Mountain Book Covers

This month, the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center in downtown Cedaredge will host a book sale which is also a scholarship fundraiser. From 4-6 p.m. on Friday, April 25, local author Don Benjamin will sign and sell copies of his new dystopian novel, Mountain: A Cautionary Tale. Profits from sales will be donated to the Cedaredge Rotary Club Foundation to support university and technical college scholarships for Cedaredge High School students. 

 Published this year in two volumes, the Mountain saga is a compilation of nearly 100 serialized episodes which appeared weekly in the High Country Spotlight/Shopper from January 2023 to November 2024. As a special thank-you to readers who faithfully followed the serialized episodes, anyone who shows up with at least one episode of the original newspaper serial will get a price break of $5 off the cost of the two-volume novel. 

In the new novel, the author enhances existing episodes and adds new chapters. The novel reimagines American history. Set during the turbulent years 1936-42, it tells the story of a public works project which erects an enormous artificial mountain range along the Colorado/Kansas border. When a wealthy recluse hijacks the project to serve his own sinister purposes, unlikely heroes spark a revolution.

 Benjamin, who will celebrate his 80th birthday this year, is a Colorado native and award-winning novelist with accolades from the New Mexico Book Association and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. He is a member of the Cedaredge Rotary Club and the Grand Mesa Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9221. He served as a military journalist with the U.S. Army from 1963-66, including a tour in Korea. 

The author’s epic fantasy, Stone Bride, was recently produced as an audio book. His Four Corners Mystery Series includes his debut novel, The Road to Lavender (2020.) His fourth mystery, The War Nickel Murders, debuted in 2024. The mysteries are set in Colorado, primarily on Grand Mesa and in Delta County.

The Cedaredge Rotary Club is active in awarding local high school scholarships, and they raise funds throughout the year. In addition to the April book sale, their fundraisers include a Summer Scramble Golf Tournament and raffle scheduled for August at the Cedaredge Golf Course. The club also sells apple pies at Applefest during the first weekend in October, and members host an annual Community Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day.