Mountain-time Learns to Surf

Mountain-Time, the alter ego of Bosley Prohaska, was born out of stories told to Aaron Prohaska’s kids. As his kids aged, they requested the Mountain-Time stories be translated onto paper. These stories have entertained and educated his kids since 2006, and it is hoped that you will enjoy them as much as they have. Mountain-Time Learns to Surf takes our hero on a journey to the beach for a surf lesson. Along the way, he encounters the town of Icantduet which is tormented by the I Can't Gang. Mountain-Time makes friends with the locals of the town but their “I Can’t” attitude starts to rub off on him. Mountain-Time starts to question his own abilities and almost gives up on his surfing quest. Luckily, the surf instructor is wise to the I Can't Gang and helps Mountain-Time discover that effort and practice can thwart the nasty I Can't Gang. Mountain-Time realizes that though each person of town feels they can’t do things for various reasons, they all face the base challenge of simply thinking that the can’t. Mountain-Time Country Dog sets off to share his new-found knowledge with his friends in the little town of Icantduet. The story simplifies the steps of overcoming such an attitude but the author challenges the adults and children reading the book to discuss the topic and explore the effects this type of attitude plays in real life in the Author’s Notes section of the book. Overall, the book has lots of bright colors, silly images, and a fun protagonist that the whole family can love. Though the story has plenty of silly moments, there is an underlying message that any parent or guardian should be able to support.

Aaron loves to tell stories, especially to his kids. When his kids asked him to write down the stories, he leaped at a chance to author and illustrate them even though he had little experience at either art form. Aaron believes fear of failure is not a good reason to not try and if he doesn’t know something, he can learn it. Aaron is excited that his children’s series of books could be available to kids around the world, entertaining youthful minds and promoting interaction between guardian and child. He hopes that when adults read these books alongside their children, they will invoke interesting and profound conversation. Aaron’s focus for the near future is to produce more books in the Adventures of Mountain-Time Country Dog series, but he hopes to bring young adult and adult level stories in the upcoming years. The Adventures of Mountain-Time series is based on the family dog, Bosley, who is said to have an alter ego named Mountain-Time Country Dog. The kids would beg for these stories, especially during long car trips. Aaron liked to say, “no, no, I can’t think of another one.” Then he would pause and sing out the theme song, “Mountain-Tiiiime, Little Mountain-Tiime, Mountain-Time Country dog…” and the kids would cheer and sing along. The stories were always made up on the fly and if a story was retold, there would be little differences in each telling. Bosley is getting up in years so it was important to Aaron to have the first story published in 2017 so that the little Boston Terrier has a chance to experience love from fans beyond the family. Aaron is sure that other children will love the character as much as his own kids.