What We're Reading

John Scalzi's new book is Monsters of Ohio.(Contributed / Author photo: John Scalzi; Book cover: Tor)

Down on his luck, Mike Boyd returns to his small hometown of Richland, Ohio recently laid off and looking for a new direction in his life. Upon his arrival he learns that Richland is about to lose its major employer to a private equity firm and the residents are struggling to get by.

And then things get really interesting: reports of animals acting strangely.

And then people.

You’ll need to read for yourself what comes next and prepare to have your expectations challenged. This is John Scalzi’s new novel, Monsters of Ohio.

Scalzi is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling science fiction author of 20 books, which include the Old Man's War series and Starter Villain (2023).

In a recent What We're Reading interview Scalzi talks about his new novel, reflects on a career in writing, and shares how important it is for him that people have fun reading his books.

And fun is just one way to describe Monsters of Ohio. Despite the ominous premise, the book is a little weird, kind of gross, and strangely heartwarming.

That’s just what Scalzi intended.

“Spoiler alert,” he warned, “There are monsters. They do live in Ohio in this book and how they arrive onto the narrative is a little bit weird and it is a little bit gross. I'm not writing a horror book here. I'm just using many of the tropes of horror, particularly body horror, to tell the story that I want to tell.”

Scalzi set the fictious town of Richland in Dark County which is an actual county in Ohio where he lives and has spent his entire career as a science fiction writer.

“Old Man's War, which was my debut novel, was written here and every single book since then as well. And so, I've had time to get used to what it's like to live in rural Ohio. And I wanted to tell basically the story of ‘What's going on in rural America today?’ Scalzi said.

Twenty books have made their way into the world from his small town in Ohio, and Scalzi isn’t stopping anytime soon.

He explained, “The ideas are never the issue. The thing that's the issue is: what are the ideas that are interesting to me? What are the ones that my brain really latches onto and builds out from there so that when I sit down to write, I'm having fun exploring the idea and a novel will come out of that.”

If Scalzi is having fun writing, he knows readers will have fun reading.

“Whatever idea there is, whatever story I'm telling, I want you to turn the pages and be excited to find out what happens next. And the only way that happens is if I'm there when I'm writing it—still really excited to be like, ‘Oh, and then this is what happens next. Oh, and then this is what happens next. Oh, and you thought this is where it was going? Surprise! We're taking a sharp left turn.’”

Learn more about sci-fi writer John Scalzi on his website. Monsters of Ohio was published by Tor Books.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Children's librarian Tracy Kampa reviews books for What We're Reading.(Contributed / Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Cherry Lake Publishing, Kim Michele Richardson website, and Tracy Kampa)

A pond hockey game told to "A Visit from St. Nicholas," a moonlight school in Kentucky and two boys who show up in each other's dreams, plus a new Gordon Korman book—Grand Rapids Area Library children’s librarian, Tracy Kampa, shares this new batch of latest and greatest books with What We’re Reading.

Tracy’s Takes

‘Twas the Night Before Shinny: A Pond Hockey Tale, by Lorna Schultz Nicholson with illustrations by Erica J. Chen

Picture books about hockey are usually joyful tales of winter fun. ‘Twas the Night Before Shinny is a great addition to the genre. Woodland creatures are gathering for a game of shinny, or pond hockey. Why animals? Well, because the children were nestled all snug in their beds, of course. Using the framework of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” we are treated to a story where “Animal players assembled instead. Under cover of night, there was no need to dread. Donning leftover shin pads, tattered socks, and some guards, they looked like the players from old hockey cards.”

The animals, however, had problems pulling things together. And working as a team was unheard of, especially because Skunk continued to pass gas. Soon, an unexpected someone comes to their rescue: “But then a voice boomed from a cold, snowy blast, and they stared up to see a right star from the past, when who to their wondering eyes should appear?” Nope, I'm not spoiling this one for you.

For those who want to guess who comes to help, my only clue to you is that both the author and illustrator are Canadian. The book ends with an explanation of hockey terms and basic hockey equipment, along with a few sentences about the human hero of this story. Give yourself a treat and check out ‘Twas the Night Before Shinny by Lorna Schultz Nicholson with perfect illustrations by Erica J. Chen.

My Kentucky Moonlight School, by Kim Michele Richardson, illustrated by Chloe M. Giroux

Some of you may recognize Kim Michele Richardson as the author of the wonderful adult novel The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which centers around pack horse librarians in Appalachia during the Depression. She has now published her second children's picture book centered in the same region, My Kentucky Moonlight School.

As the moon is rising, moonlighters are gathering, some walking miles to get to the schoolhouse. It's a big night. Jewel happily walks between her grandparents, thinking of all they have accomplished and how hard they have worked. Tonight, Mama is going to be part of the spelling bee. And although Papa has never read a whole book, he can, after much hard work at the Moonlight School, read many, many words. A surprise guest arrives, bringing diplomas to all the adults who are now graduates of the Moonlight School. And the adults tell everyone how much this will change their lives, from raises at work to being able to write letters to children who have moved far away.

Back matter includes a fascinating look at the real Moonlight Schools of Kentucky, the first of which opened in 1911 and eventually taught students between the ages of 18 and 98. The movement would spread to many other states, giving working people a chance at literacy, even if the only free time they had was late at night. If you need a reminder about how important literacy is for us all, I highly encourage you to read My Kentucky Moonlight School by Kim Michele Richardson with beautiful illustrations by Chloe M. Giroux.

No Place on Earth, by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Gustavo, his mom, and his sister are on an adventure, but Gustavo would rather stay home. His parents declare they need a break from one another, and although Gustavo begs to stay at home in Puerto Rico, where he has friends and a gamer group, he is packed off to Yellowstone National Park, where his mom has a new job.

While his dad tried to help Gustavo with his anxiety by encouraging him to toughen up, Gustavo still worries about everything, and his nervous stomach is always alerting his brain to dangers. Do you know that bison can run much faster than humans or that boiling hot springs are lethal? Sleep is difficult for Gustavo. While he has always been plagued with nightmares, they seem much more real in Yellowstone than in Puerto Rico.

On Gustavo's first day in his new, much smaller school, he recognizes somebody from his nightmares. And could that boy also recognize Gustavo? In an important element of magical realism in the book, Kordell and Gustavo meet each other in dreams and nightmares that both boys remember.

While Gustavo tries to avoid sleep and nightmares, Kordell embraces sleep as an escape from a hard reality and tries to teach Gustavo how to dreamscape and control his mind during the night. These dreams help Gustavo realize, “For the first time, I wonder if the problem isn't my emotions, but the fact that my family won't let them exist.” When Kordell goes missing, Gustavo knows he may be the only person who can save him.

This book tackles anxiety and depression in young people in a way that makes these topics not only accessible but reminds us of the importance of discussing mental health. It was easy for me to suspend reality, which I usually struggle to do, as I was completely invested in the stories of both Kordell and Gustavo. This is a great book and could prove to be very important for some readers, especially those who struggle to be seen. Please immerse yourself in No Place on Earth by Newbery Honor author Andrea Beatrice Arango.

Sleepless by Gordon Korman

Do you ever wish there were more hours in a day? Or perhaps you could actually use all 24 hours in a day? Seventh grader Mickey Prima is a regular kid, except for one amazing difference. He no longer needs sleep. For several months, he has just been awake around the clock, and he's put his time to good use, building an incredible skeleton to enter into the science fair. It should be good. After all, he has had eight hours a day to work on it.

When the science fair comes, though, Mickey's project comes in second to an incredibly detailed project depicting an entire city block, including electrical wires and sewer systems. How, wonders Mickey, does someone find time to do this project when they need sleep? And he doesn't? Chapter by chapter, we meet one kid who is up all night creating social media channels, another who can spend her nights perfecting her lead in the school play, and one who spends his nights inventing.

It is inevitable, of course, that these kids find each other and reveal their secret. Once they figure out the connection between them, which I'm not gonna reveal, the hunt is on to expose the one whose actions are causing the sleepless nights. This book, Sleepless, is a stupendous addition to our Gordon Korman bookshelf, especially when the characters start to wonder if it's worth it to not need sleep. As one character notes, “It's pretty amazing how good you can get at something when you've got all the time in the world to practice.”

Yes, they achieve great things, but in the end, do these achievements really create a better life? Another character concludes: Sure, I've got time to reinvent the toaster, but why should I want to? Yeah, I'm being productive, but so what? Is that the only thing time is for?

This is probably the most thought-provoking book I've read in months. It left me to wonder if perhaps my time could be spent in better ways. Whether you're checking it out for your favorite middle grade reader or for yourself, don't miss the highly entertaining Sleepless by Gordon Korman.

Happy reading!

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Dr. Rucha Ambikar is a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Bemidji State University(Contributed / Bemidji State University)

BEMIDJI — Whether you’re a fan of the genre or not, there’s no mistaking the popularity and the cultural influence of the romance genre. Through the decades romance has branched out into new subgenres like romantasy (a blend of fantasy and romance) to Christian romances to dark romances. Also on the rise are book-to-film or TV series adaptations and romance-specific bookstores, like Forbidden Love Bookstore in Bemidji.

Romance novels were also the topic of a recent Honors Lecture at Bemidji State University given by Rucha Ambikar, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology. Ambikar’s lecture was titled “What Do Women Want? Evolving Representations of Women in Popular Romance Novels.”

In a recent What We’re Reading conversation, Ambikar spoke to the historical and current impact the genre has on society, as well as the significance it has on the publishing industry, stating that romance novels are what is keeping the industry afloat and that there is a “contrast between [how] we treat this genre as very sort of lowbrow and stuff women read for escapist fantasy type of feelings and the real economic engine that this industry is.”

Romance novels in history

While romance novels existed prior, they emerged as a genre after World War II. Ambikar named two long-standing major publishing companies, Harlequin and Mills & Boon as being responsible for the formula romances which rose to new heights of popularity in the 1950s into what we know of today as the “popular romance novel.”

Ambikar explained, “They are genre romances, they are full of what people who don't like them call formulaic ideas of how the book should proceed, but what people who read them will say is, very sort of predictable ways in which the books proceed and a lot of the readers approach it through a sense of comfort. They know what is to be expected, and many will say we are in it for the emotional satisfaction of reading these books.”

Ambikar also described how romance novels of the 1950s-1970s highlighted the limited aspirations that women were supposed to have.

“So, for example, one of the biggest tropes then was the nurse falling in love with the doctor who is older, more powerful, in a position of authority over the nurse ... and frankly what we would today call a disastrous relationship. [It] is saved only by the fact that they fall in love with each other,” she said.

Literary merit and stigma    

Today, there is still a stigma associated with popular romance novels—that it lacks literary merit.

Ambikar explained, “I think it's best illustrated by the idea of how these romance novels are received. Literary critics, for example, have always dismissed this as ‘lady porn.' It's escapist fantastic fiction for bored housewives or frustrated teenagers.”

She also pointed out how readers feel the stigma as well. “Ninety-eight percent of the readers are women, are not necessarily walking around announcing that they are romance readers. And so there's a lot of notions of not shame, but that you're engaging in some sort of [mass market] product, that it's the fast food of literary fiction, for example. And so, a lot of people who actually consume these will talk about not necessarily saying that these are the kinds of books that they consume.”

Popular romance novels today

While the romance formula accounts for its popularity, romance novels have changed with the times. The “limited aspirations” that women were supposed to have expanded in the 1980s and 90s and now we are seeing more stories where what women want is considered at the heart of the novel.

And we are moving away from the notion that popular romance novels are what “bored, unfulfilled women” want to consume.

Ambikar noted, “When you talk to young readers, teenagers, young adults who are reading this, they're talking about it as something that extends their imagination about how relationships should be…for example, there's a study that comes out of India where young women reading these romance novels in English say that already reading in English is an act of pushing back against patriarchal expectations. Reading something for pleasure, not just for improving your own mind, is an act of resistance at that point. But within the genre, the content itself is now lending women to ask things like, ‘What do I want? Do I have agency? Is pleasure something I should think about? Is my desire important in a relationship?’”

Based on Ambikar’s research, we are learning that popular romance novels are helping women understand and articulate expectations for their own relationships by modeling successful ones.

“This is … women learning that their feelings are important and that the expectations they have of men, whether these are the fantasy men in the romance novels or these are from actual relationships, should not be considered fantastic. All they really are asking for is an equal partnership in a relationship,” she said.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Scott Hawkins is the author of Blacktail.(Contributed / Book cover—Penguin Random House; author photo—Heather Hawkins )

In 2015, Scott Hawkins, a software engineer who wrote fiction as a hobby, burst onto the fantasy fiction scene with his dark but original and compelling debut, The Library at Mount Char.

After that, Hawkins admitted he “got a little cocky.” It took ten years and three failed attempts—three novels that “nobody really liked” before he dusted off an old short story that became his new novel, Blacktail.

Blacktail is a story of revenge. The eponymous character is a relatively ordinary wolf who faces a set of tragedies at the hands of men. His desperation for revenge catches the attention of a witch, Old Kitty Mother, who is herself a house cat. She encourages Blacktail to seek out the old sleeping Forest God to help him exact his revenge against mankind.

The novel is an inventive celebration of the natural world but also has some moments of brutal violence. In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Hawkins explained some of the more violent aspects of the story is a way to stay true to the nature of animals.

“The wolf--he's gonna do wolf stuff, and he can't really negotiate with them [people],” he said.

As Blacktail travels the land in search of the Forest God, his own legend grows with each act of revenge, begging the question: is Blacktail a hero or a villain?

Hawkins explained, “Clearly from the human standpoint, he's the bad guy…A lot of what counts as commandments in the Bible and other religions are effectively just what works best for humanity as a whole: don't kill and so forth. These are all moral things. And I think animal morality would be necessarily a little bit different from that. The ‘don't kill’ obviously is for people--don't kill other people--because we're pretty routine about killing animals. And the animals, you know, why wouldn't they be the same way in reverse ... So I think depending on where you're sitting, he's either a hero or a villain.”

While writing Blacktail, Hawkins was fostering several rescued dogs, including a stray named Renren and a half-wolf clocking in at 120 pounds and big enough to “lay his head on the kitchen table if he wanted something to eat or share dinner with you.”

According to Hawkins, each of his four-legged companions colored the story.

Blacktail is published by Crown / Penguin Random House.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Tracy Kampa reviews children's books for What We're Reading.(Contributed / Book covers—publisher websites; Tracy Kampa)

Tracy Kampa, children’s librarian at the Grand Rapids Area Library is back. After a summer of reading lots of books, she’s ready to share her thoughts on some of the latest and greatest children’s books for What We’re Reading.

Tracy's Takes

Story Rug, by Sophie Blackall, illustrated by Phoebe Wahl

You may remember Sophie Blackall for her Caldecott-winning Hello Lighthouse or Finding Winnie or her outstanding Farmhouse. Her new picture book is Story Rug and I was delighted by the tale.

While other classrooms are busy playing drums or learning state capitals, room 203 is silent. Why? They are all braiding. Some are braiding hair, some are braiding the tails of the toy ponies, and some are even braiding their shoelaces. When young Noah has nothing to braid, his teacher rips up a rag that she had been using to clean the whiteboard, and then he too is braiding.

Noah continues to braid when he gets home and in school the next day, strip after strip after strip. His classmates are intrigued by the long braid Noah is producing, and soon they are adding their own strips to this. But what in the world is the class going to do with a strip of braided cloth that reaches all the way down the hall and back again? Well, they head to the library, of course, for a rather unorthodox reason. This is a wonderful tale of working and creating together and an ode to the importance of remembered story in our lives. A lovely and gentle book, check out Story Rug by Sophie Blackall with pictures by Phoebe Wahl.

Today is the Day, by Chelsea Lin Wallace, illustrated by Adam Rex

Think about today. This day. Think about all this day can be or won't be or might be. A day starts welcomed by some, grumbled at by others. A day can never take a day off because it is needed by so many. A day says goodbye to thousands of people across the globe. But that same day welcomes thousands more to the world. This day might see 100,000 airplanes take off or celebrate 22 million birthdays.

This day might feel insignificant, being only one day of tens of thousands of days a person might welcome. But it is the only day for a mayfly who will live its entire existence in this day. This day will be full of firsts and lasts and lost teeth and earthquakes and milestones.

And when the clock ticks past midnight to a new day, you might think it's time to let go the day before. But some people will remember that day for the rest of their lives, for that day was somebody's best day and somebody's worst day. And because of that, this day will live forever in the memories of the people who lived this day.

I'm still thinking about this picture book with wonder and gratitude. If you, too, might appreciate a reminder of how important this day can be, check out Today is the Day by Chelsea Lynn Wallace, illustrated by Adam Rex.

Diamond Fever!: A True Crime Story in the Wild West, by Steve Sheinkin with comics and art by Jon Chad

Steve Sheinkin writes remarkable nonfiction. Marketed mostly to middle grade audiences, you are missing something if you don't seek out his work, regardless of your age. His latest contribution begins with the exciting action of a train robbery in Verde, Nevada. Pegged as the first train robbery west of the Rocky Mountains, thieves got away with a sum worth over a million dollars today.

While almost all of that money was recovered, Sheinkin compares this bit of history to a developing heist that was worth much, much more and would ultimately, maybe prove to be a hoax. Probably.

Two cousins dumped a bag of diamonds on George Roberts' desk. They called them rough diamonds and needed a place to keep them hidden until they could decide what to do with them. They assured Roberts that they had found them somewhere in the American West and were uncomfortable carrying them around San Francisco. They asked to use Robert's safe and also asked him to promise to keep their secret. The two men left and Roberts kept their visit a secret for almost 12 hours.

What follows is a tale of diamond fever that made the gold rush look like a game of hide and seek. Dozens of men ultimately were involved and might have been bamboozled by the man-made distribution or salting of diamonds over a remote area in the western part of the United States.

But would this seemingly amateur move really fool some of the best geologists in the country? And the several million dollar question remained: Just where is this diamond mine? A couple dozen diamond companies opened, hoping to find the diamonds so they could sell their shares in their mine. and thousands of prospectors were searching on their own. Where were those pesky gems?

No spoilers here, but like all his books, Sheinkin is meticulous with his supporting data. The back of the book includes 13 pages of source notes and a nine-page bibliography. This is a story that captivated our nation's imagination and newspaper headlines for months in the 1870s. I was incredulous at the scope of this escapade. If you're looking for a tale of adventure and fortune and thieves and swindlers, I think this is the book for you.

Lydia Cooper Is a Lie, by Meaghan McIsaac

Lydia Cooper wants a phone for her birthday. Every other person in her school has a phone and access to social media. Lydia just wants to fit in. But she lives with her very overprotective dad, who is a cybersecurity expert.

She is thrilled then when she opens her birthday gift of a new computer tablet. Not a phone, but at least a window to the world of social media, right? Wrong. Her dad has the tablet locked down, and Lydia's birthday ends with anger and disappointment. Why can't she have what every one of her peers takes for granted?

Lydia's finally had enough when she realizes how much she has been left out of her friend's plans because she isn't part of their group chat, including a movie night at her crush's house. So she figures out her dad's password and bypasses the security controls and finally, finally creates a social media account of her own.

Although she is trying to keep a very low profile, Lydia is tagged in a group photo, and shortly after, her life is turned upside down. An intruder breaks into her house, and in the confusion, her father gives her a burner phone and a new name with instructions to meet him at a safe house as soon as she can get there.

The next few days are filled with people trying to kidnap Lydia or lure her on false pretenses. Or are they false? According to most people she meets, Lydia is not who she thinks she is. But who is she? And who can she trust? And how can she find this safe house? And is it really safe? And where is her father?

If you are looking for an adrenaline rush, I highly recommend Lydia Cooper Is a Lie by Meaghan McIsaac. It is a welcome addition to middle grade action stories. and promises to keep you guessing until the end of the book and maybe beyond.

Happy reading!

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Jill Swenson is the author of The Land of Everlasting Sky.(Contributed / Book cover—Simon & Schuster; Author photo—author)

In 2014, shortly after her mother Arlene died, author Jill Swenson drove up to Warroad, Minnesota, her mother’s hometown, to visit her aunt and research her family history.

As memories of childhood vacations spent in Warroad returned to her, Swenson remembered meeting famed Ojibwe elder Kakaygeesick in the local nursing home the summer she turned nine.

She recounted, “My sister and my cousin and I were standing in front of him and he reached over towards me in the middle and held my head in his hands and started speaking to me in a language that I didn't understand and didn't speak…I somehow understood at a spiritual level that he was delivering something to me, forewarning, perhaps.”

Inspired by this memory, Swenson went on to include in her research the family history of Kakaygeesick (whose name means “everlasting sky”), which led her to Kakaygeesick’s great grandson, Don Kakaygeesick, who lived in the Warroad area. Swenson was surprised to see a billboard announcing the opening of a new casino in the area and soon learned from Don that Red Lake Nation's Seven Clans Casino was to be built on land that had been allotted to Kakaygeesick and passed down to his descendants. However, Red Lake Nation had claimed the land as its own.

Swenson soon saw similarities in her own family’s history with what she learned from Don Kakaygeesick. What had started as a memoir detailing Swenson’s own family history eventually took shape as a dual story in The Land of Everlasting Sky: A Memoir of Loss and Legacy on Lake of the Woods.

The book moves back and forth between Swenson’s early life in the Twin Cities, her life off-grid on a sustainable farm in upstate New York, the suicide of her husband, the loss of their land, and the death of her mother. The Land of Everlasting Sky also delves into the Kakaygeesick family, Red Lake Nation’s claim on their land, blood quantum, and ancestry.

The land dispute eventually went to court where the ruling determined that the Kakaygeesick family were not Red Lake Nation Indians and ineligible to inherit Kakaygeesick’s land.

“And these bring up very troubling issues about blood quantum and who is and who isn't Indian,” Swenson summarized.

Swenson explained further how the two stories in The Land of Everlasting Sky connect.

“So as an adult coming back after my mother's funeral to her hometown and meeting Don [Kakaygeesick] and reflecting on my own life, I began to realize that this is really a story about recognizing the history I inherited and what my complicity is as a white person in this society to understand. There's a great deal of misunderstanding in Minnesota about our history. Many things have been erased,” she said.

Learn more about Jill Swenson and The Land of Everlasting Sky here.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Books by authors attending the 2026 Northwoods Art & Book Festival.(Contributed / Author and publisher websites)

HACKENSACK — Over 30 Minnesota authors gathered in August at the Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack, Minnesota. The annual festival recently celebrated its 31st season, drawing crowds of artists, visitors and residents from the community together, including a strong presence of writers and book lovers, proving that Minnesota is a state rich in literature.

KAXE’s Morning Show host Heidi Holtan and What We’re Reading’s Tammy Bobrowsky attended the festival and interviewed the authors. This 5-part special series of lighting talks concludes with the following group of authors.

Mike Lien, Norwood Young America

Mike Lien gets his writing inspiration at the small cabin he shares with his wife in the state forest south of Bemidji. He writes about their life and times and “the people we meet and the strange things that happen sometimes.”

His latest book is The Last Cabin from his award-winning Cabin Life Series.

“It's a series of stories of some adventures, one out to Isle Royale on my brother's sailboat, another camping out for a night at the end of the Gunflint Trail, and another that chronicles a 10-year long saga of my wife and I trying to find a mysterious hidden waterfall in the Wyoming mountains,” Lien said.

Lien hopes that in his writing he can share his adventures for someone else to enjoy.

“And hopefully in my case, since I really try to push the humor, to get at least a smile if not a laugh out of them,” he added.

Find Mike Lien’s books here.

Marjorie Mathison Hance, Minneapolis

Marjorie Mathison Hance is the author of the North Lakes Murder Mystery Series which take place in northwestern Minnesota. The first book of the series, Murder at Pelican Lake, was published 8 years ago. The most recent book is Under the Ice, which is about a priest who's found murdered under the ice on a frozen lake.

Hance enjoys the talks about books she has with people she meets. “It's been great to have so many people who really enjoy books and getting involved with whatever it is that we're talking about.”

Find more information about Marjorie Mathison Hance on her website.

Brenda K. Massman, Northfield

As a writer, Brenda K. Massman loves the moment when “out of the blue, ideas will come to me or I'll see something in particular that just feels so fitting for my current story.”

Massman’s latest book is a dual story historical fiction set in 1948 Chicago and 1975 Twin Cities titled, Yet Here We Are.

“It explores the life of a woman named Elizabeth who back in the '40s, briefly visited Chicago, which sort of upends her life. And then fast forwarding to the '70s, a visitor from her Chicago past returns and sends her life into kind of a tumultuous state once again. And meanwhile, in the '70s, the Twin Cities food co-op wars are taking place that her adult daughters are involved in. So we have two different stories that come together,” Massman explained.

Learn more about Brenda K. Massman and her books here.

Chris Norbury, Owatonna

Chris Norbury writes “fast-paced mysteries--thrillers that have some action but also have some heart and interesting character studies and things like that.”

His latest book, The Kill Code Collective, is a medical thriller and five-author collaboration. Norbury was joined by authors Julie Holmes, Rob Jung, Brian Lutterman, and John Baird Rogers—each brought in their own signature characters to this “experimental” thriller.

Norbury loves writing books because he loves reading books. “Good advice I got many years ago was write the kind of books that you would like to read,” he said.

Chris Norbury’s book can be found on his website.

Jan Belanger, Hackensack

Writing and reading books has been a passion of Jan Belanger’s for many years. Her current best-selling book is Downsizing & Decluttering for Seniors: A Compassionate Guide to Simplify and Organize Your Home, Create Peace of Mind, and Enjoy Room to Breathe.

About the book Belanger explained, “It's about how you can declutter your home and get rid of the things that you don't want, your kids don't want from you. And it's really fantastic. It takes you through a journey, my journey of having to downsize and declutter my own home, my parents' home…so we can live comfortably--because the less things you have, the easier it is to manage your home.”

Find Jan Belanger’s books here.

Darrell Pedersen, Baxter

Darrell Pederson is the author of Campfire in the Basement, a book on his reflections of his tumultuous childhood growing up in the '50s and '60s in Northern Minnesota.

His newest book is called Who Will Carry the Fire? More Reflections from a North Woods Lake. In this book, Pedersen was inspired by Ojibwe history.

“They would go from one seasonal camp to the next. Somebody had to carry the embers for the campfire, so there'd be a fire in the next village. And so that one person looked out for the whole village,” he explained.

Pedersen loves writing because he loves to tell stories. He stated, “I consider myself a storyteller and I've grown up hearing stories from wonderful people, family members and teachers and so on. And I've found that my stories can maybe brighten someone's day--help them remember their own story. And when they remember their own story, I hope they'll realize they've had an amazing life too.”

Find Darrell Pedersen’s books here.

Scott Welvaert, Chaska

Scott Welvaert writes middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction books. His latest book is a dark mob thriller called Grayduck.

Chicago gangster Jimmy the Grayduck has built a name for himself with the Chicago Polish mob, but his past haunts him. Grayduck combines real-world mob threats with supernatural ones “that lead to a nail-biting, on-the-road romance, with a backstory so dark, you may not recover.”

Welvaert noted that part of the book takes readers to Minnesota. He said, “It kind of takes place in Walker because I love the land up here.”

Learn more about Scott Welvaert’s books on his website.

Find past stories from this series here.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Books by Minnesota authors from the 2026 Northwoods Art & Book Festival.(Contributed / Author websites)

HACKENSACK — Over 30 Minnesota authors gathered in August at the Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack, Minnesota. The annual festival, now in its 31st season, draws crowds of artists, visitors and residents from the community together, including a strong presence of writers and book lovers, proving that Minnesota is a state rich in literature.

KAXE’s Morning Show host Heidi Holtan and What We’re Reading’s Tammy Bobrowsky attended the festival and interviewed the authors and now have this special series of lighting talks to share.

Julie Guth, Deerwood

Julie Guth’s newest book is Nikki: Nice and Naughty which is based on her experience with “a very challenging miniature schnauzer puppy” and includes a code for an accompanying song. Her previous book, Bailey's Big Spirit, also featured a mini-schnauzer who becomes best friends with a golden doodle.

Guth has been writing and drawing since she was young. She considers herself a “reading addict,” admitting, “If I don't have anything to read in my house, I'll read cereal boxes.”

Learn more about Julie Guth and her work here.

Jason Lee Willis, Mankato

Jason Lee Willis is the author of several books, including The Dreamcatcher Chronicles and The Alchemist Chronicles book series.

Willis loves writing because “It allows me to get all those awkward social moments right. In my life, I often wish I had the delete button. So as an author, it allows me to get it right and hit that delete button.”

You can learn more about Jason Lee Willis and his writing on his website.

Brian Duren, Minneapolis

Brian Duren’s latest book is a multi-generational story about a family struggling to understand, forgive, and remain a family. It’s called Day Brings Back the Night. Spanning from 1989 to current day, and from the point of view of three family members, the story explores trauma and love.

When it comes to a love of writing, Duren is succinct.

“I love writing simply because I love writing.”

Find more information about Brian Duren here.

Jan D. Payne, Longville

Growing up on the Navajo Reservation in the Four Corners area influenced Jan D. Payne writing.

She is the author the Martin Sinclair mystery thriller series which takes place on the Navajo Reservation. The latest book is Changing Woman’s Hair, book two in the series.

Payne describes her books as having “a lot of murder, a lot of mayhem.” As a writer, she writes the kind of books she likes to read.

Learn more about Jan D. Payne and her work on her website.

Christine Husom, Buffalo

Christine Husom’s latest book is the fifth book in her Snow Globe Show Mysteries series. It’s called Snow Place Like Home.

Husom is currently working on book twelve in her suspenseful police procedural Winnebago County Mysteries, a series fueled by her time working for the Wright County Sherriff.

As a child, Husom recounts the excitement of learning to read so she could finally write down her stories. “Because I was kind of making up stories before I could read or write,” she said.

More information on Chistine Husom and her books can be found here.

William Durbin, Lake Vermilion

After writing 13 historical novels, William Durbin switched to something more contemporary. His latest book is Bubble Sheet Blues. It’s about an 8th grade boy who decides to start a protest against standardized testing.

After retiring from teaching English for 25 years, Durbin was happy to do what he’d long dreamed about and has been writing full-time for the last 25 years.

Learn more about William Durbin and his books at his website.

This was part 4 of our lightning talks with Minnesota authors at the 2026 Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack, Minnesota. We'll continue to feature more Minnesota authors weekly.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Some books by Minnesota authors from the 2026 Northwoods Art & Book Festival.(Contributed / Authors' websites)

HACKENSACK — Over 30 Minnesota authors gathered earlier this month at the Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack, Minnesota. The annual festival, now in its 31st season, draws crowds of artists, visitors and residents from the community together, including a strong showing of writers and book lovers, proving that Minnesota is a state rich in literature.

KAXE Morning Show host Heidi Holtan and What We’re Reading’s Tammy Bobrowsky attended the festival and interviewed the authors and share this special series of "lightning talks."

Mary Seifert, Inver Grove Heights

Mary Seifert previously lived in Willmar, Minnesota where her books take place. Her latest is Golfing, Gardens & Ghosts, book 11 of her Katie & Maverick Cozy Mysteries series, which features a math teacher and her dog who solve crimes in West Central Minnesota.

Seifert loves writing books and meeting people and especially loves the research aspect of writing.

“Book 10 was Airplanes, Atlanta, and an Assassin, and it happens in Atlanta. So, I had to travel to Atlanta and visit all the wonderful things that happened in Atlanta. That's part of what makes the writing so much fun,” she said.

Visit Mary Seifert’s website for more information.

Jeff Krogstad, Belgrade

Jeff Krogstad’s latest book, Lost River, is book three in the Kim Norby series and takes place on the Canadian border near Warroad. Jeff explained that the story focuses on “cross-border issues and things that get across the international border that shouldn't and what kind of messes that creates.”

Krogstad loves connecting with readers. “There's nothing better than a good story and being able to craft a good story and enjoy it with other people and tell people about it. That's just the best thing in the world,” he said.

Learn more about Jeff Krogstad and his work here.

J.D. Delzer, Richfield

J.D. Delzer is the author of the young adult adventure/fantasy series Buccaneer of Nemaris. The latest book in the series is Of Scimitars and Sands.

While Delzer enjoys writing, he noted that it was also something he felt he needed to. He explained, “It was one of those pastimes that you just kind of have to get out of you or else you won't sleep at night.”

Find more about J.D. Delzer and his books on his website.

Mary Perrine, Cologne

Mary Perrine’s newest book is Through the Fall, a psychological thriller that takes place in the Brainerd Lakes area, featuring a woman in her 30s who learns she was kidnapped as an infant. It’s the sequel to Through the Fire, which came out in 2025.

After an early retirement, Perrine transitioned from teaching writing to writing on her own.

She said, “I always knew I wanted to write from the time I was four years old and my mom would take me places and sit me on a bench and tell me to watch people and make up stories about them. And I said, ‘You taught me to lie, mom.’ So, I've always loved writing.”

More about Mary Perrine and her books can be found on her website.

Joe Egan, Carver

Joe Egan’s latest book is Backwoods Crossing. It's the second book in the Jack Walker thriller series, which began with Steer Clear, a book which features a prolonged car chase that was inspired by Egan sitting in traffic with his wife. “I was in the middle of the interstate…and I looked at my wife in the front seat and I said, ‘You know, this would be the perfect setting for a car chase because nobody would find you,’” he explained.

Egan has always loved telling stories. He reminisced, “When I was a child, I was that crazy 6, 7, 8-year-old kid who was creating fake student newspapers. And that has just carried over into publishing books.”

Learn more about Joe Egan and his books here.

C.A. Lewis, Twin Cities

C.A. Lewis has recently wrapped up her debut Chronicles of Kamore series with her fifth book, Flames of Insurgence.

The Chronicles of Kamore series take place in a world where magic is outlawed and a group of rebels under the guise of a traveling circus search the country for their people.

As a writer, Lewis enjoys writing characters. “I love writing because it's so fun to see where the characters take you and…the twists and turns as you explore their character development.”

Find C.A. Lewis’s books here.

This was part 3 in our series of lighting talks with Minnesota authors at the Northwoods Art & Book Festival in Hackensack. We'll continue to feature more authors weekly.

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Blue Bearies is Brenda Child's new children's book, illustrated by Jonathan Thunder, and translated by Gordon Jourdain.(Contributed / Minnesota Historical Society Press)

Historian, author and Red Lake Nation citizen Brenda Child had been working on a previous book of hers, Holding Our World Together, Ojibwe Women and the Survival of Community, when a story from it stuck with her.

“I ran across a story that was in the archives referred to as the ‘Leech Lake story of Bear Woman,’” she said in a recent What We’re Reading interview.

"Bear Woman" was a story of an Ojibwe woman who, to protect her children and family, joined the fight when an enemy of the tribe attacked.

Brenda Child is the author of Blue Bearies.(Contributed / Brenda Child)

Child continued, “But what everyone at Leech Lake remembered about the bear woman story was a story of a very fierce female bear protecting her children.”

This story became the inspiration for her latest children’s book Blue Bearies, published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

In Blue Bearies, Windy Girl is dropped off at school by Uncle. Windy Girl’s teacher Mrs. Mukwa is teaching her class about their Ojibwe animal relatives, specifically the bear, or makwa. In Windy Girl’s vivid imagination Mrs. Mukwa herself turns into a bear and continues to teach the class about their ancestors and how their people learned so much from animals.

This is Child’s follow up to her wildly popular 2018 children’s book Bowwow Powwow, which is in its seventeenth printing and has been adapted as a musical by Stages Theater Company and features music by Minnesota musicians Bizhiki and Keith Secola.

Child teamed up with Jonathan Thunder, an artist from Duluth who provided the vivid illustrations for both books. Thunder, who also has ties to Red Lake Nation, described his process for illustrating the story.

Artist Jonathan Thunder is the illustrator of Blue Bearies.(Contributed / Jonathan Thunder)

“I just sit down and start to dial in the imagery as close to what I imagine Brenda is describing in her storytelling. Thinking back to my childhood when I would visit Red Lake, because I grew up in the Twin Cities, but I would visit and hang out with family and thinking about that warm sun that Red Lake has and some of the wildlife and plant life that are around there.”

Thunder noted that readers from Red Lake might recognize some familiar sites in the background on the pages. He said, “It's fun for me to do silly little things like add the Red Lake water tower, which is this bright red water tower that could be seen for miles and just have that somewhere off in the distance.”

Both Bowwow Powwow and Blue Bearies are retold in Ojibwemowin by Gordon Jourdain of the Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation. Child noted the importance of offering her stories in dual languages.

“It's good for everybody to know that we have our native languages that are endangered that we need to preserve for the future. But I also think that we wanted to offer something to kids language learning at places like Red Lake and the Waadookodaading School over in Wisconsin and all those places where children are learning Ojibwe and need materials in the Ojibwe language,” she said.

While Bowwow Powwow featured singing and dancing dogs at a powwow, Blue Bearies is all about bears. Child wanted the book to speak to what we learn from the natural world.

She explained, “Sometimes we like to think we're at the top of the chain, we know everything … but it's also important to remember that the natural world is full of thinking, sentient beings. And a lot of what we know, in fact, is from observing how they live in the natural world. I wanted children to think about bears as being very smart and what we learn from bears.”

Looking for a good book recommendation? Want to recommend a book you've just read? Check out our What We're Reading page on Facebook, or text us at 218-326-1234.

What We're Reading is made possible in part by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.