Young Adult
My son Shaun had a friend who lived with his grandparents. He rarely visited his divorced parents who lived in different parts of the country. He was a very nice boy, and I often wondered what his full story was and why he was living where he was. I never did get the information I wanted, but as is often the case, I supplied my own answers with this tale of a boy who tries to find his parents.
Very few of my stories are based on things I really have done. Most spring from thoughts, feelings, things I hear about--all mixed around and molded by my imagination. This story, however, is based on something that really happened to me. That is, when an adult, I received a frightening phone call quite like the one that starts off this book. It was--to say the least--very disturbing.
When detectives and lawyers work on a case, they try to gather together all the evidence so as to get to the truth. That collection of evidence is called "Discovery." Discovery, was the title of this book when I was first working on it.
Once upon a time--it was the last day of a Labor Day weekend--I was about to drive my family home. We had been visiting with my parents. My son, Kevin, had been complaining about going back to school. Then, just as we were getting into the car, ready to go, he vanished.
I have always been fascinated by herons. They seem so calm, so beautiful, so alone. It is almost as if they possess some kind of magic, the magic of patience, contentment, and being beautiful. What, I wondered, would happen if some kid--a girl in this case--who cared for such a bird, discovered that someone was trying to kill it? What would she do? This book is the answer to that question.
Stories come about in different way. THE CHRISTMAS RAT began as a short story that would not stay short. Besides, I love Christmas, and have a particular fondness for Christmas stories. But this is a bit different. It combines a real Christmas story with something rather scary, a mix of the terrifying and satisfying to suggest a Christmas Eve tale unlike you have ever read before.
