The Independent
Local author Taya Okerlund is releasing her YA novel “Hurricane Coltrane” published by WiDo Publishing. The novel is set in southern Utah and is about an unlikely friendship between two local boys, a whip smart but prickly kid from Utah who befriends a boy who has the chops to be another John Coltrane, if he had a saxophone and a ticket out of polygamist Colorado City.
Merrill Hinton is a lightning rod in a town named for bad weather. He’s an ace in math, but not smart enough to put together the pieces of his puzzling life, especially where finding his unknown father is concerned.
Musical genius Robbie Stubbs was born in nearby polygamist compound Colorado City. He has the chops to become another John Coltrane, but that will take running away from home, and into a firestorm of controversy–the kind his friend Merrill knows best.
Merrill sets Robbie onto a course that could rocket them both onto center stage, but being the focus of wide public attention will create serious issues. Robbie’s mother is not well, and the shock of her son breaking the family rules like this may put her over the edge.
And Merrill Hinton? His precarious future would become compromised in ways he doesn’t yet realize.
Sometimes a writer struggles to find enthusiasm for a manuscript, and other times the words flow so fast it’s hard to get them down fast enough. This was the case for author Taya Okerlund and “Hurricane Coltrane.”
Taya Okerlund’s YA novel set in the small town of Hurricane, Utah connected immediately with WiDo ™ submissions editor Allie Maldonado. Maldonado states, “I loved the voice and characters. It is a well-developed story, highly entertaining, and I learned about some of the quirks of living in southern Utah. Taya’s writing transported me to the area. When I looked up from the story, I was kind of surprised to see my own scenery.”
Okerlund looked into publishing with WiDo because they are a Utah-based small press. “Geography and culture are uniquely important to my book. I liked WiDo’s philosophy about books and could see that they are putting out some very fine work.”
Taya Okerlund is on an extended leave from her work at the US Department of State to be a mom and early morning/naptime writer since giving birth to her daughter eighteen months ago. Former work life meant a lot of travel, and particularly in Asia. “I traveled far and wide to ultimately discover that my richest area of creative inspiration is in my Southern Utah roots. I didn’t grow up there. It was my mother’s home. But we moved frequently, and Southern Utah was the one constant.” Learn more about Taya at her blog maternitymindfulnessandmuses.blogspot.com.
