Brian Freeman, Evelyn D. Klein, Thomas Kingsley Troupe: What it’s Like to be a Writer in Woodbury

When browsing the stacks for your next good read, consider works by local authors. Woodbury is home to many successful writers in a variety of genres. We’ve profiled a novelist, a poet and a children’s book author to give you a taste of some of the talent that resides next door. Brian FreemanInternational best-selling author Brian Freeman began his career armed with an English degree from Carleton College. He dreamt of becoming a novelist as far back as he can remember. Realization of that dream came after stints as a business writer and director of marketing and public relations. Freeman squeezed fiction writing into bus rides, plane rides and nights away on business trips. Freeman wrote five novels before breaking through with his thriller Immoral, the first in a series of psychological suspense novels featuring Duluth police detective Jonathan Stride. The series, along with Freeman’s follow-up titles, have achieved international success. His novel, Spilled Blood, was recently named best hardcover novel in the International Thriller Writers 2013 thriller awards. This is the second time in three years that Freeman has been a finalist for this award. Freeman now writes five days a week from his Woodbury home. Unlike most crime fiction, Freeman’s work is character-driven. He spends a lot of time thinking through various human flaws that might motivate his character’s actions. “No one thing drives my characters,” says Freeman. “Their backgrounds are vibrant and readers often end up asking themselves what they would do in similar circumstances.” When it comes to plot and setting, Freeman ventures outside the comforts of suburbia. Most stories have a small town flavor. “I grew up in Chicago and we had a cottage in Minnesota,” says Freeman. “Weekends spent at our Minnesota cottage shaped my view of the Midwest. I pour that into my books; dirt roads, cornfields and abandoned buildings.” The blend of complex characters and well-researched settings make Freeman’s crime novels appealing to readers beyond his genre. “Literary fiction readers also tend to enjoy my books,” notes Freeman. For those interested in Freeman’s work, his most recent novels stand alone with no connection to the earlier Stride series. But anxious Jonathon Stride fans will be happy to know Stride is back in Freeman’s next book, The Cold Nowhere, set to release this spring. bfreemanbooks.com  Evelyn D. Klein Poet and artist Evelyn Klein spent the bulk of her career as an educator. She taught German, language arts, literature and writing. Full-time teaching meant creating poetry in those quiet moments between classes. It was while working on her Master’s degree in English that Klein decided she could and should pursue full-time writing. In 2003, she made the switch and published her first book in 2006. Klein’s published poetry books are a bit longer due to the amount of accumulated work she produced over the years. Each of Klein’s three poetry books has a different theme and include complimentary color and graphite illustrations Klein has drawn. The first is a memoir with poems focused on the search for identity. Klein says, “Writing that book helped put life in perspective when I was unsure where I was headed.” Later, Klein found herself living in a completely new environment, an urban community in St. Paul. She was impressed with the neighborliness of the area and how residents looked out for each other. The more public nature of city life made it possible to observe snippets of the lives of others. Klein was inspired and enlarged this idea into a book of poetry illustrative of urban life. Klein has lived in Woodbury for 17 years near Markgrafs Lake. “My location is lovely and ideal for writing,” Klein says. “I’m close to nature and have a bit of privacy. I can be inspired by a walk or a dream or a conversation with a friend. I’m at a stage in my life where I’m ready to explode with material.” Klein wrote about life stages in her most recent book, Seasons of Desire. This book surrounds the notion that growth isn’t something only young people experience. It’s a book about developing your talents and living your dreams as a mature person. Klein wanted to write about being successful in an era of adults encountering job loss, exploring new career paths and living longer. “My father was a great example of a modern man,” says Klein. “I thought of him often while writing this book.” Klein’s father was also an artist and Klein’s earlier books include some of his woodcut impressions. When Klein isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking. She’s compiled many family recipes planning an elaborate cookbook laced with stories of family history. “It was intended for my children,” says Klein. “I’m not sure I’ll ever publish it.” Klein’s next published work will be a trade book for writers. And teaching is still never far from hand. Klein teaches an occasional writing course for community colleges and area art organizations. evelynkleinauthor.com   Thomas Kingsley Troupe Children’s books have paved the avenue of creative success for Troupe who has been writing stories since the second grade. He wrote comic books in school and studied English and creative writing in college. “I’ve always been a writer,” says Troupe. “I get weird if I don’t write.” Troupe launched his writing career with early reader books for young children. His publisher asked if he could also write nonfiction stories for grade schoolers. “I wrote a book about Mount Rushmore and have been writing both fiction and nonfiction for the education market ever since,” Troupe says. “I’ve even written a book about ballerinas.” Most of Troupe’s fiction is sports-related and geared toward 7-12 year olds. His sports stories are published under the pseudonym Jake Maddox. But recently, Troupe pitched some ideas for creepy ghost stories for kids. His publisher said yes and this past August, Troupe’s newest book was released. It’s titled, Furry and Flo and is about a girl with a big, hairy secret. Story ideas seem to come to Troupe from everywhere. He says, “I can see a dog run across the street and I get a story idea. Once, my youngest son said he wished he were a bird. I explored that. I asked him, ‘Really? Would you eat a worm?’ But he only wanted to fly. That evolved into a cool story idea about the good and bad of being different animals.” Troupe’s writing process involves titling a story and then writing down all the cool stuff that should happen in the story. He calls this his idea pit. Then he organizes his ideas into chapters and plows through to the end without stopping. “I won’t even stop to mull over character names,” says Troupe. “I’ll just name a boy Tim and forge ahead. I edit things afterward.” All of Troupe’s writing magic happens late at night. Although Troupe has had many books published, he still holds a day job with HealthPartners and is a firefighter and EMT for the city of Woodbury. On deck for Troupe are two Jake Maddox sports stories. He’s recently finished one about basketball and another about soccer. Troupe keeps a sense of humor about not knowing the titles of his books until they come out. He says, “The publisher always changes them. I once wrote a biking book and titled it, Crooked Hill Curse. When it came out, it was Mountain Bike Hero, which is fine but not nearly as cool.” thomaskingsleytroupe.com A Bookish Group Pam Bailey, assistant librarian, R.H. Stafford Library, provides brief reviews of books written by four additional Woodbury authors: Lucy Rose Fischer: I'm New at Being Old This whimsical book for women offers wit, wisdom and vibrantly colorful artwork. Fischer shows through words and illustration what it really feels like to be “new at being old.” An enjoyable read for baby boomer women, it’s also the Winner of a Midwest Book Award and an Independent Publishers Book Award. Kian Dwyer: Living Your Chosen Eulogy Living Your Chosen Eulogy extends beyond self-help; it’s a book on world help. Dwyert redefines kindness, illustrating how each of us is an indispensable, critical link in the chain of values that betters the world. Alice Alme: Pioneer JourneyAlme’s debut novel follows the pioneer journey of two families westward, from Germany to Maine to Minnesota. Hardship, heartbreak and a fierce determination to make a better life lead the families west to the land we all call home.Christopher Valen: Bone Shadows The bodies of young men have been turning up in the Mississippi River for years, their deaths attributed to excessive drinking. But when an Iraq war vet suffering from PTSD is found in the river, St. Paul Homicide Detective John Santana must decide if the young man’s death was accidental or the result of something far more sinister.   R.H. Stafford Library is proud to support local authors. Publications are added to library press releases and advertised inside the library, and venue space is made available for book discussions. Authors are welcome to drop off copies of high-quality books to the library for addition to the catalog which is visible to libraries nationwide.