The Wintermaker

by Jason Willis

Unknown Binding

About the author

Jason Lee Willis is the author of The Alchemist's Map, best described as 'a Bilbo Baggins character who goes on an Indiana Jones adventure in 19th century Minnesota', as well as several other self-published novels. He has also produced two nonfiction works on Christian Bible studies. As a creative writing instructor, he and his students have produced two volumes of short stories, Tales from the Haunted Valley, as a fundraiser for the writing program. As a professional storyteller (isn’t that what English teachers do?), he’s done historical lectures and video series, book talks, radio segments, podcasts, and recently submitted a short story in Rhonda Gilliland’s “foodie” anthology, Cooked to Death.

Willis grew up in South Dakota and currently lives in Minnesota, where he lives the life of a hobbit by gardening, writing, walking around barefoot, wearing vests, fishing, and going on adventures with his wife, Julie.

Reviews

[Chris Norbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

A combination of historical fiction and paranormal legends involving the tribes of Minnesota makes this an intriguing book. Willis dives deep into Anishinabe lore and beliefs and weaves it into a tale about four young boys destined for roles in local history they'd never imagined.

The maps in the front and Robin Berg's "journal" in the back are quite helpful in navigation the tale and understanding the main players (quite a few) and the Indian religious customs. Not being a regular reader of this genre, I can't speak to how it compares to other stories, but I quite enjoyed immersing myself in 1962 rural Minnesota life.