West Seattle author Conrad Wesselhoeft has just been awarded the 2014 "Reading the West" prize for young-adult fiction for the novel DIRT BIKES, DRONES, AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY. This is presented annually by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. (The novel is set in New Mexico.)

Seventeen year-old dirt-bike daredevil Arlo Santiago catches the eye of the U.S. military with his first-place ranking on a video game featuring drone warfare, and must reconcile the work they want him to do with the emotional scars he has suffered following a violent death in his family. ADIOS, NIRVANA author Conrad Wesselhoeft takes readers from the dusty arroyos of New Mexico to the skies over war-torn Pakistan in this young adult novel about daring to live in the wake of unbearable loss.

He has a varied and deep background that brings a unique perspective to his writing. Wesselhoeft worked as a tugboat hand in Singapore and Peace Corps Volunteer in Polynesia before embarking on a career in journalism. He has served on the editorial staffs of five newspapers, including The New York Times. He is the author of Adios, Nirvana (2010) and Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly (2014), two contemporary young-adult novels from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wesselhoeft began to write for young adults after meeting the acclaimed YA novelist Scott O’Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins). "When we met, Scott was eighty-five—more than fifty years older than I,” Wesselhoeft said. “He was still very active and disciplined as a writer and critiqued my early efforts at writing YA fiction. He taught me many things about writing, but one stands out: Writing is about perseverance--never give up."

Wesselhoeft's ancestors were homeopathic doctors to a long line of literary patients including Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His three children are in various stages of university study or career exploration. He lives in West Seattle with a poodle named Django. You can learn more about him at conradwesselhoeft.com and adiosnirvana.com.

Wesselhoeft spoke about how he began writing the novel.

"I began making notes for the book in 2009 after hearing P.W. Singer interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air. During the interview, Singer--a specialist on 21st Century warfare--told the story of a teenage boy with crazy-mad video-game skills—skills that could translate to flying real drones in real war zones. Singer’s words helped to crystallize my thinking around several themes. One was the idea that violence against the individual is, in fact, violence against society as a whole. As Arlo Santiago (the 17-year-old narrator in DIRT BIKES) reflects, 'A perfect hit goes beyond a single target. It goes wide. And it goes deep.' Another theme was the inclination of technology to outpace human wisdom."

Last year, DIRT BIKES, DRONES, AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY was named a Junior Library Guild Selection. It also landed on Air & Space/Smithsonian’s 2014 list of Best Aviation and Space-Themed Books for Young Readers.

Reading the West:

http://www.mountainsplains.org/reading-the-west-2014-winning-titles/

The Herald review of the book:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2014/01/26/features/dirt-bikes-drones-…

Conrad's website:

http://conradwesselhoeft.com/