DANA STABENOW

Aaand the contest begins!

March 22, 2023

To recap from the February Roadhouse Report:

A fan contest is announced!

Alert readers will have noticed that I’m re-running “The History of Kate Shugak in 22 Objects” series here on stabenow.com. I’ve even managed to keep all the original comments. Some are pretty funny and all of them are fun. Scroll down to read them for yourselves. Without question I have the best fans.

This re-posting marathon is a run-up to selecting an object for No Fixed Line, the 22nd Kate Shugak novel. See below for details and prizes, all three of which include the fry bread recipe from Kate22 and the ever popular Friends of Mutt sticker.

How you win…

March 22: Scroll down to the Comments on this post and write your own, making a case for the Kate22 object of your choice. Winners will be chosen on the strength of their argument for their chosen object.
You have a week so make it good!
March 29: First, second, and third place will be awarded. The winners will be announced in a post on stabenow.com, i.e., right here. I will have the prizes* in the mail that day. Well, maybe the next. But no later!
March 31: The winners will be announced again in March’s Roadhouse Report.

All of this builds up to the publication on April 11** of–ta dah!

Yes, that would be Not the Ones Dead, the 23rd Kate Shugak novel. I know, I can’t believe it, either.

Remember:

The first 400 people*** to buy a copy of the signed hardcover edition of Not the Ones Dead from the Poisoned Pen Bookstore will also receive a recipe card featuring Kate’s Salmon Bouillabaisse, which she cooks in the book. C’mon, you gotta love that. Pre-order link here.

*Prizes include books of the Stabenow oeuvre and various Alaska-themed tchotchkes, including Eskimo yo-yos made from real sealskin that were meant to be given away during the launch of No Fixed Line back in 2020. I forgot. My fault.

**April 13 in UK/Commonwealth. Not my fault.

***The recipe cards will be included in the first 400 copies of the Poisoned Pen’s signed hardcovers only. This is my way of encouraging sales for an independent bookstore.

Chatter Kate Shugak

87 Comments Leave a comment ›

  1. My first thought was the letter. It seemed obvious to me; the letter was the start of Kate’s involvement in this whole adventure. Besides, that’s what Dana put on the mug!! How could it be anything else?

    But the more I thought about it, I wondered if there might be something else that was even more essential to the plot. Then I realized that everything depended on fentanyl. It’s fentanyl that birthed the whole scheme, fentanyl that was the reason for the exorbitant amount of money that required laundering, and fentanyl that provided the almost unasked for grants to off-road communities. Fentanyl addiction is a horrible thing to witness (I know from watching a family member’s struggle). The insidious way it snakes its way into a population affects not only the addicts, but whole families, and towns.

    So that’s my choice for the object defining No Fixed Line – fentanyl – as sad as that is.

  2. The cell phone! Much used and of great significance. Some examples—The little boy trying to call his mom which sets off a signal to the wrong people. Kate receiving a call from one of those people threatening her, but she threatens back. The cell phone used as a translator for the children. The phone used at the airport to show the mom her children are okay.

  3. My nomination for an item to represent No Fixed Line is a cell phone. Cell phones have become more integrated into Park life, Kate uses one without even thinking about it now. And in this book cell phones are integral to some of the crime(s), as well as the resolution and lack of of cell phones allows for other crimes.

  4. This is a hard book to pick an object from . Mutt, phone. Phone, Mutt? I am going for Curley’s phone that David picks up off the floor of the plane, before it crashes. This phone represents Hope, for David his only hope. Mami had made David and his little sister, Anna, memorize her phone number in case they should lose their phones(which were taken from them in the detention center). David has hope that this phone will help him reach his mother. The first time he lets the phone ring for 20-25 times. He doesn’t give up, he tries again. The second time he let’s it ring longer with no answer. He still has hope that maybe the next time Mami will answer and come get them. The Bad Men are unfortunately are alerted that Curley’s phone has been found. Their evil leader has hope his men will get to the phone, Curley ran his side of he operation from this phone. David takes Anna from the clinic to Auntie Edna’s house. He still has the precious phone with him, giving him hope they will be with their mother again soon. The FBI is involved now. Kate tells Agent Mason he will find the kids mother and he will get her to Alaska and her 2 brave children. Of course, Agent Mason knows Kate and the she will not stop until the family is reunited, and he finds the mother. The bad men find the phone’s location is a Auntie Vi’s B&B. The Battle at the B&B takes place. Auntie Vi has taken in the children and made the B&B a fortress. The bad men, of course never get Curley’s phone, David still has it after all the shooting is done at the B&B. Mason comes through and Jim picks up Ms. Trevioso. He first uses a phone to show her pictures of David and Anna.
    He drives her straight to the B&B. When David grabs the phone in the plane, he instantly has hope that it will reconnect he and Anna to their mother. Agent Mason may be the one to find and get his mother to him, but the phone represents great hope and connection. We all need something in our lives that gives us hope to keep going each day. Thank you Dana, for another book filled with hope, love and adventure and Mutt(a super hero in her own right!!).

  5. I ordered a book as soon as it was announced and I have been waiting patiently. There is no way I can get to your Poisoned Pen bookstore, as I live in North Carolina. However, I am a loyal fan and have everyone of your books on a special shelf in my home. Wish I could be in your first 400.

  6. I have been instructed by the 400 pounds of dogs reading over my shoulder that the ONLY answer is of course Mutt, all other objects will be reduced to chew toys, including Jim’s chopper

  7. The most influential item in Kate 22 – No Fine Day – is the cell phone. Specifically Curley’s cell phone, but also all of the phones in the book. David sets a whole chain of events in motion when he picks the phone up from the floor of a crashing plane and calls (unsuccessfully tries to call?) his mother, drawing the attention of a drug cartel and ultimately leading to a (near?) fatal shootout in the Park. The cell phone is both a great treasure and a great vulnerability for the cartel. A twin of the sought-after phone, hidden in a safe deposit, plays a critical role in solving the mystery. But the phone is also an essential, everyday tool, acting as everything from a photo album to a translator to an altimeter. The cell phone is embedded into every aspect of modern life, even in the Alaska Bush.

  10. I’m going with cell phone. I agree with ghipszky about hope but just as important is the cell phone was crucial for the crime and to facilitate the resolution. Also, the novelty of cell phone coverage in the Park seems to be wearing off and its becoming an accepted way of doing business. Kate is no longer fumbling with where her phone is or how to use it and has even accepted apps that enable capabilities at home.

  11. I’m going with the immovable “object” and constant in this book… Auntie Vi. Nothing gets thru here or by her. Enough said.

  12. Hard to make a case for all of these, the task you have given us is difficult. I am sure you didn’t mean for it to be this difficult as we are your faithful fans. How does one choose in this type of situation? I mean really all of it is so fabulous and one of a kind. One the one hand there is a fry read recipe we read about it so often and in my case I think is it close to Indian frybread, could you throw meat pinto beans a little salad and of course green chile on it for an Alaska taco? Then there is Mutt I mean really Mutt the divine dog of all times who wouldn’t want her sticker? Alas, I am just a poor girl from a little town in New Mexico, we do still have a globe that shows our town 😂 so howdy from Pinos Altos NM have a fabulous day and I would take anything.

  13. Read them all! Kare is strong-willed and with Mutt a wall of power for people to have to deal with at all levels.
    I live in Canada so cannot buy in US with our crapoy dollar but will get copy here. Can’t wait.

  14. I thin I need some tuition here. I was of the impression that there were 20 Shugak books and now the new one of Kate surviving and coming back to the park. I.ve recently read this book. But now you tell me there are two ,more books which I have not read. Help me with a short synopsis, please.

  16. I will go for the Eskimo yo-yo’s. Being a quilter, I will make some type of fabric art including the yo-yo’s to honor the Eskimo people.

  17. What can I say? I’ve been a Kate fan from the very first book, when it was first published. I’m greatly enjoying my reread of the series while I wait for my back surgery. I could probably use a nice cup of tea and socks for my old, cold feet!

  20. I love both Kate and Mutt in all of the Kate Shugak books. I also have anxiety and PTSD, and I find my job as a self employed dog sitter a great way to calm me down whenever anxiety strikes. Like Kate, touching a dog’s fur and ears calms me down immensely. I loves the way Mutt protects Kate but becomes Jim’s love slave. I can relate to a lot of things with Kate and Mutt.

  21. Mutt! Without a doubt. I have sobbed on numerous occasions when Mutt had been hurt, or when she had taken off. The book/books would not be the same without her by Kate’s side. They are bonded forever.

  22. I have to say that Alaska is an integral “character” in the series. I was born and bred in the South, but your vivid descriptions make me experience the landscape through the seasonal changes. From the fry bread to the smokehouse to the picture in my mind of the radio station. Your books are ambassadors for Alaska. I only wish they came out more often. Thank you for the gift of your books.

  24. I choose not a single object, but a whole collection of them that made breakup so memorable for Kate one year: a moose, a mother grizzly, an adolescent grizzly, a metal splinter under her fingernail, the IRS, and a fallen jet engine. In spite of all the excitement, the inconvenience, and the insult to both her and Mutt’s dignity, the farcical element of that perfect spring day has to be one of the funniest sequence of events Kate ever lived through. She certainly never forgot it, did she?

  25. A favorite “character” in the Kate books is Alaska. I’m an asthmatic who actually feels better when it’s snow covered and cold! Add that to a hot cup of coffee, a warm fire, and a great Kate book to explore, and I’m in retirement heaven! Anything that brings the above into my life….I’m good! Keep writing!!

  26. I’m choosing the sleds at the end, the one used by David and Anna, that showed up as gifts. Anna loves hers, David takes her to the hill every Saturday. To me the sled represents their newfound freedom, a new climate with snow, a new home, meeting other children and hopefully making friends, and it represents a return to their childhood, which was taken from them.

  27. We are so tired of hearing about Mutt! “We” are four Beautiful cats who allow our Obsessed mother (and until recently our equally obsessed daddy) to live in our house. They discovered this Mutt creature about ten years ago before they left us and went to Alaska. They read every book before they went away and even had the temerity to often listen to them on the dang audio machine. Mutt mutt mutt mutt mutt. And more Mutt. And every time they talk to friends about reading or about going to Alaska they mentioned Dana‘s books… But always described Mutt Before they describe Kate. That’s just not right. Mutt has taken A lot of attention away from us and that will not be tolerated. However we saw this contest when we stepped on mom‘s phone and decided if she were able to get the FOM sticker or the picture of that creature, it might satisfy her Mutt obsession and she could get back to us. Good grief, she is just a dog, not even a feline. Dogs have their place, but not at our house, and not constantly being praised when a book is read. We must get back to grooming each other so we can produce hairballs, so we will end this with one more plea to please send mom something from the creature so she can calm down. Fang you very much. Love, king Kamehameha, Beau, lovey, and Amore.

    • King Kam, Beau, Lovey, and Amore,

      Thank you all so much for stepping on your mom’s phone to weigh in with your opinions. You will no doubt be delighted to hear that I have been disqualified from consideration, as I am a living being, not an Object.

      I send you my best wishes for a long happy life, so long as you keep your distance. Otherwise, you might become potential bear snacks and then I’d be obliged to get up from the Aunties’ quilt in front of the fire and come rescue you. That would be annoying, in which case you might become Mutt snacks.

      Wuff,
      Mutt

  28. The Compass
    The deepest most secret place knows the path. The East leads to things past. Loss. Pain. Grief. The South is the path of running away. Fleeing. West is newness, adventure, the unknown. Courage. The expanse. Flinging oneself into the vast mystery of ? And finally, North, the deepest of the places. Home. Confidence. Connection. The whisper of the true things- the Earth, the Otter, the Moose, the Bear.
    Hasn’t Kate seen, shown and known all these?

  29. Snow machines because they are so crucial to getting around during Alaska winters. How could Kate, the aunties, and her friends get around without them in winter.If I remember correctly, one saved her life. If it didn’t happen in a book, it could.

  30. I think David. Without him picking up the phone and using it, there’d be no story, or the book. It’s central to the entire book/storyline.

  31. My Holland Lop bunny, unironcally called Mutt, wants me to cast our vote for Mutt the dog as well. Although not technically an object, his character is the one we love the most! [Shameless mention: The 29th is my birthday]

  33. I have to go with Auntie Vi. She has always had key roles in the Kate books. This time around she fights long and hard to save two children who are strangers to her. Her steadfast belief that she is right in whatever she believes and in whomever she protects makes her the most likely object in the book.

  34. My vote is for Canyon Hot Springs. Had Matt & Laurel not been at the springs they wouldn’t have witnessed the plane crash and there is no story. witnessing the crash leads to the rescue of the children and the discovery of the drug ring.

  36. While I adore Mutt, he isn’t an “object”! I would have to choose a snow machine—for where would an Alaskan be in the Bush without a snow machine?!

  38. Really hard to choose just one. Auntie Vi or Mutt would be my first choices but then there is the phone. Hmmm…. Well, I have to go with Auntie Vi. She is the immovable force and responsible for most everything and everyone. Love all these books. Have read and re-read them all. Thank you for continuing this fantabulous series!

  39. Kate is the best! And my mutts, which are 11 as of this count, pick Mutt. Auntie Vi is the unmoveable, nothing will get passed her, she fights for her own people, family, and children who are in need!!! Love this series, can’t wait for the next one!!!

  41. Annie and Remington my four footed companions say Mutt
    Without her sniffing out the important things- the humans would be lost

  42. Object # 2; rifle. We never owned a .30-06, but my husband’s grandmother, she of the Italian and English heritage, had a British Enfield 303. I do not know why. Eugenia Pereira was the wanderer of the family, born in 1887 living in both Canada and America. No one in the family ever met her husband, John Cuthbertson. Jenny, as she was known, told my husband tales of jewels along the Amazon…who knows? My husband never used the 303 to hunt the big animals of the deer family, just the smaller ones, for food, of course. My son has the 303 now.

  43. It’s the human connection. David and his sister, Laurel and Matt, Kate and Mutt even Aunt Vi and Martin. All working together for one purpose. Family, blood or not, the human connection.

  45. The object I’ve chosen is the FILE, extracted from a briefcase lined with black silk. This file was Erland Bannister’s Will, and Kate was named as the primary trustee. Although being Erland’s trustee was the last thing Kate wanted to be, she accepted the role, and took the file, perhaps out of a mixture of curiosity or plain doggedness. “You might want to ask yourself why Erland did that. It wasn’t for the love of me, or you, or Alaska, that I promise you.” And so it begins, Kate does what Kate does best, figures out the mystery, solves the puzzle, with a sprinkling of danger and bullets along the way.

  46. Love is the answer. A mother’s love never dies. A child’s love for their mother never dies. Aunti Vi loves because it is her very nature too care for everyone, as is Kate’s. Mutt’s love for Kate will have her move mountians and Jim’s love of justice will always have him do the right thing, especially if Kate is involved.

  47. It has to be Mutt. A wonderful friend. I ordered your new book as soon as it became available to be sent to Australia. My husband and I read every book. Even went to Alaska to see where they were written. Met you at the mystery book strore in Seattle. I was unable to bring your books with me as Earl died in 2017 and I came to live with my daughter in Australia, so you have to send my winnings to me here, please

  48. The Park. Kate’s heart and soul are there, along with the important people in her life; Auntie Vi, Johnny, and all the Park Rats.

  49. I’m a quilter so love the descriptions of the women sitting in the bar, in their own special corner working on their latest project. I’m also a native Alaskan, (native to/of Alaska, NOT an Alaskan native. 3rd generation). I so want to join those women, bringing along my Corgi to welcome all who enter there. Corgi’s do two things: They shed and they bark, and bark and bark. Oh and they smile a lot. As a fan of your writing, I often spend my library time, directing folks to Dana’s books. “Have you read her? You’ll love the characters and the true-to-life descriptions. Here, try this one.”. Would love for you to somehow involve Nome in a book. Sent you a poem one time: I’ll tell you a tale of Alaska, of the cold, lonely place that it is…of the dark, barren Tundra that stretches…..

  50. The object which begins another Alaskan Kate Tale is the airplane. In countless books (read all), the importance of air travel as an integral thread woven into Alaskan history is emphasized again and again. The kids are discovered after an airplane crash and their mom returns to them (admittedly by phone) in an airport.

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Dana Stabenow

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading