This week Nowhere Wild, a riveting survival story for YA readers, hit bookshelves everywhere! Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to the author, Joe Beernink!
Getting to know ….Joe Beernink
Place of birth: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Favourite Character from a book: Jack Ryan created by Tom Clancy
Favourite Place to write: In my home office, though I did most of my writing for Nowhere Wild while on a train commuting to work. I’ve written in hotel lobbies, on airplanes, in cafés, in libraries, and conference rooms. Just give me my laptop and headphones to listen to music, and I’m good to go.
Favourite Place to read: A cozy chair in a quiet room with familiar music playing in the background
Favourite Book of all time: Vimy by Pierre Berton
Favourite Subject in school: English Writing
Favourite Snack: My wife’s gluten-free chocolate brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce
Favourite Movie: Patriot Games
Favourite teacher or librarian from pop culture: Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love his ability to be both the foil for Buffy’s character, and his ability to maintain sarcasm through the Scooby gang’s most angst filled teenage moments.
Giles: All right. I'll just jump into my time machine, go back to the 12th century and ask the vampires to postpone their ancient prophecy for a few days while you take in dinner and a show.
Buffy: Okay, at this point you're abusing sarcasm.
Tips for young aspiring writers:
* Write because you love to write
* Write a little bit every day
* Don’t be afraid to imitate your favorite authors when starting out. You’ll find your own voice once the words stop getting in the way
Joe Beernink’s Guide to Survival in the Wilderness
Let me say, right off the top, I am not a survival expert. I could not hike across the Mojave desert with only a thimble full of water and a corkscrew. Nor could I survive a week alone in the jungles of Panama, because, well, have you seen the size of the spiders they have there?
But I have had some outdoor adventures in my life. I've gone mountain biking in Moab, Utah, hiking on and around Mount Rainier, and kayaking on and around Puget Sound. I've inadvertently put myself in great danger more than once, but I'm still here, so I must have done something right to allow myself to come back home alive. Or, I've been really lucky.
For example, in 1996, I took a week long, solo trip through the deserts of northern Arizona and southern Utah, sometimes driving, often biking. I camped in Monument Valley, Arizona, and rode the slick rock of Moab, Utah. But I also took a day-long ride on a trail called Bull Canyon. Bull Canyon is a jeep / mountain bike trail along, and often through a dried riverbed near Moab. I left my camp early in the morning, and rode to the end of the trail, where I had lunch under one of the area's beautiful rock arches. I then fought my way back through the rocky trail and over a few steep climbs back to my car as a light rain turned the dust to sticky mud around me. It was a good, challenging ride for someone who hadn't done a lot of off road riding.
What I didn't know, and was later informed of, was that Bull Canyon was not only prone to flash floods, it was also the scene of a search and rescue just two days before, where a single rider, unfamiliar with the area, much like myself, had gone into the canyon without letting anyone know who they were, where they were going, and how long they would be in there. Their bike broke down, miles from the trailhead, and only when a local saw their vehicle at the trailhead overnight did the search begin in the morning. The rider was in bad physical condition from both the cold of the desert night, and a lack of water. I was informed of this by one of the search and rescue volunteers who I met that evening while having dinner at a local restaurant. He strongly cautioned me about doing solo trips anywhere around Moab, where even experienced riders often had to be rescued.
Based on that advice, and some other experience gained in the last two decades of getting out and about in the great outdoors, I’ve put together some basic rules I now live by when I'm in the wilderness.
The first rule of coming back alive is to know your limits. If you are a rookie rider or hiker, don't make your first time in the wilderness a three day trip involving rappelling and crampons. Start off slow. Build up your endurance and get used to your equipment, whether it be a new bike or a pair of cross country skis or even new hiking boots. Enjoy your local parks and wetlands before tackling the Pacific Crest Trail.
Next, go with at least one other person, especially if you're heading into an area you've never been before. There's a certain allure to solo hiking or solo riding to clear your mind--to get away from it all. But when something goes wrong on a solo trip, I mean like really wrong, you are ALL by yourself. I slipped one time while cro0ssing a stream on Mount Rainier, and slammed my knee into a rock. I had to hike six miles, and 1800 feet down with a leg I could barely put any weight on. It was a hike I had done before, many times, but what should have been an two hour long descent
took me the entire afternoon. Having another person there would have been great for both physical and emotional support.
If you can't find anyone to go with, make sure someone knows where your are going to be, and when you will be back. If you're in a National Park, leave an itinerary with the Park Ranger's office. If you're hiking in a National Forest, and there are no Ranger stations nearby, leave your itinerary with a friend, and on your vehicle under the windshield wiper inside a Ziploc bag. Let them know when your trip started, where exactly you plan to go, and when you are coming back--and stick to that plan. Leave contact numbers on the note for friends and family as well as your own cell phone number so they can use that to locate you if something goes wrong.
Next, even if you are doing a short trip, bring a survival kit with you, if not your whole pack for a night over in the bush. At minimum, you should have the following:
* A knife. It's the one tool you will always need for something
* Fire starter (2 methods) - waterproof matches and a lighter, or a flint and striker
* Food - Going for a day hike? Bring enough for an overnight stay.
* A compass and map - and learn how to use them, before you go
* Wear appropriate shoes - I've seen people walking through dense brush with nothing but flip-flops on, and I've wanted to send them right back to their car. The song doesn't say 'These sandals are made for walking', it say's boots, and for good reason!
* An extra, waterproof jacket
Finally, if you do find yourself stuck or lost in the wilderness, remember the following priorities:
Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, in that order. You can survive for three weeks without food even in harsh conditions, and three days without water, unless you're in the desert. But in bad weather, you can die in less than three hours without shelter and a fire to warm yourself by. Keep dry and keep warm, and you're far more likely to live.
I love getting out into the wilderness. It's peaceful and it's inspiring. I encourage every one of you to head out and experience what real nature truly has to offer you. It's a big world out there. Get out and see it all. But please remember that as beautiful as nature can be, it can also be dangerous for the unprepared. Be safe, and enjoy it even more.
Nowhere Wild is available where books are sold!
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