Tagged: john heldt
The Fire by John Heldt Releases Today!
When Kevin Johnson, 22, goes to Wallace, Idaho, days after his college graduation, he expects to find rest and relaxation as his family prepares his deceased grandfather’s house for sale. Then he discovers a hidden diary and a time portal that can take him to 1910, the year of Halley’s comet and the largest wildfire in U.S. history. Within hours, Kevin finds himself in the era of horse-drawn wagons, straw hats, and ankle-length dresses. Returning to the same time and place, he decides to travel again and again and make the portal his gateway to summer fun. The adventure takes a more serious turn, however, when the luckless-in-love science major falls for pretty English teacher Sarah Thompson and integrates himself in a community headed for tragedy. Filled with humor, romance, and heartbreak, THE FIRE, the sequel to THE JOURNEY, follows a conflicted soul through a life-changing journey as he makes his mark on a world he was never meant to see.
John Heldt was kind enough to give me an ARC of The Fire so you’ll be reading my review of it tomorrow, but for now I just want to let you know that his fourth book in the Northwest Passage series is now available! If you’ve read my reviews of his first three books, you’ll know that I’m super excited to sink my teeth into this one. I don’t want to give too much away when I say that Kevin’s story is not at all like the previous ones in that the main character travels back and forth in time deliberately multiple times. But will this lead to tragedy? It’s hard to tell.
Now available on Amazon for $3.99.
The Show by John Heldt
(Cover picture courtesy of John Heldt.)
Seattle, 1941. Grace Vandenberg, 21, is having a bad day. Minutes after Pearl Harbor is attacked, she learns that her boyfriend is a time traveler from 2000 who has abandoned her for a future he insists they cannot share. Determined to save their love, she follows him into the new century. But just when happiness is within her grasp, she accidentally enters a second time portal and exits in 1918. Distraught and heartbroken, Grace starts a new life in the age of Woodrow Wilson, silent movies, and the Spanish flu. She meets her parents as young, single adults and befriends a handsome, wounded Army captain just back from the war. In THE SHOW, the sequel to THE MINE, Grace finds love and friendship in the ashes of tragedy as she endures the trial of her life.
[Full disclosure: John Heldt sent me a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.]
I’m so glad that John Heldt decided to return to the story of The Mine to continue where he left off. Only this time, we get to see things from Grace’s point of view and learn how she found her way back to Joel when he fled back to his own time. Then, just when everything seems to be going well, tragedy strikes and Grace is thrust back into 1918. This is where things get interesting character-wise because we learn just how resourceful and intelligent Grace really is as she struggles to cope in another new time. We also learn a little more about how the time travel portals work, although John Heldt never gets into the scientific details. But that doesn’t bother me one bit because the Northwest Passage Series is meant to explore the effects of time travel on people, not how time travel is accomplished.
The plot isn’t what I would call fast-paced until the last 30 pages, but John Heldt’s writing style is so nice that it didn’t bother me at all. Grace drives the plot forward with her actions rather than just reacting to events and it makes for a much more human novel. We feel her anguish at leaving the love of her life and her two children behind, experience her struggle to adapt to a completely different time and feel her confusion about the handsome war hero John Walker. The secondary characters aren’t just two dimensional either; they all have distinct personalities, backstories and react to Grace differently.
The ending felt rather rushed after the steady pace of the first 150 pages, but I suppose it reflects the desperation Grace began to feel as her ability to go back to 2000 was about to be cut off. Still, The Show was a great addition to the story of The Mine and I look forward to reading the rest of the Northwest Passage series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
*Only available as a Kindle ebook.
Cover Reveal: The Show by John Heldt
You know, I like John Heldt’s covers. They’re nice and simple and actually have something to do with the story. But what I like more than the covers, obviously, are the books themselves. That’s why I’m proud to present the cover real for the third of five books in John Heldt’s Northwest Passage series: The Show, which releases sometime on the week of February 17.
I can’t say much without giving everything away, but The Show is a direct sequel to The Mine. Personally, I can’t wait to have some of my remaining questions about Joel and Grace answered. If you haven’t already, go check out my reviews of The Mine and The Journey. Maybe you’ll find something to add to your reading list for the weekend.
My Interview with John Heldt
John Heldt is the self-published author of The Mine, The Journey and now, The Show, which is the third of five books in his Northwest Passage series dealing with time travel. His books don’t go into detail about how the time travel occurs, but that’s not the point! Read on to see John and I discuss self-publishing, time travel and future projects.
1. Your new book, The Show, is coming out the week of February 17. Is it separate from the previous two books in the Northwest Passage series?
The Show is the sequel to The Mine and will likely be the only true sequel in the five-part series. Each of the Northwest Passage books will have similar themes and settings and have at least one common character – Joel Smith – but only The Show will be directly tied to another book. I decided to write The Show because many readers who enjoyed The Mine wanted a sequel and wanted that sequel to answer specific questions, such as how Grace found Joel, what became of the couple after they reunited, and whether Ginny ever learned that she would become Joel’s grandmother. All three questions are answered. I should also note that The Show is very much Grace’s story. She is the one constant in a
roller-coaster ride that spans three distinct eras.
2. What made you decide to focus on the characters and the history rather than the technical aspects of time travel?
Great question. I decided to focus on the former because it is what I know and what interests me. I cared less about gadgets and the technical considerations of time travel than how ordinary people would react if suddenly thrown back to the past – and specifically the past of ancestors they’ve known. Continue reading
Spotlight: The Journey by John Heldt
Spotlight is my new regular Saturday feature in which I highlight a book I really enjoyed or am eagerly waiting for. This time, it’s The Journey by John Heldt, a book I got very emotional about.
Seattle, 2010. When her entrepreneur husband dies in an accident, Michelle Preston Richardson, 48, finds herself childless and directionless. She yearns for the simpler days of her youth, before she followed her high school sweetheart down a road that led to limitless riches but little fulfillment, and jumps at a chance to reconnect with her past at a class reunion. But when Michelle returns to Unionville, Oregon, and joins three classmates on a spur-of-the-moment tour of an abandoned mansion, she gets more than she asked for. She enters a mysterious room and is thrown back to 1979.
Distraught and destitute, Michelle finds a job as a secretary at Unionville High, where she guides her spirited younger self, Shelly Preston, and childhood friends through their tumultuous senior year. Along the way, she meets widowed teacher Robert Land and finds the love and happiness she had always sought. But that happiness is threatened when history intervenes and Michelle must act quickly to save those she loves from deadly fates. Filled with humor and heartbreak, THE JOURNEY gives new meaning to friendship, courage, and commitment as it follows an unfulfilled soul through her second shot at life.
I love the way John Heldt handled the whole time travel angle of his second book in the Northwest Passage trilogy. In his books, time travel isn’t the important thing and the characters themselves aren’t scientists, so it doesn’t take a prominent position. But, what does take its place is the characters and the incredible writing. John Heldt pays so much attention to all of his characters that they are three dimensional and interesting, even the secondary ones. You will love both Michelle and Shelly (Michelle’s younger self) and the ending will both tear you to pieces and give you some hope.
The Journey has the perfect amount of romance, suspense and heartbreak and I absolutely love how John Heldt solved the time travel paradox. You see, Michelle isn’t some passive time traveller who leaves things be. No, she wants to change her younger self and prevent her best friend’s tragic death. But what happens if Shelly actually changes? Does Michelle disappear into nothing? Does she herself change suddenly? I didn’t think he could pull it off, but John Heldt came up with a great way to solve the paradox. This is a man who can write himself into a tiny corner and get himself out again in fantastic style, so go on and get The Journey! You won’t regret it, I promise.