Bolt’s Story – A prequel to the Mad River Magic series
Bolt’s Story is the story behind the story of the main character in the Mad River Magic series, Bolt Owen. He is described as the “red-headed daredevil on crutches who lives next door,” but there is much more to Bolt than that. Who is Bolt? Where did he come from? How did he become the leader of the Mad River Magic gang? Who are his mother and step-dad? How did his father’s death change Bolt’s life at an early age? How did he meet Gram and Gramps and become part of the family? Learn about a cycle of depression that almost took him under, and the young doc in a wheel chair who showed him how to live. Watch Bolt’s journey through a devastating physical handicap, Becker Muscular Dystrophy. Then rejoice with him when he finally learns how to fly and learns how to face the many challenges in his life.
The Hemlock Aperture – #1 in the Mad River Magic series
The Hemlock Aperture introduces Bolt and the Mad River Magic gang. A middle-grade fantasy, this book is set in rural Ohio along the Mad River. Seven grandchildren and Bolt (the kid next door) spend their summers with Gram and Gramps practicing Shawnee Indian magic, traveling in flying barrel carts, and swimming in the magic pond at the back of the enchanted forest. When an evil force opens an aperture at the back of the enchanted forest, the gang is swept into a world draped in all shades of gray – the Strata – where good and evil compete to influence behavior back in the “real” world. The gang must use their wit and magic to navigate the traps, find Omni (ruler of light), and battle Extor (ruler of night) if they are to return to their families and the enchanted forest.
The Tetra~Chrome Spiral~Skyway – #2 in the Mad River Magic series
While the rest of the country is being soaked with the wettest spring in history, Ohio’s Mad River Valley is turning into a desert. When Bolt and the gang discover that their rain and ground water are disappearing into an evil cloud system, they must find a portal into that system. After a death-defying flight to the clouds a mile above the valley, the gang finds a bizarre world centered around a giant DNA molecule and inhabited by strange, fuzzy, bottle-brush-like creatures. High above the valley below, they must overcome their fear and use their magic, wit, and determination to travel the spiraling roller coaster skyway to learn about “the code,” water, and origins. They must find what is happening to their water and divert it back to the valley below, all without a safety net.
Cryptoflux Calcium Caper – #3 in the Mad River Magic series
Shrinking stalactites in the caverns, disappearing mortar lines in the county courthouse, and double-circle sink holes piercing the farmland, the Mad River Valley is falling apart, and the Mad River magic gang is called into action. When the gang discovers that calcium is the common denominator and sees suspicious activity near a hidden cave along the river, they go underground. Watch as they navigate a skeletal series of dark slimy chambers. Scratch your head as they use a new law of physics. Sit on the edge of your seat as they battle an out-of-this-world invisible villain. Gasp as they discover the villain’s bizarre enterprise that is consuming the calcium. And hold your breath as the gang attempts to destroy the villain, restore the calcium deficit, and save the foundation and bedrock of the Mad River Valley community.
Heart Brain 180 – #4 in the Mad River Magic series
Bolt and the gang enter the Heart World to rescue his mom and discover the dangers of cell phone addiction. In fact, they uncover a plot to control the world–one person at a time.
Are you at risk? Will you be pulled into the Heart World, a world that exists in a giant circulatory system, a world inhabited by giant playing cards and chess pieces, and a world where your heart and brain will receive a deep and thorough reset–whether you want it or not?
Read the book if you want in. Follow the Mad River Magic gang if you want to learn how to get out.
Guard your brain, and hang on to your heart!
United We Stand, Dude! – #5 in the Mad River Magic series
United We Stand, Dude, the fifth book in the Mad River Magic series takes the gang through a bottomless lake and into the skin world, where a maniacal ruler is segregating his people, spreading his influence and control into the entire global community, and creating division between students, families, coworkers, and all citizens, even friends; all based on skin color.
The gang explores this bizarre world and is assisted by a slave girl and a rebellious cowboy. But, ultimately, they must find a healer who can give them the secret to destroying the maniac tyrant, if they are to survive and return to the Mad River Valley where they can begin a revolution of unification and healing.
Paul Ervin’s Pilgrimage – an autobiography
In 2009 I edited my father’s autobiography/memoir, highlighting his years of service during WWII. Paul Ervin recounts his growing-up years in the western U.S. during the dust bowl, following his family from one failed farm to another. Thrust into adulthood at the age of 19, when his father dies, he helps build an irrigation system in Idaho, then WWII calls him to service. He chooses to serve through his church and the United Nations. He is assigned to help run a Yugoslav refugee camp in Egypt, but first he must get there, no small feat since all transatlantic traffic from the U.S. is restricted to military. And thus begins Paul Ervin’s pilgrimage – an adventure that takes him through the Caribbean to Brazil, where he takes a huge pontoon plane to Africa, then hitch-hikes on military planes across Africa to Egypt. After the war, he serves in Ethiopia, where he builds a hospital, that later becomes a mission and a large denomination of the Christian church. His service in Africa spanned only a few short years, but Paul Ervin called it the highlight of his spiritual journey.
A collection of short stories written by winners of the first “Storming the Short Story” contest. My story, “A Rumspringa Storm,” follows young Ruth Yoder as she struggles with relationships and makes decisions for her future that will take her to a whole new world. Will she find a purpose and meaning for life with her new family?
A collection of short stories written by the winners of the second “Storms” contest. This anthology contains two of my stories. “Fred and Ginger” shows a widower’s awakening when a new dance instructor intrudes on his boring life. “The Dance of the Light Brigade,” science fiction, follows a young officer as he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save Planet Earth.
A collection of short stories written by winners of the third Storming the Short Story contest. My story, “Thomas and the Magic Gold Dust,” follows a young boy’s struggle with faith as he deals with weak legs and crutches, helping support his mother after his father’s death, and an enterprising priest who is selling a suspicious healing dust.
CHILDHOOD REGAINED: Stories of Hope for Asian Child Workers
A charity anthology, this collection of short stories was compiled by editor, Jodie Renner, to raise money for groups working to end child labor in Asia. The stories not only raise awareness of the horrible conditions children are forced to work in, but also give hope that change is possible. My three stories were written at the invitation of the editor: “Sanjay’s Mountain” shows a young boy’s courageous escape from a carpet shack and his journey through higher education to serve his own people in Nepal. “River of Life” shows a young orphan’s creative use of welding tools and the help of his friends to escape a junkyard imprisonment and begin a new life. “Frozen Tears” follows a young girl as all emotion is drained from her life in the sex trade, in a collapsing sewing factory, and finally a switched identity and escape. Following years of rehabilitation and education, she finds hope and purpose and regains the ability to experience emotion once again.
Great website, Steve. It inspires me to do some upgrading on my own.