John A. Heldt's Blog, page 25
March 30, 2013
Review: The Big Burn by Timothy Egan
I don't read much non-fiction. I can count the number of non-fiction books I've read in the past decade on one hand. Those I've liked tended to be those that read like fiction -- books like Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers, and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm. I can now add The Big Burn by Timothy Egan to that list.
The 2009 work is many things: a history of the early conservation movement; an explanation of Theodore Roosevelt's role in that movement; a biography of Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service; and a riveting account of the Great Fire, which destroyed more than three million acres of forest in Idaho, Montana, and Washington and forever changed how our public lands are managed.
Egan's treatment of the influential but relatively little-known event was interesting, informative, and balanced. More than once, I had to remind myself I was reading the true stories of individuals and communities swept up in the calamity of August 20-21, 1910, and not the creative narrative of a novelist.
Readers looking to better their understanding of important figures of the day and an event that shaped the American West won't be disappointed. Rating: 4/5.
The 2009 work is many things: a history of the early conservation movement; an explanation of Theodore Roosevelt's role in that movement; a biography of Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service; and a riveting account of the Great Fire, which destroyed more than three million acres of forest in Idaho, Montana, and Washington and forever changed how our public lands are managed.
Egan's treatment of the influential but relatively little-known event was interesting, informative, and balanced. More than once, I had to remind myself I was reading the true stories of individuals and communities swept up in the calamity of August 20-21, 1910, and not the creative narrative of a novelist.
Readers looking to better their understanding of important figures of the day and an event that shaped the American West won't be disappointed. Rating: 4/5.
March 12, 2013
Happy Ever After, Part II
The Happy Ever After blog at
USA TODAY
has gone through a few changes since it reviewed
The Mine
last April 21. It has a new URL and a new look, with slick graphics, Twitter links, and user-friendly navigation tools. But it remains the go-to venue for news and reviews of the latest and greatest reads in the romance genre. It's also still a place where authors can discuss their works and issues of interest to readers. Tomorrow I take my turn with a guest post on the differences between love stories and romance novels. Many thanks to editor Joyce Lamb for the opportunity to contribute to this influential forum.
February 25, 2013
Review: The Panther by Nelson DeMille
John Corey is not the only thing that draws me to the works of Nelson DeMille, but he's the biggest thing. Few characters in contemporary fiction are as engaging as the cocky, witty ex-NYPD detective. So I didn't need much motivation to pick up DeMille's latest novel and catch up with the unorthodox but highly effective lawman. In The Panther, DeMille sends Corey and FBI wife Kate Mayfield to Yemen as part of a task force to bring justice to the mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole. The result is a roller-coaster ride of a story that keeps you on edge almost to the last page. Readers who love smart thrillers filled with intrigue and humor won't be disappointed. Rating: 4/5.
February 17, 2013
Show time
It's been nearly a year since a reader first suggested that I write a sequel to
The Mine
. She said, in so many words, that this is a story that must continue. Others echoed that sentiment in the months that followed. Some wanted answers to lingering questions. A few wanted to see more of their favorite characters.
So shortly after finishing The Journey , the unrelated second novel in the Northwest Passage time-travel series, I went to work on the book the readers wanted. Three months later, I am pleased to announce the release of that book. The Show , the sequel to The Mine , goes on sale today.
As noted several weeks ago in this blog, the two novels are joined at the hip. They share many of the same characters, settings, themes, and, oddly enough, time frames. The Show begins on December 7, 1941, the turning point of The Mine , and serves as both a prequel and a sequel to my debut novel. Each story is told from multiple points of view.
There are differences, however, and none are bigger than the protagonists. Whereas The Mine is the story of Joel Smith, a cocky, adventurous college senior who travels from 2000 to 1941, The Show is the story of his more humble, circumspect girlfriend, who navigates her way through three distinct eras in American history.
In the sequel, Grace Vandenberg, the orphaned daughter of missionaries, follows Joel into the twenty-first century but finds a future that looks an awful lot like the past -- her parents' past. She enters a mysterious time portal of her own and travels to 1918 and the world of the Great War, the Spanish flu, silent movies, and early prohibition.
The Show is available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon.com. Enjoy!
So shortly after finishing The Journey , the unrelated second novel in the Northwest Passage time-travel series, I went to work on the book the readers wanted. Three months later, I am pleased to announce the release of that book. The Show , the sequel to The Mine , goes on sale today.
As noted several weeks ago in this blog, the two novels are joined at the hip. They share many of the same characters, settings, themes, and, oddly enough, time frames. The Show begins on December 7, 1941, the turning point of The Mine , and serves as both a prequel and a sequel to my debut novel. Each story is told from multiple points of view.
There are differences, however, and none are bigger than the protagonists. Whereas The Mine is the story of Joel Smith, a cocky, adventurous college senior who travels from 2000 to 1941, The Show is the story of his more humble, circumspect girlfriend, who navigates her way through three distinct eras in American history.
In the sequel, Grace Vandenberg, the orphaned daughter of missionaries, follows Joel into the twenty-first century but finds a future that looks an awful lot like the past -- her parents' past. She enters a mysterious time portal of her own and travels to 1918 and the world of the Great War, the Spanish flu, silent movies, and early prohibition.
The Show is available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon.com. Enjoy!
January 31, 2013
More gold for The Mine
As my daughter Amy made clear to me a year ago,
The Mine
is a romance novel. The relationship between Joel Smith and Grace Vandenberg is not only the heart and soul of that story but also the foundation of the Northwest Passage series.
The Mine
, however, is not only a romance. It is also, at least nominally, a work of science fiction. Yesterday, the Spacefreighters Lounge blog recognized both elements of the novel by naming it the Best Time-Travel Romance in its first-ever SFR Galaxy Awards. I am most grateful for the honor.
January 20, 2013
Another step closer
One of the things I most enjoy about the publishing process is picking the cover art. It is the first step in marketing a book and probably the most important. Cover art should not only invite potential readers to take a look inside but also give them an idea of what a book is about. I chose the image at right because I thought it simply and elegantly represented a theater setting from 1918. I hope readers like it. Work on the second draft of The Show continues. I plan to release the third novel in my Northwest Passage series by March 1.
December 22, 2012
Holiday promotion
In keeping with the spirit of the season, I will give away Kindle-friendly copies of The Journey on Christmas Day. The promotion, made possible through Amazon's KDP Select program, will run all day. Work continues on The Show, the sequel to The Mine. I completed a rough draft last weekend and hope publish the book, the third in the Northwest Passage time-travel series, by April 1. Thanks again to the many readers and bloggers who have supported my work in 2012. Merry Christmas to all!
November 29, 2012
Honorable mention for The Mine
When you are busy marketing your second novel and writing your third, it's easy to forget your first. Fortunately, not everyone has put
The Mine
behind them.
Library Journal
this month named the novel one of its five best books of 2012 in the Ebook Romance category. I'm honored to be included in this company.
November 12, 2012
Getting The Show on the road
When I debated when to start writing my third novel, I considered quotes from two great Americans: Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain. Jefferson advised his contemporaries to "never put off tomorrow what you can do today." Twain went the other direction. "Never put off until tomorrow," he said, "what you can do the day after tomorrow."
But when I considered that Twain more often than not took Jefferson's advice, I concluded that TJ probably had it right and that there was no time like the present to begin writing The Show, the third title in the Northwest Passage time-travel series.
Those familiar with the series know that The Journey, released November 3, is not the sequel to The Mine. In fact, The Journey has only one tie to first book. Joel Smith, the college-age protagonist of The Mine, makes a brief appearance as a candy-chomping two-year-old in Chapter 53.
The Show, on the other hand, will be joined to The Mine at the hip. The sequel will be told almost entirely, if not entirely, from the perspective of Grace Vandenberg, the heroine of The Mine, and be set mostly in Seattle in the months following World War I. Work on the novel begins this week. I plan to release The Show by April.
But when I considered that Twain more often than not took Jefferson's advice, I concluded that TJ probably had it right and that there was no time like the present to begin writing The Show, the third title in the Northwest Passage time-travel series.
Those familiar with the series know that The Journey, released November 3, is not the sequel to The Mine. In fact, The Journey has only one tie to first book. Joel Smith, the college-age protagonist of The Mine, makes a brief appearance as a candy-chomping two-year-old in Chapter 53.
The Show, on the other hand, will be joined to The Mine at the hip. The sequel will be told almost entirely, if not entirely, from the perspective of Grace Vandenberg, the heroine of The Mine, and be set mostly in Seattle in the months following World War I. Work on the novel begins this week. I plan to release The Show by April.
November 4, 2012
The Journey begins
Today I am pleased to announce the release of my second novel in the Northwest Passage time-travel series. The Journey follows a 48-year-old widow to the time (1979) and place (Oregon) of her senior year of high school. It is available as an ebook on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Enjoy!
