Holding Main Street Together
By: Lars Olson
From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.
The numbers on the evening news don’t show faces. They talk about inflation, slow freight, and confidence slipping again, but I see what those reports mean every morning when I unlock the door to my hardware store.
The lights hum awake, one aisle at a time. I walk through the smell of oil and pine, checking shelves with my old yellow pad—furnace filters, pipe wrap, and the stack of snow shovels I ordered last week before prices climb again. A man never knows when the next shipment will cost more, or arrive later than promised.
Outside, the air feels sharp, the kind that warns winter is waiting. Folks say it isn’t truly winter in Cedar Valley until after Thanksgiving, and they’re usually right. The mountains hold their snow for now, dusted but not ready to send it down. Inside, I can still hear the coffee pot hiss, same sound as always, steady and familiar.
Across the street, the café lights flicker on. The owner—good woman—pushes a crate through the door with her shoulder. Business has slowed for her too. People count dollars more closely. The little extras—the hot breakfast, the second cup—don’t always make the cut. Yet her crew keeps showing up, smiling through tired eyes, frying bacon because someone still needs breakfast before heading to the job site.
Everywhere I go, it’s the same story told in different words. Prices rise. Deliveries stall. Customers hesitate before pulling out their wallets. No one’s giving up, but everyone’s feeling the squeeze.
Still, something about this town keeps people steady. Just this week, a young electrician stopped by for wire and breakers. When I gave him his change, he slid a five back across the counter for the “warm house fund.” No speech. No post online. Just a quiet act. That jar on the counter helps pay for furnace parts and heating fuel when someone can’t. Yesterday, it kept an older couple from spending another cold night.
That’s how Cedar Valley works. One small kindness at a time.
We’ve all found ways to make the math stretch. Three businesses share the same bookkeeper now, so no one has to shoulder a full salary. A mechanic and a carpenter trade labor instead of cash. Teenagers pick up shifts in town instead of driving out for bigger paychecks.
We’re not pretending it’s easy. Some months, I skip new stock so I can give a small raise. Some months, I patch the delivery truck myself rather than replace it. These choices wear on a person, but they’re what keep Main Street open and the lights on when dusk comes early.
No headline captures that kind of effort. The national papers won’t write about a bakery owner who keeps her dishwasher on payroll despite flour prices doubling. They won’t print a picture of a landlord who holds rent steady another year, just to give a shopkeeper breathing room. But those are the stories worth telling, the quiet work that keeps a town from slipping apart.
As the days shorten and everyone wonders when the first real snow will fall, I find myself thinking about gratitude. Thanksgiving isn’t far off. Maybe the best way to celebrate is to keep showing up—to keep fixing, stocking, repairing, and helping however we can. Because working hands build more than shelves and roofs; they build hope. And working hearts keep it alive when times get lean.
This editorial is part of the fictional Cedar Valley News series. While the people and town are fictional, the national events they reflect on are real.
It’s free, live, and fresh! Quiet Echo—A Cedar Valley News Podcast is live on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4nV8XsE, Spotify: https://bit.ly/4hdNHfX, YouTube: https://bit.ly/48Zfu1g , and Podcastle: https://bit.ly/4pYRstE. Every day, you can hear Cedar Valley’s editorials read aloud by the voices you’ve come to know—warm, steady, and rooted in the values we share. Step into the rhythm of our town, one short reflection at a time. Wherever you listen, you’ll feel right at home. Presented by the Readers and Writers Book Club: https://bit.ly/3KLTyg4
Author Campaign Method (ACM) for Authorpreneurs
This is Publication Consultants’ motivation for constantly striving to assist authors sell and market their books. Author Campaign Method (ACM) of sales and marketing is Publication Consultants’ plan to accomplish this so that our authors’ books have a reasonable opportunity for success. We know the difference between motion and direction. ACM is direction! ACM is the process for authorpreneurs who are serious about bringing their books to market. ACM is a boon for them.
Release Party
Web Presence
Book Signings
Amazon Author Page
Facebook Profile and Facebook Page
Active Social Media Participation
Ebook Cards
The Great Alaska Book Fair: October 8, 2016
Costco Book Signings
eBook Cards
Benjamin Franklin Award
Jim Misko Book Signing at Barnes and Noble
Cortex is for serious authors and will probably not be of interest to hobbyists. We recorded our Cortex training and information meeting. If you’re a serious author, and did not attend the meeting, and would like to review the training information, kindly let us know. Authors are required to have a Facebook author page to use Cortex.
Correction:
We take the quote by Marcella Smith, Small Press Business Manager, Barnes & Noble seriously: “The author is essential to the success of the book, giving energy behind the book to make it something that a customer will come in and ask for. That is what makes the difference in a book that sells, that develops legs, and has a life of its own. Otherwise the book goes on the shelf and stays there for three months. Then it gets returned.”
This is Publication Consultants’ motivation for constantly striving to assist authors sell and market their books. ACM is Publication Consultants’ plan to accomplish this so that our authors’ books have a reasonable opportunity for success. We know the difference between motion and direction. ACM is direction! ACM is the process for authors who are serious about bringing their books to market. ACM is a boon for serious authors, but a burden for hobbyist. We don’t recommend ACM for hobbyists.
We’re the only publisher we know of that provides authors with book signing opportunities. Book signing are appropriate for hobbyist and essential for serious authors. To schedule a book signing kindly go to our website, <
An Author Page on Amazon Author Central is a serious author ACM requirement and desirable for the hobbyist. Author Central is a free resource designed to help authors become more active participants in the promotion of their books. In Author Central you can manage an Author Page, update information about your books, and view Customer Reviews and sales information for your bibliography. If you don’t already have an Author Page on 
We hear authors complain about all the personal stuff on Facebook. Most of these complaints are because the author doesn’t understand the difference difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook page. Simply put, a profile is for personal things for friends and family; a page is for business. If your book is just a hobby, then it’s fine to have only a Facebook profile and make your posts for friends and family; however, if you’re serious about your writing, and it’s a business with you, or you want it to be business, then you need a Facebook page as an author. It’s simple to tell if it’s a page or a profile. A profile shows how many friends and a page shows how many likes. Here’s a link <> to a straight forward description on how to set up your author Facebook page.
Active Social Media Participation
Mosquito Books has a new location in the Anchorage international airport and is available for signings with 21 days notice. Jim Misko had a signing there yesterday. His signing report included these words, “Had the best day ever at the airport . . ..”
The Lyin Kings: The Wannabe World Leaders
Time and Tide
ReadAlaska 2014
Readerlink and Book Signings
2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results
Bonnye Matthews Radio Interview
Rick Mystrom Radio Interview
When he published those overseas blogs as the book The Innocents Abroad, it would become a hit. But you couldn’t find it in bookstores.
More NetGalley
Mary Ann Poll
Bumppo
Computer Spell Checkers
Seven Things I Learned From a Foreign Email
2014 Spirit of Youth Awards
Book Signings
Blog Talk Radio
Publication Consultants Blog
Book Signings
Don and Lanna Langdok
Ron Walden
Book Signings Are Fun
Release Party Video
Erin’s book, 
Heather’s book, 
New Books