About the Author
Kale grew up on a farm in eastern Kansas with his family, where he enjoys spending time outdoors gardening and collecting fossils. He often takes vacations to national parks to learn about the natural world. He has been telling stories throughout his life, and began writing his first book in seventh grade. Kale has now graduated high school, and is attending Fort Hays State University studying paleontology and working at the Sternberg Museum (where you can also find his book). When he's not in school, he's travelling to far-flung places for paleontology internships. Gone to the Great Dying is his debut novel.
To contact Kale, email him at kalelink.author@gmail.com or follow him on Facebook at Kale Link, Author.
FHSU students are welcome to contact Kale if they're interested in purchasing his book.
The Story Behind the Story
The first draft of Gone to the Great Dying was written in 2017, when I was in 7th grade. However, I recently found a notebook with the very first outlines of my story... that I wrote all the way back in 5th grade. The idea of time-traveling teenagers was clearly an idea that simply wouldn't leave me alone. I couldn't get it out of my head, so I decided to put it to paper (or a computer, at least). I often had free time in my 7th grade health class (thanks Mr. Butler), and it was then that I began to write my story. As summer approached, I lost my access to a reliable computer. Instead, I spent the summer (and subsequent summers) typing away on our personal computer, which is so old, it might as well be a fossil (and believe me, I know fossils).
Years passed, and I came back to the story now and then, always changing things, but as I matured, I realized that I might actually have something worth sharing. It was Mrs. DeWeese, my gifted teacher, that encouraged me to keep working and publish it. By my junior year, I felt ready to share it with some of my friends and fellow book-readers. It was scary sharing my work, but once I did, I couldn't get enough of it. I made it my goal to publish the book before graduating high school, and even though it took well into the summer, I would consider the whole process a success.
Since then, I've had the privilege of speaking at several libraries and schools, as well as presenting at the Scholarly and Creative Activity Days hosted by FHSU. My book has also made its way into three bookstores and two museums. Since publication, I have sold nearly 400 physical copies of my books. Many more hundreds of people have read it on Kindle Unlimited, including a few from Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Kale is an avid adventurer. Below are a few pictures of him conducting field research for the desert setting of his book, as well as pursuing his passion for paleontology.
Hiking alone in White Sands National Park, New Mexico
A picture from the tallest dune at Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Getting a taste of paleontology at the Sternberg Science Camps
Working at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park as an intern