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Coming Soon- North Country Quest
North Country Quest by Joan H. Young North Country Cache is the rest of the adventure begun in North Country Cache, which will complete my hike of the entire North Country Trail, including Vermont. Discounted pre-orders being taken. Download the form "The world moves too fast at car speed," I grumble into the tape recorder, the annoyance clear in my voice. North Country Cache ended with an eagle "seeing" the whole trail. North County Quest begins with a grasshopper who can't see where it's going. Two heavy green thighs push out, then thrust backward in unison, propelling the slim body of the grasshopper through the water with a frog kick. I laugh out loud at the absurdity of its cross-species motions. Who knew that grasshoppers can swim? He has taken on a daunting task, this little summer insect, to swim across a creek hundreds of times the length of his body. I wonder if he is even aware of the far bank, or is he just responding in desperation to an unintended watery landing after a careless jump? I feel a bit like a grasshopper myself. Here I am again, sitting in the damp vegetation on the bank of some unnamed creek, soaking my hot feet and eating a crackers-and-cheese lunch in the middle of a hiking day, in the middle of a hiking life, in the middle of a hiking trail. The trail is, of course, the North Country National Scenic Trail, and I'm beginning a theoretical second half of my quest to hike the whole thing... |
North Country Cache
 North Country Cache: Adventures on a National Scenic Trail by Joan H. Young. New York to North Dakota, snow- banks or blazing sun, afternoon strolls and backpacking treks, Young serves up an eclectic collection of essays chronicling 2300 miles of hikes on the longest footpath in the United States, the North Country National Scenic Trail. Click the picture to read a sample. Paperback, 402 pages, color pictures. Read what others are saying about North Country Cache
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 News from Dead Mule Swamp by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery, introducing Anastasia Raven. Anastasia Raven is running from the pain of a failed marriage and hopes to hide from the world in an old farmhouse she has purchased at the edge of Dead Mule Swamp. When a hundred-year-old newspaper she finds inside a wall is stolen by Cliff Sorenson, and then Cliff disappears, Ana is convinced the paper holds the key to the mystery. But what old news could be important enough to put Cliff in danger? Click the picture to read a sample, 35,007 words |
 The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery. Anastasia Raven finds a secret hidden in a hollow tree near Dead Mule Swamp. She thinks she's seeing things, as the discovery appears to have come straight from a Nancy Drew story. With some simple sleuthing, Ana catches Jimmie Mosher, whose grandfather used to own the house she has recently purchased, hiding money in the tree. But what else does Jimmie have to hide? Click the picture to read a sample, 15,000 words |
 Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery. When Anastasia Raven agrees to keep Paddy, an Irish Setter, for the summer, she doesn't understand the mischievous nature of a large puppy. As a volunteer, she meets Corliss Leonard, and his granddaughters Star and Sunny, whose mother disappeared seven years ago. The girls fall in love with Paddy, but can the dog solve their problems? Click the picture to read a sample, 56,200 words |
 Bury the Hatchet in Dead Mule Swamp by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery. Anastasia Raven opens a box containing a bloody hatchet, apparently sent as some sort of warning to her friend Cora and Cora’s ex-husband. When a hacked-up body is discovered in the Petite Sauble River at the small village of Jalmari, everyone is stunned at the victim’s identity. Continued puzzling discoveries just don’t add up. Ana discovers herself agreeing to participate in a zany conspiracy with a tall and handsome man. Click the picture to read a sample, 75,600 words |
 Dead Mule Swamp Druggist by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery. Anastasia Raven has settled comfortably into life in Forest County. As in any community, obituaries are published each week. Suddenly, it appears that four deaths which occurred over the past year were not so ordinary and may be linked by overdoses of oxycodone. Charlie Dixon, the druggist, is in the spotlight. What did a healthy middle-aged CPA, an elderly car dealer, a mentally challenged handyman, and a young artisan have in common? Was it just coincidence that they filled prescriptions days before they died? Why would Charlie want to kill these four people? Why would Charlie want to kill any one of these people? Ana takes on a new role in the community which gives her the credentials to look into the deaths. Her investigations lead her to uncover some of the darker aspects of small town life. Friends Cora and Jerry Caulfield, Adele Volger, and young Jimmie Mosher are never far from the action. Click the picture to read a sample, 77,100 words |
 Dead Mule Swamp Mistletoe by Joan H. Young. A cozy mystery. Anastasia Raven accepts an invitation to accompany her friends Cora and Jerry on a Christmas ski holiday at the historic Janes Mill Bed and Breakfast. The rambling Victorian house, deep within Thousand Lakes State Forest, is being renovated by the new owners, Frank and Betty Farnsworth, who want to show off the beautiful home and location. A winter storm isolates the party. What could possibly go wrong? Ana is joined by her son Chad on this adventure, and Jimmie Mosher's family joins the fun and mayhem to cater the party as Cherry Blossom Cuisine. Click the picture to read a sample, 64,900 words |
| The Dubois Files combine adventure and mystery without being violent or dark. They are set in the mid twentieth century when moral standards were generally expected to be upheld, and the children I've invented will sometimes be presented with opportunities to choose between right and wrong.
The series springboards from the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys model. However, in this era of extreme political correctness, those classic series are being retro-analyzed as racist. It is my desire to promote diversity and inclusiveness, and yet, I do not believe that re-writing history is honest. Every decade or century is tarnished in various ways. Some of these societal flaws will appear in the stories. The primary characters in these books include Jimmie Mosher, of English descent; Cora Dubois with a Finnish mother and French father; Laszlo Szep, the son of a Hungarian tenant farmer; and George and Ruby Harris, a brother and sister of African-American ancestry. These ethnicities fit into the time and place without straining credulity. Of course, the extended families, and associated problems, will come into the plots. You will find the Dubois Files to be entertaining, but also morally strong and educational. | ||
 The Secret Cellar by Joan H. Young. A children's mystery, Set in the 1950s, Cora Dubois, Jimmie Mosher and their friends, Laszlo, George, and Ruby, discover they have a talent for getting to the bottom of local mysteries. Each book includes a "forgotten" craft or skill, and may address social/moral issues of the mid-twentieth century. In The Secret Cellar (Dubois Files book #1), Jimmie's family is in danger of losing their farm to the bank. Old Granny May seems to be trying to tell them something, but maybe she's just losing her mind. Click the picture to read a sample, 13,800 words |
 The Hitchhiker by Joan H. Young. A children's mystery. In The Hitchhiker (Dubois Files book #2), Cora's family gives a hitchhiker a ride. He didn't seem to speak English, and Cora's mother thought he was ill. Then Jimmie went exploring and found more than he expected. The hitchhiker was not only sick, but he wanted the children to help him. If only they could have understood what he was saying! It took four of them to solve his problem. Click the picture to read a sample, 17,000 words |
 The ABZ Affair by Joan H. Young. A children's mystery. George Harris liked writing messages in secret code. In August of 1953, he learned one that was tough to crack, and taught it to his sister Ruby, and then to his friends Jimmie Mosher and Cora Dubois. When the four of them were offered a job picking up trash at the Cherry Pit Junction canning factory, someone listened in on their conversation and stole a coder. The children were playing games, but what were the adults up to? Click the picture to read a sample, 18,600 words |
 The ABZ Affair by Joan H. Young. A ohildren's mystery. It was September of 1953. Jimmie, George and Cora were moving into the upper level classroom of their two-room schoolhouse, leaving their friends Laszlo, and George's sister Ruby, in the other room. But on the very first day of school, someone began yelling at Ruby! Not everyone was happy that the children had helped break up the ring of thieves that had been stealing from the Cherry Pit Junction canning factory where Cora's father was the manager.
And then there was Mr. Bigg. He was the owner of the canning factory, and why he acted the way he did was certainly a mystery. Cora didn't think that was a riddle she and her friends could solve. Click the picture to read a sample, 22,100 words |
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 Get Off the Couch with Joan by Joan H. Young. Ten essays, most were previously published as newspaper columns, chronicling two years of hikes on the North Country Trail. Illustrated with photos by the author. (txt version not recommended, as the photos are a big part of the experience) Read a free sample at Smashwords. e-book only, 6310 words, 25 photos |
 Fall Off the Couch Laughing by Joan H. Young. Ten humorous essays, most of which were previously published as newspaper columns. Themes have to do with outdoor recreation and are illustrated with photos by the author. (txt version not recommended, as the photos are a big part of the experience) Read a free sample at Smashwords. e-book only, 6420 words, ten photos |
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paperback $9.99 |
only in e-book .$99 |
The Case of the Cautious Couple  My award winning story, "The Case of the Cautious Couple," appears in the anthology Short and Fun Stories. The story is a spoof of the Perry Mason mysteries, which I love. However, they were very formulaic, and therefore easy to copy stylistically. I think you'll find the twist at the end enjoyable. The volume contains romance, politics, mystery, historical fiction, one children's story, folklore, a memoir, and more. Fourteen different authors are featured. Edited by Dorothy Mae Mercer (Mercer Publications) e-book $1.99 |
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