Spearfish Lake is just your ordinary northwoods town, with ordinary people living there – but that doesn’t stop them from having fun and adventure of many different kinds, sometimes odd and screwy, sometimes moving and heartwarming. The Spearfish Lake and Dawnwalker series are interconnected in several ways, with many ongoing characters spread over a period of decades. If you’re just getting started with the series it’s a good idea to read it in order to avoid spoilers.
In the middle of the worst snowstorm of the decade, the whole town was burning down. The only hope lay on two rusty steel rails... Railroad workers and firemen struggle against fire, storm, and failing equipment to battle a raging fire in an isolated northwoods town. This was written to show that a thrilling action-adventure yarn can be written without ANY sex or interpersonal violence. "G" rated, except for a little rough language.
A snake crawls out of a bathroom drain, and a woman kills it with her hair dryer... That's all it takes to set townspeople, media, crooked environmentalists, nudists, a country music singer, the federal government and a bunch of dogsledders to getting at each other's throats. Of course, nothing's quite normal in Spearfish Lake! (There's a little sex, but very little and not graphic.)
Two kids, a dream, and acres of dogs... Josh and Tiffany want to become dogsled racers. They just have to grow up first -- and learn about what they're doing along the way. A follow-on to Busted Axle Road, focusing on Josh and Tiffany's adventures.
Outdoor girl Scooter Whitsell has been reduced to watching a counter, instead of being out on the trails and rivers she loves so well. Then she gets a phone call from an old hiking buddy -- and she's on her way to her absolute dream job: a raft guide in the Grand Canyon! It isn't an easy job, but Scooter was never a girl that asked for things to be easy. She has to put aside normal things to make a life in the Grand Canyon -- but she wouldn't have it any other way!
Jon is white and Tanisha is black. They've lived together for five years, hiding from a wrathful father and a vindictive brother. Despite some trepidations, they love their new lives, jobs, and friends. When their best friend is involved in a nationally publicized incident, discovery seems likely. Dealing with that requires resourceful thinking and direct action, but things are not always as they seem. As a result, their lives will change more than they can imagine.
Book 7 of the Dawnwalker Cycle: Randy's friends get to go places and have adventures while he's still young, but he has to stay home and work. The job is important to his family and to him. It's eating up his life to the point where it's not even worth trying to plan something fun -- if he does something will probably come up to interfere with it. His wife feels his anger, and so do some of his friends, but there's not much they can do about it... or is there?
As he approaches thirty, Randy faces new challenges and responsibilities. He's matured since college and has come to accept that many of his desires aren't possible. His first child is on the way, his grandfather's health is fading fast, and his sister is having family problems. It's clear that he will soon own Clark Construction as well as run it. Will the years of preparation for the new challenges be enough? How well will he meet those challenges when they arise?
The horizons in Spearfish Lake seem to close in on Susan McMahon after she returns from spending her junior year as an exchange student in Germany. She speaks several languages fluently and has a wider view of the world than most. Now she’s finding it hard to fit back into the town where she grew up, since her year away from school is causing her problems. But, it’s not a good idea to cross Susan or her family, as they don’t take stupidity lying down. Updates Tuesday and Friday.
