A Hog in a Log is about a young wild hog named Pog, who faces many obstacles while looking for a place to weather a bad storm that is approaching. This probably wouldn't bother most hogs but Pog is unique in the fact that he doesn't like to be cold or get wet.

Asked and Answered: Episode Three The Case of the Acrimonious Alliteration Nearly six years have gone by since a quartet of psychopaths were brought to justice. The crime-free years in Portsmouth brought Chief Wesley Frey high praise from the press and the citizenry alike, but his retirement banquet is planned. Who will be the new chief? Will it be someone promoted from the ranks or will the mayor and the city council bring in an out-of-town candidate? In either case, most thought it was t...

In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, a speaker, Marcellus, a guard, talks to his philosophical comrade, Horatio, saying, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” The reason of his saying this is just not that Denmark was facing dirt, but the situation in Denmark was similar to a fish that rots from head to tail, or in other words, it shows that everything was not good at the top of the political hierarchy. A similar situation is happening in Portsmouth as Chief Tim Slone is battlin...

Gone, but where? Episode Four Case of the Puzzling Similes Noble Alan Palmer was a resident of Portsmouth during the “asked and answered” serial murder case. He followed the case in the newspaper and on TV. He was envious of the notoriety that the media gave the killer. He wanted that fame for himself. But the thought of killing someone sickened him. He thought of his name, Noble Alan Palmer (NAP), then it hit him—Napper. He would become a serial kidnapper. He would be known as Nappy. When...

It is predawn as a young boy and girl sit on a hillside, awaiting the sun’s first rays to expose an outcrop of granite that, from a distance, resembles the profile of a man. The outcrop has been called for centuries the Old Man of the Mountain, or the Great Stone Face. (Note: For centuries, it has been a prophecy by local Indian tribes that a great man would appear some day with the same profile.) The young girl, Becky, believes the prophecy to be that if a young girl first sees the profil...

The New Guy in Town Episode Seven The Case of Uncovering Undercovers The setting is a roadhouse, The Lumberjack Inn, located in Cypress, a coastal town in Northern California. Cypress’s only entertainment is drinking at the inn on Friday nights. The Friday night crowd includes a reserved table for four of the surviving members of Cypress’s 1999 League Championship basketball team, including four of the cheerleaders. The missing teammate died in Iraq, allegedly by friendly fire. An empty ch...

In this third and concluding installment to the Salinas trilogy, we follow the cancer diagnosis, treatment, and death of Nina's mother Linda-the effect of which jolts the fate and fortitude of her entire family, testing their very will go on. It is, however, Linda's legacy of her fascination with, and love for birds, most notably one special red-tailed hawk she calls Guerrero Místico, that points the way to collective strength, resiliency, and hope. Such hope is not just for the L...

Growing up in a Spanish American culture in the American West at the turn of the twentieth century invites assimilation, a process made all the more conflicted through the evolving stages of individuation and the tensions of political correctness and hyphenated identities: Anglo-American, Spanish-American, Mexican-American, Native American, and the subcultures of Stompers, Pachucos, Chicanos, Cholos, Indios, and Squares. This book contains a dozen interconnected stories set against these l...

The Case of the Erroneous Homophone In the first of two episodes of The Blues of Portsmouth PD, your author introduces the nine fictitious but charismatic members of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Police Department: Chief Wesley Frey, fair and definitely in charge but facing retirement; the veterans, Desk Sgt. Joe Cooper and dispatcher and sergeant Sally Thorne, who have a love-hate relationship, add comic relief; Detective Lt. Tim Slone, who has a stammer until he deals with pressure; Det...

First published in 1974, this classic tale of friendship, courage, and the wild has captured hearts of all ages.In 1970, a young Indian who introduced himself as Gregory Tah-Kloma beached his canoe near the author's Babine Lake campsite in the backwoods of British Columbia. Night after night by the campfire, the young Indian told the remarkable story of his devotion to a pack of timber wolves and their legendary female leader: Náhani, "the one who shines." This ext...

“There wasn’t that many people, but they were good people.”--Madeline Gilles“First time I ever tasted cherries or even seen a cherry tree was [in White Bluffs]. Or ever ate an apricot or seen an apricot…It was covered with orchards and alfalfa fields.”--Leatris Boehmer ReidEuro-American Priest River Valley settlers turned acres of sagebrush into fruit orchards. Although farm life required hard work and modern conveniences were often spare, many former residents remember idy...

Silence is the foundation of everything...Have you ever listened to the Silence? Try it and you will hear a voice that is never silent.The voice of your heart.It tells you how special, strong, and unique you are because it brings with it the power given to every person on Earth to make his life a miracle of light and joy. Listen to the voice of your heart and look at the world around you through your heart.That is what Amanda and Stephan did in the first boo...