Timothy M. Buchanan

Nothing teaches you about life like a story.

The Apprentice Trilogy

The Apprentice Trilogy — The Apprentice, The Journeyman, and The Craftsman by Timothy M. Buchanan

Have Timothy Speak at Your School or Library →

The Apprentice Trilogy

One young man. Three journeys to become who he's meant to be.

This trilogy is about a journey every person travels in life. Readers laugh, they cry, and they see their own life as they follow the story of a young furniture maker, Hans, hoping to find a life that matters. He soon learns that others don't always share your dream, and some even try to defeat it. Hans learns there is more to this journey than success. Every father and son should read this series! Come along for an amazing journey…

A clean, wholesome read for the whole family: no profanity, no sexual content, no gore (just real stakes, and a few boyhood skirmishes along the way).

The Apprentice: The Courage to Seek — book cover by Timothy M. Buchanan
Book One

The Apprentice

The Courage to Seek
Every masterpiece begins with a single, uncertain cut… Hans has always known the weight of wood in his hands, the scent of fresh pine in the air, and the dream of greatness in his heart. As a teen, he dares to chase what others only whisper about — becoming the youngest master craftsman to make furniture for the king.
Read moreBut talent alone isn't enough. To carve his name into history, Hans must first shape himself.

Sent away to finish his apprenticeship, Hans steps into a world far larger — and far harsher — than his quiet village. Relationships splinter. Truths are sanded down. And the lessons of life, love, loss, and legacy begin to strike with the force of a chisel. What begins as a journey of craft soon becomes a test of soul.

This is a powerful coming-of-age saga that follows a young man on the most unpredictable, painful, and profound journey of all: life itself.
"Every day, you find reasons to doubt yourself and get tempted to seek the approval of others."
— from The Apprentice
“Masterful storytelling, what an enjoyable read. My kids loved it too.”
“If you love JRR Tolkien & CS Lewis, you will love The Apprentice. Fabulous read & great message!”
“A perfect book for the whole family.”
— Amazon customer reviews
The Journeyman: The Courage to Act — book cover by Timothy M. Buchanan
Book Two

The Journeyman

The Courage to Act
The harder the challenge, the greater the lesson… In this second installment of a life-changing trilogy, Hans has taken the next bold step on the path to mastery — no longer an apprentice, but a journeyman, forging his craft under the watchful eye of his most challenging teacher yet.
Read moreBut this is more than learning to shape wood with precision. Every task and project hides a deeper lesson, a reflection of life's complexities that Hans must decode for himself.

As he struggles against time, honing his skills, Hans discovers that the most difficult challenges don't always lie in the workshop. Haunted by the memory of Heidi, the girl he left behind, and torn by choices that could shape his future forever, he must balance his growing ambition with the aching weight of what he might be losing.

In a world where even the simplest tasks can carry hidden meaning, Hans must ask himself: can he truly become a master if he doesn't first master who he is? The journey continues, with harder lessons, deeper consequences, and the pursuit of a dream that may cost more than he ever imagined.
"It is not the failure that defines you; it is how you act when faced with it."
— from The Journeyman
“Everyone will enjoy this read! BUY it.”
— Amazon customer review
The Craftsman: The Courage to Live — book cover by Timothy M. Buchanan
Book Three

The Craftsman

The Courage to Live
He chased the dream. Now he must fight to keep it alive. Hans is now a recognized craftsman. But the title is only the beginning. The world beyond his training is harsher than he expected.
Read moreClients demand perfection. Rivals play dirty. And dreams are easily splintered.

As Hans struggles to build his business, he finds that talent alone won't be enough to survive. An old enemy returns with unexpected intentions, and a new one emerges who will stop at nothing to see Hans fail. In a world ruled by power, deception, and ruthless ambition, Hans must learn to be more than just a master of wood — he must become a master of himself.

Is his vision strong enough to withstand the pressure? Can he protect what he's built without losing who he is? And will his work ever be worthy of the king's castle, or will it be buried beneath the weight of betrayal?

In this powerful final installment of the trilogy, the boy who once dreamed of glory must now stand as a man in the storm. Some crafts are built with tools. Others, with courage.
"Real dreams are built by embracing the ones you have every day, knowing that the gift of today will never be repeated again."
— from The Craftsman
“An intriguing book with practical ideas to build character.”
— Amazon customer review

Also available for library ordering via IngramSpark.

For Parents of Tweens and Teens

Have Timothy speak at your library, book club, or school.

How Fiction Can Shape Young Lives

Harper Lee didn't lecture readers about justice and empathy in To Kill a Mockingbird; she let them live inside Scout's world and learn it for themselves. Research now confirms why that works: children absorb values more deeply by living a story than by being told a lesson.

Tim shares invaluable insights and ideas on how stories can shape healthy lives in kids. This is a presentation that will build a new excitement for reading.

Inquire About Availability

One email. I read every one myself, and I'll write back.
303.517.0129  ·  timothy@timothymbuchanan.com

Stories change your mind by way of your heart.

Coming Soon

The Drifter Trilogy

The Drifter — Book One of the Drifter Trilogy by Timothy M. Buchanan, cover mockup

Our story begins with a young college student finding a series of journals chronicling the life of a young man named Pete. The journals begin during the Civil War, as Pete watches his father go off to fight. By his eighteenth birthday, Pete is on his way to serve time in the U.S. territorial prison in Laramie, Wyoming.

How do you recover from that? Sign up below to be one of the first to know when the first book in this trilogy is published.

Life Skills Curriculum

Values Based Success

Values Based Success, Volume 1: Building Your Baseline — book cover

Volume 1 · Building Your Baseline

A hands-on workbook built on Tim's Name It, Own It, Do It™ process — twelve foundational values, from honesty to self-control to teachability, developed through weekly reading, discussion, and reflection.

Volume 1 is available now, with additional volumes planned.

Tim visits schools and libraries for author talks and reading events built around the trilogy. For his full speaking and training programs, see the education side of this site.

Speaking & Author Visits →
Timothy M. Buchanan — author of The Apprentice Trilogy
The Story Behind the Story

Ask the people who've worked with Timothy over the years, and they'll tell you the power of his message is in his ability to be a masterful storyteller.

A career spent in classrooms and boardrooms taught him the same lesson twice: people of every age are wrestling with the same questions, and a good story answers them better than a lecture ever could. That belief — that Values, People, Purpose are the building blocks of a fulfilling life — is the thread underneath everything he writes.

He lives in Olin, Iowa, with his wife, where he's at work on a second trilogy — and still finds his way into a classroom or a library every chance he gets.

Common Questions

What Readers & Educators Ask

What age group is The Apprentice Trilogy written for?
It's coming-of-age fiction written for tweens and teens, and enjoyed by adult readers as well: many families read it together.
Is The Apprentice Trilogy clean and appropriate for young readers?
Yes. It's a clean, wholesome read: no profanity, no sexual content, and no gore, just real stakes and a few boyhood skirmishes along the way.
Can libraries and schools order The Apprentice Trilogy?
Yes. All three books are available for library and classroom ordering through IngramSpark, in addition to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Bookshop.org.
Does Timothy visit schools and libraries?
Yes: author talks and reading events built around the trilogy, including a presentation for parents called "How Fiction Can Shape Young Lives." Inquire about availability →
Is The Drifter Trilogy available yet?
Not yet: it's currently in progress. Sign up in the newsletter below to be notified when the first book publishes.
What is the Values Based Success workbook?
A companion workbook built on the Name It, Own It, Do It process, covering twelve foundational values through weekly reading, discussion, and reflection. Volume 1 is available now. See a sample lesson →

Great stories teach you things that change your life.