On September 20-25th, in Missoula, the 2016 edition of the
Montana Book Festival will kick off a rousing week of workshops, discussions,
panels and readings from nearly 150 authors from Montana and beyond. The
offerings are richly varied and include young adult and children’s activities,
discussions about self-publishing, the American west, Montana mystery,
Approaches to Spiritual Inquiry, Healing through Native and native Western
Voices, Revision and the Poetic Process, a book fair, and much more to
tantalize the literary palette.
The children and young adult events are free, as are most
Thursday and Sunday events. Workshops have special pricing. Access to the Friday
and Saturday events is $5 each or a button for $15 covers those days plus the
author/reader reception and other gatherings. Check the full listings at http://www.montanabookfestival.org/.
The Festival promises to be an enthusiastic and creative week.
I am delighted to again be part of the Youth Festival
portion of the event with my young adult novel, We Are the Warriors, a 2015 USA Regional Excellence Book
Award Finalist. I will be co-presenting the teen workshop, “Creating Dynamic
Characters,” with Kris
Dinnison of Spokane, author of You and Me
and Him, and Frank Nappi, author of Welcome to the Show, the third installment in the Mickey
Tussler series.
The Youth portion of the Festival includes other outstanding
Montana authors such as Susan Adrian,
whose young adult novel, Tunnel Vision, garnered Honor Book for the Montana
Book Award and Blythe Woolston, the
author of Black Helicopters, winner of the High Plains Book Award
for YA literature. Recent middle-grade books that have splashed onto the scene
include Janet Fox’s The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle, receiving multiple starred reviews and Kent Davis’ A
Riddle in Ruby recipient of a
Kirkus starred review.
With so many literary choices, I am again faced with the dilemma,
“What kind of author do I want to be? What kind of writer? What do I want to
read?” There are so many options.
A year ago I decided to embark on some short story writing.
After I wrote and edited and re-edited a story for about eight weeks, I
realized I would rather spend that quantity and quality of time continuing to
work on my next novel.
Sometimes our interests or abilities are a bit preordained, seemingly
not in our decision-making power. Contrary to my instincts, every now and then
I decide to read a book my gut knows I won’t really like. It’s not my genre.
Not my cup of tea. But I want to be able to say I know how it is written, how
it reads, what its audience is...I read to accomplish a mission. Most often though,
I prefer to read for enjoyment or education—that is my compelling draw.
Many of my favorite choices lately have been to read Montana
authors. This has been an enlightening, fun and captivating endeavor. Such
talent and creativity in so many voices. Always wish I had more time to read.
The 2016 Montana Book Festival offers a unique opportunity to hear from many of
these dedicated and talented individuals—from an awesome array of genres.
On a recent hike up the old road to the Granite Ghost Town,
high in the Flint Creek Mountains, I had the occasion to revel in an era over
one hundred years before. All my research, reading and study opened a door that
displayed the lives of women and men many years before. The old granite foundations,
roads and rotting timbers spoke of vitality—once, or again—so very real. My YA
novel of time travel, rich in historical accuracy is taking shape...More to
come later...maybe the ghosts do speak to us. #MBF2016 #treasure
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