When the three friends paddle away on a wilderness adventure that takes them deep into the North Woods, they encounter a host of unexpected surprises, peculiar strangers, and challenging obstacles that test their physical and emotional limits. As they explore the beautiful lakes and forbidding forests, they share intense joys, simple pleasures, and unforgettable experiences that teach them about true friendship, young love, honesty, perseverance, and sacrifice. Their willingness to talk openly about the deeper things in life is the key to their friendship, and it eventually draws out the best qualities in each of them. As they learn how to survive in the great outdoors, they find time to share honest conversations about personal struggles, questions of faith, newfound freedom, individual identity, and unexplainable loss.
Carefully wrapped up in the mysteries of the stars and constellations high above, their story overflows with warm characters, earthy humor, and honest dialogue that will make you think about the more important things in life. Northern Lights will capture you in its brilliant starry web, embrace you for a time, and then release you to dream of the endless possibilities in your own life and the lives of those you love.
Sample Chapters
Chapter 14: A Vision of Beauty
As the summer at Northern Lights rolls along, Leo meets Aria’s best friend, Esther, when she arrives at the camp for the first time. Immediately, he is smitten with her tough-looking appearance, and he begins to wonder how their friendship might develop over the next few weeks.
Chapter 23: Love Triangle
As Leo deals with a group of boys who are back from a canoe trip, his friends, Aria and Esther, make plans for their three-day adventure into the wilderness. There is tension in the air as Leo tries to balance his fascination with Esther alongside his friendship with Aria.
Chapter 28: Into the Northwoods
When Leo, Aria, and Esther finally take off on their trip into the wilderness, they are struck by the incredible beauty and splendor of the Boundary Waters as well as the difficult challenges that come with it.
“Look Inside” The first eight chapters of the book may be previewed at Amazon in the “Look Inside” feature for the Kindle version of Northern Lights.
Check out some reviews of the book (and the music too).
Purchase a Book
Northern Lights is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook versions. If you like the story, please do me a favor and write a review of the book at Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you made your purchase. Kind and thoughtful reviews are greatly appreciated. If you have questions about anything, I can be reached at my Goodreads profile page.
Northern Lights (all formats) is available at Amazon: SHOP NOW
The hardcover is also available at Barnes and Noble as well as other online retailers.
Author’s Notes
Northern Lights is a story that was born out of my love for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Northern Minnesota. My fascination with the lakes region began after my junior year in college when I got a summer job as a canoe guide up there. Ever since then, my love for the lakes has only grown stronger. Over the years, I have returned time and time again to enjoy my favorite place in all the earth.
I never dreamed that I’d end up writing a novel based on some of my experiences in the Boundary Waters, but to my complete surprise, that’s precisely what happened. It started out as a few short stories which quickly ballooned into a full-scale novel that captured everything I love about the North Woods of Minnesota. If you would like to know more about how and why I wrote Northern Lights, check out my Author’s Notes.
