Enchanted Castle is a sophisticated and contemporary science-fiction Gothic thriller.

A MUST READ
Eloquent and romantic words from the ghost of the Enchanted Castle; directed to a beautiful 16 year-old girl:

"Forever my beloved, and eternal, like the swelling spring inside me, you are the summers that have died, my love, my all... Where cometh you from, but my heart?"
        -related in 1467 and again in 1999

A story of mature teenagers, and not so clever adults, ghosts, and at least four homicides, including several love trysts and lots of intrigue.
        -the Ghost Writer

A POSSIBLE EDUCATIONAL NOVEL!
This novel could become a requirement for History and Literature students due to the considerable dialogue concerning the Gothic Period, memorable events, and of Dukes, Earls, Kings, and consorts during that period.

Professors may wish to parse and examine quotes and breakdown the truths and irregularities of this interesting novel, making it a fascinating, albeit educational learning experience.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
I have read and edited this story several times and each time I find it just as intriguing, entertaining, enlightening, fascinating and, yes, educational, as its first reading - A possible World's Best Seller in the making! It's not the Castle that's enchanting or ominous but the characters! The castle itself represents intrigue, beauty, and romantic history.          
- Dr. James T. Beesley, editor

A collection of short stories by Lower Kuskokwim School District elementary school students based on their interviews with Elders in their communities. The Yukon Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska, where the Yup'ik and Cup'ik have lived for over ten thousand years, provides the background for this beautiful collection of Traditional Stories, Stories about Ways of Life, Subsistence Stories, Hunting Stories and Ghost Stories.

The Stories from the Past project was developed and implemented by Laura Jeane Story Schlapkohl, an Americorps*Vista Volunteer under the direction of Joan Hamilton, the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum Director-Curator during the spring of 2003. The Association of Village Council Presidents and the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum together supported the Stories from the Past Writing Competition.

Stories from the Past Writing Competition

The Stories from the Past Writing Competition began in January 2003 with the announcement to elementary schools throughout the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Region that submissions to the competition would be accepted through April 1, 2003. The Stories from the Past Writing Competition required students to interview an Elder in their community, and to write a story based on the interview. Students were encouraged to write in both English and Yup'ik, adding to the language preservation aspects of the project. As of April 1, 2003 we received seventy entries from four schools to the Stories from the Past Writing Competition.

Schools who participated in Stories from the Past 2003
Akiuk Memorial School, Akiuk, Alaska
Chefornak School, Chefornak, Alaska
Kilbuck Elementary School, Bethel, Alaska
Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat, Quinhagak, Alaska Grand Prize Best Collections of Stories
Teachers who participated in Stories from the Past 2003
April Blevins, Kilbuck Elementary School
Meg Gag, Akiuk Memorial School
Sherry Marousek, Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat
Eric Pederson, Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat
Nick Straw, Chefornak School
Students who participated in Stories from the Past 2003
Akiuk Memorial School
Danya Andrews, Interview with George Keene, Sr.
Grand Prize Individual Story Winner
Natasia Anvil, Interview with Lucy Kassel
Harry Berlin, Interview with Daniel Berlin, Jr.
Michael Berlin, Interview with Rhonda Berlin
Anastasia Brink, Interview with Lucy Brink
George Isaac, Interview with George Keene, St.
Renae Keene, Interview with Lena Keene
Michael Martin, Jr., Interview with Marie A. Charles
Sherry Oscar, Interview with Marie A. Charles and Molly Oscar
Harry Slim, Interview with Eddie Andrew
Sillufie Thomas, Jr., Interview with Cecil Active
Naomi White, Interview with Moses White, Sr.
Edward Wassillie, Interview with Dora Wassillie
Chefornak School
Janelle Kinegak, Interview with Eliza Fairbanks
Thomas Mael, Interview with Bob Tunuchuk
Bretina Agnus, Interview with Cyril Alexie
Vicki Wiseman, Interview with Josephine Wiseman
David Chagluak, Interview with Martina Chagluak
Dana Gerhart, Interview with Eliza Fairbanks
Kilbuck Elementary School
Emerie Fairbanks, Interview with Debbie Fairbanks
Santee McKay, Interview with Arleata Snell
Susan Dostert, Interview with Donna Carpenter
Max Fancher, Interview with Charlene Fancher
Whitney Walker, Interview with Debbie Walker
Avery Atti, Interview with Trevor Henderson
Delwen Samuelson, Interview with Abigail Samuelson
Randy Hanson, Interview with Abigail Samuelson
Dustin Hayden, Interview with Rafe Johnson
Sumo Walker, Interview with Shirley Lawson
Dylan Stanton, Interview with Mike Stanton
Jenny Klejka, Interview with Jackie Klejka
Leland Rogers, Interview with Ina Morgan
Trevor Henderson, Interview with Rose Henderson
Kendrick Lange, Interview with Jacquie Campbell
Elizabeth Turrentine, Interview with her aunt
Brooke Charlie, Interview with Tonya Charlie
Kathryn Medinger, Interview with Mary Kay Medinger
John Street, Interview with Teddy Street
Nancie Grifka, Interview with Clair Grifka
Henry Thorne, Interview with Ina Morgan
Cheryl George, Interview with Winnie Billy
Marissa Hunter, Interview with Mary Uttereyuk
Danielle Beaver, Interview with Susan Murphy
Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat
Krystin Beebe, Interview with Paul Beebe
Charlene Church, Interview with Paul Beebe
Vera Cleveland, Interview with Paul Beebe
Zane Debilt, Interview with Louisa Britton
Travis Nick, Interview with Lousia Britton
Arthur Abalama, Interview with Annie Cleveland
Danny Abalama, Interview with Annie Cleveland
Christopher Mark Jr., Interview with Kenneth Cleveland
Michael Smith, Interview with Kenneth Cleveland
Lonry Strunk, Interview with Kenneth Cleveland
Robert Guest, Interview with Olinka Donahuk
Willie Nelon, Interview with Edith Evans
Lynn Church, Interview with Mary Ford
Christina Ford, Interview with Mary Ford
Olivia Guest, Interview with Mary Ford
Kendra Cleveland, Interview with Dora Green
Marcella Jones, Interview with Dora Green
Martin Roach II, Interview with Oscar Friendly
Kristy A. Mark, Interview with Annie Mark
Julius Henry, Interview with John Mark
Eric Brown, Interview with Henry Matthew
Brittany Andrew, Interview with Jakub and May Nelson
Carissa Cleveland, Interview with Jakub and May Nelson
Richard Cleveland, Interview with Jakub Nelson
Kera Foster, Interview with Carrie Pleasant
Jeffrey Matthew, Interview with Carrie Pleasant
Alicia Sharp, Interview with Carrie Pleasant

During the month of April, a committe of judges at the Yup'it Piciryarait Museum and Allen Joseph of AVCP selected the Grand Prize Best Collection of Stories and the Overall Individual Story Winner

Kuinerramiut Elitnaurviat of Quinhagak, Alaska was awarded the Grand Prize Best Collection of Stories.

Danya Iqvarta Andrews of Akiuk Memorial School was awarded as the Overall Individual Story Winner for her story "The Grandmother's Song".

On March 16, 2003 the local Bethel band Los Esposos played a free concert at the Museum as a fund raiser for Stories from the Past. This event, which nearly 70 people attended, raised funds for the Stories from the Past Writing Competition and Exhibit. The Bethel Lion's Club also donated to the Stories from the Past Writing Competition. The funds from the Museum Benefit Show and from the Lion's Club were used to put together the Stories from the Past Exhibit, and to pay for prizes for all of the students who participated. Every students who submitted a story to Stories from the Past received a medal of participation.

Trophies were awarded to the winning school and to the winning student Danya Andrews.

The Stories from the Past Exhibit opened at the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum on May 20, 2003. The Stories from the Past exhibit features every story received this year. Traditional Stories, stories about ways of life, subsistence stories and ghost stories decorated the museum walls. The Stories from the Past Exhibit also featured paintings by Bethel Regional High School art students. The high school art students, under direction of their teacher Jayne Hotaling, interviewed Elders in the community and created pieces inspired by their interviews.

The Stories from the Past project created opportunities for Elders to teach youth, strengthening the bond between generations. Students were given the chance, whether through writing or painting, to creatively express and preserve traditional knowledge. As part of a language and culture preservation project, the stories will remain at the Yupiit Piciryarait Museum and at libraries in the region fo

Amy Cavanaugh is a mentally challenged 13 year old with dreams and wishes of being a ballerina. Colette Paul-Michelle is Amy's loving grandmother, whose wish is only to keep her dark secrets from getting out. At the source of these dark secrets is a amber hued jewel, "The Dragon's Tear", a mysterious necklace that seems to threaten Amy and Colette's peaceful life in East River.

Amy and her grandmother's pleasant and peaceful life may come to an abrupt end when Colette's secrets are about to be revealed. When a stranger from her distant past calls Colette out and threatens to take all that she holds precious, will the "Dragon's Tear" alone be enough to protect Amy from Colette's hunters? With the help of a few unique friends, Colette must try to destroy the past that hunts her, and save Amy's future.

Chosen to bring the Lord's healing power, in answer to prayer, Peter, Cindy, and Kim face a variety of situations. All the while trying to mature to adulthood. Always balancing the relationship between themselves and their families and new-found friends and of course each other. Learning the likes and dislikes of one another, the joys and sorrows and problems. They form a strong bond even when problems and authorities try to tear them apart. Moving constantly towards a finish which is surprising.

The mythical Dukedom of Dornoch lies in the heart of the medieval kingdom of Scotia. Behind the walls of an immense castle the Duke of Dornoch and his people are confronted with an early winter, more bitter than any in living memory. At the same time, they are faced with a sudden turn of events that spirals them down into the turmoil of invasion and war with two of their most ancient enemies, England and the dreaded Vikings. Duke Brian must rally his people and protect them and Castle Dornoch, the impregnable fortress that is their succour and their prison during that fearful winter.

When the disappearance of a young prince complicates matters, the castle is rife with rumour and political intrigue. The Duke and his beautiful wife Margaret are at the centre of the maelstrom, their deep love tested by the strains of their country's needs. A story of heroes, villains and ordinary people caught up in the privation of war, The Castle is a suspenseful and sweeping saga of one people's trial and triumph.

It wasn't hard to find the landmarks Roland had told him to look for in the foothills. He saw more grass than he had ever expected to find. Hills lay as sloping shoulders on either side suggesting the shape of a valley that turned to a rock-ribbed canyon after a few miles. Wind began to rise and he tugged his hat down snug. The horse turned south without being asked. The boy leaned forward, occasional bursts of sand stinging his face, full of expectation that the horse would find the water. Roland's voice came rolling across the expanse of his mind unbidden.

Can the soul be compared to anything more beautiful than the butterfly?

    From a dull, groveling caterpillar to a soaring creature of splendor and grace, the butterfly has captivated our heart, inspired our spirit, and preoccupied our imagination since the dawn of history. The caterpillar crawls through the dark and dangerous forest searching for its food plant so that it may one day flutter under a brilliant sun, from flower to flower, in a new world of sky, color, and perfume. The Butterfly, then, is a fable about such a caterpillar. A brave little caterpillar who leaves the Silk Palace to find the last real butterfly.

All 15-year-old Alice and her sisters Emma, Clara and Lily wanted to know was where they came from. Who had brought them to their secluded orphanage home and why did they each wear a mysterious golden pendant? The question seemed simple enough, but when posed to their strict headmistress Ms. Craddock, the girls discover far more than they expected.

Now Alice and her sisters find themselves on a dangerous question to free the kingdom of Algernon from the grip of a demon ruler, before he conquers all the lands of Fadreama. Guided by a powerful wizard, the girls make their way across the kingdom meeting friend and foe alike, all the while realizing that destiny never brings the expected. Pursued by a witch and running out of time, Alice must learn how to harness the power of her inner light in order to stop the terror before it is too late.

The author begins by telling us of his innocent beliefs in Christmas traditions as a young child and how with the passage of time, he became disillusioned with the whole concept. His children restored his acceptance of the event and together they celebrated Christmas in different parts of the world. He often wore a beard which over the years became white and he was able to convincingly play the part of Santa Claus. Unforgettable experiences were when he looked into the eyes of children and read there the sincere belief that there really was a Santa Claus and he was it. Eventually his concept of Christmas was passed on to his grand children and so it will go on forever.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus.

There is a host of characters that carry this story to its climax at the bank of the Mississippi: Big Chief George Jackson, who in the African tradition of Anansi, is a weaver of dreams. He spends all his free time Òsewin' an' sewin' his new suit to lead his Mardi Gras Indian tribe, the Golden Levee Stompers. Along the way, he helps shepherd young Andre into a better understanding of his vision by the muddy waters of a young queen in silver-petal shoes. This is Regina whose feet are "shushing" their way to the riverbank. Eugene, her brother, an astronomy aficionado, is developing his own Theory of Relatives and counting all the numbers around him. He uses a homemade telescope to follow two shooting stars called the Tears of Mary and ultimately to understand more clearly the Mardi Gras-cycle of nature, life and ritual that encompass this story. These and other characters help the reader to awaken to a new sense of self, one that is only found deep within.

Da Queen A'Sleep is a magical story of awakenings by the river, in the tradition of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, but set to the tune of Mardi Gras Indian chants and Dixieland jazz clarinets snaking through the streets. Its mantric phrases and biblical imagery of waters and renewal bring rivulets of rich meaning with one overriding message: Beauty has a power to instill deep awakenings in the human heart.

    The Ganza people once lived melodic lives devoted to the cultivation of skill, love, and friendship. Now, under an evil spell, they associate time with gain instead of growth and consequently live hurried, uninspired lives governed by the monotonous ticking of a universal clock. In the name of progress and civilization, they abuse the world in unimaginable ways. Their world has become barren, deadly and lifeless. All is deemed hopeless--until, that is, the little samba boy and his twin sister, Shambala, set off on a quest to break the spell and return the melodic song of the world to their people.

    Descended from kings. Alpin the twenty eighth king of Scotland, a descendant of Colla-Uais the one hundred twenty first king of Ireland and descendants of one of the four original Milesian kings. McGuffok, McPhe, Gaffny, McAuffie, each are of the same family. Story tellers one and all, give testimony to life, liberty and faith. "Skipping Rock" begins with John and Ootah after a shipwreck off Baffin Island in the late 8th century. Survival in the harsh arctic and subsequent long flight to the Isle of Colansay off the Scottish coast follows John and Ootah, Jerimah Alex Mac Fie, his wife Colleen, as well as their son Andrew Blackmore Mac Duffie on through his heir Henry Mathew Mac Guffok, passed the stories through the years. Living as story tellers and carrying the great Claymore and old pouch, Glen Robert and Eneca were befriended by Molly. Lawrence Bruce Mac Guffok with new found wealth and determination, built a small fortune. John Robert and Maureen Mac Donald married producing twin daughters in 1576. and a son Lloyd David McAuffy in January of 1601. Lloyd married Angeline, the pig farmers daughter, after a long tumultuous relationship. In 1667 their son Paul Martin McAuffe stood at the bow of a two masted vessel bound from Glasgow to Jamestown Virginia.
    Paul like the rest of his kin loved the stories and the smell of adventure. After a harrowing Atlantic crossing he awoke in the mountains of Virginia, laying in a pool of blood, memory of an explosion and the blurred vision of two half clad natives.
    Rachael rivaled Paul as an expert bowman and dressed in her red blanket, defeated all others in the biggest bow shooting contest the village had ever seen.
    In 1861 Sargent John M MacAuffe a Kentucky mule skinner for the Union Army was about to take part in one of his last battles. John married Mattie, both had scrapes with the law and raised a large family. Jacob Alexander MacAuffe, Jake, or Jack Ass MacAuffe to his friends, was born about 1866 0r 1867. Jake worked on a Mississippi steam boat. About 1893 Jake paid a handsome price for an indentured lass who worked on a Yankton South Dakota farm. It was found that they had a lot more in common than most folks would expect. Jake and Inga were married Christmas of 1895.
    Noah MacAuffe was born the 15th of July 1900 in Nome. His mother ran a boarding house while his father worked the beaches for gold. Inga passed away in 1918. Jake just left it all and boarded a steamer for the states.
    On his own, Noah sold every thing except the most prized and headed to Kaltag. He met Charlie Two Bears and his family. Dorthy, a shy girl and Noah hit it off and the two of them left Fortuna Ledge to start a life of there own. Dorthy and Noah have a son in 1935 who went on to open a flying service at age 13. Noah and Dorthy have more than one encounter with angles or spirits and are converted at their cabin above Wiseman. Noah has an encounter with a voice enticing him to write the story of his ancestors. Dorthy disappears, leaving Noah a lonely man.

Comments about the book

"Thank you" so very much for the "gift" of allowing me to read your wonderful writings of Skipping Rock. Your characters were profound individuals and the connections you made created the larger picture. I especially was inspired by the spiritualism that unfolded and surrounded the essence of your characters. I really enjoyed it. Would make a darn good movie! Keep on writing, God has endowed you with this gift!

Nancy Fitzgerald
avid reader