I had a wonderful pre-launch event in my hometown, Baudette, the area where my Minnesota-Canada Borderland trilogy takes place and the lifeblood of my characters. I was humbled and grateful that many of my family, lifelong friends and childhood neighbors (even my former teacher!) filled the audience to learn more about Muskeg. It was a dream day and thank you to everyone who attended!
CLICK THROUGH TO SEE PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
AUGUST 13, 2022 — Hometown-girl Carla J. Hagen’s pre-release and book signing of Muskeg, her second novel and follow-up to Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, which was a fictional look at the real-life 1930s resettlement of Faunce, Minnesota, and other towns located in what is now the Beltrami Island Forest.
Muskeg takes place one year after the events in Hand Me Down and while it includes many of the same loveable characters, it focuses primarily on the story of Hazel and Minnie. Carla will be reading from Muskeg, answering questions, and selling advance signed copies of both Muskeg and Hand Me Down, which won two 2012 Minnesota Independent Publisher Association book awards. Muskeg will be officially released in September. Here is a short summary of Muskeg:
IT’S A STEAMY SUMMER IN 1922. Hazel and Theda are young and in love, but that love is savagely interrupted by a police raid at a Savannah speakeasy. Pressured by Theda’s wealthy family, Hazel avoids prosecution by moving as far away from Theda as possible, eventually finding peace on a remote island on the Minnesota-Canadian border, where she is captivated by the wild shores of Lake of the Woods. In 1937, Hazel is running a fishing resort with Minnie, her new love, when Theda suddenly appears with her twelve-year-old son. An angry husband and a posse of detectives are furiously tracking her, and Hazel must make a potentially dangerous and life-changing choice.
“Muskeg is my favorite kind of novel: wickedly paced, steeped in historical details that resonate, resplendent in the northern Minnesota setting, and full of characters to fall in love with. At once frightening and frolicsome, here’s a story with something for everyone by a writer with more heart than most.” — Peter Geye, author of The Ski Jumpers
Carla was born and raised in Baudette, Minnesota, graduating from Baudette High School in 1968. Her parents are the late Carl Hagen and Elnora Bixby (also a writer, North of Nowhere). Many of her relatives and friends still reside in the area.