Page 46 April 2015 By Amanda Goossen In his first adult novel, author Tim Johnston constructs an eloquently written thriller about a parent’s worst nightmare, the sudden loss of a child. Based in the deep woods of the Rocky Mountains, readers are presented with natural scenery and intricate writing, juxtaposed with a nightmarish plot and a family’s slow destruction. When the Courtlands embark on a family vacation to celebrate their daughter’s high school graduation and scholarship, they intend to focus on their family bond, repair broken ties and remember how far their little family has come after years of marital stress. On their first morning, however, when the children take a journey into the wilderness for an exciting adventure, disaster strikes, as a mysterious mountain man ambushes the teenage kids, intent on kidnapping a young girl. What comes next is the decline of a family dealing with intense loss, a girl trying to outlast her kidnapper and a small mountain community forced to face the fact that their tiny town might be home to a well-hidden monster. Intense and heartbreaking, yet beautifully written with detailed prose and emotion, Johnston has spun a tale that will not soon be forgotten. Descent is a must-read. On April 30 the Arcadia News Book Club will have the honor of interviewing Tim Johnston via Skype at 6:30 p.m. at the Saguaro Library. Email amanda@ arcadianews.com for more information or to RSVP. We recently had the opportunity to ask Johnston a few questions about his writing process. AN: How did you get your start as a writer? BOOK OF THE MONTH Descent BY TIM JOHNSTON Arcadia News Book Club Meeting April 30 at 6:30 p.m. PST Tim Johnston BOOK CLUB TJ: I published my first short stories when I was in graduate school at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. However, I began writing fiction, literally, when I was just a kid. I had been a drawer, for lack of a better word, for as long as I can remember. Bent over sheets of drawing paper with my pencil and eraser, and at some point in my adolescence I began drawing less and writing more: One mode of storytelling gave way to another. By the end of my undergraduate days in Iowa City, Iowa, I was all words, no drawings. AN: What led to Descent being published? TJ: This book needed to be rejected by seven major New York Houses before I realized something critical: It just wasn’t ready. This realization led to another, which was that I needed to work with an agent who could help me edit the book before it went out to editors again – an agent who could help me make the manuscript as irresistible as it could be. I found this agent, and we worked intensively on the novel for three months. When we felt it was finally ready to go out again, she showed it to one editor in a “pre-emptive” offer, and that editor made an offer to buy, and a deal was struck. Two and a half years later! hit the bookshelves. AN: What is the biggest misconception about being a writer? TJ: That all you have to do, really, is find the time to sit down and write. Sure, that’s a very large part of it: If you don’t sit down and write, how will anything get written? But even if you can find the time to write – all day long for months on end – you still need to put in the years and years of reading, writing and revising that are essential to mastering the craft. In short, just sitting down and writing isn’t enough. If you want your work to be appreciated – even loved by editors and readers – you must dedicate a great part of your life to learning the art of it. AN: Descent deals with every parent’s worst nightmare? How did this topic become your novel? TJ: I’d been exploring this topic for a long time in my short fiction: What happens when the horrendous bad luck that so often happens in other towns, to other people – the random horrific stuff that constitutes so much of our daily news – happens in your town, to your people – to you? Looking back at the stories of my collection, Irish Girl, I see those stories as warmups, or preliminary sketches (though I don’t think they are sketch-like) for this larger, more complicated and more ambitious novel. When the idea came to me to write a novel about a family of four driving up from the Midwest to see the Rocky Mountains, I knew exactly what was going to happen to them, though I had no idea what would happen after that. AN: How do you research a book like this? TJ: My research was entirely coincidental. I had gone up to the Rocky Mountains to take on an intensive and long-term carpentry project. It was all the time I spent up there alone with such stunning – such radically un-Midwestern – scenery, all around me, that first suggested this story to me. In other words: No carpentry in the Rockies, no Descent . Period. Living up there for such a long period of time, hiking into town through the snow, exploring remote trails on my mountain bike in the summer, was my research – though I never thought of it that way. I just loved hiking and biking in the mountains! AN: Did you always know how the book would end? TJ: From the beginning, I had an idea of how the book would end, and for a long time I was writing my way toward that ending. But then, about halfway through, I stopped writing. I had reached the point where the next actions these characters took would commit me to that original ending. At the time, I didn’t realize that this was what made me stop writing. What I slowly realized, over the course of a year or more of not writing, was that I didn’t want to write that original ending. The book had become a different kind of book, and my characters had come to mean so much more to me than I ever thought they would, that I no longer wanted that original ending for them. When I at last hit upon another kind of ending, and I resumed writing, I finished the first draft within a couple of months. To me, this illustrates the power of not knowing – or not insisting on going to – where you set out to go. Had I been planning that new ending all along, I suspect the road signs would have been much more obvious, and the ending less surprising. I had to be surprised in order for the reader to be surprised. AN: What do you have on the horizon? TJ: A few questions ago I wrote about the inarguable importance of finding the time to write. I have spent years – the majority of my life – becoming the writer who wrote Descent. Now I’m hoping to find, and seize, the time to find out what kind of writer I’m going to be for the next book. I never set out to write a literary thriller; I set out to write the best novel I could. I know if I set out now to do anything less than that this time – if I try to write a book like Descent – I’ll be in big trouble. To know too much about the novel now would fly in the face of everything I believe about the novel-writing process – mine, anyway. AN: How do you celebrate literary success? TJ: With as much humility, grace and thanks as you can possibly muster – throw in a couple of nice dinners, a bottle of champagne or two – and then get back to Earth buddy; you’ve got work to do. 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Page 47 April 2015 Arcadia basketball rolls to first ever state title game By Nicholas Smith The Arcadia boys basketball team went on a run for the ages during the state playoffs this year. Ranked as the number 10 seed going into the Division II state playoffs, the Titans were considered a good team, but mostly an afterthought in terms of the championship contenders. Stephen Danford’s team shocked the state by running through a series of favored teams, rolling all the way to the state championship game, where highly favored Gilbert Christian needed an overtime period to finally bring down Arcadia. “It’s the biggest run I’ve ever been on,” said Danford, who was recently named Division II Coach of the Year by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association. “I’ve literally never been part of a group that was so resilient.” The team had a successful summer before starting the season, with six seniors returning from the previous year’s team. Danford believes that the team is still working toward their goal of becoming a year-in-and-year-out contender. Therefore, the state title game was a goal, but not an expectation. Arcadia had never made it to the final four of the Division II playoffs. “When I took over here three years ago,” said Danford, “the goal was to re-establish the Arcadia basketball brand back in the neighborhood. It takes time. While you want to win state every year, we didn’t assume we would. So the last few games of the tournament were great because we had nothing to lose. There was no pressure on us.” Danford noted that the seniors played a significant role in the team’s incredible run, with Avonte Nelms, Patrick Stafford, Connor Nichols and Jesus Bojorquez among those who stepped up to lead the team. Another asset to the Titans was the huge support of the Arcadia community during the playoff run. “The amount of support was overwhelming,” said Danford. “I didn’t realize how big the crowds were until I saw pictures of the final games. We had over two full sections at the championship game. The community really rallied around us and carried us through some rough spots in games.” The team beat Cactus Shadows before heading down to Yuma for the next playoff game against Gila Ridge. The team had to make the exhausting three-hour drive for the game and Danford admits that he was nervous about the contest. But the team, and the community, responded in a big way. “We ended up playing one of the best games we played all season,” said Danford. “Especially on defense. We also ended up having 75-100 people at the Yuma game, which was a real surprise. That’s a very long drive for people to make.” Next up was Cholla, a team that was expected by most to beat Arcadia. The Titans won and advanced to the final four. That was when Danford and the boys truly knew that something extraordinary was happening. “I remember thinking if we can get past Cholla, that we would have a shot at going all the way,” said Danford. Titans were ranked number one and worked their way to the championship game, thanks to the efforts of players like Matt Burton (right). In the semifinal game, Arcadia defeated Nogales to reach the state championship match. The moment seemed impossible only months earlier, and Danford had trouble putting into words what the moment was like. “It was indescribable,” said Danford. “I didn’t know whether to jump up and down or to run and hug guys. I honestly can say I know now what Jim Valvano felt like at the 1983 NCAA Tournament.” The championship game took place against Gilbert Christian, a team with several Division I college prospects. Arcadia played valiantly and took the game into overtime, but ended up on the short end of a 55-52 score. “I just told them to keep their heads up,” said Danford. “We gave them everything they could handle. A different bounce here or a different call there, and it could have been a different outcome. We earned a lot of respect around the state.” The perception of Arcadia as a basketball power may very well change after this remarkable run. Danford said they still have work to do, but he believes this year’s team took a big step in the right direction for the program. “I love these guys,” said Danford. “I’ll always remember this group fondly and I’m very grateful for their hard work and for the group of friends and families around us.” LOCAL SPORTS 30th Street & Indian School Road 602.957.8402 Lindstrom Family Auto Wash Your Neighborhood Car Wash Visit us at LindstromAutoWash.com for the “Deal of the Month!” Not valid with any other offers. Must present coupon. Expires 4/30/15. 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