Hi everyone,
RACHEL KERSEY, my editor for THIS LIFE reports that the publishing branch of Ingram has gone silent on her about the fancier version of the book they committed to print several months ago. We’ve been waiting for the special paper to arrive and expecting delivery of the new printing in January or February. At this time we are assuming that this isn’t going to happen.
My apologies to those of you who have been waiting for the Ingram edition before ordering your copy. Rachel is in the process of seeking another publisher so that we can still make THIS LIFE available online, but for now your best bet is to order from the original version published by Ozark Studies Institute at https://ozarksstudies.missouristate.edu/book-series.htm It’s well done and in stock.
I’m grateful to those who have sent or posted such nice comments about the book, my lifelong adventure toward becoming a writer of books for young people and teachers. Here’s an excerpt from one of the stories.
CHAPTER 8
On the other side of the road across from the Pauly farm lay a large field. The owner lived in another state and paid little attention to his property. In summer the weeds grew so high you had to shove your way through them. On the far side of the field, two large mounds of white rocks rose into the air like small mountains. They marked the spot where in the 1800’s there had been a lead mining operation. Billy had heard that a guy was killed in a mining accident around 1920 and the mine had shut down. All that remained of it were those enormous piles of broken up limestone. Billy’s persuasive begging worked on his mother and we were allowed to set off across that field toward the promise of adventure.
We made the trip to the mine more than once the summer we were twelve. A major attraction was the discovery of large lead crystals scattered here and there among the rock rubble that glistened in the sun with metallic light. We accumulated a treasure trove of the crystals and kept them hidden away in a spot no one would ever find. Later, we couldn’t find them, either. But the main reason we went back was the cave. We had been told there was a cave near the mine tailings that opened like a hole in the ground and had been boarded over for years. We had also been warned to stay away from it. Naturally, finding the cave became our mission.
We eventually discovered the rotting framework of the wooden cover and managed to shove it aside. The entrance went straight down for ten feet before the entrance to a tunnel angled off to one side. Sometime in the past, the sides had been walled up with stone. With our 6th grade ingenuity, we tied a rope around the trunk of a nearby crabapple tree and climbed down the rope to the floor. We used flashlights to explore the tunnel back several yards to a good-sized room where water dripped and we filled our pockets with fossils that stuck out from the stone walls and littered the floor. That’s where we should have stopped. Instead, we found a small tunnel scarcely larger than our bodies and wondered where it led. Billy wormed his way into the entrance and I followed. Not far into the tight quarters, Billy let out a low whistle.
“There’s a skull up here!” he whispered. “Somebody was murdered in here!”
Children's Author David L. Harrison's Blog 