This New Review Shines!

Father Hardy shines!

Bylelliott541on December 27, 2015

At once a period piece capturing the 'gee-whizz' feel of the post-WWII 50's and the deep paranoia of the Cold War, a frontier adventure in a harsh and wild land, and an almost hard-boiled style mystery, "Indecent Exposure" is a fantastic novel that heralds the beginning of a series that can't be written fast enough for my taste.

The protagonist is a complex man; an Episcopal Priest both practical and tough, who mixes a weary faith with compassion and insight into human nature to influence the hard-scrabble lives in his frontier village, deep in the wilds of Alaska. The relationships he builds throughout ring true and are laced with humor and affection, even as they are tinged with suspicion in relation to the cold-blooded murder of a widely-loathed man, Frankie Slick.

As the mystery unfolds, Stratman deftly balances an ethereal haunting steeped in the grieving heart of a lonely man, with the brutal reality of life on the edge of starvation and poverty lived at minus thirty degrees. With snipers, spies, the dark underbelly of human nature, and the redemption that an earned faith can bring to even the darkest corners of life, "Indecent Exposure" is a page-turning delight. The prose feels effortless as the pages evaporate in record time. The noir-ish mystery is both tantalizing and realistically satisfying, yet still manages to explore grief, betrayal, and the enduring values of compassion and faith.

Weaving these facets into a compelling novel is no mean feat, but to do so in a lean 236 pages is a tour de force in narrative pacing and literary style. Fans of episodic mystery series everywhere have a strong entry into the genre, and a memorable protagonist to root for. Can't wait for the next installment!

I Learned a lot about writing ... in an igloo!

It all started at the Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo #17

Friday night was movie night, in Nenana, Alaska, when I was a boy, mid 1950s. (This is a shot from Alaska Digital Archives, ca 1920. Notice the POA Hall, first building on the left.) 

Nenana of those days was a dusty railroad and riverboat town with a disproportionate number of churches and saloons, two stores—Coghill's (still there) and the NCCo, a post office, lodge and the Coffee Cup Cafe.  

Right ... no theater! So we watched movies at the Pioneers of Alaska Hall. The Pioneers were an early Alaska social club, started in Nome, that still exists in some Alaska towns today. Appropriate to Alaska, the meeting halls were called "igloos." 

Story structure in "B" movies

I think I learned everything I know about story structure at the Pioneers of Alaska. 

The staple in those days was Hollywood grade "B" movies, usually westerns. I no longer know why, but my favorites starred Anthony Quinn. Of course we saw John Wayne and the whole bunch, but somehow Quinn and I bonded. Not so I could tell you the name of a single movie, however.

But at the end I'd go home and recount the whole thing. Absolutely the whole thing in detail, with all its characterizations, plot twists and plot arcs—plus acting out the climactic moments—for my long-suffering parents.

It's a wonder they'd let me go at all. 

Now I'm writing my 8th book!

What it is ... is rhythm, and it's stayed with me. For a long time I didn't know how I knew what I knew, just that I did. And I know that, even after all these years, it still works for me. The other thing that has stayed with me is Nenana. 

Those of you that have read my Cheechako series, or the first book in my Father Hardy series, can spot bits of that old Nenana peeking out around the corners. 

Here's the scene as it plays from "Indecent Exposure," featuring Orie Williams, the only real character I've ever written into one of these. (With his permission.)

"But on a Friday night, a bright-eyed, bespectacled boy named Orie, gets there early enough to light a fire in the big barrel stove up front, to pop the popcorn, and get the first movie reel threaded into an antique projector. He’s the only one who can keep it running. I’ve heard rumors of a pact with the devil.

Much of the town files in, kids to the hard benches near the screen where their front sides get roasted by proximity to the barrel stove at the same time as their backsides are still freezing. Adults sit on the hard chairs behind. The room starts out so cold that most of us leave our parkas on until about halfway through the movie when we all simultaneously realize we’re sweltering and can’t possibly wait for the reel change."

In a world where every single other thing has changed, that old Nenana remains a place I can find my way back to. 

An insider tip on writing your novel.

Writing by the numbers

I recently finished my seventh novel and am currently revising that book while writing chapter 4 in my eighth. I'm thrilled about the new book. It's an adult adventure series I've been "walking around with" for a couple of years and am now excited to be actually working on it. I think the title and possibly the series title is "GreyGhost Island." 

But back on topic. People often ask, "how can you write a novel? It's a reasonable question and one I used to ask. The answer is: "One page at a time." 

Well Duh! But wait ... there's more. 

Can you write a page?

Can you? Can you sit down in the chair and squeeze out a page of typing? If you can, you're on your way to that first novel. If you can accomplish one page a day for 365 days, in a year you'll have a first draft of your whole novel. If you write two pages a day you can be finished in 6 months!

What if it's not very good.

Tell your story. Most first drafts aren't wonderful. At least not as wonderful as they will be after you polish on them. "What if you don't feel inspired?" No worries. Writing a novel is like any job with good days and bad days. After you've written awhile, the difference between a good day and bad day doesn't appear on the page. It's just how you feel. 

What if I'm old? Should I still write.

Maybe you should write faster? I don't know. I think you should write anyway. I'm old. I write as fast as I can but mostly because I'm excited to get the story out on the page and find out what happens next. However you write, if you've always wanted to try a novel, you should. As my annoying brother Joel often says: Do it! Do it now!

Remember, it's just one page at at time. You can do that. 

You can read thirty pages of any of my four published novels for free, at Amazon Kindle Books. Click this link: Jonathan Stratman's Books!

If you're on Facebook, please find and like my Jonathan Thomas Stratman, author page. It all helps.

Want to change a child's life? Read aloud together!

It's this simple. 

There are only benefits when you read aloud to a pre-schooler.

This is more than quality snuggling time together and the foundation for a lifetime bond you might miss otherwise. 

Early reading aloud can allow a child to arrive in kindergarten with a 30% larger vocabulary than those who've had no reading. 

The child with a larger vocabulary is ready to receive and understand more information from the kindergarten environment and get more from teacher instruction. Children with pre-reading experience OWN the head of the class. 

And keep reading!

Even after kindergarten, reading aloud continues to accrue benefits. A child receives and processes information at a higher level than most are able to read, up as far as about 8th grade. 

My youth novel, Cheechako, written for grade five up—middlegraders—is a read aloud in classrooms as low as grade 3. 

As a child, my mother read to my brothers and me as we did the dishes, to keep us from killing each other, and I heard, and was swept away by, the C.S. Lewis Narnia series long before I might have been ready to read to myself.  

As an added benefit, books like Cheechako and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and countless others, will be enjoyable and entertaining for you, too. 

Where to find children. 

If you don't have children at home or grandchildren handy, you can still change lives. Call the school or library near you and volunteer to read. You can also do a quick online search, like "volunteer to read to children," in your area, for more ideas. 

Seeking adventure? 

It's as near as my Alaska adventure three-book series, available as e-books or paperbacks through Amazon. Click this easy link to read up to 30 pages of each book for free. Remember, you can also read Kindle e-books on any regular computer. 

http://thebookspot.org/jonathanstratmanbooks

On Facebook? Please check out and like my Jonathan Thomas Stratman, Author page, and don't hesitate to write with questions and comments. 

Who wants to start publishing after sixty? Me.

How old is too old? 

Years ago, I read a Dear Abby column that resonated. The writer wanted to go to medical school but was concerned that he wouldn't actually be an MD until he was fifty-five! Abby asked how old he would be by then if he didn't go to med school? 

When to stop wanting. 

I think most of us know the answer is never. Never stop wanting. Never stop dreaming and making plans. I'm sixty-seven now, just finished a first draft on my seventh novel! Although I started early enough, I was a Cricket Magazine author in my late thirties, I could never find an agent or publisher. What to do? 

All ahead full. 

About four years ago a friend and shirt-tail cousin, Oregon author/photographer Vernelle Judy, pushed me to self publish. It's not like the old "vanity" publishing where you buy a bunch of books and use them to decorate your garage. They're POD ... published on demand. Sold through Amazon and others. 

So I did publish. I started with a middle-grade adventure series. The first book, Cheechako, has been well-reviewed for reluctant readers and is already in use in classrooms. There are now three books out in that series, and —although few in the world really know who I am—they sell. 

How to "do" your dream.

Start. Just start. Because I was—and am—still working my day job, I began getting up early to write. I write from two to four pages a day, about six days a week. What does that mean? It means I finish (the first draft of) a new novel about every three months. 

I have four books out, a fifth on the way, and two books "in the can" —film talk for shot but not processed. Best sellers? No. So far, consistent sellers. The best part is the occasional letter or review from a reader that says, "I couldn't go to bed without finishing your book." There aren't even words to tell you how good that feels. 

Platitudes aside.

At this age, we tend to say encouraging things about being this age. It's new for us and a little scary. The fact, for me at least, is that to get what I want, I have to put my forehead against it and push ... same as at any other time in my life. 

And, if you still have something you want to do, that's my advice. Push.

Curious? You can read 30 pages of any of my books for free, here: 

Books by Jonathan Thomas Stratman

One simple way to change a child's life without breaking a sweat.

I'm 67 ... though of course I don't look it. (None of us do.) I have eight grandchildren and, especially around the holidays, put a lot of thought into what I can do—that doesn't cost a fortune—to really make their lives better.

Turns out the answer is simple and many of us are already doing it: reading to children aloud. We just didn't know how really important it was. Don't know where to start? Sendak's classic (above) is perfect.

 More than just warm and fuzzy.

Though it's fun to cozy up with a child to read, and feels frivolous, that's just the first significant benefit. 

Here's another: Children who have been read to, arrive at kindergarten with a 30% larger vocabulary. So they both understand more of what the teacher tells them and can express more. 

It means they start school at the top of their class instead of at the bottom feeling confused, frustrated and struggling to keep up.

And there's more.

That old devil ... digital!

I worry that my grandchildren spend too much time playing video games. No, I don't think it's bad out of hand. My second-to-youngest, Zane, actually taught himself to read playing video games .. and to spell by trying to wrangle passwords out of his adults so he could order more!

I worry because so much of it is only reactive. For the most part players don't have to think, plan, or wonder.

One of my great prides is that my first middle-grade novel, Cheechako, an Alaska adventure, had 8th grade reluctant readers sneaking to read ahead and find out what happens.  

And it's not enough to just give a child a book. Imagine one of your grandkids with a book in one hand and a game controller in the other. How long does that choice take? 

Start reading aloud at birth.

Apparently, it's never too soon to start reading aloud to children. Or too late. Don't assume that because they're starting to learn to read, that your work here is finished. The difference between a child's reading level and listening level doesn't equalize until about grade 8. All that time, they still need to hear material that is more complicated than what they can read to themselves. 

Captive reading. 

My mother read to my brothers and I while we did the dishes, admittedly to keep us from killing each other. My brilliant daughter-in-law Rachel, reads to Mia and Addy in the car for similar reasons. The miles go by without shouts and bleats of anger or pain, and after a road stop, the girls are more than ready to find out what happens next. 

To learn more about the benefits of reading aloud, check out the Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/

And most of all, celebrate the upcoming holidays by buying or checking out books for kids, and by making time to sit down with them to read.

Reading, especially reading together, is the gift that keeps on giving ... for life.

Save on signed book sets for Christmas!

Save $5 on more than 750 pages of Adventure!

If you have readers on your gift list, here's an opportunity: the complete Cheechako set for $25 plus shipping.

For Alaska readers and adventure readers, whether adult, middle-grade ... or even reluctant readers, all three of these books are five star guaranteed to satisfy. 

Sorry, we tried to get Amazon to do a "set" price or a class set price. No luck. So here's our work-around. You can order any of these books, or all of them, signed if you want, directly from the publisher.

The only way to save on the set. 

If you want to buy just one or two of the books, use this link to purchase quickly and efficiently:

Buy Jonathan Thomas Stratman Novels

But if you want the whole set, and dollars off the set price, order here: Jonathan Thomas Stratman Books, Ivy Gate Communcations, 730 S. 2nd Street, Harrisburg, OR 97446. Enclose a check for $25 plus $8 shipping and handling. If you'd like your gift books signed, please TYPE and enclose the critical info. 

And, for the mystery reader on your list ... 

"I couldn't go to bed without finishing this book," is a common comment. If you are a mystery reader or have one on your list, Check out "Indecent Exposure," the first book in my Father Hardy Alaska Mystery Series. It rates a consistent five stars in Amazon review. 

Want a signed copy? Send your check for $9.95 plus $3 shipping, to the publisher address above. If there's a particular inscription you'd like, be sure to enclose TYPED copy. 

For best results, order soon. Questions about any of this? Call me at Three Six Zero, Three Four Four, Three Three Zero Zero.