. 2 pm. The Loft Literary Center, 1011 Washington Ave S, MPLS. Free. (www.loft.org)

Indecisively yours

Speaking of local authors, Fringe Festival veteran and Rockstar Storyteller Phillip Andrew Bennet Low launched his first book earlier this month. 'Indecision Now!' chronicles the misadventures of a libertarian black sheep through stories, jokes, sketches, rants, poems and essays. This indie release follows fellow Rockstar Storyteller Joseph Scrimshaw's 2012 indie book release, and Low recruited some of the same talents who helped put Scrimshaw's book to print. Notably, however, neither was the first member of that loose-knit performance collective to circumvent the publishing establishment and get an indie book into their fans' hands. That dubious honor belongs to yours truly.

For a taste of Low's political outlook, see 'Maybe You Can, But Man, I Hope You Can't'

Vincent and Baril prepare for Dissent

Not being the types to leave uncomfortable topics like politics and religion to writers alone, Joey Vincent and Robert Baril are finally ready to take their outsider political talk show to the people. After announcing plans to move from podcasting to broadcasting back in January, the pair spent the next few months refining their vision and securing sponsors in the lead up to this Sunday's debut episode of 'Pardon the Dissent' on AM950.

The show branches off from the now defunct 'Filter Free Amerika' podcast, which peaked in popularity after interviewing Chris Lollie about being followed by police, tased, arrested and charged with trespassing as he was trying to leave a public area of the Saint Paul skyway near his children's school. Vita.mn correspondent Raghav Mehta is also a past guest. He was featured on the 2014 episode 'What Happened to Journalism?'

(www.pardonthedissent.com)

There's more to Star Wars than just some official new trailer

Not one, but two Star Wars fan films are in production here in the Twin Cities. First, 'Star Wars: The Recompense' follows space jock Jahdo Kyn's adventures through a galaxy far, far away. The film focuses on a corner of the Star Wars Universe where Jedi fear to tread, so there will be no lightsaber duels. A few brief teaser videos for the film have been posted to the project's facebook page.

Actors and directors Conrad M Flemming, Analiese Miller, Heather Peterson and Matt Roy get acquainted with the Recompense cockpit set.

For those in the if-it-ain't-lightsabers-it-aint-Star-Wars camp, 'Ties That Bind' makes up for Recompense's lack of iconic Jedi weaponry. The teaser trailer is nothing but two guys trying to slice each other up in a desert.

Ties That Bind actors Vibhishana Bain and Jeff Thompson filming a complex fight scene in front of a green screen.

More info at the facebook page for Ties That Bind.

Wil Wheaton's Tabletop team-up with Joseph Scrimshaw

Joseph Scrimshaw isn't all independent book releases. There's a lot more to him than that and he's gone a long way since leaving Minnesota for the warmer climes of Los Angeles, and not just literally. In the most recent episode of the cult web series Tabletop, Scrimshaw teams up with Wheaton, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal in a cooperative game of Concept, which is like Pictionary but for writers.

Here Wheaton is seen resisting the urge to facepalm as Scrimshaw discusses testicular ascension.

The Rat Pack goes to Andover

Head to the Northern suburbs this weekend and you might find yourself enjoying a bit of dinner theater in the company of Frank, Dean, Jerry, Sammy and an unlikely entourage of Rat Packers at the Majestic Oaks Golf Club.


Ron Ravensborg, Daniel Schneider, Reggie Haney, Misty Brehmer, Helene Donohue, Tara Lucchino and Bridgette Sara in Rat Pack Revival.

Here's the premise: Frank Sinatra leaves the Copa in Dean Martin's capable hands for the night on the grounds that he isn't to let Jerry Lewis into the building. Lewis gets in, of course, along with Sammy Davis Jr., Judy Garland and Ethel Merman. When Frank unexpectedly returns with Ann-Margret, hilarity ensues. So, you get to watch the cast clash in their efforts to expel the interloper in a farcical musical revue. You also get a hot meal and a promise that half the show's proceeds go to help vets with PTSD.

Fri, April 24. 6 pm. Sat, April 25. 11 am & 6 pm. Majestic Oaks Golf Club, 701 Bunker Lake Blvd NE, Andover. $44-$50. (www.theratpackrevival.com)

Minneapolis newest supergroup: The Horrible and the Miserable

From the neo-Barbershop sounds of the Ascots to the rhymes of Sifu Hotman and GRRRL PRTY, not to mention the pop sensibilities of Golden Smog, the Twin Cities are no strangers to locally grown supergroups. On Friday, former members of the God Damn Doo Wop Band and Pretty Boy Thorson & the Falling Angels will throw their hats into that ring as well, crowding onto a small stage and performing as the Horrible and the Miserable. The group blends a Mats-style jangle with vocal harmonies reminiscent of the Shangri-Las and Marvelettes, and headlines at the Hexagon along with Pale Angels, Dimensionals and Wowsville.

Friday, April 24. 10 pm. Hexagon Bar, 2600 27th Ave S, MPLS. Free. (www.hexagonbar.com)

(Rob Callahan spends his time tracking local artists who are so obscure you've probably never heard of them. You can, though, by following him on twitter. Email him if what you're doing is something he should know about.)

[All images provided.]