Award Winning Bookstore in Bozeman, Montana

We are a local, independent bookstore located in historic downtown Bozeman. Our goal is to promote the love of reading to all, by carrying the best selection of books anywhere! We host regular author events and workshops throughout the year, as well as our very own Book Club.

The Country Bookshelf was first founded in 1957 by Polly Renne in a small shop just off Tracy Avenue, and after several years, Marguerite Kirk relocated the store to the White Chapel on West Main Street. Mary Jane DiSanti, owner of the bookstore for 36 years, then purchased the store and later moved it back downtown in 1986 to its current location, renovating and expanding the space which would eventually become a landmark. In 2010, Mary Jane transfered ownership to Ariana Paliobagis, who has continued to make the bookstore one of the most knowledgeable, people-friendly book stores around. 

Country Bookshelf has some pretty awesome bookstore awards on its shelf!  Check the details here https://www.countrybookshelf.com/

Sign up for their newsletter and visit their blog.

They host lots of events for authors and several book clubs.  It’s a lot more than I find usually which probably attributes to the awards this store has garnered.

Stop over and meet the proprietors if you’re ever through Bozeman, Montana. 

(All info downloaded from https://www.countrybookshelf.com/)

Meet Libby: Montana’s Virtual Library

https://montana.overdrive.com

Montana’s virtual library is probably the easiest electronic library I’ve found so far.  Login, pick your books—however you’d like, check out-done.  It’s a no nonsense site.  If you need a library card, it’s a click.  Search for the perfect read with a click.  I like those kinds of sites.  No adds.  No extra graphics to distract.  Point. Click. Check out.  Read. 

I found no information about who coordinated the virtual library but the list of physical libraries involved looks statewide.   Scroll down all the way to the bottom of the pages and click on Member Libraries.  You’ll find the list plus links to their sites, support and library card links. 

I was impressed, as you will be if you enjoy internet without All That Extra. 

Disclaimer, I also like sites with all that extra but not when I’m looking for a read.  The Montana Virtual Library keeps it all simple, easy…I suppose much like the state. Simple.  Easy. No Nonsense. 

(all info downloaded from https://montana.overdrive.com)

Montana, NOT Big Cities and Malls but Beautiful Towns and Sky with Author, Constance Bretes

If you’re looking for big cities, lots of malls and large stores, Montana is NOT the state to go to. While you may find those in a few cities, Montana is made up of small sleepy towns, ghost towns, old mining towns, 85+ beautiful mountains and fresh air. This is why it’s called “Big Sky Country.”

Before we moved to Montana a few years ago, it was our vacation destination for ten years. Besides big wide open spaces, Montana has a wealth of history. My husband and I have three things we love to do. Visit old ghost towns, taking the back roads into the mountains, digging for sapphires or panning for gold.

Situated between Boulder and Basin Montana, Comet, Montana is one such ghost town, named after the Comet Mine, developed in 1883 and abandoned in 1941. The old building structures at the top of this mountain reverberates of life is the past. The drive up to Comet went alongside a fast flowing river. The old gold mine and river still sparkles with a hint that there is still gold to be found.

I live in Basin, Montana. The town has a school, post office, pizza place, and a restaurant/bar. Basin has a history steeped in mining gold. Established in the 1870s, at one time, they boast of a population of around 1500 people. The last census report for the town indicated there was now a population of 255. Basin has three closed mines, and an old rail tunnel. The rail tracks have long been removed, but you can still see the rail line and the No. 7 tunnel from interstate 15.

 If you don’t care for old mining and ghost towns, take a visit to Jefferson City, and visit the Tizer Botanic Gardens, opened May through September.

The gardens are a spectacular site with flowers blooming the whole season. Back when we were just visiting the state every summer, we went to Tizer Gardens and was walking along the path of the creek. I went to sit down on a little bench next to the river and my foot slipped on the rocks. I slid into the creek along with my husband, jumping in behind me to save me. When we got up in the creek, he gave me a push up the embankment, through the wood chips, and after I stood up, I had wood chips all over me from head to toe.

One of our favorite thigs to do is to take a leisure drive on the forest roads into the mountains and forests around us and one such drive led us into Elkhorn Mountains, and a little waterfall on Little Boulder Creek rarely seen by the public. The terrain is rough, and should be driven by either a four-wheel drive vehicle or an ATV.

One must never forget the Lewis and Clark Expeditions and take the Lewis and Clark Trail across Montana. There are hundreds of sites to visit, such as Gates of the Mountains, Pompeys Pilar, Yellowstone River and Missouri River and much much more. If you love mountains, Montana has the best, from Glacier Mountains, to the Rocky Mountains and the views are spectacular.

I love the state of Montana and almost all of my contemporary romances are set in the state from Jordan, to Colstrip, to Philipsburg. I have a new book out as of February 18, 2017, Blue As Sapphires. Inspiration for this book came from the old town of Philipsburg, Montana, Gem Mountains and Rock Creek River, located nearby.

Currently, I am working on several works in progress. Elkhorn In The Moonlight is based around the fictitious town of Mason. It includes a hike in the Elkhorn Mountains in the late Spring, and even a snow storm, which is not unheard of in Montana. Another story I’ve been working on is Rocky River Gold, a murder mystery in a small town in Montana.

In addition to my writing, I enjoy making jewelry, and basket weaving. Every month in my newsletter, I feature one to three authors and a giveaway of one of their books. I also feature something that I made, either a basket or jewelry, for one lucky winner. If you’d like to enter for a chance to win one of these, you can go to my website at http://www.constancebretes.com/news--things.html to enter the rafflecoptors, and while there, you can join my mailing list and each month receive my newsletters with lots of information of what is going on in my life as well as the giveaways.

Media Links:

Website: http://constancebretes.com

Blog: http://www.constancebretes.com/connies-blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Connie-Bretes-385409614906182/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConstanceBretes

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7737457.Constance_Bretes

Constance Bretes is an author of contemporary romance and suspense. 
After spending many years imagining stories, she began her writing about ten years ago at the encouragement of her husband. 
Her romance books are often set in different parts of the country, but her favorite site is Montana.
She’s married to her best friend and resides in Montana with him and a houseful of cats. 
When she’s not writing and researching for her next book, she can be found basket weaving, reading, or just plain spending time with her husband.

I am giving away one handmade necklace to one lucky person; I’ll draw from the comments. Be sure to enter a form of contact so I can find you for delivery.

(all info supplied by author)

Sally Franklin Christie Welcomes You to Montana

Welcome to Montana home to Don and Dan Nichols, Nathaneil Bar-Johah and Ted Kaczynski.  Michael Keaton. Dennis Quaid and Tom Brokaw also call Montana home.  Criminals and Celebrities cannot hold a candle to Montana’s treasures.  

I came here in 1981 with a cardboard box in the back of a U-Haul coming up from Florida.  I stayed and although I am not famous for crimes and celebrity I call Montana home.

I live on the edge of town across from an old mill, stockyards and a little place called the Find It Calfe. My neighborhood is populated by thugs we call chickens and wayward deer. When I look through my window I am apt to see horses with owners practicing things I’ll never understand. The same neighbors walk their goats.  

While I am isolated here at the foothills of the Bridger Mountain Range, I have the comfort of high speed internet bringing the rest of the world to my fingertips. 

Come to Montana, the celebrities keep to themselves and the criminals blend in to the relatively low population density.  In some parts of town we leave the doors open and cars unlocked. 

Bozeman is a university town, home to the campus of Montana State University. County Market is gone now, so is Big K-Mart but we still have a Walmart for ‘accidental tourists.’  

If you plan a trip to Big Sky Country be sure to come to Bridger Bowl Ski Area, Moonlight Basin and Big Sky Resort. The views are spectacular.  

I recommend visiting between May and September where the landscape goes from a jaw dropping spring green to yellow ochre fire season before your very eyes.  We have an extensive trail system for biking, hiking and running.  

The trails are my favorite part of Bozeman, the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, GVLT, uses the section of our property on Story Mill Road. The GVLT is accessible to my wheelchair even in remote places.  

Bozeman Trails

Our mission is to link Bozeman’s core to public lands throughout the Gallatin Valley. Since 1990 we have collaborated with the City of Bozeman and dozens of public and private organizations to expand the Main Street to the Mountains system to over 80 miles of trails. These trails are used by commuters, runners, bikers, birdwatchers, and stargazers, and help make the Gallatin Valley the best place to live under the Big Sky.

http://gvlt.org/trails/

I’ve outgrown my single cardboard box.  I am married to a man who goes to work every day to keep my internet going so I have a distraction and the freedom to write novels, flash fiction and blog posts.  I also do landscape painting and enter crochet projects in the County Fair.  

Bozeman Montana is where my books take place.  Sure, there are side visits to places I’ve touched along the way.  The criminal element in my novels are made up with a tiny spider filament tracing to the stories of the Unibomber and the Mountain Men who tried to take a trail runner as a wife. The cannibal has yet to touch a character but maybe that novel hasn’t been written. 

Hello, I’m Sally.

Born in Illinois and living in Montana. Writer, Blogger, Moderator at The Writer’s Chatroom.

“I write to honor those authors who came before me.

* The writers who entertained my during High School lunch breaks and study hall.

* The writers I studied in College where I majored in Psychology and English Literature.

* The writers who wrote about physics in a way that let me haphazardly teach in homeschool.

I write in hopes of entertaining my reader. I write to help others. I write because my darling husband has a full time job that allows me to have modern day electronics and internet access. I write so others will follow and try it out for themselves.

I write.

Always remember that Life is a Story. I think we should all Tell it Big.”

http://sallyfranklinchristie.com

https://www.facebook.com/sally.christie

@sallychristie

http://writerschatroom.com

If I Should Die

Murder, Embezzlement, Betrayal and Silence

By Sally Franklin Christie

New Author’s Revised Edition

Peyton Farley has settled into a new life in southwest Montana.  Research and fact checking for a local newspaper is a perfectly safe job, or is it?  One morning, Peyton awakens and finds a strange man in lace up work boots who is bleeding out on her kitchen floor.  As Peyton calls 911 from her bedroom, someone is stealing the body.

Who is the dead man?  Why is he bleeding to death in Peyton’s apartment?  Can one research assignment evolve into murder, embezzlement, betrayal and silence?

If I Should Die is a suspenseful journey into the lives of many people.  The choices and impacts are repulsive and inspiring.  Silence will never sound the same.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DMT7I32

I am giving away an e-copy of If I Should Die so please leave a comment.  Copies will be available in mobi, epub or pdf for my reader’s convenience.  If you live in the US I will also snail mail a P38 for opening that pesky can in your backpack. 

Don’t touch anything sharp.

The Montana of Author Dan Burns: Part Time Home, Full Time Muse

I first traveled to Montana with my family in the summer of 2001. As an avid angler, I had read about the famed rivers and heard the stories of endless trout and big sky, and realized I had to go. We rented a home outside of Bozeman and spent a week exploring all that the area had to offer. We experienced the majesty of Yellowstone National Park, took a step back in time in the quaint small town of Livingston, fished the Gallatin River every day, drove hundreds of miles under the biggest and bluest sky we had ever seen, and spent quiet evenings on the deck

playing games and cherishing our time together.

We fell in love with Montana and it became a part of each of us. We returned the next two summers to continue our explorations and then decided to buy a small place of our own. It has been fourteen years now and while our home outside of Bozeman on the East Gallatin River is a part time residence, it is a full-time member of our family. We long to get back there to take in the mountain air, walk the river rock shores of our favorite rivers, and spend quality family time together.

      

The nature, culture, and people of Montana inspire me. When I’m in Montana, I’m free—unencumbered by the usual distractions back in Illinois—and able to explore ideas and easily get the words down onto the page. When I’m not in Montana, I’m always thinking about that glorious place, and my experiences there end up finding their way into my writing. What follows is an example of how Montana became part of my short story, Come Out, Wherever You Are.

 

These days, our world is enmeshed in technological connectivity— twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week—and many people spend the majority of their days searching and texting and updating their networks of people on every minute detail of their existence.

I think we need to be forced away from our devices every once in a while to relish the simple pleasures in life: reading a book, taking a walk, or just looking around and taking in all that is happening around us. For without the break, we might get so distracted that we’ll miss out on what is really important. 

What if a person decided to walk away from the technological tether and live his life in solitude, and what if while he was away, something happened to the social network? That, very simply, was the seed of the idea, and it was all I needed to get on with writing the story, Come Out, Wherever You Are.

In the story, the protagonist, Verne, had forced himself to break away. During his career as a politician, he was always in the spotlight and always in the news. Privacy was not a possibility and he understood that the absence of it came with the job. So, as he came to the end of his career, he made a wish to live in Montana, and then when he retired, he made the wish a reality. What he didn’t expect was for the circumstances that nudged him into exile to end up being the same circumstances that made his exile permanent.

I had the main character and I knew exactly where to put him. Since falling in love with Montana on my first visit there, I have been pursuing my own temporary but regular exile there ever since. 

The sky is big, the rivers are endless, and I think the people there are likely the nicest people in the world. Add to that, regarding the people, there are only about one million in the entire state. There is one square mile of land for every six people. It’s open and easy to get lost there, and I liked the possibilities. Montana was where Verne needed to go. 

I knew Verne would start and end his story in Montana, and at the end, I expected him to simply head off into the sunset to finish out his remaining years in solitude, as he had wished. However, since that time, I find that I’m often wondering—maybe even worrying—about Verne and what his future holds. Who knows, maybe I will run into him again somewhere down the road, in Montana.

Everyone Wins! Learn more about how Montana inspired me and find out what happens to Verne in the short story, Come Out, Wherever You Are, from my latest story collection, No Turning Back: Stories. For a free PDF download of the story go to: http://www.danburnsauthor.com/files/Come_Out_Wherever_You_Are_-_PUBLISHED.pdf

Enter to Win More! Please leave a comment and your contact information for a chance to win a signed hardcover edition of No Turning Back: Stories. Good luck!

Traveling to Montana? If you are in the Bozeman area, be sure to wet a line on one of the many famed and local rivers. If you’re looking for a great dinner spot in Bozeman, you can’t go wrong with Dave’s Sushi and their creative and inspired sushi creations or Copper Whiskey Bar & Grill and their classic cocktails, hip crowd, and inventive menu items. Plan a day for a side trip over to Livingston for shopping, breakfast or lunch at Gil’s Goods, a drink at the Murray Hotel bar, and dinner at 2^nd Street Bistro.

Author Bio:

Dan Burns is the author of the story collection, No Turning Back: Stories, and the novel, Recalled to Life. In addition to writing novels, short stories, and poetry, he also writes screenplays for the big screen. His forthcoming novel, A Fine Line, is a mystery set in his hometown of Chicago. For more information, please visit www.danburnsauthor.com.
(all info provided by author)