Welcome to Red Raku Press

Conversation between Jim Willison and Joni Foster about who might want to read this book: Jim Willison: What about marketing? What will you do there? It could be six of us who buy it or it could be six million, because this happened at a time when this stuff doesn’t happen. There’s a whole new generation who could read this book and it could go viral. Joni Foster: Yes, but think about what you said earlier. "I’m genuinely willing to talk about this to people who are inter

If you live in Ohio, you can also purchase this book at the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Library at 210 North Court Street, downtown Circleville. The proceeds will support the library to continue their mission of preserving the records of our ancestors while helping those seeking information about our history. They were very helpful to me in my research. It seems only right to help them back. Check out their website for hours of operation. When Normal Blew Up

After all these years of not really knowing what the story was about, I came to learn that, at the end of the day, it was the outcome of domestic abuse. A husband and wife were entangled, the wife filed for divorce, the husband became very disturbed. That’s why our communities should be grateful for the many people and organizations helping victims of domestic violence get safe and stay safe. This story is a reminder that no matter where you live, these organizations need ou

My foremost reason for writing this book was always to have a memorial for April 15, 2017, the fiftieth anniversary. So many times, at the twentieth, the twenty-fifth anniversary, etc., I have wanted to publicly mark the occasion someway. I have finally been successful. I made my goal. I am exuberant! The people who shared their stories, the people most deeply affected by this event received advance copies a few weeks before this public release. Fifty years it took for us to

When I started writing this story, I happened to listen to a podcast on grief and children. There’s a place in Utah that gives kids a place to work out their grief from the loss of a parent or other tragedies. They have a giant play house with different rooms for the kids: an art therapy room, a padded room where kids can go to kick and scream, and a room for group sessions. The goal for kids is to keep coming back until they can finally tell a group of kids the story of wha

When I first started writing, my coach/friend (Gloria Alvarez) told me, “Write this for you. This is about you. Write the story for you and see where it leads you.” So, my writing started off that way, about me and my account, and my effort to think deeply about this event. I also started reading old newspaper articles, everyone I could get a hold of. And I started cutting and pasting sentences from each article into a timeline and chronology so that I gathered every single

I couldn’t have written this book when my mom was alive. She was a very strong willed woman and if she didn’t want me to do this, she would have stopped me. And I didn’t want her to stop me. She passed in Oct ’15; and then my step dad got sick. He was living at Pickaway Manor nursing home and all the kids were going home to celebrate his 90th birthday. We had been told that something was going on with him; and when we got home, he was very sick and he ended up in the hospi

This story is so real for many people from Circleville, Ohio. The book has generated a lot of interest. People remember where they were that day. It still haunts many people. I wanted to write a book to help people remember with loving kindness. Read the article here.

Red Raku Press is proud to announce the release of its first book: When Normal Blew Up: The Story of the People Who Died and the People Who Lived On by Joni Foster. This is the story of a terrible tragedy that occurred on April 15,1967 in the small town of Circleville, Ohio. The book is now available in paperback or e-book at Amazon and from bookstores everywhere (through Ingram). Just ask for it. In Circleville, Ohio, the book will be available starting in April at: Pickawa

When Normal Blew Up: The Story of the People Who Died and the People Who Lived On will be available March 23, 2017 from Amazon.com or your favorite book store via IngramSpark/Lightning Source. Also coming soon to locations in Circleville.