Angie Reinoehl/MDN Authors Todd Gunderson, left, and Troy Gunderson, right, came back to their hometown on June 30 for a book-signing event.

Todd and Troy Gunderson are Minot natives who recently found literary success both with the publication of books. The twins recently reunited in their hometown for a book signing. Todd has written a series entitled, “The Willow City Boys,” and Troy just released his first book, “The Prairie Comrade.”

“Just trying to get a spark because eventually enough sparks will start a fire, that’s how I look at it,” said Todd.

Troy and Todd are identical twin brothers whose lives have paralleled in many ways, both large and small. Troy and Todd both work with youth, Troy has been the Youth for Christ director in Jamestown for 25 years and Todd has been a Cleveland, Tennessee-based teacher for 27 years. Both have creative, hands-on side businesses, Todd does woodworking and Troy does upholstery and photography.

The similarities don’t end there, they even go down to gas station snacks, their “twin telepathy” triggered during their separate treks back to Minot when they both picked up pumpkin seeds to stay awake, a snack that neither of them regularly eats. Todd joked that when one of them ate beans, the other farted. The uncanny similarities ran deeper when unbeknownst to each other they simultaneously decided to start writing books.

Troy’s work, Youth for Christ, partnered with The Arts Center in Jamestown where he tagged along to a workshop about writing short stories. During this workshop the spark for what became his debut book flickered. The short story sat on a shelf for a few years. Troy mulled over what story he wanted to tell when the spark flickered brighter, and it was time to just write it.

Four years ago, Todd, who at the time was teaching fifth grade reading and writing in Tennessee. Todd had realized that he wanted his students to read something that he wrote. That’s when he received a call from Todd, who announced he was writing a book. They were both shocked that their “twin telepathy” had struck again.

“He said, in perfect brother language, ‘Shut up.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘Who told you?’ I said, ‘Who told me what?’ He goes, ‘I’m writing a book.’ We both as twins decided to write a book, unbeknownst to each other,” Troy said.

Troy said he appreciated that he could look to his brother for guidance while going through the wringer that’s having a manuscript edited and published.

“It was a hard process. Publishing, nobody does anything for you. You just have to persevere the best you can,” said Todd. During the process his book was edited three or four times. Even after receiving several proofs of his books, he still kept noticing mistakes and fixing them so that he could present a nearly finished manuscript to the publisher, which is then edited again. Troy said the lengthy, and sometimes painful process is humbling.

“He helped me navigate a little bit of that. So, I was glad he learned the hard way, so I didn’t have to,” quipped Troy.

The brothers did say that being published is a challenge, but another difficult hurdle is getting books on the shelves of libraries and public schools. Through Todd’s 27 years of experience in education, he knew that the next step was to get his first book added to the Accelerated Reader booklist. The Accelerated Reader (AR) program is used in many schools nationwide as a part of the reading curriculum where students can read a book and complete a quiz in place of a traditional book report, as a result, many libraries greatly favor books that are AR approved.

Todd said that the AR program is extremely picky with the books they curate, which was proven when his initial request to have his book “The Hairy Farmer’s Daughter,” was rejected. He didn’t give up. During Christmas break he wrote 12 personal letters to the board members and CEO of the AR program. By striking those sparks, he gained the attention of the AR program curator who gave the book a second chance and approved it.

Both brothers let their hometown roots show in their books, both having work set in North Dakota. Troy enjoys highlighting the same natural phenomenon that he captures in his landscape photography in his book, “The Prairie Comrade,” like the northern lights, sundogs and frosty trees. Todd’s series, “The Willow City Boys,” takes advantage of the ’50s small-town setting to create wholesome mysteries.

The brothers now embark on the long road of networking to get their books into more libraries and bookstores, and into the hands of kids.

“Just trying to start the sparks so we can get the forest fire to go,” said Todd.