FAQs

We received some of the last homestead land that could be secured (in the year 1988) by being one of forty individuals chosen in a lottery of over a hundred applicants. All forty that were chosen could stake up to forty acres of land within the Appel Mountain homestead area with intentions to build a permanent dwelling and live on that land. If you proved up on the land by living on it for twenty-five months within a five year period of time (fulfilling requirements defining a permanent dwelling) you were granted freely the legal possession of the land. There is no longer such land being offered freely in Alaska. You can only buy homestead land from other homesteaders who are selling their land.

Frostbiting Winter is now available in my shop. My manuscript for River Breakup Book 3 is ready and waiting to be submitted for publishing.

I have a wealth of material to write about. But for this age of readers it is important to only cover short periods of time within one book. For example, Book 1 includes a time period of three weeks during the end of summer and early fall season. Each book will be kept consistent as possible with that amount of time elapsing in one book. So far Books 1, 2 & 3 have included events from the first eight months of our seven years spent on the homestead. There are many more adventures left to relive.

Logan is a fictional character created to represent an older boy of eleven. As the main character telling the story, he is able to relate to my targeted readers of young adults ages nine to twelve. My oldest son was very young at the time we lived on the homestead so it was necessary to create this fictional character to tell the story.

Logan’s childish side of his character is portraying events that my very young son (age 3) experienced at the time our family moved onto the homestead. The stories of finding the grouse, getting fish out of the net, a surprise kitten named Fluffy, and feeding the marten were a few events of true adventures my two oldest boys do remember, being so young.

Logan’s mature fiction character of inventing things is used to reveal true-life adventures on the homestead that happened and needed to be shared from the mind of an eleven year old child in order to capture and hold the interest of my young adult readers.

Logan’s fiction character and personality portray my oldest son’s real life personality and character. Logan has the qualities of being willing to help, responsible, a heart turned toward God, inquisitive, and has a very creative mind; he is always inventing things. All these characteristics are true of my oldest son’s nature.