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Fukuoka, Japan--Robert W. Norris, a native Californian and Vietnam War conscientious objector (CO) now living in Japan, knows what it means for a writer to persevere. Nearly thirty years after being court-martialed as a CO and twenty-five years of writing, Norris has drawn upon his many experiences to write his first electronic novel "Looking for the Summer."

"Looking for the Summer" (ISBN:1 74053 030 6), published by Jacobyte Books (http://www.jacobytebooks.com), tells the story of a Vietnam War CO's adventures and search for identity on the road from Paris to Calcutta in 1977.

"Back in 1970 I was a CO within the military, refused my orders to fight in the war, got court-martialed, and spent time in a military prison," Norris said. "The Kent State killings were the final straw in what was, at the time, a difficult and personal decision to make a stand against the war.

"After serving my sentence, I was kicked out of the military with an 'undesirable' discharge. For the next ten years I wandered the globe in search of an identity. I hitchhiked across the States twice, bummed around Europe sleeping in fields and under bridges, and took one journey around the world. Afghanistan and India, in particular, made a deep impression on me. I worked a lot of labor jobs during that time. Wherever I went I was continually taking notes and writing journals. 'Looking for the Summer' took about ten different drafts and over 20 years to write, but I was finally able to pull all those earlier experiences together and put them to use. To see the book available to the world on the Internet makes everything worth having gone through."

Meredith Whitford, Director and Senior Editor of Jacobyte Books, said, "'Looking for the Summer' is a novel that we are proud to publish. Anyone who lived through the upheaval of the 1960s and 70s will recognise themselves and their past in this quest for self-knowledge and identity. To those who know this period only as history to be read about or studied--or ignored--Norris offers illuminating insights."

Synopsis: David Thompson is a former Vietnam War conscientious objector in Paris on a quest to find himself in the early days of 1977. When he befriends an Iranian and an Afghan and is invited to return with them to their countries, his quest slowly becomes a descent into his own private hell. On the road from Europe to the East he encounters Kurdish bandits in the eastern mountains of Turkey, becomes involved with an underground group opposed to the Shah in Iran, escapes to Afghanistan, passes through Pakistan during the uprising against the Bhutto regime, and suffers extreme sickness on the streets of Delhi and Calcutta. Although continually searching for the happiness and identity he could not find in the U.S., he cannot easily shed his American past. Throughout the journey he is hounded by the demons of memory, particularly that of his father, a World War II hero who disowned David and died while David was still in prison. The story is interspersed with a multitude of characters whose philosophical, political, and religious opinions influence David greatly in his search. The journey itself becomes a physical manifestation of his struggle to achieve reconciliation with his own conscience.

Norris is the author of "Toraware" (Dead End Street Publications, http://www.deadendstreet.com, Dec. 2000), a novel about the obsessive relationship of three misfits from different cultural backgrounds in 1980s Japan, "The Many Roads to Japan" (Osaka Kyoiku Tosho, 1997), a novella used as a textbook-reader in Japanese universities, and several articles on teaching English in Japan. He and his wife live near Fukuoka, Kyushu, where he is an associate professor at Fukuoka International University.

"Looking for the Summer" is available as a Rocket eBook and CD. Readers can purchase "Looking for the Summer" from Jacobyte Books at http://www.jacobytebooks.com for US $4 per download or US $10 per CD.

Authors and reviewers alike have praised "Looking for the Summer."

"I loved it. It's quite a saga, but in a lot of ways it's more than fiction. At times, it seems almost a work of philosophy, other times politics. The homilies on Sufism, the war in Vietnam, conscientious objection, etc. are all very enlightening, very unusual. The influence of Kerouac is apparent." -- Raymond Mungo, author of many counterculture books

"['Looking for the Summer'] is beautifully written and tells us a great deal about the search for meaning in our lives. To learn who we are and what our lives are meant to be is a lifetime project, and Robert Norris has given us a fascinating glimpse of how this process unfolds." -- Richard C. Anderson, WWII conscientious objector and author of "Peace Was in Their Hearts"

"['Looking for the Summer'] is a book that falls between many stools -- novel, autobiography, travelogue and philosophical tract.... If only half of the events in the book are based on events and experiences in his life then [Norris] is a man who has lived life to the full.... At times the narrative is ... raw and emotionally blistering.... A book to check out, I think, especially if you enjoy investigating the real world." -- John M. Peters, New Hope International Review On-Line

Contact: Robert W. Norris
http://www2.gol.com/users/norris/
rwnorris@iname.com