Take a look at recently published regional books

The Daily Inter Lake is never short on receiving press releases about new books published either through conventional publishing companies or self-publishing methods, some from regional authors, others take place in, or are about, Montana.

We do our best to periodically compile and highlight them for our readers.

They will be presented in a two-part series in This Week in the Flathead — the first is below.

Bibliophiles would also find worth noting National Public Radio’s online Book Concierge. The organization recently released its 2019 version, which contains hundreds of books, easily accessed by the reader’s taste via a roster of filters, such as Biography & Memoir, For History Lovers, Book Club Ideas, Ladies First and Kids Books. There’s also a Staff Picks category.

Based on recommendations from trusted critics, each book in the collection has a brief description and photo of the cover, making it a great place to browse for your own reads or for those on your gift list.

Check it out at npr.org/arts and life/books

‘Out of the Ashes’

Author and long-time Flathead resident Beth Hodder was presented the bronze medal 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for Best Pre-teen Fiction: Mystery for her newest release, “Out of the Ashes.”

Launched in 2007, the Moonbeam Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s books and lifelong reading.

“Out of the Ashes,” the third book in Hodder’s award-winning “Jessie and Oriole Mystery Series,” finds Jessie Scott and her canine companion, Oriole, back in Montana’s Great Bear Wilderness on the cusp of her 13th birthday. This time they face one of the modern West’s most formidable foes — wildfire.

Jessie is separated from her family by a sudden conflagration. What follows is a desperate search for her mother, dog, and answers about the fire’s origins. The mystery unfolds at the pace of wildfire itself, and Jessie’s adventure brings her up close with not only the fire, but also the men and women who are tasked with caring for and preserving the wilderness she calls home. Along the way, Jessie (and the reader) learn a lot about the nature of wildland fires and the challenges facing the folks who manage them.

About the author

A former U.S. Forest Service employee, Hodder is naturally interested in the care and preservation of the West’s forests. She has spent most of her adult life in and around the Bob Marshall and Great Bear Wildernesses.

“Out of the Ashes” and Hodder’s first two books, “The Ghost of Schaefer Meadows” (2008) and “Stealing the Wild” (2011), are available at local bookstores or online at www.grizzlyridgepublishing.com.

‘The Montana We Knew’

“The Montana We Knew,” a love story, explores a family’s rigors of off-grid living in the wilderness near Glacier National Park. From grizzly bear break-ins to outhouse skunks, forest ?res to packrat invasions, author Carla Brooks and her husband, Tad Brooks, share a passion for the magni?cent beauty of the North Fork of the Flathead.

Part travel guide, part memoir and part adventure guide, Brooks’ book is set in one of the few regions in the Lower 48 states that is still home to all of its original predators, where the Brooks built a rustic cabin 50 dirt road miles up the North Fork Road without electricity, running water or telephone service while remodeling their home in Kalispell, Humorous and endearing, Brooks leads readers on adventurous hikes through the backcountry of Glacier Park and depicts her need to preserve a piece of heaven.

About the author

Carla Brooks is a financial adviser in Spokane and first-time author. After leaving urban life in San Francisco for the Montana wilderness, she settled in Columbia Falls with her young family and reconnected with a former college friend and future husband, Tad Brooks, managing editor of the Hungry Horse News, where she took a job in advertising, and later worked as the ad manager of the Whitefish Pilot and the Bigfork Eagle.

They now make their home in Eastern Washington on a small organic farm. Brooks says she intends to donate 50 percent of all profits from the book to conservation efforts in the North Fork area.

“The Montana We

Knew” is available at the Bad Rock Book Store in Columbia Falls, at Parrish and Grove in Spokane and on Amazon.com.

‘Shining Mountains-Shining Spirits A Journey of Seasons’

Author C. Kjell Petersen grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa, but after his family took their first official vacation where he saw mountains and forests, he was smitten with the West. After a forestry/ horticulture degree, 30 years in fire management with the U.S. Forest Service, 35 years teaching skiing in the Northwest, plus a dozen years as a hiking and rafting guide in Glacier National Park, Petersen says he has been exposed to the most incredible scenery and wildlife on earth.

“ A Journey of Seasons” is his beautiful book of photography and inspiration. It can be found at Bookworks in Kalispell, Montana House in Apgar and on his website kjellilama406.com.

Petersen will donate $5 for every book ordered through his website to the Northwest Montana Fire Fighters Lookout Association if his newsletter is mentioned.

‘The 406 Table’

Karen Barbee of Billings has written a lifestyle book on Montana that features an article on the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, which now carries the book in its gift shop.

“The 406 Table” contains 283 pictures, 124 easy, country-comfort recipes, 30 creative event ideas/tutorials, 42 Montana history segments, and 15 charming stories of growing up on a Montana farm outside of Fort Benton.

Visit www.bunkhousebarbee.com

‘Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Traveler’s Guide’

In this digital Multi-Touch book, Berquist has taken a different approach. Swipe or click through numerous photo galleries, pan and zoom on maps, use scrolling sidebars for the rest of the story, click on internet links to access additional historical as well as current information explicitly tailored for the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor. Readers can quickly find information on topics such as:

• options for getting around inside the park

• wildlife

• points of interest in human history, geology and natural history

• hiking, biking boating, horsepacking, camping, lodging and restaurants

About the author

Berquist, who lives in Kalispell, is also the author of the blog “Experience Glacier National Park.” He has explored over 500 miles of trails inside the park boundary and finds joy in sharing his knowledge of and passion for the park.

‘Needles - The First Christmas Tree’

David Kurud’s new children’s picture book is a Christmas story told in 229 rhyming couplets about a puny little pine tree with a twisted trunk who overcomes adversity. Being teased and bullied by older, bigger pine trees, Needles perseveres and learns the importance of friendship and helping others.

A helpful friend to the fur and feather of the forest when they are in need, Needles does good deeds, is friendly and selfless. The other pine trees learn they need to live together in harmony or the forest would disappear.

This story appeals to and has lessons for all ages. For the youngest the story and its whimsical, colorful illustrations delight on their own.

For older children, the story provides thought provoking opportunities for meaningful discussions. For kids at heart, it’s a book that will be read and re-read by families every Christmas Season.

About the author

David Kurud was born and raised in Morris, Minnesota, close to where the big pine trees grow. He enjoyed a career in advertising that included work for the Minneapolis newspaper, Star Tribune. Kurud now lives in Green Valley, Arizona. The story of Needles took him 40 years to complete.

Available at bookstores, Amazon or Itascabooks.com