Seven Facts You Didn't Know About Butch Cassidy, Sundance, & Miss Etta

Check out this interesting article about Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Miss Etta Place. 

Read it on BuzzFeed.

Book Review: A Stairway to Danger by Ben Woodard

Hi all,

Author Ben Woodard writes novels for the middle-grade through young adult audience that are packed with action and adventure. I recently read one of his Shakertown Adventure novels, A Stairway to Danger, and I want to share this novel with you along with my 5 star review. A note to parents: This novel is geared toward an older audience (ages 15 & up) due to language and violence.

A Stairway To Danger
Ben Woodard


Book Description:

It’s 1923 and Tom and Will, two small town boys, discover the body of a local deputy. Was the death an accident? The boys don’t think so and become immersed in a harrowing mystery. A huge assailant with a single gold tooth attempts to kill them. With their friends, they battle the toothless giant and a shadowy group.
Will Tom’s “crazy” book ideas save them or get them killed? And where does the stairway to danger lead?



My 5 Star Review:

A Stairway to Danger is an intriguing novel filled with action and adventure from beginning to end. Tom and Will, two cousins living in a small town in the 1920s, become involved in a mystery when they find the body of the local deputy. Soon, they are investigating a mysterious barge on the river and becoming entangled in a dangerous adventure.

I found this novel to be reminiscent of the Hardy Boy series, except it is geared toward an older audience. The characters are well-thought out and realistic and the author gives the reader a good sense of the time period. Ben Woodard is an excellent writer who knows how to plot and plan a great adventure story.    

Buy A Stairway To Danger on Amazon Kindle $2.99

About the Author:

A spellbinding storyteller of high adventure, Ben has walked the Great Wall of China, hiked in Tibet, and climbed to 18,000 feet on Mt. Everest. And recently learned to surf in Hawaii. Ben is active in SCBWI and a member of a local children's writing critique group. He is a former Marketing Manager for a major corporation and ran his own marketing consulting business. He started writing children's stories in 2008 and has written picture books, middle grade and young adult. Stories of adventure and wonder. Stories that inspire and educate, and, most of all, entertain. Ben lives in Kentucky with his wife Lynda.

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Connect with Ben:

Website

Twitter: @Benswoodard

Facebook

Encouraging Boys to Read with Interesting Books

Hello,

 

When I wrote Outlaw Heroes, I didn't sit down with the sole purpose of writing a book for boys. I wrote the story because it was interesting to me and fun to write. But once it was finished, I realized that it would be a good book for both boys and girls because it contained action and adventure as well as a storyline that girls might also enjoy. In the world of middle-grade and young-adult books, finding one that appeals to both boys and girls is a daunting feat. It's obvious that the market is flooded with stories aimed at girls and teen girls, leaving boys behind. The Harry Potter series was a welcomed change because it appealed to boys and girls, and there have been a few other series books that both genders have enjoyed, but overall the market is in the female favor. This can be very frustrating to parents of young boys when trying to find books their sons will read.

Below is an article I wrote not long ago about the growing issue of boys being disinterested in reading. I hope it will help parents of boys who are looking for ways to encourage their sons to not only read, but maybe even enjoy reading for fun.

 

Encouraging Boys to Read

It is a proven fact from school testing through the U.S. Department of Education over the past 30 years that boys have consistently been falling behind in reading skills as compared to girls.  The sad truth of this is that very little has been done to fix this problem.  Moreover, this is not just a trend in the U.S. but also affects 22 other countries, including Canada and England, according to Stephen Gorard, an education professor at the University of York, England.  Boys may begin school interested in books but slowly lose interest by the second or third grade.  Getting boys to actively read for enjoyment after this can be a struggle.  Fortunately, there are things parents and teachers can do to encourage boys to become interested in reading again.

Understand learning differences between boys and girls – On the average, girls learn language earlier and easier than boys which helps them learn reading at a faster rate in the early years.  Boys do eventually catch up but many times they have already given up on the enjoyment of reading before they catch up.  Pushing boys to read at an early age can actually work against them because they become frustrated at not being able to achieve the skill as quickly as the girls in class.  Having a reading program in the early years that allows children to learn at their own pace might help to alleviate the stress on boys to learn reading skills they are not yet ready for.

Build confidence – Boys lose confidence in their ability to read early on because it is so frustrating to them.  They immediately feel they cannot learn and give up.  Build confidence in young readers by helping them choose books at the reading level they have mastered and work slowly up the reading scale.  Don’t compare one young reader’s skill with another’s.  Learning to read it not a competition, it is a skill that needs to be nurtured and mastered through time.

Choose reading material that sparks interest – One reason boys fall behind in reading is because they are just not interested in the reading material chosen by educators.  Boys like to read different books than girls do.  They prefer adventure stories, fantasy, suspense, and even downright gross stories or potty humor.  Boys also enjoy reading nonfiction stories, such as the history of pirates or survival stories.  Information books, magazines and comic books are also reading material boys prefer.  Parents and teachers need to redefine their idea of what proper reading material is and allow for different choices to keep boys interested.

Boys like to move – Boys are generally less able to sit for long periods of time reading a book.  They are active and like to move around.  It is easier to get boys to read if they only do so for 10 to 20 minutes at a time.  Forcing an active child to sit and read for hours will not generate a person who loves to read, it will only make him dislike reading more.  Encourage a reluctant reader to read for short time periods so he won’t resent reading.

Get Dad or other male role models involved – Many boys grow up watching women read, moms, sisters, aunts and grandmothers, so they don’t equate reading as an activity for men.  It is not that their dads and uncles don’t read, they just don’t generally see them sitting down to read a good book.  A good way to get boys excited about reading is to have dad or another male role model share their favorite reading material with your son.  Seeing other men excited about reading may help your son get excited about it too.

Boys can grow up to enjoy reading if parents and educators see the differences in how they learn and adapt to these differences.  Encouraging your son by letting him read what interests him and letting him develop at his own pace are the best ways to raise a boy who enjoys reading.

 ***

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Deanna

Outlaw Heroes Excerpt

Hello,

Today, I'm sharing an excerpt from Outlaw Heroes. To get you up to speed, the story begins with twelve-year-old Will Long and his mother riding the AmTrak Train from their home in Fargo, ND to Spokane, WA to attend a party for Will's one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother who he's never met. The first night as they sleep on the train, Will wakes to find he is no longer on a modern train but instead he is on an old-fashioned one and it is being robbed by the famous outlaws Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Will rushes outside and finds a way to get the outlaws to let him help, then afterwards, tries to talk them into letting him ride with them. Here is what happens next...

Excerpt from Outlaw Heroes by Deanna Lynn Sletten

It took Will and the outlaws an hour to collect the money and to raid the mail car of a few packages containing jewelry. Butch told Kerrigan and Woodcock to get back on the train and take off. They didn't rob any of the trainmen or passengers, that wasn't their style.

"Well, kid, it was fun knowing you," Butch said, slapping Will on the back. "You're gonna make a fine outlaw someday." Sundance snorted from behind him.

"Wait a minute," Will protested. "You have to take me with you!"

The two outlaws had already turned to leave, but his words prompted Butch to turn back.

"I helped you rob the train," Will continued. "I'm a wanted outlaw now."

Butch rubbed his chin and pondered this. "Ya know, Sundance, the kid has a point. He was a great help."

Sundance stopped in his tracks and turned on his heel in one fluid motion. "No way, Butch. Absolutely not. He's just a kid."

"How old are you, kid?" Butch asked.

"Twelve."

Butch squinted and looked him over in the moonlight. "Where's your ma and pa?"

"My dad's dead, and my mom..." Will hesitated, remembering that he hadn't seen any sign of his mother on the train. "I don't know where my mom is," he finally answered.

Butch shook his head. "Your ma ran out on ya, huh? Poor kid."

"Butch, we have no time for this," Sundance protested irritably.

Butch ignored him. "Where were you headed, kid?"

"To Spokane, to see my hundred-year-old grandma."

"Hundred-year-old grandma!" Butch bellowed in disbelief. "Did you hear that, Sundance? This kid's gonna live with a hundred-year-old lady!"

"I don't care who he lives with, as long as it's not me!" Sundance snarled. "Come on, Butch, let's get outta here."

"Please," Will pleaded. "Take me with you. You guys are my heroes. I know everything about you and your robberies. I promise I won't be any trouble at all."

Butch looked over his shoulder at Sundance with woeful eyes. "Sundance, we're his heroes."

"No, Butch."

"But the kid has nowhere else to go."

"No, Butch!"

"Aw, come on, have a heart. Living with an old lady? It makes me shudder just thinking about it."

Will knew by the tone of Butch's voice that he'd won him over. Butch smiled at him. "Come on, kid, you can ride with me."

Sundance stared hard at Butch, his lips tight. "Fine! But he's your problem, not mine. This kid gets killed, it's your fault." He turned and strode off angrily up the hill toward the horses.

Butch bent down toward Will. "Don't mind him; he's always grouchy during a job." He gave Will one of his mischievous winks and together they walked up the hill toward the others and the waiting horses.

 ***

Buy Outlaw Heroes on Kindle or in Paperback!

Enjoy the ride!

Deanna




Welcome to the Outlaw Heroes Site!

Hello!

The Wild Bunch 1900 - Sundance sitting far left &
Butch Cassidy sitting far right.

(Parents - this is a kid-friendly site ages 10 & up!)

I'm so excited to have started this site dedicated to my children's/middle-grade action/adventure novel OUTLAW HEROES. Outlaw Heroes is a fun adventure novel set in the old west and includes real-life characters such as Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, Etta Place and many more. Check out the page tab above or click here to read more about the book description of Outlaw Heroes.

What will I be writing about on this site? I will be sharing with you more information about each character from the novel as well as interesting stories about the old west and about places where the old west still comes alive every day!

The old west is a unique and interesting time period in the history of the United States. No other country experienced such a time in their history as we did from the mid-1800s until the early 1900s. While people in the east were living civilized, productive lives, the west was as wild as a newborn colt, building itself from the ground up with ranches, farms, gold mines and anything else that a man could do to support himself and his family. It was also a lawless land, where lawmen were few and far between and every man carried a weapon to protect himself from those who would do him harm or take what he had. This made it a breeding ground for men of chance - gamblers, speculators, rustlers and train and bank robbers - to take what they wanted and run and hide out when necessary. And sometimes it was hard to tell who was the good guy and who was the bad guy as lawmen turned into outlaws and outlaws into lawmen.

Unfortunately, stories from this period in our history have been brushed aside, being replaced by aliens, witches, wizards, vampires, werewolves, and spacemen. Children rarely read stories of the old west anymore or even know famous names such as Wild Bill, Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, and of course, Butch Cassidy. Yet their stories are interesting ones and should be retold and preserved through time.

I hope you enjoy reading more about the characters of the old west, especially the characters in my novel, Outlaw Heroes. So let's get on with it!

Enjoy the ride!

Deanna