With the writings of Jack London and Ralph Waldo Emerson as their inspiration, Atwood Cutting's parents chose to follow an idealistic dream, and pioneer in the Alaskan backwoods. Thus, as a newborn, Attie was transported home from the hospital on a snow mobile. Her mother was surprised to find the nursery looking like a scene from Gettysburg - charred and steaming - but in they went, regardless. The greatest source of material for this work of historical fiction was the author's mother, Kate Peters, who told many wonderful stories about the weather, the road, and the neighbors at the end of the road. Luckily, Grandma Tutu in Hawaii saved most of the letters Kate sent her, over those twelve years. These nuggets from an isolated mountain home proved to be a goldmine. Kate Peters also took photographs and kept journals, which shed enough light to give an accurate historical perspective for those who want to know what it was really like, living in the bush before cellphones and four-wheelers had been invented. With her brand of humor, the author tells her mother's stories better than anyone else ever could, except maybe Kate Peters herself. Educated in Alaska, Missouri, California, Hawaii and British Columbia, author Cutting graduated 'Phi Beta Kappa' in visual and performing arts, and then rounded out her education, with a Master of Liberal Arts degree in aesthetic expression. She is married and lives in Colorado, where she photographs spectacular sunsets over the Rockies, and other noteworthy sights.
