Books

Two local authors have recently published books, and we talked to each of them about their inspirations and process. Sarah Ahiers’ first book, Assassin’s Heart, came out last year and was a 2017 Minnesota Book Award finalist. The sequel, Thief’s Cunning, was released in June. Joseph Kuefler’s first book, Beyond the Pond, was published in 2015, his second, Rulers of the Playground, this past spring. Read more about Two Local Authors Share Their Love of Writing and the Release of New Books

When Caroline Burau became tired of chasing people around for the scoop as a reporter for the White Bear Press, she transitioned to a new role: an emergency dispatcher. She remembers being terrified taking her first call back in 2002: theft from a car. She also remembers the first call that kept her up at night: a suicide. Read more about Local Emergency Dispatcher Chronicles Her Call History

Puppa-na-wuppana is a beagle with a long name and a magical nose, and now the hero of two children’s books with stories of all of the trouble he manages to find. Local author Cindy Koebele was inspired by the real-life Puppa-na-wuppana, her own dog, when her beagle’s mischievous adventures got her thinking, “You know, this would be a really great book. We need to write a book,” she says. Koebele approached her co-worker Lori Weaver, and the two soon had a picture book and a chapter book self-published through Koebele-Weaver Enterprises. Read more about Puppy Tales

Sarah Ahiers’ debut novel Assassin’s Heart is a bit different from your typical young-adult fiction read. In the story, a teenage assassin sets out on a path of vengeance for her murdered family. Ahiers wrote the novel in two months spread out over two years, followed by one year of slow revision before HarperTeen published it in February 2016. While writing, Ahiers tried to approach the protagonist’s loss from a different angle. “I wanted to write a novel where the grief not only stayed, but it changed the character,” she says. Read more about Follow the Assassin’s Heart

Jim Brunzell, the White Bear Lake native and World Wrestling Entertainment alum, has written a book. MatLands: True Stories from the Wrestling Road covers 66 years of Jumpin’ Jim’s life journey, mostly pulled from his 25-year career as a pro wrestler. The book was published in June. Read more about New Book: MatLands; True Stories from the Wrestling Road

“It is easy to lose track of time in the woods. After Arial returns to her cottage from a day in the high hills gathering herbs for her nana, she is horrified to discover her home ransacked by a trio of strangers, her grandmother unconscious, and her father missing. Arial’s seemingly normal life in the small village of Mumblesey on Rumblesea Cove has just turned upside down.” Read more about Willernie Mayor B.K. Parent Book Series Garners Awards