City Pages reports on Iron Range past, present

I'm not sure what drew them to us, but City Pages -- the Twin Cities' alt weekly -- profiles a snippet of Iron Range history and provides a surprisingly detailed look at new nonferrous mineral mining technology on the East Range in this week's web edition. The history portion in particular puts a bit of a perspective on our early years here on the Range. I review how this history manifests in present times in my upcoming book "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range." (October 2008, Red Step Press). Now that I have my semi-random plug in for the day, back to work ...

Local publishing boom?

The Duluth News-Tribune had a story out Monday about a surge of new small publishing houses in the Duluth area. One of these new companies -- Red Step Press -- is set to publish my book "Red Dirt and Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range" next fall. You can read Jane Brissett's story in Monday's business section. My book isn't mentioned but we're not due out until October '08. It's exciting to see so many local authors and publishers find a niche. Just be sure to save some of your book budget for next fall. It seems like there's a lot of fiction and poetry in the mix. I like fiction and poetry, but it's got to be hard to make regional fiction work financially. I like Red Step's chances a little better because Lindsy is focusing on specific market nonfiction, something demonstrably supported by local book buyers. But then again, I'm biased.

On the subject of the book, work continues and I expect to have the first draft done by the end of my college's winter break. I have one more interview to do this month and then a solid stand of writing through December. Let's hope Santa brings 25,000 words for Christmas this year.