I got fired from my first writing job ... and other strokes of luck.

I taught jr. high school for ten years, enjoyed it, loved the kids and got good work reviews. But by the end I'd begun to publish my writing for pay ... things like short fiction in Cricket magazine and Sunday features in the old Seattle P.I. ... and I was ready to make writing my day job.

So I used my fiction and features to leverage myself into a job writing catalog copy for an outdoor equipment company called Early Winters. The name is still around though the original company is long gone. I wrote my brains out.

I loved my Correcting Selectric, and I loved filling blank sheets of paper with information and benefits of sometimes quirky outdoor stuff. Copywriting is the best training in the world because, rain or shine, the goal is lively, compelling, spot-on copy. Lots of it. I was thrilled that they liked my stuff and used everything, less thrilled when they fired me at the end of four months and I had to go home and tell my wife.

Why did they fire me? I honestly have no clue. Didn't then, either. So I drove across the lake and interviewed with the senior copy editor at Eddie Bauer, a man named John Kime, who had used to write "Dragnet" radio episodes with Jack Webb. He asked how much I'd been making: I told him honestly, $6 an hour. It stank even then.

He said he'd pay me $12 an hour and I'd start Monday. There's no joy quite like the joy of a new job and massive raise. From there I went to advertising agencies, big national projects ... McDonald's, Holland America, Starbucks ... producing TV spots in L.A. and later out on my own.

Why mention all this now? Because in the last three years I've written five and a half novels and published three so far, and people sometimes ask how I do that. Part of the answer is I've written for pay for about 35 years. I have that muscle. And here's what you need to know from my experience.

If you're going to be a writer, write every day no matter how it feels. I do about 800 words most days ... two pages. If you only do one page a day, you still end up with a novel in a year. This is the most important part of writing: showing up.

You can do that, can't you? Show up?

A book kids read when they don't want to read anything

I didn't write "Cheechako" to be a book for reluctant middle-grade readers.

I wrote it to be the kind of book I would have searched for, jumped on and disappeared into when I was ten, eleven or twelve.

It's not a long book, only about 140 pages–which turns out to be good. And it's filled with action, adventure, and maybe most of all ... independence: the chance for kids to get off on their own. It's the stuff of many kid's dreams.

By chance, several of my early readers are adult middle-school reading specialists and so I started hearing about reluctant readers. These are kids who can read, but choose not to. They'd rather be doing something else ... almost anything else.

The book is already in use in classrooms, and teachers report back that students choose to miss other activities like movies and special school events to sit in the classroom and read "Cheechako."

Some even did the unthinkable. They sneaked and read ahead. For an author, does it get any better?!

I'd like to ask a favor. If you know a middle-school teacher, librarian or reading specialist, would you forward this "Cheechako" link for their consideration.

http://www.amazon.com/Cheechako-Book-Jonathan-Thomas-Stratman

And thank you!

The Back Cover ... Writing the Book was Easier

The third book in my Cheechako series is titled "Musher!" The book is in edit ... actually in the queue for editing ... and I need to write the back cover blurb and send it to the cover artist.

I've been putting this off.

Some of you have already seen this Jesse Joshua Watson cover painting for "Musher!" I'm very happy with it so am including it again. But of course a great cover only ups the ante for the back cover copy.

With an actual physical book, the prospective reader likes the cover enough to pick up the book, turn it over, read the back and then ... hopefully ... (breath held) ... turn to the front and read a page or two before plunking down dollars and going home filled with anticipation.

Oh the pressure.

So here is my first draft back-cover copy. Yes, weigh in. I'm wide open to likes and dislikes, comments and questions.

Back cover copy:

It’s a dogsled enduro: three hundred grueling miles of ice, snow and danger. But for Will Rollins, his best friend Elias Charlie, and Will’s savvy lead dog, Blackie, this might just be the race of a lifetime. Sure there are new friends, like racers Becky and Peter. But who is sabotaging sleds and gear and how far will it go before someone gets hurt? When friends compete, when marauding wolves come to call, when Blackie takes on a monster grizzly ... if Will does go the distance can he come back alive? 

Thanks for reading. As always, please feel free to like, comment, and share this with interested friends. 

Welcome to Nenana, Alaska

It's a bit hard to tell from this view, but what you're seeing is a log tripod out on river ice, connected to land by a cable. Here's a link for a better view: http://www.nenanaakiceclassic.com/

Scroll to the page bottom to see this view.

The river is the Tanana ... Tan-uh-nah, though not well known, one of America's significant rivers. It flows on west to join the Yukon River.

This is a view from the town of Nenana ... Nee-nan-uh ... on a map just about dead-center in the state, midway on the railroad between Fairbanks and Mt. McKinley National Park.

I have two novel series, the Cheechako series for middle-grade readers and the Fr. Hardy mysteries, which is an adult series. Both do (or soon will) include episodes built around breakup on the Tanana.

Breakup is a big deal in Nenana, and in central Alaska generally. Nenana hosts an ice pool, and people from all over buy a ticket and attempt to guess exactly when the ice will warm up enough to break up and be swept away downriver.

What happens is, the ice moves this tripod, which tightens the cable, stopping the clock. There are several hundred thousand dollars to be won. Do you feel lucky?

I saw my first breakup at age eight. It remains vivid in my mind, though more than a half century gone. And, when I write about breakup, I'm writing about those I remember from back then. It was exciting, dramatic, potentially deadly for anyone foolish enough to be out there when the ice started moving.

So, yes, a great place for me to put my characters. To read about a dog trapped on moving ice, and the daring rescue, check out my series' first book, also titled Cheechako.

To read about a human, trying to make it to the other side, watch for In Gold We Trust, a Fr. Hardy mystery, due out this summer.

You can read the first 30 pages of any of my books, free at this link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=node%3D154606011&field-keywords=jonathan+thomas+stratman

Please forward this blog to Alaska-loving friends and on Facebook, please "Like" and share. 

"Mr. Stratman, how much money do writers make?"

            I started making writer visits to middle-grade classrooms in the early ’80s. I was a Cricket magazine author in my spare time, writing and selling short stories. I’d made several cash sales by then and seen my first story actually published by Cricket the year before. Getting to visit kids and their teachers to read my stuff and to talk about writing, felt—still feels—like a bonus.

            The ‘money question’ surprised me, but probably shouldn’t have. It’s a way of asking, “How successful are you? How important?” And we all do it, though not usually so directly. An adult will always ask: “Are you published?” which is a form of the same question.

            It’s fun to be paid for writing something creative. Money is a tangible reward we all recognize and understand. But here’s the thing: money is not why most writers write.

            I write because I like to tell stories and certainly am not immune to praise—which includes cash. But I started writing at about age fourteen—songs and poems, then stories. I wrote through college, went to teaching where I saved my ideas all week, and wrote way late on Friday and Saturday. I wrote all that time, and published, without even the hope of money.

            The fact is, writing feels good. It feels good to do and it feels good when someone is moved by it.

            My cousin called from China to tell me he couldn’t go to bed without finishing one of my mysteries. Can you imagine how good that feels?

            These days I get up at six and write for about two hours, an average of four rough-draft pages, usually about six mornings a week. It feels right.

            I’m about halfway through my sixth novel. I have an adult series and a middle-grade series. And I admit there are times when I ask myself about the money, and occasionally times I fret about it.

            But here’s the thing. Would I be writing if nobody paid me for it?

            Oh … wait a minute … I am!

            

For Readers Who Love Alaska Adventure

Check out the Cheechako Series, for Grade 5 through Adult

The really great thing about giving a book as a gift? It's never just a book. It's a ticket to adventure, a passport to thrills and triumph, the key to a door that takes your reader into a different world.

Available NOW, in paperback or Kindle format. Great reading for all ages.

Cheechako, Book 1, here's what readers say: 

"I absolutely adored this fast-paced, well-written book ..."

"... sends your heart racing ..."

"This great novel is worth 5 stars, I would have given 10 if allowed."

"...kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I read it ..."

"... also for any adult looking for a stirring, original story with engaging, realistic characters."

"This book can be for all ages who appreciate a good clean read."

"... for anyone who loves adventure, Alaska or the warming experience of watching an anxious boy grow into a young man."

Float Monkeys, Book 2, here's what readers say: 

"Adventure? Absolutely! ... Action? It never stops!"

"I couldn't go to bed without finishing."

"...  pulled me into a summer adventure I could not walk away from."

"One amazing adventure after another ... genuine life and death crises ..."

"Such fun! Lots of action, twists and turns ... well developed characters."

"Well written, charged with adventure ... a true page turner!"

"Surprises galore await young readers (and old ones, too).



And coming soon: 

Musher! Book 3, here's what readers say: 

"You kept me guessing the whole way."

"Here's a surprise, in a book about two boys and a dog, a vibrant female character. Bravo!"

"I had to read the ending twice to believe it."

"...marvelous, hair-raising adventures!"

"I can still feel the stinging wind on my cheeks and hear the frenetic yapping of the sled dogs ..."

"... one heck of a ride through the Alaskan wilderness."

"... you'll be swept up in the action from page 1. No way I'm telling you who wins!"


Books 1 & 2 are available online at this link:

Available in paperback or Kindle format HERE!

Happy Reading!

Gift Books for Bold Readers

I want you to know about two writers that I'm fortunate to have in my extended family. They've each written some interesting stuff that, frankly, isn't for every reader. But if it turns out either of these writers does suit you, you're in for a treat.

Vernelle Judy ... roads less taken

Vernelle writes for the wanderer. Any age, any gender. Her book, "Tripping on a Shoestring," is about outfitting/adjusting your typical mini-van and hitting the road. That simple. She tells you exactly what to buy and how to use it. And although she is writing about a mature, solo female touring Oregon, her advice suits any backroads adventurer, of any age, anywhere.

This is a book that not only says you can do it, but tells you how!

Sure, it's great for winters by the fire, but you could also buy the book tomorrow, spend a couple of enjoyable days leafing through and reading, then pick up the modicum of gear it takes and be out touring the blue highways (backroads on the map) by the weekend. 

Check out "Tripping on a Shoestring," here.

Toni Gilbert ... and now for something a little different

So, what do you think you know about tarot (tur-oh)? Yes, the cards. This book, "Gaining Archetypal Vision," is not an easy read, but will be an eye-opener for those on your list with an interest in the healing professions. 

Don't let the cards put you off. Forget what you think you know about carnivals, fortune-telling and mysterious gypsies. I'm going to over-simplify and say that this is the art and science of tarot dressed up to go to work. This is tarot as an investigative part of the healing and diagnostic experience, an essential process and prompt for people in distress to be able to talk to their caregivers, to say things that may otherwise be impossible for them, or unknown to them.

For enquiring minds as well as the professional caregivers on your list. 

Check out Toni's first book, "Gaining Archetypal Vision," here.

The best books are more than ink and paper ... or electrons. They are ideas and adventure in neat cardboard covers, waiting for us to pick them up, carry them home, and get carried away by them. 

Happy travels!