During this program Chérie Newman talks with Billings, Montana, author Blythe Woolston about her new novel for young adult readers, Black Helicopters. First question: "Why was terrorism an idea you wanted to explore with your writing?"
From the publisher:
Ever since Mabby died while picking beans in their garden — with the pock-a-pock of a helicopter overhead — four-year-old Valley knows what her job is: hide in the underground den with her brother, Bo, while Da is working, because Those People will kill them like coyotes. But now, with Da unexpectedly gone and no home to return to, a teenage Valley (now Valkyrie) and her big brother must bring their message to the outside world — a not-so-smart place where little boys wear their names on their backpacks and young men don’t pat down strangers before offering a lift. Blythe Woolston has set Black Helicopters in a day-after-tomorrow Montana and infused it with white-knuckle narrative, a dark, trenchant humor, and a keen psychological eye. Alternating past-present vignettes in prose as tightly wound as the springs of a clock and as masterfully plotted as a game of chess, she ratchets up the pacing right to the final, explosive end.
The music in this program was written and performed by John Floridis.
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Blythe Woolston lives in Billings, Montana, with her family. Her first novel, The Freak Observer, won the 2011 William C. Morris Debut Award.
