Serious Literature. Unique History.
Beautifully Crafted.
To be creative, you must trust your own voice, establish your own style.
The goal of Hidden Shelf is simple –
connect serious readers to great writers.
Familial relationships that had once felt like acquaintanceships, are now deepened by the unfolding experiences of trauma, murder and exposed secrets. James must come to terms with a past that has haunted his family for decades, while forging a path for his own future.
Fascinating tales from growing up at the Old Idaho Penitentiary.
When Jerry Clapp’s father became warden of the Idaho State Penitentiary in 1945, the young boy quickly learned the rules and boundaries of roaming one of the most dangerous grounds in the West.
It was the end of 1999. As the world anxiously anticipated a new century, John Hammond reluctantly celebrated a childhood goal – to live one hundred years.
Wildflower Girl received the Idaho Library Association Book of the Year award (2019).
Cal has been relocated—again…
This time, to a new country, the coast of northwest Canada…
No friends. Far from home. And Uncle J seems disinterested in befriending his displaced nephew…
Recent Posts
Top 5 STEM Books For Kids
Top 5 STEM Books For Kids: A Granddad’s Guide to Great Books for the Curious Grandchild.
“Sure, I give my grandchildren cool toys. But I also send gifts that will last. My grandkids (ages 10, 8, 7) are probably a lot like yours – curious, creative, fun … and obsessed with books that spark their intelligence.” Here’s a short list of great books for bright kids (ages 7-12).
Writing Wrongs– How My Family’s History Influenced My Novels
I learned that my fate is indeed tied up with historical moments but that writing helps me understand it and right the wrongs of the past.
I took time to write two novels both involving three-year-old boys. Ironically, the Christy Award winning novel Stars in the Grass, centers around a family and the loss of their three-year-old son.
The Heat Is On
Like many of you, I’m sweltering through a historic heatwave plaguing the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains. By July 4th, my hometown in Montana has already had more 90+ degree days than we used to have all summer. As the heat dries out forests, wildland fires will follow. We know the pattern. As a wildlife biologist, I take the scientific consensus seriously. Along with habitat destruction, pollution, and human exploitation of plants and animals, climate change is now a leading threat to life on Earth.
Serious Literature. Unique History.
Beautifully Crafted.
Hidden Shelf is an independent publishing company based in Idaho. We provide quality content to local readers and world-wide readers alike! Our mission is to take a serious approach to our unique stories. Hidden Shelf currently has a small, but continuously growing, collection of books and eBooks available through Amazon.com.
While Amazon.com works wonderfully for the individual consumer, retailers can find Hidden Shelf books through Ingram. Our print-on-demand method of providing reading material is environmentally friendly and efficient with quick and quality results.
Seven years ago, when Bob Gaines had finally been lucky enough to be signed by a literary agent, he told her about his novel, The Brave Historian. While she loved the concept, she only handled nonfiction.
“With fiction,” she said, “the big publishing houses don’t want to take a chance on unknowns. Of course, when somebody does manage to publish something different that finds success, all the other publishers then want to copy it.”
Literary agents and editors were becoming extremely frustrated that the fate of great literature was now being decided in corporate board rooms based on accounting projections. “They will print Lady Gaga’s autobiography,” she added, “but snub the next Ernest Hemingway.”
Based in a beautiful mountain town in Idaho, Hidden Shelf was founded in 2017 with the goal of providing wonderful and creative works to an audience of passionate readers. We have six more books scheduled for the next year and plan to double that by 2020.
Welcome to the Hidden Shelf . . .