Returning to Papala means another summer of island adventures for twelve-year-old twins Tabitha and Timothy, but this visit quickly becomes tangled in an old Shetland legend and a very modern environmental problem. In Living at the Edge of the World – Summer, S. J. Barratt brings the twins back to the remote island just as Tabitha spots what appears to be a selkie skin floating in the harbour. 

 

According to local legend, failing to return it before midnight could condemn Papala to generations of bad luck. Yet the island already has troubles no legend can explain away: pollution is reaching its coastline, its bird sanctuary is threatened, and Papala itself may soon be sold. Myth, mystery, and conservation meet in a story that asks its young characters to decide what their island home is worth fighting for.

Living at the Edge of the World – Summer

The Papala Island Adventure Series Book 3

written by S. J. Barratt

narrated by Gill Mills

Middle Grade Eco Adventure

 

 

When twelve-year-old Tabitha returns to the remote Shetland island of Papala, she expects adventure with her twin brother and friends–not trouble. 

 

As their ferry approaches Papala, Tabitha discovers what appears to be a selkie skin drifting in the harbour. Local legend says the skin belongs to a mythical creature–half human, half seal–and that if it is not returned before midnight, the island will be cursed with generations of bad luck. 

 

But Papala is already under threat. Pollution creeps along the coast, the bird sanctuary is at risk, and the island’s owner plans to sell. With time running out, Tabitha and her brother must uncover the truth and convince the islanders to protect their home. 

 

A lyrical eco-adventure for those who enjoy atmospheric island stories like The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle, with the adventurous spirit of Malamander by Thomas Taylor.

 

“Educational storytelling doesn't come any better than this.”  Dieter Korger, Science fiction author for adults.

 

This story has a little of everything that 9-12+year-olds love to read: ocean life, adventure, animals, science and suspense. The list goes on and the pages keep turning!" - Janet Ashmore, children’s writer

 

“The fast pace and beautifully vivid descriptions add to the richness of the story. Judy Wollin, Writer Fun Fast Reads”

 

“I am still as thrilled with this third volume of the Papala Island Adventure Series: the writing is top-notch, the plot is gripping, and we are getting attached to the characters. This time, the main themes are environmental conscience, and whether it's even worth fighting against a global problem.

 

An uplifting and important read for young people.” - Anne-Chat – Amazon 5 star review

 

 

Papala’s selkie legend and its environmental troubles create two mysteries for Tabitha and Timothy to untangle. One carries the warning of an old island curse; the other can be seen along the coastline, where pollution threatens wildlife and the bird sanctuary. Placing those concerns side by side allows Living at the Edge of the World – Summer to explore how stories inherited from the past and problems unfolding in the present can both shape the way a community understands its home. 

 

The possibility that Papala will be sold raises the stakes beyond solving the mystery of the selkie skin. Tabitha and Timothy must consider what could happen to the people, wildlife, and places connected to the island if its future is decided without them. The environmental message is therefore tied to something tangible for the characters: protecting a place they care about. 

 

This third Papala Island adventure also brings science, folklore, wildlife, and suspense into the same island setting. Young readers can follow the mystery while encountering questions about pollution and conservation through the choices the twins and islanders face rather than through a lesson detached from the story.

 

 

 

Young readers who like remote islands, local legends, wildlife, and mysteries rooted in the natural world are especially well matched with this adventure. The selkie lore brings a touch of the unexplained, while the pollution threatening Papala keeps the twins’ investigation connected to recognizable environmental concerns. 

 

It may also suit families and educators looking for middle-grade fiction that can open conversations about conservation without leaving adventure behind. Readers already following the Papala Island Adventure Series can return to Tabitha, Timothy, and their island community, while the combination of twins, seals, seabirds, science, suspense, and Shetland atmosphere offers several entry points for newcomers.

 

 

Living at the Edge of the World – Winter

The Papala Island Adventure Series Book 1

Audible * Amazon ebook

 

Living at the Edge of the World – Spring

The Papala Island Adventure Series Book 2

Audible * Amazon ebook

 

 

 

S. J. Barratt is a self-published, professionally edited children’s author whose eco-themed stories celebrate the connection between people and the natural world. Rooted in an English countryside upbringing and shaped by a career in agriculture, she blends a gardener’s curiosity with a storyteller’s warmth to her writing. Now based in Lyon, France, Suzanne creates tales that inspire middle-grade readers to swap screen time for green time—and rediscover the wonders waiting just outside their door.

 

 

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A former BBC broadcaster and journalist, Gill Mills brings over 20 years of experience in entertainment to her narration. Known for her warm, resonant voice, she began her voice career while DJing on BBC Radio 1 and has since voiced numerous TV and audio productions. She now runs a content company specialising in podcast and film production from her studio in East London.

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Papala is more than scenery in Living at the Edge of the World – Summer. Its harbour, wildlife, legends, bird sanctuary, and uncertain future are all part of the mystery Tabitha and Timothy must confront. A supposed selkie skin may be what first captures their attention, but the pollution creeping along the coast and the possibility of losing the island turn their adventure toward a larger question: when a place matters to you, what are you prepared to do to protect it? For middle-grade readers, the answer unfolds through twins, island folklore, wildlife, science, and a mystery with Papala itself at stake.

 

 

 

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Music becomes a kind of recognition in Memory of Rivers, carrying one love story across three very different lives. Shelley Odendahl moves between a prehistoric cave, gold rush-era Deadwood, and Minnesota in 1972 as Diana begins to question whether her vivid dreams belong to an imagination—or to women she once was. Each lifetime pairs her with a man whose music awakens a familiar connection: Lor and his flute, Sam and his harmonica, and finally singer-songwriter Eric. Rather than treating the past lives as distant episodes, the novel brings their memories into Diana’s present, where she must decide what they mean for the relationship unfolding in front of her.

A Past Life Love Story

Time Travel Romance

Date Published: 09-09-2019

Publisher: Flyway Press LLC

 

 

 

 

Vivid sensations and images from Diana’s dreams stream into her conscious mind. Are the dreams memories of her past lives? 

 

As Kari, in prehistoric times, she dances in a coming-of-age ceremony in an ancient cave, with wild animals painted on the walls. Captivated by flute player, Lor, they promise to love each other forever, but dangers threaten their plans. 

 

As Rachel, isolated in gold rush era Deadwood, she is mistreated by her drinking, gambling husband but finds comfort with Civil War veteran Sam. His harmonica music enchants Rachel as they draw together to soothe their lonely souls. 

 

Now, in her life in 1972 Minnesota, Diana is drawn to singer-songwriter Eric. His songs and her memories, along with a deep longing for love, connects her soul with his. Is he the man from her dreams? Will they find happiness together at last? 

 

 

“In an age of brief encounters and ‘friends with benefits,’ lasting love is a rare commodity. But you’ll find it here in Shelley Odendahl’s Memory of Rivers. Enjoy.” – Faith Sullivan, author of nine novels including the latest, Ruby and Roland.

 

 

Three settings separated by thousands of years allow Memory of Rivers to approach its love story through recognition rather than a conventional first meeting. Kari knows Lor in prehistoric times, Rachel finds Sam in gold rush-era Deadwood, and Diana encounters Eric in 1972 Minnesota. The names and circumstances change, but music repeatedly draws the pair toward one another, creating a thread Diana can hear and feel even before she fully understands what her dreams are telling her. 

 

The different periods also change what stands between the couple. Kari and Lor face the dangers of their prehistoric world; Rachel’s marriage to a drinking, gambling husband complicates her bond with Civil War veteran Sam; and Diana must make sense of memories that suggest her connection with Eric began long before either of them entered their present lives. That structure lets the question of lasting love play out under three very different sets of circumstances. 

 

Rivers and music are particularly meaningful recurring elements. Odendahl has written about her lifelong connection to rivers and described them as a metaphor for life, while the novel uses music to link its lovers across time. Those recurring images suit a story concerned with what continues, what changes, and what might find its way back to us.

 

 

As Eric continued to sing, I stared into his soul. Somehow then, I knew for certain that he was the man I loved, since my earliest memories, since pre-history. We met in a cave, and I danced to his music. Immersed in the past, I felt the dense smokiness of the cave’s enclosed space as the flute player captured my body and spirit. We were alone. Together. 

 

With a slight shake of my head, I pulled myself back to the present, into the enclosed space of a bar, where the smoke of cigarettes hung in the air. My face and neck had grown prickly and hot, as if a mild electrical charge played on the surface of my skin. I focused on Eric, every bit of him, especially his eyes. I inhaled a quick breath when he stared back at me, as if my spirit had summoned his. Still singing, his voice was sensuous, velvet, as it caressed my body and settled into my being. 

 

If, from the other we are ever lost,

Draw me in with your force of life

Somewhere inside, the truth resides,

My elusive woman of the wilds.

 

 

Our fates are entwined now and forever,

My dancer, my muse, my river nymph,

My elusive woman of the wilds.

 

 

His voice quietly held the last note of the song, as his fingers picked the final chord. We maintained eye contact, sharing a moment that began with our encounter at the cave ceremony, and traveled the spectrum of time and place, bringing our emotions into the present. Right now. We were seeing all of each other without ever before having met in this lifetime. 

 

Eric broke eye contact and looked down at his guitar.

 

“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” he told the crowd, as he put the guitar in its rack and stood up. He made his way toward the people at his table up front and sat down with them. 

 

My hands trembled as I dug in my purse for a tissue, using it to dab my tear-filled eyes. What had just happened here? My heart over-flowed, incredulous that I had met my love. I still didn’t know what it all meant to my life today. Would he remember me, from our lives so long ago? What if he didn’t?

 

 

This is one to consider for readers intrigued by reincarnation romances in which the relationships between past and present matter as much as the romance itself. The movement from prehistoric life to Deadwood and then 1972 Minnesota should also appeal to those who like a story that changes historical settings while retaining the same emotional connection between its principal characters. 

 

There is another natural audience among readers who respond strongly to music, dreams, and recurring imagery in fiction. Lor’s flute, Sam’s harmonica, and Eric’s songs are not incidental details; music accompanies the lovers in each lifetime. Readers interested in stories about memory and the possibility that certain attachments survive beyond a single lifetime will find plenty here to contemplate.

 

 

 

Shelley Odendahl is the author of Serendipity and Other Travel Adventures – stories that cover forty years of touring the world with her husband Cliff. 

 

This book brings readers along as they travel across the USA by motorcycle, and to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, and Patagonia, experiencing breathtaking highs, and lows that challenged the couple to create solutions along the way. 

 

Shelley also wrote an inspirational book, Realize Your Dreams – Create an Action Plan for Life Transformation, and a time travel novel: Memory of Rivers – A Past Life Love Story. 

 

She lives in Minnesota, USA, with her husband Cliff, where 10,000+ lakes, scenic rivers, majestic white pines, wildflowers, swans, and eagles nurture her spirit.

Her passions are traveling and writing about traveling, creating watercolors, appreciating art of all kinds, and baking her own Sourdough bread from a starter she created over 5 years ago. She enjoys hiking in National Parks, going to musical performances, and being on a lake in a boat. 

 

Shelley is happiest when in the company of her husband, family and friends, with perhaps some food and wine involved.

 

 

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The most intriguing question in Memory of Rivers may not be whether Diana has lived before, but what she will do with the possibility that she has finally encountered the same love again. Kari, Rachel, and Diana inhabit very different worlds, yet music, longing, and memory keep drawing their stories toward one another. Odendahl’s use of rivers alongside that recurring musical connection feels particularly fitting for a novel about lives that change course without entirely losing what came before. For readers willing to entertain the possibility of love carrying its own memory, Diana and Eric’s meeting has centuries behind it.

 

 

 

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A newspaper obituary is supposed to close a life, but for Dan Driscoll, seeing his own death in print looks remarkably like an escape hatch. Buried in gambling debt and caught in the aftermath of violence, he has every reason to disappear—and suddenly the world is prepared to believe he already has. In Cain’s Chameleon, Mark G. Bearss follows the consequences of that decision from the shores of Lake Michigan into the upheaval of World War II, where secrets carried from home refuse to remain safely in the past. 

 

Behind the fiction is an equally intriguing piece of history: Bearss developed the story after finding separate newspaper accounts of an attempted murder near his family’s summer cottage and a drowning victim discovered on the beach where he once played. He wondered whether the two events might have been connected, then turned that unanswered question into a novel.

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 01-27-2026

Publisher: BearssLair Books

 

 

Dan Driscoll is consumed by gambling debt, cornered by bookies and loan sharks, forced to bet on one last scheme. When things turn violent and two people are shot, his best friend, Stan Neumann, swallows what he suspects. He can't risk divulging a closely-held family secret. 

 

Then a body washes up on the Lake Michigan shoreline, and the lake gives Dan what the bookies never would: a way out. Authorities call it an accident and list him as the drowning victim. For Dan, it's an escape route delivered in black ink. 

 

He becomes a ghost, an imposter, a chameleon. But lies don't stay buried. 

 

As America is pulled into World War II, Stan enlists, choosing duty on his terms before the draft can rewrite his life. In Pearl Harbor, one chance encounter dredges up a name he thought was long buried. 

 

War changes everything, but it doesn't erase unfinished business. And when the truth demands to be heard, how long can a stolen life stay buried before the past comes to collect?

 

 

Lucy wasn’t smiling like she used to when she folded her letter, slipped it into the envelope, sealed it with a kiss, and applied the three-cent stamp. Even the spring in her step lacked the zeal she typically exhibited during her walk to the post office. The words on the paper were true to her commitment. They spoke of the news from the home front, stories that helped Stan’s morale, and made sure her underlying message was being proud, supportive, and encouraging. The words wandering around in Lucy’s thoughts, however, were in stark contrast to this messaging. 

Ever since Stan was assigned to the navy radar training school, Lucy had become more and more unsure in her belief that things would be okay. His work as an Aviation Machinists Mate stateside meant he was safe. And Minneapolis was relatively close to home. Being trained as a radarman for shipboard duties meant it was more likely he would be sent overseas into a combat zone. This caused a higher level of worry. Like everything else this war has put in short supply, her ration of optimism was slowly being depleted, and the resources for replenishing that reservoir were becoming scarce. 

Her quandary was not letting Stan know about this foreboding, even though he was normally her most trusted sounding board. She tried to talk about this with her sister Millie. But Millie’s approach to these heartfelt struggles was to fix them, make them go away, or advise Lucy, “Try not to think about it.” This was not the type of support Lucy needed. 

During her alone time, sitting staring out the window, the overwhelming emotion that prevailed over all others was that she really missed her husband. She now knew what being heartbroken felt like.

 

 

Cain’s Chameleon builds its intrigue around more than whether Dan can successfully disappear. His false death leaves unfinished business behind, and that deception follows the story from a Lake Michigan community into Stan’s wartime service. What begins with gambling debt, violence, and a convenient case of mistaken identity becomes increasingly complicated as private secrets collide with lives being reshaped by World War II.

 

The novel’s origins are just as noteworthy. While researching his father’s wartime history, Mark G. Bearss encountered two separate reports in The Oceana Herald: an attempted murder near his family’s Lake Michigan summer cottage and a drowning victim found on the beach where he once played. His decision to imagine a connection between those incidents places real pieces of local history beneath the novel’s fictional mystery.

 

The excerpt featuring Lucy also shows that the story is concerned with what wartime separation looked like at home. She writes the reassuring letter Stan needs while privately fearing that his radar training will eventually send him into combat. That contrast between what Lucy puts on paper and what she cannot bring herself to tell her husband offers a quieter counterpoint to Dan’s much larger deception—two characters withholding the truth for very different reasons.

 

 

This one belongs on the radar of historical-fiction readers who appreciate stories rooted in specific places and surviving documentary traces. The Lake Michigan setting, the newspaper-inspired mystery, Dan’s assumed death, and Stan’s World War II service create a strong fit for those interested in the point where local history intersects with national events. It should also appeal to readers drawn to morally complicated identity stories, wartime home-front experiences, naval history, and fiction that uses research as part of its underlying architecture.

 

 

While author Mark Bearss was setting the stage for his retirement, concerned co-workers would ask, “What are you going to do when you’re not working?” He found this question rather curious. It should have been posed, “What are you going to do first?” Mark knew that if travel was involved, he had had enough of commercial flights after 28 years of teaching for the medical device industry. Mark yearned for road trips – to visit those places he only saw from 38,000 feet. Little did he know that wish journeyed down an unexpected fork in the road. He would become an author. 

 

While conducting genealogy research, Mark discovered archived de-classified military documents that revealed the name of a U.S. Navy destroyer his father served aboard during WWII. The reason this was a poignant discovery was because, while growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his father made no mention of this. Apart from being a U.S. Naval Reserve flight instructor, he knew his father served aboard the carrier USS ESSEX. But in what capacity? That, too, was not revealed. More discoveries materialized the further he dug. In fact, there was a lot more his father didn’t mention. This wasn’t unusual. Many WWII veterans didn’t talk about what happened back then.Because of the pandemic, the National Archives in St. Louis was closed and rendered Lt. Bearss’ military records unavailable. Thus began a project that challenged Mark’s research endeavors for over two years and about 5,000 miles on the road. The biographical sketch was sorted from creative Internet search strings, history books, navy publications, and networking with journalists, librarians, archivists, bloggers, aviation enthusiasts, museum and historical society curators, navy veterans, relatives, and more. One online resource that was instrumental in tracking his father’s journey was the weekly newspaper published in the county where his parents grew up: The Oceana Herald. It included a Local News section where family members and organizations could submit a short blurb about a relative’s visit, a social gathering, or – where a son or husband was currently stationed. 

 

This project culminated in 2022 with Mark’s first publication titled, Undisclosed Stories Discovered: Honoring the World War II Military Journey of Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, USNR. When asked what was one of the highlights surrounding this story, he described the road trips to seek out and discover places where his father lived, trained and was stationed during the war. What prompted him to write this as a biography took place during a meeting with the curator of the World War II Home Front Museum on St. Simons Island, Georgia. St. Simons Naval Air Station was the site for the U.S. Naval Radar Training Station, where Lt. Bearss was trained in shipboard radar operations, enemy interception, and Fighter Direction.  While the museum had ample archived materials about the facility, it had very little documented about the servicemembers who trained there. 

 

Only 250 copies were printed. Mark went back on the road in his Class-B motorhome and personally donated those copies to family members, friends and relatives, the librarians, archivists, researchers, museums, curators, historical societies, newspapers, The American Heritage Center, VFW Posts, airport FBOs, and other assorted WWII enthusiasts in 12 states who helped in his endeavors. It was a two-fold reward. Not only did his father’s story finally become told, Mark experienced the pleasure of meeting all these wonderful people who were his resources, advisors, collaborators, and consultants. Up until that point, they were only names in an email contact list. 

 

You’re probably asking, “How is all this relevant to Mark’s new novel, Cain’s Chameleon?” It was the research from The Oceana Herald that planted the seed for this story. While perusing its issues, Mark stumbled on two articles that piqued his curiosity. The first reported an attempted murder in a home close to his family’s summer cottage on Lake Michigan. The second reported a drowning victim that washed up on the beach right where Mark and his friends used to play. Just two more stories never divulged while growing up. He wondered, Were these two events related? Then Mark decided — he would make them related.

 

 

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Cain’s Chameleon begins with a mistake that offers Dan exactly what desperation has made tempting: the chance to let the world believe he is dead. From there, the premise opens into questions of identity, secrecy, loyalty, and what happens when unfinished business survives long enough to cross into wartime. The novel’s origin in two archived newspaper reports gives that setup another compelling layer—the historical record supplied the separate events, while Bearss asked what might happen if fiction connected them. For readers drawn to historical novels anchored in place, research, and consequential choices, that is an intriguing reason to take a closer look.

 

 

 

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Two series, one shattered universe:
an ancient war that forged magic,
and the modern invasion that it made possible.

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Who Will Carry the Fire?
More Reflections from a North Woods Lake
by Darrell J. Pedersen

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Who Will Carry the Fire? More Reflections from a North Woods Lake by Darrell J. Pedersen thoughtfully examines the value of human history, traditions, memories, and relationships and reiterates the importance of preserving and faithfully passing these along to the next generation. Through a collection of essays and the retellings of his early days as a son, brother, husband, and father, Pedersen shows readers that we all have been gifted these irreplaceable stories by those who came before us. 

 

These remembered stories will work to keep the thread of storytelling alive while passing down the life-giving flames of laughter, human community, and hope to our children and future generations. Using a blend of wisdom, humor, reflection, and life stories in Minnesota, Pedersen expertly weaves a book that is both a memoir/collection of essays and a celebration of life.

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Five Young Men And Christmas 2020

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