"Memory Boy," is one of the fastest books Bemidji-based author Will Weaver has ever written.

Perhaps because much of it takes place in Weaver's native Minnesota, he wrote the first draft of the juvenile fiction in a month.

"Memory Boy," chronicles a family's trip from the Twin Cities to Itasca State Park following a natural volcanic disaster.

Weaver said that the Mount St. Helen's eruption in 1980 - with effects felt dramatically in the Pacific Northwest and even the Midwest - inspired his novel "Memory Boy."

Weaver said that as a fiction writer he'll often ask: "What if?" For instance: "What would happen if the Mount St. Helen's eruption was 50 times as big? What would be the effect on life?"

Weaver, who grew up near Park Rapids, said he utilizes familiar places in his writing. "I usually set my novels in places that I know well; and for me, that's the Midwest and Minnesota," he said.

The south-north route the book's family takes travels Highway 371 through lakes area cities.

While most of the cities described have actual geographic counterparts, in "Memory Boy," he includes fictional location "Rock Lake," north of Fort Ripley, and gives it a similar description of Pequot Lakes, with a red-and-white bobber water tower.

Weaver said that sometimes he mixes and matches between fiction and the truth, a blend that he refers to as "fictional realism."

"There are some real identifiers in there, but there's fiction blended in as well," he said.

Likewise, characters in his book may reflect or vary from reality. Some are influenced by real people and others are completely imaginative.

Weaver's character Mr. Kurz was the closest character to reality: Weaver's great uncle - an old bachelor and a hermit inspired Mr. Kurz. "He did everything with his own two hands, and could live off the land," Weaver said of his uncle.

Mr. Kurz's self sufficiency rubs off on the protagonist Miles in his choice of a safe place for his family to stay.

"That was an important message in the book, from (Mr. Kurz) - if you have to do it, here's how you do it," Weaver said.

Miles, however, is a very fictional character, Weaver said, but perhaps inspired by a type of student that Weaver has encountered over the years. "I've met kids like him in schools," Weaver said. "They are very bright and they are good at things, maybe they're a little sarcastic or they don't have much patience; they always get in trouble."

Weaver's "Memory Boy," is a popular choice for school wide reads and the like. Weaver said that he thinks it's popular because of the book's plot of environmental collapse and a family that has to pull together to survive.

"Things in the book could happen so it's realistic in many ways," Weaver said.

The book also lends itself to school projects in connection with the book - in math, science and geography, for example.

A lot of classes that Weaver visits build dioramas of scenes in the book. He is yet to see a full-sized "Ali Princess," as depicted in the book: a combination of recumbent bicycles and a sailboat - a human- and wind-powered mode of transportation for the family.

In "Memory Boy," Miles has a cynical view of his teachers, particularly Mr. Litzke, who he describes reading the newspaper during class instead of teaching the ninth graders.

The contentious relationship between student and teacher in the book is interesting - in part - because of Weaver's own status as a retired college professor.

Weaver spent 24 years teaching writing and literature at Bemidji State University before pursuing writing full time.

Weaver did not have negative experiences with his teachers.

"I'm fictionalizing; this, in the end, is fiction," he said.

Weaver said that being a full time writer takes a lot of personal motivation. "That's the case with anyone who is an independent artist, or writer or craftsperson," he said.

There are several approaches to writing. Some writers write only when the mood strikes them; others apply routine to their writing.

Weaver said that he choose to write in a very businesslike way. "I write every day as if I'm going to work," he said.

Even after his first draft of "Memory Boy," was completed, there were still several more months of revisions and working with the publisher. The publisher also designs the book covers.

Writers can also expect an irregular paycheck. "You need management skills in terms of family life and finances," he said.

"The best part is the total freedom that I have. And that's hard to find," Weaver said of writing for a living.

Weaver added that he can work from home in a quiet and solitary way - and he can also meet people in a community in a public way through his speaking engagements.

"There's a very quiet private side and a very public side at the same time," he said.

Weaver's upcoming appearance at Pine River-Backus Schools on Monday, Nov. 23, to talk about "Memory Boy," is perfect timing.

He's right in the middle of doing revisions on the sequel to "Memory Boy," which will be out late in 2010.

The PR-B Community Read celebration will start at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, in the PR-B commons with a free, light supper. Weaver will be a guest speaker.

For more information on Weaver or his many young-adult and adult novels, visit www.willweaver.com.