A new Cloverdale chapter in Roy Parvin’s life

After publishing two successful books of short fiction, acclaimed writer Roy Parvin found himself in a 10-year slump. He found his redemption - and a new home in Cloverdale - atop a bicycle.

Parvin was born and raised in New Jersey, started his career by writing movie reviews for Home Box Office from his home in New York City and, in the early 1980s, moved with his wife Janet to San Francisco, where she took a job with Sierra Club Books.

He spent 15 years writing manuals for high tech companies and escaping on weekends to a cabin in the Trinity Alps.

Stories set in those rugged hills began to work their way onto paper, so in 1993 Parvin quit his job to write full time. “The Loneliest Road,” a collection of short stories set in the remote wilderness of Northern California, was published in 1997.

W. W. Norton & Co. agreed to publish his second book in 2000, “In the Snow Forest: Three Novellas,” and he signed a two-book deal.

Accolades for “In the Snow Forest” rolled in, including a Breadloaf Fellowship, a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and the inclusion of his work in the “Best American Short Stories” series. Barnes & Noble even selected him as a “discovery author.”

The acclaim was paralyzing, and the second book for Norton (his third) never materialized. He returned the advance and used the grant money for living expenses.

“I couldn’t do it under pressure,” Parvin said. “I needed to ‘feel’ the story, to see it in my mind, and it just wasn’t there.”

He tried unsuccessfully to recapture the magic he found in writing by learning to build furniture and studying music. He and Janet moved full time to their cabin and, from there, to Fortuna.

He even took up bicycling, often riding to the point of exhaustion so he would be too tired to think about writing.

Things began to change about four years ago, he said, when he was invited to take part in the annual Asti Tour di Vine bicycle ride sponsored by the Cloverdale Rotary.

“The first year we came, Janet and I were captivated by the beautiful scenery and the great bicycling routes. The next year, we discovered the town, the art and the ?people.

“Last year, we just knew in our hearts this is where we were supposed to be. I figured if I couldn’t write, at least we could live where I could cycle and wear shorts most of the year.”

Parvin credits the move with re-awakening his creative spirit. “I didn’t think I’d start writing again, but there’s such a positive energy here and it revitalized me,” he said.

“It’s been very surprising and gratifying to find my confidence again.”

Several months ago, ideas began to flow for a new book. When he first started jotting down notes, he did it in the closet because he didn’t want his wife to know what he was doing.

“I wasn’t ready to share it with her. I didn’t want to disappoint her if it didn’t work out.”

The images he couldn’t shake were of a guy in the backyard of an apartment building riding a stationary bike and the 13-year-old Latino boy who watched him through a small hole in the fence, trying to figure out why he was pedaling so hard but going nowhere.

In July, he officially started work on a book that is set in Cloverdale, a town he calls Colby because it is faster to type. Bicycling plays a big part in the story, much as it does in Parvin’s life.

While he writes, Parvin has found a new way to marry his passions. His new friend Marne Dupere, who owns 14 Feet and ?Plank Coffee, approached him about helping with a fundraiser. Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce has launched a “Cycledale” initiative to bring international cyclists to town, and a Bike Rack Sculpture Project is part of that initiative. He didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“It was serendipitous she asked me since I moved here for the bicycling and was writing a book about bicycling that takes place in Cloverdale,” Parvin said.

Also serendipitous is the movie he brings to the fundraising effort.

A few years ago, the late French director Claude Miller happened to read “In the Snow Forest” and was so captivated by the novella “Menno’s Granddaughter” that he optioned the movie rights.

“Voyez Comme Ils Dansent” (See How they Dance) debuted in France in 2011 and starred James Thierre, a French circus performer, actor and grandson of the late Charlie Chaplin. The film, Miller’s last directing effort, received the 2011 Grand Jury Award at the Rome Film Festival.

When the movie came out, Parvin says, he finally felt like a writer again, and on Nov. 8, he will preside over a French dinner and the film’s U.S. premiere at the Clover Theater.

Parvin said he feels the dam has finally burst and is enthusiastic when he says he and Janet aren’t sure if they found a home or if it found them.

“We just know that if we could have picked a town out of a catalog, it would most definitely have been Cloverdale.”

Contact Cloverdale Towns correspondent Mary ?Jo Winter at cloverdale.towns@gmail.com.