Just Bart

by E.D.E. Bell

Bart is just a simple folk trying to get by. With a posse comprisin' of a sparkle-loving horse, an unsettled ghost, and a magic old whiskey bottle, they wander from town to town in search of some needed coin, and maybe a brighter day.

Twenty five episodes of whimsey, humor, friendship, spirit – and resilience.

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2021

About the author

E.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) loves fantasy fiction, and enjoys blending classic and modern elements. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Her works often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan, where she writes stories and revels in garlic. You can follow her adventures at edebell.com.

Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.

Reviews

[Minerva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a proofreader for Just Bart and found it an ideal book to read in episodes even when I didn’t have much time. It was originally written as one episode per month, so it’s perfectly suitable to put down and still remember who the characters are after a while. These characters are memorable anyway, and lovable. I really loved this book. I’d describe the genre as “cute western”: there are old western elements and exciting adventures, and it feels like it would work very well as a comic book. At the same time, it’s very different from what you might picture when you think of a “classic” western. Instead of violence, you’ll find kindness, and characters who are just trying their best to help others, and problems that take place in the realms of the fantastic and the bizarre—like a horse’s dream world or an alien convention to celebrate the planet Earth fandom. There are even a few dragons! I had a lot of fun reading this, and felt emotional when the adventure came to an end.

Recommended when you’re looking for a gentle and funny read!

[Marsalis Marsalis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, fantastical send-up of the well-worn western genre, Just Bart exists within its own realm. Through a series of increasingly wilder and more surreal episodes, we follow a most curious posse navigating across a world that rests somewhere between our own and one of pure magic. Here, whisky bottles sing songs, robots analyze television, and portals appear within restaurants. As post-modern as it is poignant, Just Bart places a mirror to the mundane and encrusts it with glitter, sheen, and hilarity. There is deadpan humor, clever wordplay, and sweet aphorisms that stick with you long after you've turned the last page. But, more than anything, in the midst of this posse merely wanting to get by, there is a sense of camaraderie, of hope, and of a genuine desire to be loved and appreciated within any life one is given. It is the kind of book you cherish consuming, the kind you wish to consume once more soon after. Nearly futuristic in its progressive spirit, Just Bart is unlike anything one has ever read before - a truly original gem.

[E.D.E. Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope Bart and their posse make you smile.