A book geared toward middle-grade readers is the subject of the Feb. 9 U.P. Notable Book Club event.

“The Home Wind,” by L’Anse author, columnist and publisher Terri Lynn Martin, will be discussed starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 via Zoom.

The Crystal Falls Community District Library, partnering with the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association, has scheduled author events with winners of the U.P. Notable Book List, one of whom is Martin.

Participants, who are urged to buy a copy of the book from a local bookstore or obtain it from a library to become knowledgeable about it, are asked to contact Evelyn Gathu in advance at egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org or 906-875-3344. The event is free to U.P. residents.

MARTIN

“The Home Wind” is the story of two boys, one white and one Native American, who must find their way through the difficulties of life on the road to becoming “men” at a logging camp in the 1870s era Upper Peninsula, according to the UPPAA. The boys’ travels will take them to Escanaba, Seney, Menominee and the surrounding area.

The boys first ‘man-making” adventure together comes when the camp boss has the two of them go to Seney for supplies, which are running low near the end of the winter. Jamie sees firsthand how his friend is treated in the non-Native world and the dangers the two face from people trying to steal the camp money and then the provisions.

In both instances, Gray Feather comes to the rescue.

Martin is familiar with the U.P. She her husband moved to the L’Anse area nearly 22 years ago and have no desire to live anywhere else, in spite of the area receiving over 250 inches of snowfall each winter, says her biography at www.terrilynnmartin.com.

Martin is a regular contributor to UP Magazine where she finds an outlet for her humorous stories. Anthologies of these stories can be found in her books: “Church Lady Chronicles: Devilish Encounters” and “High on the Vine.”

Her recent book, “The Home Wind,” received the 2022 U.P. Notable Book award. Her full-length novel. “Moose Willow Mystery: A Yooper Romance,”

was just released.

Martin said she was inspired by a reconstructed logging camp at Hartwick Pines State Park to write “The Home Wind.”

“What if there was a boy growing up and they met a Native American boy, and they became friends?” she asked.

Martin began to write the book when no Google existed for research, but after she “dragged it out of mothballs,” she then was able to use the search engine, and eventually self-published the book.

Martin said self-publishing used to be prohibitive, with it being difficult to sell a book in the New York book world “without being a talking head on Fox News.”

However, she noted that many writers now can publish their own, which is less difficult now, or work through a small independent publisher.

“A lot of good writers are able to get things out there,” Martin said.

Local author Deborah K. Frontiera reviewed “The Home Wind” for the U.P. Book Review.

“Once spring comes, Jamie’s mother remarries one of the logging camp men who has always been kind to Jamie,” Frontiera wrote. “The family heads to Menominee and from there to a sawmill town, taking Gray Feather with them. The author puts readers right there on the steamer, pitching about in the waves of a strong wind as they head for Escanaba and then Menominee. I felt their seasickness just reading it.

“Gray Feather’s inner conflict and resolve to have revenge on his father whom he has learned is in that area comes to the surface. Jamie must decide how to help his friend, keep to what he knows to be right, and then be able to let Gray Feather go his own way. Both find their ‘home wind,” or purpose in life, in the process.”

Frontiera noted that Martin weaves the backstory of both boys through action and dialogue, with “impeccably researched” details.

“A natural skeptic, I checked some of them myself: a reference to the “tooth fairy” and to the presence of a woman — Jamie’s mother — in logging camps,” Frontiera said. “The author was spot on with both references. The author also switches between the two boys’ points of view in a way that is easy for young readers to distinguish and follow. Her descriptions of the scenes and action make a reader feel as if they are right there in the middle of it all.”

More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review and the UPPAA can be found on www.UPNotable.com

The UPPAA is a nonprofit association with more than 100 members, many of whose books are featured on the organization’s website at www.uppaa.org. UPPAA welcomes membership and participation from anyone with a U.P. connection and an interest in writing.