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Family Portrait - Bonnie Brewster A family romance. (teen and adult)
This is a story of two romances - one is that of a teenage boy and the other is that of his single mother. The youngster struggles with the mysteries and wonders of first love and the mother basks in the revelations and wonders of mature love. It is a story of contrasts and a story of similarities. Interwoven is a suspenseful series of events in which the woman's former man friend strikes out violently against her and the boy. The new family grows strong and secure through the adversity.
CROSSROAD - Gary Hutchison (12 through adult)
A story of romance, mystery and renewal. The story is set in and around the Crossroad Café, an isolated, though friendly gathering place run by Gramps and his troubled, fourteen year old grandson, Tommy. Into this milieu, the author sets Jake, a confused and depressed old man, on a mission of revenge, and June, Tommy’s tutor - a widowed, retired, teacher. Absorbing relationships develop and are explored – Jake with Tommy, Jake with June, and Jake with the emotional battle raging within him. From the outset, Jake’s sole purpose in life to find and inflict the worst imaginable punishment on the elusive teenager, David Dalton – the local boy who will not be found.
Zephyr In Pinstripes: the nine year old boy with the size eighteen brain - Craig Franklin.
Nine through adult.
This is an autobiographical novel about Craigy, a boy genius, orphaned at two and raised by a remarkable elderly couple. Although race relations is an underlying theme, the focus of the book is on the year Craigy befriends Arnie, an uneducated though wise and caring mountain man. It explores the fascinating influences they have on each other. Craigy wanted most of all to be just a regular guy. "I prayed every night to wake up just average the next morning - a little taller and a whole lot dumber. It didn't happen." His time with Arnie came as close to feeling normal as the lad would ever know.
The Chipper of Oakton Villa – Gary Hutchison (age 11 thru adult)
Loveable Chip, and ever smiling, 12 ½ year old runaway, befriends and is befriended by an interesting assortment of six unhappy residents who reside in a rundown, depressing, rural, retirement home. A blue-eyed, long haired, blond, ragamuffin in appearance, Chip shares a story of parental abuse and neglect - one that leaves several of his 'new' old friends suspicious. Together they gradually discover the secrets of happiness and learn that neither brashness nor wisdom is necessarily the sole domain of either youth or old age. There is laughter and tears. There is heart stopping adventure and heartwarming tender moments. Some stories can't be neatly drawn to a tidy conclusion; The Chipper of Oakton Villa is one of those.
Ripples – Gary Hutchison (Teen and adult)
It has often been said that people sometimes stumble onto one another. In the case of Doc and Jaz that is how they first met. It was a cold, snowy, Wisconsin night in late December. Doc was approaching his 84th birthday. Jaz was 14 - far away from home, cold, alone, and hungry. The story details their relationship as it grows and matures. It illustrates the awesome power of love and compassion and the willingness to give of oneself for the benefit of others. When the worlds of a wise and generous old man collide with the world of a bright, rich, young, brat, things will change. This story chronicles some of those changes.
Sanity in Search of Peter Alexander – Garrison Flint (Teen and adult)
Peter Alexander – a kind, soft spoken, bookstore manager and writer - awakens to realize the week just past has been erased from his memory. A blackmail note suggests that he was videotaped killing someone. During the following ten days he records in a journal his every thought and emotional reaction as he plays cat and mouse with the note writer – an anonymous vigilante bent on killing him. The book presents the struggle, questions, terror, and even humor that arise within his mind as he searches for answers while, in his words, “I am moving closer and closer to that point of no return where one silently slips seamlessly from sanity into madness.”
My Unrelenting Darkness - Thomas Atherton (Teen and adult)
Jerry Wilson's memory had been erased. He suddenly awoke on a sidewalk in unfamiliar surroundings and to a bevy of strange faces. He had no real name, personal history, or known home base. As he emerged into that setting he was overtaken by a sense of terror. He felt certain that he was being pursued but whether that meant he was a good guy or a bad guy he had no clue. Each morning he awoke to but two certainties: His name was not really the one he had taken, Jerry Wilson, and that the terror would flood back through his being from where it had left him the night before. For twenty years he hid and moved and dodged and kept his secret. He refused most friendships for fear of putting others in harms way. He wanted so much to find out who he was and yet it was the most terrifying eventuality he could imagine. A true story.
The Weaving of Lelonia:envisioning an ideal society - Tom Gnagey (Mature teens and adults)
The
story is timeless – anywhere, anytime. In this instance the events
transpire in the tiny country of Lelonia, a bit larger than Belgium but
smaller than Switzerland. It has been in turmoil for several decades as
Leader after Leader seizes office, pillages the treasury, and escapes to
a safe-haven country. The
call goes out for citizens to submit plans to rebirth the country and
return it to the state of its pristine, productive, secure, past. A pair
of teenagers takes up the challenge, Marcus – brilliant, insightful,
optimistic – and his life long closest friend, Thomas – smarter than
average, well read, pessimistic. Being young, naive, and fully
inexperienced in the ways of politics, they possess all the major
qualifications needed to produce a fresh, practical, approach to
government. The
story, through a series of flashbacks and fast forwards, follows the
pair for several decades as the country rebuilds and flourishes. But
then . . .
The Box: Book One in the action/adventure David Lawrence Trilogy - Gary Hutchison
(Mature teen and adult) 400 pages
THEME: Some will ask if this is really an adventure story in which two unlikely heroes (a professor and his nephew) risk all as they struggle across five continents to save humanity from annihilation by deadly toxins. Or, is it a vigorous exploration of diametrically opposed philosophies?
FACT: Man, one of a billion species on Earth, through his arrogance and selfishness, is mindlessly yet systematically orchestrating the destruction of all life on the planet.
QUERY: Should the single species, man, not therefore be exterminated to save the other 999,999,999 species? Or, will we be willing to abruptly reverse our course and utilize our unique qualities of love, altruism, logic, and foresight to immediately begin establishing a suitable balance to sustain life in an equitable manner into the future? Do we, as an inhabitable planet, have a future?
The Map: Book Two in the David Lawrence Trilogy - Gary Hutchison
(Mature teen and adult) 348 pages
This story takes place between the other two in the trilogy. David and Kit are back in Brazil to retrieve the treasure they found in the underwater cave during their first visit. The plan is to recover the treasure and turn it over to the fund Kit founded for the orphaned, street kids across South America - a four day jaunt at best, they figure. Three weeks later they are still fending off pirates and risking life and limb as they seek to increase the booty for the needy orphans. Philosophic forays into religion, morals, and ethics abound.
The Strap: Book Three in the David Lawrence Trilogy - Gary Hutchison
(Mature teen and adult) 321 pages
Professor Lawrence and his nephew, Kit, find themselves globe trotting in search of clues in the kidnapping of eleven year old Ari Stephanopoulos VII - the grandson of a Greek ship building magnate. They visit many of the World's tiniest countries and hop from island to island across the Mediterranean Sea pursued by their would-be executioner - a maniacal, murderous, megalomaniac. The Strap explores and contrasts fear and joy as the basic motivators in man's psyche and describes the social system that each inescapable generates.
Red Grass at Twilight (a suspense novel) - Garrison Flint (12 through adult)
A bright, mild-mannered, middle aged man struggles to regain his memory while being forced to evade ugly adversaries who seem determined to stop him before that can occur. Why are so many people pursuing him? He is not at all certain which side of the law his antagonists are on and that leaves his own position in doubt - good guy or bad guy? Because of that uncertainty, he can't engage he help of the police. From the opening page in which he 'emerges from a dark cloud of nothingness' possessing only two bags and an all-encompassing sense of foreboding, to the final, nail-biting, terrifying scene high atop a hotel, the reader is kept guessing.
In Praise of the Commonplace - Grampa Gray
This humorous book takes a playfully philosophic look at modern day society, compared with 'the olden days.' The author employs an interesting combination of prose and old fashioned, bumpity, bump, bump verse. It was written primarily for other members of the gray-haired set. It champions old-fashioned values and pokes fun at the author's own foibles and human frailties. Grampa finds beauty and wonder in unique subjects:lint, cobwebs, housework, recycling, ants and , of course, growing old. There are a few belly laughs here, but mostly there are chuckles, smiles, nods of understanding, and a magnificent burst of life-affirming endorphins.
In Praise of Simple Pleasures - Grampa Gray
More homespun philosophy and humorous verse from Grampa Gray, folk poet to the Golden Generation. (Companion volume to the book - In Praise - just above.)
Tales About The Little People of the Ozarks - Four Books (below)
Now to an outsider, they may just seem to be part of one more fanciful folk tale, but to those of us who grew up in the Ozark Mountains, they are as real as you and me. Each is about as tall as a grape hyacinth. They are an altruistic clan, peaceful and loving by nature, who prefer the simple, uncomplicated, candle lit life of days gone by. These cheerful, contented, charitable little folks, thoughtfully go about practicing their magic in order to bring a happier life for the mortals who live near by. Though seldom seen, their presence is often felt by those who believe. Written for adults who cherish their childhood gone by. Also appreciated by young people from Jr. High age up.
BOOK ONE: Ring of the Farjumpers - Gary Hutchison
In Book One, the lives of a mortal lad and a Little Person boy are changed forever the day they meet and begin comparing notes on their very different Worlds. The books are best read in order since the story continues.
BOOK TWO: Man of the Clan - Gary Hutchison
This edition of the tale describes the struggles and the successes of Twiggs (the Little Person teen boy) during this first months of coping with his new responsibilities as a man of the Clan Dewgoodaby. He draws insightful comparisons between his culture and that of he Mortals. He finds himself in love - another set of struggles and delights. The story reminds us that growing up, though complex, need not be an unpleasant experience. Twiggs and Jay (the mortal boy) have wonder-filled conversations.
BOOK THREE: The Ambassador and the Touchperson - Gary Hutchison
The Ambassador and he Touchperson, Twiggs and Jay, begin their life-long series of official meeting between the two realms. They isolate and discuss a variety of problems, and attempt to devise reasonable, permanent, solutions. Their friendship continues to grow and to enhance both of their lives - both of their worlds. The book follows the boys to Twigggs' seventeenth birthday, which is just one week from Twiggs' wedding to his betrothed, Cinnamon.
BOOK FOUR: Twiggs and Cinnamon - Gary Hutchison
Twiggs and Cinnamon turn seventeen - the proper age for marriage in the land of the Little People. With marriage, comes all of the problems and all of the delights that accompany the early days of every marriage. They find they must balance time together with time apart, time pursuing their vocations with time to play, time to wonder and dream with time to fit themselves into the responsibility laden adult world. They find love, adventure, challenges, and risks. In the end, Twiggs is summoned before a special session of the Council of Elders - not usually a good thing!
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