Check it out! My friend took this picture of Murder on Mt. McKinley at a bookstore in Skagway, Alaska!
To order my new book Murder on Kilimanjaro, CLICK HERE
For more information about the Summit Murder Mystery series, CLICK HERE
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On Friday, May 17th, I am very excited to be participating in a racing event with Project C.U.R.E. Come on out and watch me drive a racing go kart! These aren't your kids' Go Karts!
I will be joining Project C.U.R.E. and sponsor K2 Adventures Foundation at Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving for the Fast and the C.U.R.E.ious Racing Challenge.
Twenty-five teams will compete for the coveted Fast and the C.U.R.E.ious Racing Challenge Team Trophy.
Each member of my team will drive one of Bondurant's 10hp Briggs and Stratton powered ProKarts which are capable of speeds over 50mph and easy to drive fast right from the start.
The individual with the fastest time will win a 13-day community based adventure, a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro and a one day safari. This trip is graciously donated by K2 Adventures Foundation and is to be redeemed in the summer of 2014 as an already established K2 trip (does not include airfare). For more information please visit www.k2adventures.org.
Sounds like fun, huh?
If you want to join in on the fun as a racer yourself or as a member of the pit crew, click HERE for more information!
Wish me luck!!
To order my new book Murder on Kilimanjaro, CLICK HERE
For more information about the Summit Murder Mystery series, CLICK HERE
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Last week I was thrilled to do a Skype interview with Triway High School in Ohio! The students asked me all kinds of questions about being a published author. I enjoyed talking to them about book publishing, mountain climbing, the importance of going to college and even - how to get that prom date to say yes!
Our session was written up in the paper! Take a look at the great article!
Climbing to the top: Charles Irion Skypes with Triway students
Author gives students advice on writing, enthusiasm, life
By LINDA HALLStaff Writer
Published:
TRIWAY DISTRICT -- Before the sun came up in
Phoenix on Friday morning, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist
Charles Irion grabbed a cup of coffee and connected with students
gathered in the auditorium at Triway High School.
In his give-and-take conversation with students, he gave tips on
everything from going to college to getting a date for the prom.
Irion brought his tales of adventure -- climbing mountains from
Everest to Kilamanjaro, writing murder mysteries associated with
reaching their summits, and taking medical supplies and equipment to
developing countries -- right to their door.
Roxanne Hammer, Triway High School's media specialist and district
coordinator who met Irion on a Rhine River cruise, arranged a Skype
interview with him for Jennifer Stutzman's senior and enriched English
classes.
Irion graduated from the University of California in Santa Barbara
with degrees in biology and economics. Without sufficient funds to go to
medical school, he redirected his goal to earning a master's degree in
business, then began selling pharmaceuticals, quickly switching to
selling real estate.
But headaches from working with a contractor remodeling Irion's own
home triggered a different direction for him. The notes he took on his
difficulties led to his writing a book called "Remodeling Hell."
"The publisher knew I had climbed Mount Everest in 1987 and said no one had ever written a murder mystery (in that setting)."
Although he didn't know he would be writing a book about it, he had
kept a journal of the "sights, sounds, feelings ... and struggle," he
told the students.
Using those notes, he wrote "Murder on Everest" (A Summit Murder Mystery).
Following were seven murder mysteries linked to seven different
mountain climbs, he said, because "I know what it takes to get to the
top and the steps it takes. Write about things you are interested in and
know about."
Irion reached a "crescendo" and "interesting twist" in his book on
Kilamanjaro, he said, noting "people who don't get murdered get carried
into other books."
During a question and answer period, Irion let students in on a
little secret when he answered one student's question about whether his
fictional characters are based on people in real life.
His wife, Rose, is a teacher, Irion said, admitting a principal she
didn't like became a victim, hit by an avalanche, in one of his novels.
Hammer and students took advantage of Irion's candor with questions
about training for mountain climbs, the creative process and the rigor
of writing a book.
Whenever possible, Irion matched art with life.
One of the ways he got in shape for a mountain climb was "run(ning) up and down the Grand Canyon on weekends," he said.
"Like any journey, it starts with one step," he said. "It's not about
how fast (you do it), it's about getting up there, (by putting) one
foot in front of the other.
"It's a slow process to get up there," said Irion, who turned 60 years old the day he reached the summit of Kilamanjaro.
Writing uses the same process, he said. "First, you've got to get
started." Then, "keep persevering; if you get stuck, take a break, just
like in hiking."
Asked about his volunteerism and philanthropy, Irion said, he looks for causes "where money and energy go the longest distance."
His primary mission at this time is Project C.U.R.E., which bills
itself as "the largest provider of donated medical supplies and
equipment to developing countries around the world."
"They send me to developing countries to get needs assessments," said Irion, who traveled to five countries last year.
"We won the lottery because we were born in the United States," Irion said. "I tell kids in America, you're so lucky."
He also encouraged Triway students to go to college.
"Go to school as long as you can," he urged. "School is like a
gymnasium for the brain," teaching a person to "think better ... adapt
better. You can never lose that diploma."
As for getting a date for the prom, just as in life, he said, don't
take no for an answer; find a different way to ask the question.
Irion's "visit" gave students the kind of experience they can't get
solely through books, according to Hammer. "With no library budget, it's
hard to get kids excited about reading. You want to find creative ways
to get them interested."
Hammer wanted students "to get to know a real author," senior Spencer
O'Neal said, after asking Irion what would be one word he would use to
describe the view from Mount Everest.
"We've been doing a lot this year with fiction and non-fiction,"
Stutzman said, calling Irion "a perfect example" of each of them.
Interacting with Irion took her students from a lesson "flat on a page to dynamic."
Thanks again to the great students at Triway for having me! It was a blast!
To order my new book Murder on Kilimanjaro, CLICK HERE
For more information about the Summit Murder Mystery series, CLICK HERE
Follow me on TWITTER
Friend me on FACEBOOK
Subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel
