Released on: April 7, 2008, 9:57 am

Press Release Author: Hawser Press

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Entrepreneur turned novelist sweeps us to the Dutch Caribbean
in a vivid and absorbing tale of personal endurance, bartered souls, and stifled
ambition

Press Release Body: PHILADELPHIA, PA / ARUBA, DWI - In his debut novel, AN ISLAND
AWAY (Hawser Press; May 12, 2008: $16), Daniel Putkowski takes us far from the
sparkling beaches and glamorous hotels of his small Caribbean isle, to a waning
refinery boomtown of barroom brothels, flexible morality, and one tourist trap known
as Charlie's Bar. In a place that's more Wild West than tropical paradise, we meet
Luz, a young Colombian woman working as a prostitute to pay off her family's debt,
and Sam, an aging American expatriate looking to perpetuate his flamboyant youth.
Together they find Captain Nathan Beck, washed ashore and barely alive after his
tugboat sinks in a storm. For each of them, the town of San Nicolaas provides hope
amid desperation as they live dangerously and grapple with reality in pursuit of
their dreams. It all unfolds under Charlie's watchful eye. He knows that on his
desert island you have to improvise.

Drawing on more than a decade of visiting and eventually living on the island of
Aruba, Putkowski has captured a moment in time that is quickly fading throughout the
Caribbean. "I wanted to honor my friends and acquaintances who welcomed me to a part
of the Caribbean that is still authentic. They showed me a world apart from the
franchise hotels, cruise ships, and gift shops. Not all of it is beautiful, but
every bit is real. Here I was exposed to the genuine drama of close-quarters living
in a one-industry town on the flip side of paradise. Survival is easy, prosperity
something else entirely, and progress in either case is measured on a constantly
changing scale. Living here, within the same environment as An Island Away, is like
smashing the piñata, you never know what's going to fall out."

In his honest and often heartbreaking story, Putkowski has crafted an unforgettable
young heroine searching for her identity in a place where the best and worst of
human nature is laid bare. The haunting choices she must make along the way resonate
long after the final page is turned.

*****

"A brilliant read. Reveals a part of the island most tourists never see." - René
Koppejan & Harold van den Burg, Owners, Astoria Hotel & Restaurant, San Nicolaas,
Aruba

"So real . it can't be fiction." - Robert Gibson, Aruba Eloquent, Savaneta, Aruba

*****

Daniel Putkowski, captivated by Aruba's cultural diversity, divides his time between
the island, Spain, and a suburb of Philadelphia. He is a graduate of New York
University's Tisch School of the Arts. A sequel to An Island Away titled Under a
Blue Flag will follow Putkowski's next release, Bonk's Bar, due early 2009.

For more details, including excerpts from An Island Away and Bonk's Bar, visit the
author's official website DanielPutkowski.com

*****

An Island Away / Daniel Putkowski / ON SALE MAY 12
Hawser Press, 496 pages, trade paperback
ISBN: 9780981595900

Web Site: http://www.danielputkowski.com

Contact Details: Hawser Press
4 State Rd, #503, Media, PA 19063-1413
contact@danielputkowski.com