Novel by WO native revolves around local landmarks

Dave Goren is living in Alabama but he spends a lot of time thinking about West Orange.

And it’s the township of West Orange that shines in his new novel; “Canyon: The Extraordinary Life of Dan Johnson,” which is a fictional story about the world’s tallest man. Dan Johnson lives in Manhattan and plays for the Knicks. His best friend Tony lives in West Orange.

“I use real places, real restaurants. I wanted to make it interesting and fun,” said Goren, who spent a large chunk of his life in West Orange. Notable places like Eagle Rock Reservation, Pal’s Cabin and the Manor are mentioned. They’re all places Goren has visited.

“The Manor was the fancy place you went for a wedding. It was beautiful. It was always there,” he said. “I knew how much Pal’s Cabin meant to the town.” He paused, then added, “Eagle Rock, everybody’s been there for a softball game. You can see the New York skyline.”

A native of West Orange, he graduated from Mountain High School and still visits every couple of months, he said.

In the book, it’s there at Eagle Rock where Dan and his best friend Tony have their deep conversations about God and lighter talks about “where’s the best food” and “where’s the best bands.” And with fame and riches, comes the ability for Dan to help sick children and help the hunger crisis. “Those are real things,” Goren said. “He [Dan] wants to help in a meaningful way.”

According to Goren, he is Dan. Except that he’s not 8 feet tall and doesn’t have an Olympic medal.

“My wife heard the story for half a year,” he said. “She said, ‘It’s all about you, the book is about you.’”

This is not Goren’s first book. He’s also written poetry books. They’re about the state of New Jersey, food, sports and love. He said they are mostly for his own enjoyment.

Being a writer is not something he always wanted to be, nor are there other writers in his family. But he wanted to find something to do in his spare time. Goren worked in sales and he didn’ have the work/life balance that people speak of. “I needed to find something to do,” he shared. “I didn’t play golf. I started writing poetry.”

His advice to aspiring writers is, “Write what you feel. Write what you believe. Write until your story is complete. You should write according to what you believe.”

Goren believes that if he had an editor, “Canyon: The Extraordinary Life of Dan Johnson” would be cut in half. The book is 600 pages long. But Goren wasn’t thinking in a business way. The book turned out to be a very long story but Goren is happy about it.

“I don’t believe people read like they once did,” he expressed. “I hope that people look at it and aren’t afraid to tackle it.”

The beginning of a sequel is on Goren’s mind but he said he needs to give it a little more thought and develop it. “I want to give people a chance to read this book,” he said, adding, “And market it.”

“Canyon” is self-published on Amazon.com, where he has several other books, including a poetry series called “Poetry by Dave,” and a book about an unfinished Route 280 in the Oranges called “Walking 280: A Kid’s View of Jersey in 1971.” He’s also working on writing more poetry and a book about a time traveler.

When Goren isn’t working or writing, he likes to spend time going to the gym and playing trumpet and guitar. He works in consumer sales, selling various products to stores like Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes.

He also loves to spend time with his wife. They’re foodies who enjoy trying different restaurants. He also has two sons — one in Manhattan and one in Atlanta. Planning trips to do things with them takes up most of his time.

Connect with Dave Goren on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/PoetrybyDave/.