About Ride The Fire Steve R. Hartwig:
Sometimes the thing you want most can lead you somewhere you never expected to go.
Julio is a young skateboarder growing up in Nicaragua with a dream that seems simple enough: he wants a better skateboard.
But getting what he wants isn’t so simple.
What begins with Julio’s determination to earn enough money for that skateboard gradually becomes a much larger journey—one filled with challenges, friendships, difficult choices, unexpected opportunities, and lessons that have little to do with skateboarding.
Ride the Fire follows Julio as he discovers that growing up means more than chasing the things you want. Along the way, he encounters people who challenge him, encourage him, and sometimes force him to look at himself differently. His choices begin to shape not only where he is going, but the kind of person he is becoming.
Set against the colorful backdrop of Nicaragua, the story brings readers into a world of neighborhoods, families, friendships, and skateboarding culture while exploring themes of perseverance, responsibility, faith, and hope.
At its heart, Ride the Fire is a coming-of-age story about a young man learning that dreams can change—and sometimes the road toward one dream leads to something far more important.
Julio begins his journey wanting a skateboard.
What he discovers along the way may change the direction of his life.
Buy the book:
Author Bio:
Steve R. Hartwig came to writing later in life, bringing with him decades of experiences, people, and places that eventually found their way into his stories.
After living in Central America for more than two decades, Steve has developed a particular affection for the people, culture, and everyday life of the region. Nicaragua has become more than the place where he lives—it has become an important part of his storytelling.
His books range from children’s stories to fiction for older readers. Ride the Fire grew from his interest in telling a coming-of-age story rooted in Nicaragua and centered around Julio, a young skateboarder whose determination to obtain the skateboard he wants sets him on a much larger journey.
Steve is also the author of Mateo and the Secrets of the Eternal Word, a middle-grade biblical adventure series about a twelve-year-old Nicaraguan boy who discovers an ancient book that allows him to witness biblical history firsthand.
Whether writing about a skateboarder navigating modern Nicaragua or a twelve-year-old witnessing events thousands of years in the past, Steve enjoys creating characters whose adventures lead them somewhere they never expected to go.
He lives and writes in Nicaragua—often at hours when more sensible people are asleep.