North of 49 background

There is a back-story to the blog title that I chose. I first used that title for a series of radio commentaries when I was a graduate student at Wheaton College in Wheaton Illinois. The college radio station WETN graciously agreed to air a two minute commentary two or three times a week. The series ran for nearly a year while I was a resident graduate student. The title related to the content, an editorial explanation and sometimes rant on the state of US-Canada relations. To my surprise it raised a small amount of interest in the community, even generating some audience response, both pro and con. I had fun doing that because it allowed me to exercise some journalistic skills. It also satisfied my interest in provocative prose-writing. The series ran from the fall of 1984 to late spring 1985 and bowed out with a tribute to a Southern Alberta pioneer, my grandfather Stotyn. I won’t bore you with the details, except to say that he was well regarded in his community. We should all hope to attain the same prestige during our lifetime.

P.S. Maybe I shouldn’t mention this for fear of dissing the audience, but North of 49 also refers to the fact that a long portion of the border between Canada and the United States runs along the 49th Parallel, part of the longest undefended border in the world.

Don’t forget,   There is a 20% discount coupon available. It’s my gift to you for pre-orders from now until 09/14/2013. Just e-mail me to ask for the coupon code. Thanks to all for your interest in The Chechen’s Revenge available now at smashwords.com. Search for the title, click the title for ordering details.

About ronstotyn's northof49

I am a retired college professor and former broadcast journalist. I live in Vermont with my wife. I write near the shores of Lake Champlain. As an author I cast characters in the task of anti-terrorism efforts. The setting for my stories is Canada. My first novel is The Chechen's Revenge, a story of Sean-Guy O'Dwyer-Lariviere and his team of Canadian Anti-terrorism Service agents on the trail of a rebel Chechen, determined to create havoc and death on Toronto's Go Train system. The Chechen's Revenge is now in print and can be ordered online at https://mkt.com/northof49publishing.