Perham's book worms flocked to the library for the Local Author Extravaganza held last Saturday. Nine authors were on hand to talk about their craft over cookies and coffee. After the open house period, award-winning author Nathan Jorgenson spoke to about 25 people about his writing career and process. Jorgenson, a practicing dentist, didn't show much interest in literature or writing until his father was dying.
"I would visit his hospital bed and read some stuff that I wrote for him," he said. "I got to about page 30 when he died. I didn't know what I had started, but I just kept going. Along the way I rediscovered the written word, and I got closure with my dad."
After two years, Jorgenson finished with a 500 page book, but thought that was it. After mulling it over with his wife, Terry, Jorgenson decided to self publish his debut novel Waiting for White Horses.
"If I had known then what I know now, I probably wouldn't have done it," Jorgenson said.
After ordering his first run of books, Jorgenson assumed he could just take them to Barnes and Noble to be put on the shelf for sale.
ADVERTISEMENT
"That doesn't work," he said. "I got Christmas gifts for my family for about the next 40 years."
Within months of signing on with a distributor, Jorgenson won the Ben Franklin award for Best New Voice in Fiction.
After enjoying modest success, Jorgenson went on a duck hunting trip and a friend told him, "Well anyone can write one book, can you do another one?"
Jorgenson then went on to write The Mulligan over the course of a year.
Jorgenson spent much of the talk taking questions about specific characters and events in all three of his books. More often than not, the characters and anecdotes came from little pieces of his own life.
"The difference between fiction and nonfiction is that fiction has to be believable," he said.
