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Friday, November 07, 2008
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NEW!!! Excerpt from Christmas book "Abby the Sheep"
Current mood:  excited
Category: Writing and Poetry
NEW!!! Excerpt from
Abby the Sheep
The third book in The Eyes of the Stable Series
by Christie Gerschutz
Copyright © 2008
CRM Books
ISBN: 1-933341-30-0
Reading Level: Grades 2-5
Chapter One
"Up and at 'em, boys and girls! Come on, rise and shine, let's go!"
Abby opened her eyes groggily. The smell of damp grass drifted into her nostrils, and she sat up, sniffing the air. "Mmm, breakfast," she mumbled to herself.
"It's a great day to be alive, everybody! Get up!" Jeremiah, the guard dog, announced cheerfully.
She stood up and shook bits of grass flying out of her thick black wool. Looking around, she saw the shepherdess, Jael, going around the flock and nudging all the sheep, coaxing them to get up. Outside the flock's round stone sleeping shelter, the two shepherds were busily making breakfast for the three of them. Fish again it looked like. Abby crinkled her black nose. She didn't really care for fish. Grass suited her just fine.
Woof! A loud bark startled her, and she jumped. "Haha! Gotcha Abby! Hehe!" The guard dog, Jeremiah, skittered happily around the flock, making sure everyone was present and accounted for. "C'mon Reuben, old boy, wakey wakey!"
Reuben was the oldest of the sheep in the flock. He was also extremely grumpy in the morning. "Hrmph. Can't any of you just leave an old sheep to rest in peace?" he muttered.
Jeremiah licked his face and jumped back from the sheep's biting teeth. "Nope! All right Simeon, Levi, Judah, get up. Morning's here once again!"
The three sheep got up and stretched, mumbling about the perkiness of Jeremiah this early in the morning. Abby smiled and shook her head. He may not have been smart, but Jeremiah certainly was the life of the flock. She turned to her left and saw her plump best friend, Hope, sleeping on her back again. The pure white sheep's mouth was open, and she was snoring loudly.
"Hope, wake up. Hope, you're going to drown yourself one of these days," Abby chastised. She got up and nudged her friend's side.
Hope woke with a start. "AGH!" she cried, flailing desperately. She continued to yell and flail until finally she laid still, her eyes wide.
"Where…am I?" she whispered. "There's no grass." The terrifying thought of never seeing grass again came to her mind. She shuddered and began to flail again.
Abby pushed her friend's side until she rolled over. "There. Hope, you fell asleep on your back again."
Hope scrambled to her hooves. "Oh! Oh, well, thank goodness you were here Abby! I could have died in that no-grass world!" She looked down and immediately began holding a conversation with a ladybug that crossed her path.
"Okay, everybody, let's run through today's checklist!" A slate-gray sheep named Dan walked around the flock vivaciously, counting everyone and letting them know what their job was for the day. He did this every day, and everyone usually ignored him. He always failed to realize that he was actually a sheep and not a human. "All right, let's see, let's see, we have Abby, Issy, Hope and Asher! You girls have been graced with the lovely job of making sure everyone gets fed, eats well, doesn't choke on something, you know, motherly type things like that."
Issy, a large white sheep with dark speckles on her nose, rolled her eyes and turned over sleepily. "Dan we're sheep. Get over it. We ain't gotta make sure nobody gets fed. Way we look, we could all fast for a year and not get rid of all this blubber." Issy was a rather feisty ewe who didn't take trouble from anyone.
(Check out the rest of Chapter One by purchasing your very own copy of "Abby the Sheep.")
Chapter One
1. Vocabulary
a. Vivaciously
b. Upstanding
c. Chastise
d. Repute
e. Sacrilege
2. What made Hope get so scared when she woke up?
3. What caused Simeon and Levi to fall off the cliff?
4. What did Abby do to Asher to make her mad?
5. Why do you think the other sheep like to make fun of Abby?
Project: Write a short poem about what the world would be like without grass.
~
Abby has felt out of place in her own flock since she was born. The rest of the sheep have always teased her for looking different. But one day Abby's lonely life is shaken up by the appearance of one very persistent little flea, who has a very important message. Suddenly Abby goes from being an unpopular, odd sheep, to being the only sheep her flock can trust. Follow Abby as she and her friends are thrown into the midst of the most dangerous and life-changing event of their lives.
Dedicated to: Jonathan Black and my dear friend, Sara Sullivan, and her children Elizabeth and Nathan
Acknowledgments:
To Corel Baumunk (Jonathan the shepherd), James Gordon (Isaac the shepherd), Megan Bost (Hope), Dan Flock (Dan the sheep), and Nick Powell (Matthew the flea). Thank you guys for being willing to share your personalities with me, and for inspiring awesome characters!
No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.
4:49 PM
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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NEW! Excerpt from "ABSAROKA: Land of Shining Mountains"
Current mood:  drained
Category: Writing and Poetry
NEW!!! Excerpt from
ABSAROKA: Land of Shining Mountains
The second book in the Land Of... Series
by Christie Gerschutz
Copyright © 2008
CRM Books
ISBN: 1-933341-28-9
Historical fiction for Grades 5-8
Chapter One
Youth likes to wander.
Emma O'Brien cautiously pushed a pine tree branch away from her head, letting it flop back into place behind her. She continued her hunt carefully. As her bare feet softly tread on the warm soil, the young girl again heard the sound that had peaked her curiosity in the first place. A strange sound, like mewing of a kitten but different. There was a familiar scream to it, but she couldn't place where she'd heard it before.
She noticed a swarm of flies hovering over something behind a large bush. The sound seemed to be coming from that direction, so she walked to the other side of the bush. As she did so, the sound ceased. A dead cougar, its tawny side slashed open obviously by the sharp claws of a grizzly bear, was sprawled on the ground. The cougar had the grizzly's signature silver-tipped brown hairs in it teeth, a sign that it hadn't gone down without a fight. Emma looked around, her eyes now greenish-gray with sadness. She spotted a small quivering creature, hidden in the brush a few feet away from the dead cougar. Pulling away some of the plant growth, she saw the reason for the animal's fight to the death. A young cougar cub sat crying, covered with dirt and twigs. It looked to be about two months old, only a little bigger than a house cat.
Oh, the poor thing, Emma mused to herself as she tenderly brushed the dirt off the shaking cub. No wonder it's skeered to death. It had to sit here an' watch its own mother get killed. The young cougar allowed Emma to pick all the twigs out of its thick, spotted fur. It didn't show any signs of being afraid of her. Emma cocked her head to one side. "Wonder why yer not skeered of me, though?" she asked aloud. She pondered for a moment. "Maybe you've never seen a human so you don't know to be skeered."
A crashing sound came from the underbrush behind her. The cub shrank in fear from the sound, cowering in the dirt. The crashing grew louder and Emma heard small trees snapping. She turned and pressed her back into the bush behind her as far she could. A dark shape was running--or rather, shuffling toward the small clearing. The ten-year-old gasped as she realized what it was.
The shape, a full grown male grizzly so common in the mountains of the Dakota Territory, rose on its hind feet and roared. It stood nearly eight feet tall, and was obviously badly wounded from the cougar's razor-like teeth and claws. Emma knew that a wounded bear would do anything if provoked. Every muscle in her body tensed as the bear dropped heavily to all fours and began sniffing around the dead cougar, not ten feet away from Emma. If I jus' stay perfectly still, maybe he won't notice me an' will go away. The baby cougar obviously had other ideas. Just as the bear was about to turn away, the cub let out a blood-curdling cry that startled both the bear and Emma, who jumped in fright.
The bear swung its huge head toward Emma and growled. It seemed the bear's sight was impaired, for it waved its head back and forth, trying to figure out the direction of the sound. It lowered its head and started sniffing the ground, lumbering towards Emma. Her heart raced as the bear's hot breath fell on her bare feet. Suddenly the grizzly again rose up on its hind feet and roared fiercely. It raised its paw to strike her when a shot rang through the still mountain air. Two more followed, and the grizzly's eyes glazed over. With a loud thud and a cloud of dust, it fell to the ground beside Emma.
As the dust settled, she saw her eighteen-year-old cousin, Eric McLain, lower his rifle. He lifted an eyebrow at her as he asked, "You ever gonna learn how to stay out of trouble?"
(Check out the rest of Chapter One by purchasing your very own copy of "Absaroka: Land of Shining Mountains.")
<><
Ten-year-old Emma O'Brien and her family, along with the Morgan family, have settled in with her aunt's tribe at the foothills of their beautiful country, the Absaroka Mountains. Although it's a place where rugged mountains, towering trees and rushing rivers abound, living with the Absaroka Indians isn't all it seems to be.
Emma and her family face terrible danger with attacking wolves and bears, and the hardships of living in the Dakota Territory. With gold mining settlements springing up in the area, the Absaroka Indians are talking of moving even deeper into the mountains, where cattle ranching would be impossible. Will her family dare to risk another move? And what will happen when Emma flees into the vast wilderness in search of her runaway friend? Follow the O'Briens and their friends in yet another incredible story of life, faith, and strength in the face of difficulty.
No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.
3:10 PM
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Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Rise up and be God’s!
Current mood:  blessed
Category: Religion and Philosophy
Over the past couple of years I've gotten a few messages from fans who were concerned about my signature message, "Rise up and be God's!" So I thought I would take a moment to explain the meaning of it for anyone who might question it.
As most of you know, Rich Mullins has been a huge influence for me in music and my Christian walk. With his signature was simply, "Be God's." I loved that message, so I adapted it by adding "Rise up" to it.
Just so everyone understands, I am not condoning trying to make ourselves "gods" as in a deity all our own. The word I use is "God's", a possessive noun, as in, belonging to God. So my message does not mean "Go and make yourself the center of the universe... a god." It simply means "Rise up above the crowd and strive to belong only to God, as His child and follower."
I hope that clears everything up.
Now more than ever we need to...
Rise up and be God's!
Christie Gerschutz
P.S. If you really like my message, check out my T-shirts that have it written across the front in bold yellow!
6:00 PM
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11 Comments - 8 Kudos
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Saturday, April 21, 2007
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The meaning of life....
Current mood:  mellow
Category: Life
I often wonder at this life. I wonder if there is truly a meaning behind it, if there is anything to it besides birth, work, and death. I wonder, even if there were the slightest chance of my discovering the elusive meaning of life, would anyone else listen to it? Would they stop for a moment and ponder it? Or would it merely be something they read in the morning paper, in a column by some ambitious journalist. Would they mutter to themselves, "What a novel idea," finish their coffee, and be off to continue their normal everyday lives?
I used to feel pity for Solomon. Here was a man who had it all, wisdom, women, riches, power, and yet his life seemed to be filled with discontent. I used to think piously to myself, "What a silly old man. How foolish he was to not be grateful for what he had." But now, as I too search for my place in this ever-changing world, I find myself sitting beside him, chin on my hand, wondering.
I stepped outside just yesterday, and took a moment to think about the upcoming events in my life. Depressingly enough, I could find nothing that truly lit a fire in my soul. Oh I found the usual, outings with friends, work as usual, a bright spot here and there. But nothing that really got me excited. Nothing that sparked something in my heart, that made me think I was bettering the world, or being bettered myself.
"There is nothing new underneath the sun." Never before have I found such a profound, interesting, yet intensely morose sentence as that. If you were really to stop and think about your life as you know it, there will never be anything that hasn't already been. Money? It will soon be gone yet again. Power? Someone will always rise above you. Family? Friends? They die, move away, decide they detest you and never speak to you again. Even birth saddens me now. Yes, a brand new life. Yes, a child, with infinite possibilities in their future. But for what? This world will be ten times worse when they're 20 than it is now. Their parents will undoubtedly make innumerable mistakes, scar their impressionable souls for life, give them cause for psychiatric help. Their love interests will force them to spend the best years of their lives pining for something that could never be, regretting the things that were, and searching for the "perfect mate." Sometimes I think about what it would be like to have children. The happiness, the innocence their souls exude, so refreshing in this world of poverty and hatred, yet so quickly snuffed out by the hormones of adolescence.
The monotony of life astounds me. I think there is a reason people so readily immerse themselves in fiction books, romance novels, and in the 21st century, movies. In those realms there is no monotony of life, there is excitement, exhilarating plots, fascinating people, the right music at the right time, everything that we all crave in this everyday life. There's always a happy ending, the bad guys always end up dead, the good guys always get the girl. I understand now why some people obsess with video games, or movies, or television. There, they can live in a world where the law is always on their side, where exciting things happen, no one judges you, or makes you feel unwanted. You're a simple bystander, with no pressure to make any decisions whatsoever.
And then, sometimes, I'll remember the meaning of life. Which is not some boring old doctrine written by an ancient scribe whose idea of excitement was feeding the chickens in the morning. Not some silly notion of sitting in a church pew, singing songs or listening to a sermon. Jesus perfectly explained the meaning of life.
To love.
Which, in and of itself, seems relatively simple. But. Not just to love. But to love, and LIVE. To love more abundantly. To live more abundantly.
To love every single fascinating person that He created, to experience HIS love in every single thing that surrounds us, to seek out every single unlovable soul and learn how to love them, and watch them change with His love. To better OUR lives by bettering OTHERS lives. To seek out in ourselves the vessels God placed in us at creation, the talents that He chose specifically for us, to bring us happiness and satisfaction in life. And when we find those vessels, filled to the brim with every ounce of God's love and characteristics that it could not possibly hold any more, God shatters them. For their walls are our own self-doubt, our own acceptance of the monotony of life. And He comes along and picks us up, and shatters every single drop of all the crud that's been packed into our beings from the moment of our birth, all the times people told us we would never be good enough, all the times we thought we could never be good enough for God.
When He shatters those vessels in us, it spills out. It fills our very spirit with life, and love, and Him. It shines through our eyes, it shouts through our words, it illuminates us from the inside out. And when people look at us, and our words, and our works, they don't see us. They see Him. They see love.
And that, my dear world, is the meaning of life.
Love.
Copyright © 2008
Christine Gerschutz
Thunder Dreamer Publishing, Inc.
10:10 AM
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Friday, October 12, 2007
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Excerpt from Jacob the Donkey
Current mood: thankful
Category: Writing and Poetry
Excerpt from
Jacob the Donkey
The second book in The Eyes of the Stable Series
by Christie Gerschutz
Copyright © 2007
CRM Books
ISBN: 978-1-933341-26-2
Reading Level for Grades 2 - 5
Chapter 1
This is the story of a hero. Not your most noble hero, nor the brightest or most handsome, mind you. But without him a very special event may not have occurred, at least not where it did and when it did. This is the story of Jacob, a donkey. Let start at the beginning, shall we?
It was a wintry night in Nazareth. The stars blinked on slowly, one by one. A lone white calf looked up at them, watching her breath float up and evaporate into the chilly night air. She shivered.
"It will be a cold night for the new one's birth. Maybe Elijah will let the mother stay in the stable tonight." The sound of Elijah's voice prompted her to find out.
*
"NATHAN!" Athalia brayed at the top of her lungs as the labor pains grew more intense with each passing breath.
The farmer Elijah was monitoring the colt's progress, trying to keep Athalia comfortable at the same time. "Whoa, my dear. There will be time enough for noise later. You need to stay calm for your little one here."
Athalia took several shallow breaths. "Oh, if only you knew, Elijah. I sure wish I could give you a piece of my mind right now! NATHAN!"
A tall, light gray donkey tore into the stable, out of breath. He came to a clattering halt beside his beloved, nearly slipping on the clean straw. "Is it time? Is it time? I'm so sorry, dear, I was out with the sheep and David and I were talking about the crops and the rainfall and Peter's new mate and I just totally lost track of time and—"
"Nathan, just be quiet would you?" Athalia asked wearily.
Nathan took a few deep breaths and lay down beside her. "How are you doing?" he asked more calmly.
"I'm all right. I hope our baby's okay, too."
He touched noses with her reassuringly. "It'll be fine."
A few more animals drifted into the fairly large stable. Two doves perched on one of the cedar rafters, turning their heads and cooing at the long-awaited miracle. The white calf and her father had poked their heads in. Three mice sneaked in along the wall so the farmer wouldn't notice them.
Elijah wiped his forehead. "Whew!" This colt is taking longer than I thought it would. You hang in there, girl," he said, patting Athalia's rump.
"Come on, dear, you can do eet," chattered one of the mice in an accent that no one recognized.
Foam began to build on Athalia's reddish-brown sides as the time of her colt's birth drew near. Nathan stayed by her side and coached her breathing, trying not to faint himself.
The female dove was busy instructing everyone as to what their duties were in the birthing process. "All right, everyone, we got a big deal going on here so give this girl some room, animals! That's it, that's it, move it back there. Hey, you three," she hollered at the mice. "You the fastest. Go tell the animals down at Josiah's farm that Athalia's come due. Hurry! This colt's not gonna wait much longer!"
They scurried off, muttering something about being bossed around by a bird. The dove flew down and landed on a post near Athalia's head. After watching Athalia's labored breathing and heaving sides, she offered some encouragement. She spoke softly. "You gonna be fine, honey. I seen plenty of birthings 'round here and you doin' just fine. Won't be too much longer so hang in there."
Athalia gave another hard push. She felt the colt kick and maneuver and remembered how she never thought her firstborn would be so active.
Elijah chuckled to himself. "There, there, now little one. Not much longer." He looked up to see three cows, ten sheep, six donkeys and fifteen mice huddled around the stable door.
*
As the last of the animals were shooed out by the tired middle-aged farmer, Athalia, Nathan and the dove who finally introduced herself as Leah watched with amazement as the little colt took his first weak, wobbly steps. He gave a feeble, quavering bray as he fell, which caused a shocked look on his face. Leah laughed so hard she nearly fell off the rafter.
"Poor little guy," she chuckled. "Look how anxious he is to get up and move. I understand he was quite the little kicker, Thaly."
The colt's mother laughed. "Tell me about it. I don't think I slept a wink those last few days. But you know what? I didn't mind. I knew he was healthy and that was all that mattered." She smiled fondly at her son. "Nathan?" she asked.
The proud father turned to look at his beloved. "Hmm?"
"What will we name him?"
Nathan thought for a moment as the newborn dark gray donkey was fighting to keep his balance. Finally, one, two, three steps in a row. He gave a little jump as he turned to walk the other way.
Nathan grinned. "Jacob. He will be a strong donkey, a leader among them. I have a felling he won't be one to back down from a challenge or to let another come before him."
"I've always loved that name," a soft voice said from the back of the stable. The other three animals turned and watched as an old donkey, nearly white with age, slowly walked into the light.
Questions
Chapter 1:
1 Vocabulary
a. Evaporate
b. Maneuver
c. Engrossed
d. Reverie
2. Why was Nathan so late in getting to Athalia?
3. Who was Dorcas' first love?
4. What happened to Dorcas' Jacob?
5. Why do you think Dorcas is sad when she talks about her Jacob?
Project: POETRY
Write a poem about baby donkeys or babies in general.
~~~~~~
When a one-year-old donkey named Jacob was given to a young carpenter as a betrothal gift, he worried about a trip he would have to make to Bethlehem. To make matters worse, he learned that he would have to carry the carpenter's wife, who was expecting her first child, all the way there. With the encouragement of his animal friends, however, he not only made the journey to Bethlehem, but also realized he had a very special role in another gift that changed the world forever.
No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.
Purchase this book by clicking the "Add Cart" button below!
10:19 PM
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6 Comments - 10 Kudos
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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Excerpt from KEN-TAH-TEN: Land of Tomorrow
Current mood:  dorky
Category: Writing and Poetry
Excerpt from: KEN-TAH-TEN: LAND OF TOMORROW
The first book in the Land Of Series
by Christie Gerschutz Copyright © 2007 CRM Books ISBN: 1-933341-25-4
Historical fiction for Grades 5-8 Chapter One He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Emma O'Brien walked to the top of the hill, the dew-laden grass cool and soft on her bare feet. As she loved to do at sunrise, she knelt down and drank in the view. Low, rolling hills covered the landscape, their green trees and swaying grass rustling with birds and wildlife. A hazy mist lay softly on the scene, slowly lifting with the rising June sun. The clouds on the horizon were radiant with vivid colors, and the sky above was a stunning azure blue. She breathed in the sweet smell of Kentucky bluegrass and looked over at her family's cows. The cow pasture was carpeted with the beautiful grass, its bluish-green tint matching her eyes. Mabel, Feisty, and Blaze grazed contently, occasionally lifting their heads to stare at the little eight-year-old daydreaming on the hill. Emma's white teeth flashed in a grin as she thought of the time her cousin Eric had tried to ride Mabel. The memory of his landing smack on his backside made her giggle. As she turned her eyes back to the view in front of her, she noticed that a tiny sparrow had lighted on a large rock beside her. Emma's eyes turned a deep sapphire blue with delight. "How er you, little feller?" she asked. He merrily tweeted in reply, cocking his head as if studying the girl. Emma's black Labrador, Hank, growled at the trespasser. "Hank, stop that. He ain't hurtin' no one." "Emma!" Her mother's voice made Emma start. She jumped up and looked back towards the farm, where her mother, Faye, was standing on the porch. "Yeah, Ma?" "Time to go get your chores done! Faye hollered. Emma sighed heavily. "Oh, c'mon, Hank. Let's go." The faithful dog trotted cheerfully after her, not understanding but happy to be along. Emma walked down the hill, casting a wistful glance at the scene behind her. Mabel lumbered in the door of the big brown barn to wait for Emma. Emma pulled out the cumbersome wooden bucket and set it on the ground under Mabel. Plunking down on the three-legged stool, she began the tedious work of milking the hefty black-and-white animal. Mabel stood obediently until Emma was finished, then plodded back out to the pasture to join her fellow bovine. Emma lugged the heavy bucket up to the front porch, the frothy milk sloshing against the sides of the container. "Here's the milk, Ma." She set it on the porch outside the door of the two-story wooden plank house. Her mother walked out, wiping her hands on her crisp white apron. "Thank you Emma," she said, looking down at the bucket. "My, Mabel sure is giving a lot of milk. We'll have lots of fresh milk and butter now that the calf won't be taking up most of it." "I guess so. It still seems so sad that they have to be taken away from their mothers so soon. Oh! Ma, do you think Feisty's gonna have a calf?" Emma fairly danced at the thought. "She sure is gettin' fat." Faye smiled and answered, "Ask your father when he gets home." "Is that a yes? Is it?" she persisted. "Emma, I'm not saying yes or no. Just ask your father what he thinks." "What who thinks about what?" a deep voice called. Emma turned and looked up the path. Her sixteen-year-old cousin, Eric, was coming down the lane with two bucketfuls of fresh strawberries from the field, his tan face and arms glistening with sweat from the sun. "Eric! Feisty's gonna have a calf!" "Emma!" Faye said sternly. Emma snapped her jaw shut and slowly turned to look at her mother. "What did I say?" Faye firmly asked. "I--I mean I'm s'posta ask Pa if she is... 'cause she might," Emma stated, then lowered her head. "Aw, that's awright, little cous'. I knew what ya meant." Eric grinned and put his arm around Emma's drooping shoulders, "C'mon, help me clean these strawberries up fer cannin'." Emma glanced at her mother for permission. Faye smiled, her pale blue eyes showing her fondness for her oldest daughter. She pushed her own brunette hair off her face. "You can go help your cousin. Afterwards I'd like you to help me out with this here new canning invention. I sure am glad that your aunt's neighbor in Brooklyn--what's his name-- Mr. John Mason sent us these jars. Sure makes it a lot easier to keep food." She looked at the glass jar in her hand and shrugged. "It's supposed to keep food tasting better for a longer period of time. It would sure help out with keeping food in the winter. Well, I hope some company will manufacture it for him and make sure people find out about it. Anyway, yes, you may help Eric. But first take that crock of beans down to the cellar. I decided I won't be needing it for supper after all." Emma froze. "The--the cellar?" she asked quaveringly. "Are y--you sure you won't need it fer somethin'?" Faye turned towards the door. "Yes, Emma, I'm sure. I've told you, there is nothing down there that can hurt you. Now go." The little girl picked up the jar and began slowly walking toward the cellar doors. "Oh, Emma," her mother called, stepping back onto the porch. "Here's a candle so you can see down there. And remember, do not go through that inner door for any reason whatsoever." As if I would ever want to, Emma thought. That's the only thing that scares me about the cellar. Her knees shook as she made her way around the house. She tucked the clay jar in the crook of her arm so she could shield the flame with her hand. A locust flew past her and she jumped. Finally, she stood before the double doors of the cellar. She took a big breath, set the jar down and opened the doors. Cool air rushed out and nearly extinguished the candle. Holding the jar tightly, she cautiously crept down the squeaky wooden steps. She paused at the bottom and looked around. The candlelight cast weird shadows on the walls, where rows and rows of shelves lined the dark cellar. Dried and jarred beans, corn, peaches, peas, carrots, and of course, strawberries were the only good things about the cellar in Emma's eyes. She hurried over to the strip of bean jars and placed the crock on the dusty shelf. Turning to her left, she spotted the inner door. For as long as she could remember, her parents had forbidden her to go behind that door. She had often heard noises coming from it, but could never distinguish what they were. Whatever was in there, it scared her. But as terrified as she was, she still decided to walk over and turn the knob, just to see. Maybe there was some present in there for her that her folks didn't want her to know about... or maybe for her sister. She scowled. Her sister Katie was the baby in the family and always seemed to be the favorite of her parents. A thought popped into her head. Wouldn't it be fun to discover her sister's present and let it loose? After all, those noises could be coming from an animal. She'd let her folks think that it got loose on its own. So Emma ignored the little voice in her heart that tried to dissuade her, and reached for the knob. She paused as she thought she heard something behind her. OOF! The wind was knocked out of her as two brawny arms clamped themselves around her waist. The candle fell from her hand, and blackness enveloped the room. She caught her breath, screamed as loud as she could and tried to kick her attacker. Her bare heel connected with a shin, and the stranger grunted in pain. The arms dropped her, and she ran for the door with all her might. She tripped on the last step and fell into the bright sunshine. Opening her eyes, she squinted back towards the cellar door. <>< Emma O'Brien had always wondered what was behind the forbidden door in the cellar. Her sixteen-year-old cousin, Eric, had kept her from finding out the secret with stories of rats and trolls that lived in the room, but eight-year-old Emma's curiosity is becoming greater. Her suspicion continues to mount after the family is accused of helping runaway slaves. Emma's family then faces deadly peril when the Battle of Perryville rages near their farm in Kentucky (Ken-tah-ten in the Iroquoian language). Follow the O'Brien family as their faith is tested through the trials and tribulations of the Civil War era.
No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher.
Purchase this book by clicking the Add to Cart button below!
5:10 PM
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Monday, August 13, 2007
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Excerpt from Samuel the Camel and the Lone Star
Current mood:  creative
Category: Writing and Poetry
Excerpt from:
Samuel the Camel and the Lone Star
The first book in The Eyes of the Stable Series
by Christie Gerschutz
Copyright © 2007
CRM Books
ISBN: 978-1-933341-19-4
Reading Level Grades 2 - 5
Chapter 1
"Let's try one more time, Samuel," Miss Abby said. "I know you can do it."
Samuel, a three-and-a-half-year-old Dromedary camel, groaned under the heavy load on his back. He and his teacher, Miss Abby, had gone over this a hundred times. Once again, he rehearsed the actions in his head and sighed. It wasn't that he couldn't stand up, it was just that he couldn't do it "properly." His left foot and right foot didn't want to get up together.
Miss Abby waited patiently. She was the best teacher Samuel had ever had at the Dromedary Academy of the East. Her kind heart and loving patience made her the most popular teacher with the young camels.
Samuel took a deep breath and tried again. He cautiously got his hind legs up, then...
OOF! Samuel grunted. He tried to jump up, but fell to his knees as the load shifted forward. Tears came to his eyes. "I'm never going to get it, Miss Abby."
"Of course you will, Samuel. It just takes practice." She started pulling the load from his back with her strong teeth. As the young camel shrugged off the last bag, she advised him, "Samuel, I would recommend that you have a relative or friend help you with this at home. That way you'll get the greatest amount of practice in before the test tomorrow."
He nodded and lumbered outside in search of his best friend, Ono. Ono was a rather interesting camel. He was shorter than the rest of the students in Miss Abby's class, and the only camel in Dromedary Academy that wore glasses. Many of the other camels made fun of him. Of course, that was probably why Samuel and Ono were such good friends. Samuel was no ordinary camel either. Instead of the typical light brown coat, Samuel's was a creamy beige. He knew it stood out against everyone else's brown coats. His nickname was usually "Ghost" or "Pastyface."
Samuel rounded the corner of the school and spotted his friend absently kicking a ball while the other camels had spitting contests behind him.
"Hey, Ono!" Samuel called, galloping up to him.
Ono looked up. His eyes brightened at the sight of his best friend. "Hey, how'd you do with Miss Abby?"
Samuel sighed. "I still can't get it right. I hope my dad gets back from his trip soon so he can help me."
"Yeah." He gave the ball a hard punt away from them. "Don't feel bad, I can't get this whole 'no fear' thing down. At least you don't get scared like I do."
Samuel shrugged. "You aren't having a test on not being scared though. Miss Abby's final test on all our abilities is tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to graduate if I don't pass."
Suddenly the ball Ono had been kicking smacked into the side of his head.
"Ow! Hey, who--," Ono stopped, and his eyes grew wide with fear.
Samuel took a step back as a tall, muscular dark brown camel slowly walked up, a wicked grin on his face.
"What's the matter, Ono? Little ball gonna get you?" the dark camel asked, laughing.
Ono started prancing around and Samuel heard him muttering "Oh no, oh no, oh no" under his breath.
Samuel narrowed his dark brown eyes and took a cautious step forward. "Back off, Abijah. He's not bothering you. You've got no reason to pick on him."
Abijah scowled. "He's a geek and a coward; That's all the reason I need." He looked Samuel over. "Got a problem with that, Pastyface?"
Samuel didn't respond.
"That's what I thought. Get outta my sight before I kick you out" Abijah stomped the sand with his front feet and stepped forward threateningly.
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