Bill Mathis

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Mark Preuschl

Bill Mathis

Retirement has been an interesting period in the life of Beloit author Bill Mathis. Following a religious upbringing, several decades of working at youth camps and a foster care agency, and a divorce, he declared his homosexuality and wrote a novel. One of the book’s main characters, Nate, is quadriplegic with cerebral palsy and, he comes to realize, gay. Set in the 1990s, Mathis’ debut, Face Your Fears, treads traditional coming-of-age territory with a thoughtful perspective that’s rare but growing in pop culture and young adult lit. Mathis’ life experience lends undeniable authenticity characters’ encounters with themselves, each other and what’s considered to be normal.

press release:

Noted Wisconsin author, Kathie Giorgio, (In Grace’s Time; The Home for Wayward Clocks) writes, “This open-minded and open-hearted novel immerses the reader into the lives of two young boys growing up in a world where they feel different from everyone else, as if they just don’t fit in. Physical disability, sexual identity and family confusion all come to the surface in this gentle, caring, and often funny tale…”

Author/journalist/writer James Brock states, “Face Your Fears is a novel of a lifetime of love. With strong, compelling characters this story follows the very different lives of two young men from childhood into young adulthood as they grow to face who they are and who they will become. Tragic to triumphant, by turn this sweeping saga is a modern classic!”

Mathis will read several excerpts from his book, explain the impetus for writing a novel on such a distinctive subject, answer questions, and sign books. Books are available at the bookstore.