A Writer Gives Thanks

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Quyana --- the Yup'ik word for "Thank you"

A Writer Gives Thanks

Often at this time of year we get too wrapped up in the trappings of the holidays to actually remember the point of the actual holiday. Turkey. Or is it football? No wait. Black Friday holiday shopping! Right? 

What happened to just being thankful?

For myself I wanted to take a few moments to actually give thanks as a writer. Writing is often a said to be a solitary and lonely occupation. I’m not sure who said that, and I’m not sure I agree. As I began thinking about composing a little note of thanks, I realized, maybe it isn’t so lonely.

 This has been an amazing year thus far for me in terms of my writing career, and I am simply beyond grateful and I owe so many people an Alaskan sized debt of gratitude for helping make my writing dreams a reality. I owe thanks to various countries, agents, publishers, critics, newspapers, reporters, bloggers, booksellers, book clubs, readers, writers, professors, secondary teachers, students, friends, family, and fans. 

Those acquainted with the long and convoluted route taken by my novel on the road to getting published in the United States, know I have much to be thankful for. Thanks to Adam Chromy, my agent here in the US for fighting for The Raven’s Gift every step of the way. Thanks to my foreign agents for getting my novel published in France this year, and thanks to that publisher Fleuve Noir and my French editor Ben

edicte Lombardo.

Thanks to Penguin Canada for continuing to believe in The Raven’s Gift and for getting the book into the United States with Pintail Book and Penguin USA. I am grateful to my Adrienne Kerr and Nicole Winstanley at Penguin for continuing to have faith in the novel. Thanks to Elena Hershey and the Pintail folks working tirelessly to help get the book into bookstores all over America.

I have worked tirelessly to share my novel with the world and at times it has felt an impossible task to get the book into the hands of readers or to get the attention of reviewers and critics, but the support of some awesome booksellers across Alaska and across the country continues to inspire me. I owe thanks to dedicated booksellers like Fireside Book’s David Cheezem and his staff, Nathan Dunbar in Chicago, Deb Bonito at Mosquito Books, and so many others. 

There are those who I also can’t begin to even express my thanks to --- critic Michael Dirda and The Washington Post. When other newspapers and critics refused to give a book like mine the time of day, a Pulitzer Prize winning critic steps up and writes the most powerful and beautiful review of the book I’ve had to date. His review in the Washington Post was do damn good I almost ran out and bought a copy of the book myself! In addition to Dirda’s killer review, countless amazing bloggers have blogged and promoted the book --- far too many to name here, but you know who you are, and now you know I am giving you thanks, too! 

I can’t thank The Washington Post without also thanking The Anchorage Daily News for their coverage of my book, so quyana to Mike Dunham and David Hulen, at ADN, and to the Alaska Dispatch and Megan Edge and others there. And while I’m thanking news folks, I would be totally remiss if I didn’t thank Steve Heimel at Alaska Public Media for inviting me on Talk of Alaska. That was definitely one of the highlights of the year, and quite an honor. When you’ve grown up in the bush, public radio is just a life essential and to get to chat with the actual voice of Alaska, well that was something I’ll never forget. So thanks to Steve and Lori Townsend, and everyone who made that incredibly fun hour possible. 

Now on to thanking the readers and writers in my life. You have made this year absolutely magical. Those readers who have invited me to into their homes to meet with bookclubs? Those were some discussions I’ll forever cherish. I had never thought about visiting bookclubs as an author, and this turns out to be one of my favorite kind of author event. What more can you ask for than to sit down with a group of dedicated readers, perhaps with good wine and even better food, and talk about your novel? The answer is nothing. That is as good as it gets. So thanks to all those bookclubs, including those I haven’t attended yet!

I also never expected my book to be required reading! So I owe special thanks to those professors and highschool teachers using my book in their courses and the students writing about the book and contacting me with their thoughts and questions. I can really think of no higher honor than to know that The Raven’s Gift is being used in English courses, and even graduate level Psychology courses --- unless I suppose the book gets banned! Perhaps that can be something I am grateful for next year?!  (Come on people! The book has sex, violence, cannibalism, and even bad words! It needs to be banned! Okay, I admit, I just want to be on the banned book list!)

Finally, I want to thank the readers and authors for all the support. Alaskans have been so amazing and helpful in spreading the word about my The Raven’s Gift. I couldn’t even begin to list off all of you. The support I have received here at home is overwhelming and completely awe inspiring. I am so lucky to call this place my home, so incredibly lucky. Authors have been overly generous through mentoring me, giving advice, and spreading the word about my book. Again the list is just too long, but I’d be remiss to not thank all the members of the 49 Writers, my buddies Seth Kantner and Kris Farmen, my coach Daniel and his wife Rennie, and my friend and go to warm heart and brilliant writing life advisor Jodi Picoult.  I’m so fortunate to have such talented and giving souls in my life, and I’m thankful to each and every one of you!

 And to those readers who continue to share the book, who email me with their kind words of appreciation, who post their reviews on Amazon and elsewhere --- I cannot thank you enough, but please know that I am endlessly grateful for your support, your encouragement, and the time and energy you’ve spent reading my work, sharing it, and thinking about the underlying messages contained within the story.

We could simply all be thankful the world hasn’t quite ended just yet, or we could pause for a moment in our busy lives, watch a raven or two, and take stock of what we have, where we’ve been, and those we love. And ---- if you’ve read this far, and weren’t mentioned yet, then for me, you must be one of those I love.

Thank you. Quyana.

Don Rearden

Bear Valley, Anchorage Alaska

11/27/13

Win some Alaskan Summer Beach Reading and a Kindle Fire!

Beach life in Alaska --- a rock bar in Prince William Sound.

Our Alaskan summer has been insanely nice. Sure the occaisional mosquito flies off with some poor old lady's dog, but that is just par for the course with endless summer sunshine.
And with summer sun comes the need to read a few good books. So what is better than a good book? Easy. A FREE book!
With this latest giveaway you'll have the opportunity to win a copy of my novel, which should make for some great summer reading --- and if you don't believe me you can see what other authors have to say about the book AND you could win one of their books. How cool is that? Here's the deal.You'll have the chance to win a Kindle Fire and pick five of the authors who have written blurbs for the novel!

Are you a fan of the Walt Longmire Mysteries? Here is what Craig Johnson had to say about The Raven's Gift:

"At first glance, The Raven's Gift might appear to be an epic thriller set in the ancient land of the Yup'ik tundra, but it goes much farther than that into the delicate frontiers of the human heart--the best book I've read this year."
-Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries

You can read more of the blurbs here and think about who you'd pick!

There are THREE ways to win! You can try ONE or all THREE!

1. Read the first chapter of the book for free on my website.
Then answer the following question:  The main characters nearly 1000 mile trek will begin on what river? Send your answer to ravensgift.thebook@gmail.com

2. Post a photo of yourself with your copy of The Raven's Gift on the Facebook page here.

3. Order your Kindle, iBook, or Nook copy of The Raven's Gift and tell your friends and family on your Facebook page, Twitter, or wherever and email a link to your posting at ravensgift.thebook@gmail.com

But wait!!! There will be more ways to win will coming over the coming weeks. I'll draw a winner of the grand prize for the Kindle Fire on August 30th. Books and ebooks will be given away from now until then!


*Water-logged books that have been submerged in floods, boating disasters, or toilets void this warranty.

How to Write a Novel AND be a Parent.

You want to write good books. You want to be a good parent. But how do you do both?
I have found the solution. It is unbelievably simple. Outsourcing. Not the parenting, though that is a great idea, but the writing. The best part is you don't even have to look outside your home let alone the country.
Just make your child do the writing for you. Sure, it may not be great, and it may not even make sense, but hey, if Snooki can write a novel, well I'm sure your toddler can too.

On Being Haunted by a Dead Writer

I could list off about a hundred reasons why a smarter writer wouldn't even think of attempting to write on the subject that I've selected for one of the novels I'm currently working on (or rather, not working on and writing this blog post instead!); however, a certain specter looms just over my left shoulder as I type each and every word, and this is new to me. I am unaccustomed to having such an unexpected guest reading and criticizing my work as the words appear on the screen.

1st Ed. Moby Dick.

The general topic?

Whaling.

The owner of the ghostly shadow hovering over my shoulder?

 Melville.

Perhaps, I am have chosen a voyage, not unlike Captain Ahab, that dooms me to the same fate as the Pequod: sunk. 

Hopefully, this ghost will get tired of haunting me and I'll be like Ishmael and live to tell the tale. (Though, if Ishmael's experience, post-white-whale encounter, was anything like the horrors the sailors from the Essex endured, the true story of a whale bark destroyed by a sperm whale, the one that Melville modeled his epic on, I am not so sure I want to survive!)

A Note of Thanks to You and 2012

So I'm a bit late with the whole out with 2012 thing. Perhaps I was still mourning the failed end of world predictions, that or I didn't expect I'd be able to actually "log on" to anything other than throwing a log on my fire!Still, there it is never too late to reflect on a year gone by or to thank folks for their support. 2012 was by all measures an amazing year for this writer kid from the tundra.

Atticus finishing my latest novel for me.

 I probably couldn't even fully capture all the incredible events that single year of my life held. Just one photo of my son's smile would be enough, and really would encapsulate so much of all that I am already grateful for in my life, but then again, I was fortunate enough to have other things to be thankful for in 2012, especially when it comes to my literary career.

Early in 2012 I learned I was awarded an Innovate Award from the University of Alaska Anchorage for research on my next novel. (You can read more about that award and the new novel I'm working on here.)

Then in May I learned that The Raven's Gift received 1st in the Alaska Professional Communicators statewide writing contest.  (This win made it eligible for the National Federation of Press Women's contest, and in the fall the novel was awarded 2nd place in that national contest!

In June I had the incredible honor to be faculty at the prestigious Kachemak Bay Writers Conference in Homer, Alaska. The keynote speaker was none other than Barry Lopez, and I can not begin to say how fortunate I felt to get to hear him, and then spend some time chatting with him. He's an amazing and generous human-being, and getting to become friends with him was one of the ultimate highlights of the year.

Just as the June sun in Alaska barely sets, so too did the excitement barely stop. July hit and The Raven's Gift began to fly off shelves in Australia and New Zealand. Published by Text Publishing, the novel has received and continues to receive some great reviews. 

The summer grew more amazing, if not unbelievable, with news that The Raven's Gift would finally be published in the good old United States of America by Pintail, a new imprint of Penguin in 2013.

So yes, 2012 was quite an incredible year. I have many people to thank, from my amazing family, friends, mentors, colleagues, and readers like you. Thank you. I can only hope that in 2013 I will be able to entertain you, surprise you, make you laugh and cry and love this great planet we call home. May you find the energy to follow your own passions in 2013, and may you strive to be the best human being you can. May you read more. Write more. Learn more. And love more.

Here is to an exciting and enriching 2013.

All the best to you,

Don

Wilderness Boys, Bug & Novel Jackets

 I don't normally post photos of myself with my boy, but today this photo from an adventure in the Alaskan wilderness a few weeks ago popped up on my screen and I thought I would share it. The scenic backdrop of this particular location (somewhere up the Takotna River) looks strangely similar to the first jacket cover of The Raven's Gift from Penguin Canada with the black spruce, taiga, tundra, and mountains in the background. 

The strange jacket I've got on is a bug suit, as the mosquitoes and no-see-ums were vicious, but they could have been worse, as we were actually able to uncover and snap a quick photo in the tundra cotton. The bugs in Alaska can be so thick at times that they will literally drive you mad. The little blood suckers fly into your eyes and nose and ears, and the hum can be unnerving, as if the very air around you has transformed into some sort of monster trying to devour any exposed flesh. I have seen caribou who have been driven crazy by the bugs. They run themselves to near death. Not a pleasant sight, and I've been there a few times myself. Had I the energy or the ability to run crazy across the tundra I would have. We humans don't have that option. All we can do is cover up and hope for a strong wind. You could bathe in 100% DEET until your nervous system failed, and the bugs would still feed on your carcass. Alaska bugs are no joke, hence the reason I was holding Atticus so tight, they little bastards would have carried him away.