"A very enjoyable biography of a woman on the cusp of change in the North. Recommended." Choice“Beautifully written biography…much to learn, enjoy, and recommend in this book.” Pacific Northwest Quarterly“A riveting story told by a brilliant writer.” Pacific Historical ReviewThe never-before-told story of Kate Carmack, whose resilience and survival made gold rush historyHeadlines shouted the...

As their individual longings braid and cross, the exposed secrets of mother and daughter test their love. In precise and evocative prose, Cold Spell tells the parallel stories of a mother who risks everything to start over and a daughter whose longings threaten to undo them.“Grabs you from the opening line and never lets go” ~ Publishers Weekly"Vanasse is talented: she can turn ordinary words into the sublime...Readers who enjoy richly drawn characters trying to make sense ...

Pod does card tricks to prove he's in control. Flaco is rich and loyal beyond words to his abuelo. Manny is desperate to get out of his Bar Mitzvah. Together, what these middle-school misfits want most is for their fledgling band to get noticed. When their made-up song conjures a strange man in Pod's ancient barn, fame follows so fast it's scary. As strange things spew from Pod's guitar, the boys in the band wonder how much of their success comes from talent and how much comes from a dark ...

Take our gift and make us shineThe richest, the most righteousThe stars of our timePod says it began with the crow. Manny says it began with the rat. Flaco says it doesn’t matter—the boys in the band have to roll with the trouble that started in Pod’s barn, when their song summoned a strange little man.Dressed like a gangster, the sinister stranger insists the boys have inked a deal with the “Big Boss.” As their band soars to new h...

From breathtaking mountains to untamed coastlines, Insider's Guide to Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska features Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, and Denali National Park.

With dramatic changes in publishing, it’s a wild and exciting time to be an author. But how do authors, both new and experienced, choose what’s best for their books, and how do they make sure their books get noticed? A successful and well-published author pulls no punches in this practical guide to book production, promotion, and the writer’s life, no matter how you publish—traditionally, independently, or somewhere between. A 5-star Readers’ Favorite!“From getting the manuscript r...

No amount of marketing will make readers love a book that’s poorly conceived and badly written. If you want your book to get noticed—if you want to find readers—it needs to rise to the top. It needs to be your best book.Whether your form is fiction or nonfiction, whether you publish on your own or through a traditional publisher, your book will benefit from the practical perspectives, strategies, and advice of well-published author and teacher Deb Vanasse. In this practical guide t...

Would the real Alaska please stand up?This was the challenge put to ten of Alaska’s finest authors: to share unique and intimate perspectives—some previously published, some new to this volume—that reach beyond the usual stereotypes to an Alaska that can’t be packaged or staged.These stories, musings, and rants come from authors whose roots run deep in the Far North. There’s Dana Stabenow, author of more than thirty novels, who was raised on 75-foot fish tender in the Gulf ...

In Sampler tradition, this 2015 volume showcases the “best of the best” of Alaska-inspired prose, beginning with author Heather Lende, who proves that life in the small town of Haines, Alaska, is anything but ordinary. In an excerpt from her popular memoir If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name, a brush with death is a reminder of the choices, large and small, that inform our existence.Where Lende’s account of danger on ice leaves off, authors Deb Vanasse and David...

A stunning debut about a young teenager on the brink and a parent desperate to find the truth before it's too late.Thirteen year old Callie is accused of bullying at school, but Rebecca knows the gentle girl she's raised must be innocent. After Callie is exonerated, she begins to receive threatening notes from the girl who accused her, and as these notes become desperate, Rebecca feels compelled to intervene. As she tries to save this unbalanced girl, Rebecca remem...

Friday Night Lights meets Ordinary People when Beth Maller returns to her job as a guidance counselor at Meadow Brook High School shortly after an unspeakable family tragedy. Railing against the everyday injustices she had overlooked until her world cracked apart, Beth stirs up the moral battles being waged in her school, where administrators cling to don’t-rock-the-boat policies, homophobia snakes through the halls, and mean girls practice bullying as if it were a sport....

A propulsively well-written trio of novellas linked by a sense of loss and an inquiry into the impossible past.” -Kate ChristensenIn his three novellas, In Short Measures,” Strong Conspirators,” and Sally Forth,” Michael Ruhlman delves deeply into the nuanced complexity of romantic and sexual love-and the inevitable evolution of the heart over the span of years and decades.Each novella asks questions about the nature of love in terms of loyalty and fide...