About Evan
Root That Mountain
Root That Mountain, published in 2021, was my third published novel.
Root That Mountain's synopsis:
Root That Mountain takes place in West Africa, set during the period just after the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Felix Laszlo’s father, a doctor working with Doctors Without Borders in Freetown, has been murdered by Revolutionary United Front rebels. Felix goes to Sierra Leone to retrieve his father’s body. In doing so, he comes to realize he knows less about his father than he thought. Compelled to try and truly understand the man, Felix returns to West Africa to learn about Sierra Leone, the civil war, and the trade in illicit “blood diamonds.” But with Issa Manzo, a renegade soldier from Niger, as his guide, Felix soon discovers that this investigation carries with it dark secrets and is far more than he bargained for.
"Evan Balkan's writing is transportive. At its heart, Root That Mountain is a story about an everyman, or, rather, an every-son, Felix, who takes on a leading role, traveling to West Africa to retrieve the body of his slain father. Against the backdrop of a war torn Sierra Leone, Balkan's remarkable book stretches across continents and reads as if it was lifted directly from John le Carré. I couldn't put it down." -- Cathy Alter, journalist and author.
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Root That MountainRoot That Mountain Down takes place in West Africa, set during the period just after the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Felix Laszlo’s father, a doctor working with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Freetown, has been murdered by Revolutionary United Front thugs. Felix goes to Sierra Leone to retrieve his father’s body. In doing so, he comes to realize he knows less about his father than he thought. Compelled to try and truly understand the man, Felix returns to West Africa to learn about Sierra Leone, the civil war, and the trade in illicit “blood diamonds.” But with Issa Manzo, a Nigerien renegade soldier, as his guide, Felix soon discovers that this investigation carries with it dark secrets and is far more than he bargained for.
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Root That Mountain_1st three chapters.pdfRoot That Mountain Down takes place in West Africa, set during the period just after the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Felix Laszlo’s father, a doctor working with Medecins Sans Frontieres in Freetown, has been murdered by Revolutionary United Front thugs. Felix goes to Sierra Leone to retrieve his father’s body. In doing so, he comes to realize he knows less about his father than he thought. Compelled to try and truly understand the man, Felix returns to West Africa to learn about Sierra Leone, the civil war, and the trade in illicit “blood diamonds.” But with Issa Manzo, a Nigerien renegade soldier, as his guide, Felix soon discovers that this investigation carries with it dark secrets and is far more than he bargained for.
Spitfire
Novel (middle grade), published 2018 by Amphorae Publishing.
Caroline Panski harbors one dream: to play ice hockey. But, as the neighborhood boys—and her mother—tell her: Boys play hockey; girls ice skate. But Caroline is not one to give up on anything easily. She navigates her little world with will and determination. But her little world is soon made much bigger by the fact that her father is fighting, and will eventually die, in Korea. Additionally, Caroline’s school is integrated and she develops a deep friendship with an African-American classmate, Joseph Wilson. It’s an unlikely alliance, and one that promises lessons in life for both of them. While trying out for a boys hockey team and, more importantly, through her burgeoning friendship with Joseph, Caroline learns firsthand about the limitations of race and gender in 1950s Baltimore. In the end, Caroline’s is a difficult and imperfect world, but one that allows for triumphs and moments of transcendence as well.
"Caroline Panski defies the norms--and the odds--to be the fiercest girl on ice! Moving, relevant, and utterly engaging, Spitfire inspires us all to fight for what matters: friendship and love." -- Elissa Brent Weissman, author of numerous bestselling MG/YA books.
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Spitfire-Balkan.jpegMiddle Grade novel, published 2018 by Amphorae Publishing. "Caroline Panski defies the norms--and the odds--to be the fiercest girl on ice! Moving, relevant, and utterly engaging, Spitfire inspires us all to fight for what matters: friendship and love." -- Elissa Brent Weissman, author of numerous bestselling MG and YA books.
The Wrath of God: Lope de Aguirre, Revolutionary of the Americas
In 1560, General Pedro de Ursúa led an expedition through the Amazon in search of El Dorado. Three months later, Ursúa was murdered. His replacement, Fernando de Guzmán, was also murdered. Emerging from the chaos was the Biscayan Lope de Aguirre, who turned away from El Dorado and led his men to Peru to overthrow the royal forces and declare independence from the Spanish Crown. When Aguirre was finally killed, the aftermath was astonishing: hundreds dead, entire towns depopulated, and a nascent revolution quashed.
"Deliberately provocative, Evan Balkan's The Wrath of God examines Aguirre, a symbol of Basque fury and rampage, arguing that Aguirre's historical representation as a one-dimensional madman deserves revisiting. Indeed, Aguirre may be the Americas' first true revolutionary, a view shared by Simón Bolívar, among others. 2011 marked the 450th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary and least known events in the history of the Americas, and Balkan's work offers a timely investigation into the revolutionary's life and controversial methods." --Publisher blurb
Travel Writing
- "A Beautiful and Haunted Tune," is about the Mississippi Blues Trail and the tension inherent in maintaining a tourist attraction (and the economic activity it generates) that relies on "authenticity," which in this case means keeping this part of the country shockingly poor and depressed. The essay was published in Cargo Literary Magazine, as well as the dual-language Chinese/English travel magazine Lost, and was the first place winner in the 2017 Storyhouse.org Travel Essay contest.
- "On the Trail of the Tyrant," is about researching the Basque conquistadore Lope de Aguirre in a crumbling Venezuela, and it also won a Storyhouse travel writing contest.
- “You Can’t Go Home Again, Again” (covering Bowie, Maryland; Costa Rica; Ecuador; and Iceland) was published in 2020 in Eunoia Review.
- “Q” (about Quito, Ecuador) was published in 2018 in Ragazine.
- “What I Didn’t Do in Costa Rica” (about Costa Rica) was published in 2019 Storyhouse.org.
Vanished! Explorers Forever Lost
From the back cover: "Some adventures end in glory, others in obituaries. Instead of receiving laurels and a parade, the adventurers in Vanished! met infamy on a road with no return. Immerse yourself in these gripping accounts of explorers who ventured forth―then simply disappeared. Their fates? We’ll never know. Vanished! draws you into seven page-turning accounts, including one that contains new details of Amelia Earhart’s unsolved disappearance over the vast Pacific. Head to Mexico with Ambrose Bierce, forever lost but not forgotten. Ride the wild Colorado with honeymooners Glen and Bessie Hyde, presumably drowned but whose bodies have never been found. Author Evan Balkan brings these stories to life, and death, in spine-tingling descriptions. Whether murder, sabotage, or just plain bad luck, these are true tales of adventure gone bad, of explorers vanished, forever lost."