New story, familiar voice
Brent Gill releases first book, signing event Saturday at Recorder office
Whether heard over the airwaves as the host of KTIP Traders Market, as the public address announcer at local high school football games, or in the classroom during his many years as a teacher, Brent Gill’s voice has been a familiar sound for Porterville residents over the years.
But recently Gill has taken up a new pursuit of writing, and that familiar voice now reaches many people in print each week with his popular ‘Daunt to Dillonwood’ column that appears each Wednesday in the Recorder.
Now he has finished his first book, entitled ‘Fire on Black Mountain: The Scott Ranch Adventures — Book 1,’ and he is excited to share it with readers near and far.
A story based on true events Long before he was a busy man about town, Gill grew up tending cattle on his family’s ranch in Springville, and the story of ‘Fire on Black Mountain’ is based on actual events that took place when Gill was 12 in August of 1956.
“It was one o’clock in the morning and I was sound asleep. My father Vernon said, ‘Brent, I need you to get up. There’s a fire on Black Mountain.’ I think my very intelligent comment was, ‘So?’” recalls Gill.
Once young Gill woke up, his father went on to explain to him that Ken Fox, head of the forest service in Springville, knew that the Gill family had raised cattle on Black Mountain in previous years, and needed someone who knew the way to guide three firefighters to the peak to put out a smoldering tree struck by lightning.
There was no time to waste, as firefighters had to reach the tree before the sun rose and the dew evaporated, which would increase the chance of a serious wildfire breaking out.
Vernon needed the extra help to guide the firefighters up the mountain, so young Brent set off on a breathless adventure in the dark of night — an adventure still vivid in his memory to this day, even if it did take him a while to put it down in writing.
“My experience of going up the mountain was a cool thing to me at 12 years old. It took quite a few
years before the seed germinated, but when I decided to try to write the book, I realized that that story would make a good book. It was the kind of story that appealed to me.”
The main character of ‘Fire on Black Mountain’ is 12-year-old Billy Scott, son of Bob and Abby Scott, and the challenge he faces in the book is very similar to Brent’s challenge in 1956, but with a twist — in the book, Billy’s father broke his leg three weeks before riding his horse Rowdy and cannot make the trip, leaving Billy the responsibility of guiding the firefighters up Black Mountain alone.
To make things more intriguing, one of the firefighters Billy leads up the mountain antagonizes him along the way, making an already challenging task even more difficult.
“The stories that I loved as a kid were these kinds of stories. Something with some sort of adventure, something a bit more serious than the Hardy Boys,” he said. “I liked things that were a little more real.”
A labor of love The process of creating his first book has been an adventure in itself for Gill. He has attended numerous writing groups over the years to develop his style, grew accustomed to the painful process of having others critique and edit his work, and learned that knowing what not to say in a book is just as important as what to say (a concept that prompted one fellow member of a writer’s group to recommend Gill reduce the first three chapters of his book into one to ‘get Billy moving’). In short, it has all been a labor of love for Gill, which made seeing the finished product for the first time last month that much sweeter.
“The book went active on Amazon.com on December 18, and I ordered 25 books first. I got the box and (my wife) Sharon wasn’t home, so I waited for her to get home so we could open it together. We opened it and I actually held a book in my hand, and I have to admit I cried,” he recalled. “It’s an amazing experience to create a book and have it finally show up.”
What readers will find inside Gill’s new book is a classic coming-of-age story based on real-life events. What they won’t find is vulgarity, sex or violence of any sort — a standard that Gill has established in his work right from the start.
“I was raised in a family where swearing and violence weren’t a part of the day,” said Gill. “I want to have a book that Grandma or Grandpa can buy for a young friend or relative, send it to them, and not have parents raise their eyes about what was sent to their children.”
More to come For readers who like that kind story, Gill has some good news: the sequel to ‘Fire on Black Mountain’ — tentatively titled ‘Snow on Black Mountain’ — is already being written, and Gill already has visions for further installments of the The Scott Ranch Adventures.
“As I wrote this, I began to realize there’s more stories there because of the way I was raised and where I was raised,” he said. “You can’t live on a ranch for the years that I lived and not have experiences of a wide variety.”
Brent Gill will hold a book signing event Saturday, January 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Porterville Recorder office, 115 E. Oak Ave. in Porterville. His book will be available for purchase for $14 including tax, and is also available on Amazon for $12.99, or $2.99 for a Kindle e-edition.