Paul Fjordbotten wasn’t a writer when an idea for a book hit him, but less than two years later, the Okotoks author has now published seven in his Riding with Kyle series.
A father of three and grandfather of five, the life-long motorcycle enthusiast has combined his love of the open road with some grandfatherly advice in the children’s series that just kept on growing.
“It didn’t hit me until a couple of years ago,” Fjordbotten said of the impetus to write a book. “I was updating my will and writing a bit of a biography about growing up on the farm around the time when I bought my grandson his first motorcycle. I thought that would make a cool story, so I closed that page down and started writing it like a story.”
The books started to flow from there, the stories often depicting real-life tales from many years of two-wheeled adventures, augmented by fictionalized details and composite characters.
Starting with Grandpa’s Biker Buddy, which was based on buying a grandson his first motorcycle, the series expanded to feature other storylines, including races and wipeouts, and rides to such destinations as California and Norway.
Riding with Kyle is named after Fjordbotten’s son, the only one of his three children who caught the motorcycle bug and a frequent companion on rides near and far.
“I didn’t want to name it after my grandson because I’ve got five grandkids,” he said of not wanting to play favourites. “My other kids aren’t bikers, so they were fine with it.”
All five grandkids, who range in age from five to 14, are included in the series in one way or another, and other family members and friends are also featured.
When Fjordbotten finished the first story, he thought he might just give copies to his kids, but then he looked to see whether there was anything like it out there in the genre, and finding nothing similar, decided to pursue publishing.
He found an illustrator in Ontario to add images to his words and began the process of self-publishing using an Okotoks printer.
“I didn’t do this expecting to make a lot of money off of it, so if I break even on my costs, that would be awesome,” he said.
“It was fun to do and I’ve got such good feedback from parents and grandparents who have bought it for their kids and grandkids. It's also a legacy for my kids.”
Fjordbotten said he’s not necessarily stopping at seven books, saying he’s always jotting down new ideas, but added this series is definitely complete. He said any future books would also have a motorcycle theme.
A self-employed seismic exploration supervisor, a job that’s taken him all over the world, Fjordbotten, who has lived in Okotoks since 1988, has travelled extensively throughout North America and beyond, almost always on his motorcycle.
The series is available at local bookstores, on Amazon and through Fjordbotten’s website: ridingwithkyle.com.
