For a limited time ... "Cheechako," FREE

From now through December 31, a free ebook

I'm so sure you'll want to read all three books in the Cheechako series, here's a digital copy of the first one, free. 

The Cheechako series is written for age 10 - forever ... really!

Use the book for your own enjoyment, or if you're planning to give an e-reader, no matter what brand, including Kindle and Nook, it only makes sense to also include a great 'read.' 

"Cheechako" is the exciting, sometimes heart-thumping story of Will who comes out to Alaska from Boston. He has a lot to learn and not much time to learn it. 

You can even read 20% of the book for free on Smashwords.

Here is the link: Cheechako Series on Smashwords

There's a free copy waiting for you. To get the book, you'll be prompted to enter this code: VT96R 

And, as always, I would love to read your review, posted in Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, or Goodreads.

If you have any trouble with this, at all, be sure to let me know right away. 

Give a child a book for Christmas ... then read it aloud!

Reading aloud changes lives.

I'm a bear about reading aloud to children and you should be too. 

Many parents and grandparents are frankly puzzled at how to share time with a child. Get down on the floor and play plastic soldiers or Barbies? My wife does and is beloved as 'the playing grandma.'

But for the rest of us, reading aloud preps a child for school and for life and for a real relationship with you! Time spent together. There's no substitute. 

With Christmas and gift-giving in mind, I want to list a few books that delighted me, my children and my grandchildren, and will delight you and yours as well. But for maximum effect, you can't just give them, you have to sit down with a child to read. And this works all the way through grade 8. 

Doubts about what book to buy? Start here.

The short answer is 'anything by Maurice Sendak.' For most people, the Sendak pinnacle is "Where the Wild Things Are." Never read it? You're in for a treat. It starts the night Max wears his wolf suit. 

Less widely known, but also wonderful—rich, rich artwork—is anything by Chris Van Allsburg. Thanks to movies and video, his "Polar Express," is better known. But feast your eyes on the rich images and compelling tale ... with a twist ... in this book, "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi." Just wait until you see what happens when Fritz, the dog, ventures where he is not supposed to. 

Not just for children!

If you imagine you'll be bored reading children's books, get set for a pleasant surprise, especially when you get to the middle grades. "Hatchet," by Gary Paulsen, will have you sneaking to read ahead.

Find out what happens to Brian when he's stranded, forced to spend the summer, alone in the north, with just a hatchet. A youth book? Yes, but one you'll love at any age. I still buy this one at the Goodwill for a buck or two and hand them out. 

It's that good!

A similar, northern adventure book, suitable for about age 10 to forever, is my own Alaska dogsled tale, "Cheechako." The book is enthusiastically recommended by reading specialists, who tell me that kids who don't like to read, read ahead to find out what happens. You will, too. 

Like "Hatchet," "Cheechako" is the first book in a series. It's great to know that when you and your kids or grandkids get hooked on a book, there are more to come!

Escape to Narnia

There are more good starter books than anyone can blog about. But my list would be incomplete without mentioning the classic C.S.Lewis "Narnia" series. They are wonderful adventure, and with seven books in the series, an adventure that goes on and on. These were the "Harry Potters" of their day, and are still filled with magic and adventure.

The "Narnia" series is the sole reason my brothers and sister survived into adulthood, because our mother used to read them to us while we did our group chores, the supper dishes. Otherwise, we would certainly have beaten each other to death with soapy kitchen implements. 

These books are all available in paperback, digitally in any format, or ... with the exception of "Cheechako," even available in hardback.

And be sure to sign the book at the front, before you Christmas wrap it. Someday, your signature, message, and this gift will be what's left when you've left the planet. In addition to all the other benefits, this is your chance to give a child a lifelong, warm memory. 

How often is something like that this easy?!

Your next trip ... how about I ride along and read to you?!!

http://www.audible.com/pd/Kids/Cheechako-Audiobook/B00C2ZZZ6K/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srTtl?qid=1478716602&sr=1-2

One easy trick to change a child's life ... no, really!

"One easy trick ... sure." 

You see this one easy trick thing, all the time. It's usually a lie, or they want to sell you something. But I promise you, this is the real deal.

We all want the best for our children or grand children. And many of us not only want the best, we're willing to participate to get it. 

Often that means buying something, and grandparents especially, with a bit of disposable income, are experts. 

But you can't buy this. 

Okay, I suppose you could, but why would you? Would you really hire someone to read aloud to your kids? It's best when you do it yourself. 

There are lots of reasons to read, not just to a toddler, but all the way up to grade 8. I won't go into all of them here because I want to keep this short. But here is what's critical.

Reading aloud changes lives.

This is the important part, borrowed from a site called "Reach Out & Read." 

"Research shows that the more words parents use when speaking to an 8-month-old, the greater the size of the child's vocabulary at age 3."*

And here's the chiller:  

"Children from low-income families hear as many as 30 million FEWER words than their more affluent peers before the age of 4." 

So yes, they arrive at kindergarten already behind. 

The easiest way to let children hear more words is to read them. The more the better. Some parents start reading to the child in the womb. 

What to read?

Do this search: "Best books to read aloud." You'll get a whole page of great suggestions. If money is an issue, don't be deterred. You can go to the Goodwill, St. Vinnie's or yard sales and pick up all you need for pocket change. 

One good reason not to? There isn't one. Start today.

*(Hart, B. Risley, T. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young American Children (1995), Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.)

Want to write? Here's the best kept secret.

People who don't write at all, will tell you this.

When you decide you're really going to do it, or when you start writing and then get stuck, someone will ALWAYS say: "Well, you should just write what you know," ... as if that's it. 

It's right, of course, but it's also not right. I can't even type the phrase without going back ... about a thousand years ... to when I was teaching junior high. I remember a student moaning ... "BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I KNOW!" 

And that's the problem.

What you know isn't what you know. 

We get the two confused. People start thinking about things they've read or been taught. Facts and figures. There is a place for all of that in writing, but not at first. What you really know is  much more subtle. 

It's the way air smells, mingled ever so softly with scents of bacon and coffee, early in the morning. It's the way a favorite trail feels under your feet, or how your shoulders loosen and lower as you start along that trail and finally relax. Or, Emily Dickinson's "certain slant of light." 

You probably know that one yourself, a cast of light that uplifts, or completely depresses. 

Start with this: your 'eyelid movies.'

When I was in advertising, I had the great good fortune to work for Bill Hoke, long-time friend, creative director, and a gifted writer (Bill's poems.) A small aside, he's the one who contributed "cut it 'til it bleeds," to my writing vocabulary. Solid advice.

Bill talked about 'eyelid movies,' scenes you remember or imagine. When I picture a scene in one of my books, it's how I start and where I start. I put myself there and know exactly how it sounds and smells ... how it all feels. 

Those are things I know. Now it's your turn. Go ahead and  write from there. 

That's what you know. Better than anybody. 

"Cheechako," now available on Smashwords, in all ebook formats!

Fast-paced, Alaska adventure

Cheechako, first book in the Cheechako Series—written for age ten to forever—is now available in ANY ebook format.

You can find it here: "Cheechako" on Smashwords

A reminder to Facebook readers you need to click on the post and go to the blog site for the link to work.

Adventure for boys ... but girls are reading, too. 

An exciting story is still an exciting story. This one has it all: dogsledding, hatchet throwing, getting out on the trail with no parents around—a plucky dog for a best friend—and lots of living by wits, so there are no computers or cellphones to save the day. Does it get any better?!

Check out this new review of my Alaska mystery, "In Gold We Trust."

5.0 out of 5 starsA terrific read, like coming home to old friends.

By lelliott541 on October 27, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

A strong follow-up to "Indecent Exposure," the next installment in the Father Hardy series, "In Gold We Trust" follows our beloved cast of characters into a new chapter in their lives.

Returning to the Post-WWII Alaskan frontier at a dangerous time, the Spring thaw, we find Father Hardy being used as a pawn in a long-running blood-feud, fueled by murder and missing gold. In order to save his friends, and a new love, Hardy confronts danger head-on, but it isn't long before he needs saving himself.

What chance can faith and compassion have in the face of corruption, greed, and murder? Father Hardy's unique mixture of kindness, optimism, and skilled fisticuffs are put to the test when he faces off against a corrupt clan of murderous thieves, who may or may not be operating under the auspices of a shadowy new government organization known as the CIA.

The Father Hardy series is a return to the gee-whizz days of Post-WWII innocence, optimism, and encroaching Cold War paranoia. The harsh beauty of the setting is primed for adventures that could happen nowhere else. Ranging from a young Seattle to the fading glory of the last Riverboat on its final voyage over the wild and deadly Yukon River, in search of stolen gold.

If this is your initial entry into the Father Hardy series, you'll find a cast of complex characters that mesh and conflict in ways that ring true to life. Amateur detectives by accident, these friends are made up of Alaskan Natives, an itinerant preacher, an army sniper, and a Russian spy. Layered and complex characters whose lives evolve in ways compelled by the navigation of the real issues of their day, and ours as well: faith, racism and bigotry, loyalty and betrayal.

A terrific entry into the serial detective genre, "In Gold We Trust" is a brisk read. As is Stratman's style and forte, he deftly balances the pacing, plot, and characterization, while exploring a world he is intimately familiar with from his own childhood in the wilds of Alaska. If you are a returning fan, welcome back to your home away from home.