Orcas Island resident Tim Bonner’s newest book is “A fun and fast-paced read.”

“Melodyland Opposite Disneyland” is a slice of life from the mid-70s Southern California. It centers around two mega-churches in central Orange County: The Hour of Power and Melodyland Christian Center. Two teenagers with brand-new driver’s licenses go all-in to help with their church’s evangelism. In so doing, they color outside the lines of traditional church activities. The story follows two big projects the boys work on: the restoration of an old searchlight, and the rehabilitation of an old school bus. To accomplish these tasks they travel the length of Southern California from Burbank to Tijuana, Mexico.

The plot includes big-time personalities from the Gospel revival days of the 1970s. These famous preachers and singers are portrayed with an even hand between their natural talent and their spirituality; yet not hiding their flaws.

Tim says, “The whole schema can be read as a study in personality and human nature. It’s completely different than ‘Doom Saloon,’ my first book. Whereas that book was a tragedy, ‘Melodyland Opposite Disneyland’ is comedy, but both have these archetypal characters. The fool, the priest, the proud, the artistic, the martyr and so on. There are rich, there are poor, both financially, emotionally and spiritually. Some are pompous, some are humble and there’s even a jerk tossed in for good measure.”

“Melodyland Opposite Disneyland” is full of humor. Sarcasm, wit, puns and plot-twists galore. Although it revolves around the boy’s home church and contains much Christian content, it is not a Christian book, per se, but rather a tongue-in-cheek look at the follies and foibles of sincere, yet flawed, ministers of the Gospel.

“It is written in the present tense,” Tim says, “in order to bring a sense of immediacy which in turn makes it fun to read. I also used AI for the cover art which was really cool.”

Signed copies of “Melodyland Opposite Disneyland” as well as “Doom Saloon” are available at the Laughing Cat Designs adjacent to the post office.