By Jill Homer

Most sports become inspirational when extraordinary people excel at ordinary things. In ultra-endurance racing, ordinary people must excel at extraordinary things. “Ghost Trails” is the true story of an ordinary person – timid, nonathletic, raised in the suburbs of Salt Lake City – and her unlikely route to one of the most difficult bicycle races in the world, a 350-mile epic along Alaska’s frozen Iditarod trail. Through her struggles and intimate confrontations with her fears and weaknesses, she discovers the surprising destination of her life’s trails.

A Journey Across the Great Divide
Purchase a signed copy of Jill Homer”s memoir about the 2009 Tour Divide, a candid story of heartbreak, determination, and true adventure amid “The World”s Toughest Mountain Bike Race”.

Short description:
Jill Homer, a newspaper editor in Alaska, has an outlandish ambition: a 2,740-mile mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico along the rugged Continental Divide. But in the tradition of best-laid plans, Jill’s dream starts to unravel the minute she sets it in motion. An accident during a race on the Iditarod Trail results in serious frostbite. As she struggles with painful recovery and uncertainties about leaving a good job to pursue a seemingly impossible pipe dream, her employer hands down “an offer she can’t refuse.” Just two days before their departure date, her boyfriend ends their eight-year relationship. This final blow dismantles everything Jill thought she knew about life, love and her own identity.

“Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide” is the story of an adventure driven relentlessly forward as foundations crumble. During her record-breaking ride in the 2009 Tour Divide, Jill battles a torrent of self-doubt, anger, fatigue, loneliness, pain, grief, bicycle failures, crashes, violent storms, and hopelessness. Each night, she collapses under the crushing effort of this savage new way of life. And every morning, she picks up the pieces and strikes out anew in an ongoing journey to discover what lies on the other side of the Great Divide: astonishing beauty, unconditional kindness, and boundless strength.

 “8,000 Miles Across Alaska: A Runner’s Journeys on the Iditarod Trail” chronicles Tim Hewitt’s adventures across Alaska — the harrowing weather conditions, breathtaking scenery, kindness of strangers, humorous misadventures, humbling setbacks and heroic victories. From fierce competition with his fellow racers, to traveling backward on the trail to ensure the safety of his wife, to battling for his own survival, Tim Hewitt has amassed a lifetime of experiences amid the harsh miles of the Iditarod Trail. This is his story.

Becoming Frozen: Memoir of a First Year in Alaska

Jill Homer was just another naive young woman who followed a man to the Last Frontier — but it was Alaska that won her heart. This memoir is a love story about the wonderful, humorous, and sometimes harrowing experiences that await when a woman throws her heart to the wind just to see where it lands.

After taking a job at a weekly newspaper in Homer, Alaska, Jill and her partner forge a new life in a town where artists and sport fishermen drive the local economy, grizzly bears roam through back yards, social outings feature death-defying ski trips or kayaking rough seas in freezing rain, and business attire means wearing three sweaters to an unheated office. As Jill adapts to Homer’s idiosyncrasies, she finds her own quirky hobby — riding a bike on snow. Despite having little in the way of an athletic background or talent, Jill signs up for a hundred-mile race across frozen wilderness. As the harsh Alaskan winter sets in, she launches a tenacious training routine that takes her far out of her comfort zone. Here, under the Northern Lights, battling exhaustion and extreme cold, Jill discovers the heart of Alaska. And there’s no going back.

Purchase a signed copy of “Becoming Frozen” with this link. Shipping is $4.95 to the United States and $12.95 internationally for one to five books, and multiple titles can be included in one order. Quantity discounts are offered as well. Copies will be mailed out on or before Aug. 15, 2015. 

Into the North Wind: A Thousand-Mile Bicycle Adventure Across Frozen Alaska

““Into the North Wind” chronicles Jill Homer’s record-breaking ride across Alaska on the historic Iditarod Trail. Ever since she discovered endurance racing ten years earlier, Jill fantasized about frozen wilderness with a wary eye fixated on the thousand-mile race to Nome.

In March 2016, she made the leap, but a barrage of failures left her ready to chuck her dream at the starting line. This memoir is not just a story about seeking beauty, overcoming setbacks and uncovering hidden strength — it’s a journey into the benevolent heart of the coldest, loneliest trail.

This full-color, 200-page paperback includes more than 200 photos of the Iditarod Trail and adventures leading up to the race. Signed copies will be shipped on or before Oct. 1, 2016.

Into the North Wind: A Thousand-Mile Bicycle Adventure Across Frozen Alaska

““Into the North Wind” chronicles Jill Homer’s record-breaking ride across Alaska on the historic Iditarod Trail. Ever since she discovered endurance racing ten years earlier, Jill fantasized about frozen wilderness with a wary eye fixated on the thousand-mile race to Nome.

In March 2016, she made the leap, but a barrage of failures left her ready to chuck her dream at the starting line. This memoir is not just a story about seeking beauty, overcoming setbacks and uncovering hidden strength — it’s a journey into the benevolent heart of the coldest, loneliest trail.

This digital eBook is available in PDF format. It can be viewed on Adobe Reader. The document will be e-mailed to you on or before October 1, 2016. 

Receive a copy of “Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide,” “Becoming Frozen: Memoir of a First Year in Alaska,” and “Into the North Wind: A Bicycle Adventure Across Frozen Alaska,” for the discounted price of $49.95 plus $11.95 shipping.