Decemberlands

About the Book

In words and pictures, Decemberlands invites you into three distinct worlds, far from one another in space and time but bound by the universal tension between what we want and what we must give. From the sidewalks of postwar New York City to the workhouses of 19th-century London to a snow-covered peak in the deep American wilderness, join us for these unforgettable journeys.

Inside Decemberlands...

"The Bass Violin, or The Eight Musical Days of Sammy Grossmann"

December 1957, The Bronx. Holocaust survivor and door-to-door insurance salesman Aaron Grossmann's lone connection with his past is the music he plays three nights a week at a small jazz club. When his beloved bass violin is destroyed, his young sons Jacob and Sammy—the latter an accordion prodigy—set out to raise money for a new one by spending the eight days of Hanukkah on a whirlwind musical tour of the city sidewalks.

"Tim, or The Last Days of Ebenezer Scrooge"

December 1859, Cambridge, England. Tiny Tim Cratchit has grown into a bright but restless 22-year-old frustrated with the responsibility that comes with having been saved and sponsored by the generous Ebenezer Scrooge. On Christmas Eve, Tim is ready to quit his dutiful old life for good when ancient Scrooge appears and takes him on an epic journey.

"The Legend of Bobcat and Bear: A Children's Story"

December, Anytime, Grizzly Peak. When Santa's sleigh makes an emergency landing on a snow-covered summit, the fate of Christmas rests in the paws of a smart-aleck bobcat and a very sleepy bear.

"Greg Blake Miller's beautifully written tales are about people with real blood running in their veins, in places we will recall for a long while, and in situations that are rendered with a knowledge of how humans (and, yes, even bobcats) are both fierce and frail at all times."

- Kerry Candaele, Director of the award-winning film Following the Ninth: In the Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony

About the Author

Greg Blake Miller is an award-winning writer, editor and teacher. He received Parenting Publications of America's top national honors for his feature and humor writing at OC Family and was later named Nevada's Outstanding Journalist for his work at Vegas Seven. He earned his master's degree in creative writing from the University of Southern California, where he won the prestigious Moses Fiction Prize. A former staff writer for The Moscow Times, Miller has written extensively about Russian history and culture, culminating in Reentry Shock (UMI, 2010). He holds a doctorate in international communication from the University of Oregon, where he also taught writing and media studies. Miller continues to teach creativity and storytelling skills as the director of Olympian Creative Education.

Svetlana Larionova Miller is an illustrator, writer and translator. She has won multiple awards for her illustrations for OC Family, and her work has also appeared in Vegas Seven, Las Vegas Family and Inland Empire Family. She has translated for Russian Studies in Literature as well as for film and television, and has taught linguistics at Oregon's Northwest Christian University. Miller, who has also been honored for her poetry, is working on an illustrated memoir about growing up in the Soviet Union.