From an author's viewpoint: William Kent Krueger will talk about his work March 4

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's approach to One Book, One Community has changed. Rather than any in-person events, Krueger will be featured in a live, online presentation on Zoom and Hutchinson Community Video Network. He'll read from his book and share insights at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4. There's no charge to participate, but registration is recommended at hutchinson.lib.mn.us/one-book/. If you miss this, the recorded program will be available later for viewing.

"This Tender Land" is Krueger’s first standalone novel since 2013 and tells the story of four orphan children who embark on a bold and dangerous journey during the summer of 1932. They are fleeing a place of loss and cruelty — and a crime that one of them committed. The means of their escape is a canoe that takes them down the Gilead River in Minnesota, on their way to the mighty Mississippi, in search of a possible home in St. Louis. The narrator, Odie, is a natural storyteller.

Krueger has called the novel a companion to “Ordinary Grace." Rather than a sequel, which tends to carry the story from one to another, these two standalone books share a common sense of place — Southern Minnesota — and are set in an earlier time period: “Ordinary Grace takes place in the summer of 1961, while “This Tender Land” is set in the summer of 1932 during the Great Depression.

According to Mary Henke, chair of the One Book, One Community committee, Krueger's novels were chosen because they fit their selection criteria in a number of ways.

"We look for well-written books that will have wide appeal to a variety of readers in our community," she said. "Feedback we receive from participants often said that they enjoy the Minnesota connection through the books through their authors, the locales, and subjects as these two book do. If possible, ending our OBOC program with a live visit from the author is our goal. Kent is a wonderful, warm speaker who is generous with his time and availability and a very popular author for readers in our community."

NEW BOOKS ARE IN THE WORKS

For fans of these two books, there's good news. Krueger expects to release a third companion novel in 2024. The next book will be set in the Minnesota River Valley of Southern Minnesota, during an earlier time, and will have many similar themes.

If you're wondering what else Krueger's been up to since the publication of “This Tender Land,” it can be summed up in two words — Cork O'Connor. He'll publish “Lightning Strike,” his 18th mystery novel featuring the former sheriff of Aurora, Minnesota, Aug. 24. This time around it's a prequel where Krueger explores Cork's early relationship with his mom, dad and other characters.

"One of the important things when you write a long-running series, Cork O'Connor and the other characters age across time," he said. "I've played around with structure and point of view. I've done all kinds of thing to keep it interesting for me and the reader. One thing I haven't done is explore Cork's early years. I've referenced it and touched on it, and I really wanted to go back and explore it."

Since the publication of his first O'Connor book in 1998, Krueger has sold more than 1.5 million novels in the U.S., with readers in more than 16 countries around the globe. He credits Cork O'Connor's appeal to the fact that's he's an everyman.

“He's not a super hero,” Krueger said. “He's not tremendously handsome. He's a regular guy. He doesn't always know what's right, but he's trying to do the right thing, as we all do. The way he responds to the world is exactly how I respond to the world.”

It typically takes the author about a year to complete a book, but this one took longer. Fortunately, he had the time. Part of it was because of the coronavirus. Normally this book would have been released this past fall. Once COVID settled in, the publisher didn't think it would be a good time to bring out a book, so it's release was delayed one year.

Typically, Krueger's new book is available in August/September. "Many years ago, my books came out in the spring," he said. "Then the publisher wanted to make me a fall release guy with the book being available for Christmas sales."

During the phone interview for this story, Krueger said he is now working on Cork O'Connor No. 19: "Jawbone Creek," which will be released in 2022. For readers of the series, they know Krueger left Harry Meloux, one of his most popular and enduring characters, in a precarious situation. This book resolves that situation. And no, he wouldn't tell this reporter how it was resolved.

ZOOMING ON MARCH 4

William Kent Krueger was actually attending a mystery conference in San Diego, California, in March 2020. It was on the first day of the annual mystery conference that California's governor issued a ban on large gatherings. The conference closed. Krueger said he stayed in San Diego for a couple days to meet with the people who had bought the movie rights for “This Tender Land.” After that, he and his wife spent some time in Sedona, Arizona, and then began sheltering in place in their St. Paul home. As a result, everything Krueger is doing these days is virtual, with no in-person events.

The author said he adjusted quickly to the new format.

"Zoom is the simplest platform I've used and I've used them all for different kinds of presentations," he said. "What I've found, although it's not in-person, there is a greater sense of intimacy vs. a large impersonal event. On Zoom, people are identified. We can carry on a conversation normally. By the end of February, I will have zoomed with more than 200 book clubs. I've enjoyed it immensely. I have multiple zooms a week. Last Tuesday, I did a zoom with the Lake Agassiz Regional Library with more than 400 people attending from all across the country and internationally. No way is an in-person event going to have that kind of draw. I just love that."

Before COVID, when Krueger released a new book, he was on the road 10-12 weeks, attending 40 to 60 events across the country. He doesn't plan to ever do that again. Zooming has changed the business and shown the publishing industry that it saves time and money.

With a demanding schedule of publishing a book a year, Krueger is disciplined, writing seven days a week.

“The only aspect I think of as a job is the promotional stuff,” he said. “That's a little laborious for me. I don't think of zooming as work. That's connecting with readers.”