Category Archives: Farmer Island

FREE Kindle eBook: “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats”

Posted on by

book_cvr3D_sm_pngMany of you have either read the original online version (which is no longer available) or downloaded the pre-publication PDF version of An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats: Urban Myths Debunked. And special thanks to a sizable number of you who have purchased the Paperback version of the book from Amazon.

My original purpose in writing An Insider’s View… was to provide an accurate biographical account of the Rocky Flats story to as broad an audience as possible.

Consistent with that objective, I’m now offering the Kindle version of the An Insider’s View… FREE for 3 days beginning March 6, 2015. I encourage you to take advantage of this FREE ebook offer even if you purchased the paperback or downloaded the pre-publication PDF book from the RockyFlatsFacts.com website. That’s because – unlike the paperback and PDF which are text-only documents – the Kindle ebook contains the added bonus of over 2 dozen full-color (unclassified) photos that I think you’ll find memorable including one of burning plutonium (in a glovebox!) and two photos of plutonium ingots.

Don’t be put off if you don’t already own a Kindle reader: you don’t need one. You can download an entirely FREE Kindle ebook reader app to your PC, Mac, or mobile device by clicking here. (Clicking link will take you to Kindle reader app installer webpage.) Trust me, it is easy and it works just fine.

I do have a couple of requests to go along with this free Kindle ebook offer. First, I know that I’ve only a small fraction of email addresses for people interested in Rocky Flats news and information. Please forward this message to anyone you think might want to get the FREE An Insider’s View Kindle ebook with its cool photos. And if you enjoy the Kindle ebook version of An Insider’s View, please consider writing a short review of the ebook at Amazon.com.

Yes, A Second FREE Kindle eBook…

FIM_3D_Cover_341pxMy second request is that you take a look at my two more recent fiction books. I published these as collaborative efforts with my grandchildren who served as “Creative Staff and Illustrators.” The first book in the series is Angry Pigs Organized Against Gerbils: The Farmer Island War, and the more recent sequel is Farmer Island Magic.

To entice you further, I’m offering the Kindle ebook version of Farmer Island Magic FREE for the 3-day period beginning March 6, 2015. Of course, I’m hoping that you will eventually consider purchasing one or both of these books in paperback.

And once again, if you read one of my Farmer Island books and enjoy it, please consider writing a short review on Amazon.com and/or refer the book(s) to a friend, relative, or colleague.

Farmer Island Magic

Posted on by

FIM_3D_Cover_341pxFrequent visitors to this web site know that the books reviewed tend to be non-fiction. I’m making an exception this week because I’ve published Farmer Island Magic, the sequel to my 2012 book, Angry Pigs Organized Against Gerbils: The Farmer Island War. Both of those books were crafted based on character and plot suggestions offered by my four grandchildren who are credited as the “Creative Staff and Illustrators.”

Farmer Island Magic begins where Angry Pigs… left off and the truce that ended The Farmer Island War has held without incident. The farm animals, including the intelligent pigs, and their allies, are living peacefully with the gerbils that had been the enemies in the war. There are as yet no humans on the farm, so the animals must work together to plant, tend, and harvest the food for their survival. All appears well, but pigeon scouts and rat spies remain ever vigilant for dangers to the farm. The serenity of life on the farm is broken when a pigeon scout brings troubling news that humans are approaching. He reports that four humans are traveling toward the farm in a covered wagon and that one of them — a young woman — is probably the daughter of the original settlers that first cleared the farm from what was then wilderness. She is traveling with a husband and two children.

The arriving family is surprised to find a prosperous farm with well-tended crops yet no evidence of humans. They also notice many other mysteries, such as the farm pigs appearing intensely alert and watchful when the young farm wife is nearby. Nevertheless, the human family begins to settle into the farm and enjoy the frontier. The animals notice the human adults seem a bit careless with the children, perhaps not realizing there are real dangers on the frontier.

However, everything changes when the children are pursued by a viscous wolf pack and the farm pigs intervene to rescue the children. The humans begin to understand there is something remarkable about the farms pigs that seem to be able to understand what the young farm wife is saying. The family continues to uncover many mystical things about Farmer Island. The farm wife is led to a magic book and a letter from her mother that explains she has inherited powers from an ancient ancestor.

There are more mysteries and excitement ahead. The farm family is threatened by a band of marauders, but they are saved first by the bravery of the pig herd that defends them and then warriors from the Native American village who have been alerted by animals that the family is in danger.

This will be one of the shortest reviews posted on this web site, but I tell you that there are many other adventures and magical events to be enjoyed in Farmer Island Magic. I hope you are intrigued enough to buy the Farmer Island Magic Kindle ebook for $2.99 or the paperback for $9.95 (or even less). We also hope those of you who decide to enjoy the book or ebook will consider posting a favorable review at the Farmer Island Magic webpage at Amazon.com.

Fourth Anniversary of RockyFlatsFacts.com

Posted on by

It has been an interesting four years since we launched this site to provide the book titled, “An Insider’s View of Rocky Flats:  Urban Myths Debunked.” Several hundred people have elected to hold the actual book or to read the Kindle version, which has several interesting pictures. Some think the pictures of two types of plutonium ingots make the Kindle version worthwhile.

Getting some statistics out of the way, the counters have indicated there have been over 1.3 million visitors. There will have been 654 postings when this one is added. Those postings have been just about equally divided between commentaries, book reviews, and expressions. Frequent readers know that there is no way to predict the subjects since we write about whatever attracts our interest on a given day. There was a series of Rocky Flats-related commentaries in mid-year when a three day event was held at the Arvada Center on an anniversary of the government raid on the plant (see “An Insider’s View, etc., above). There was another Rocky Flat’s series when the Department of Energy announced through a subcontractor that health insurance provided to retirees was changing.

Book reviews continued to be mostly non-fiction, but we will post a review about any book we think is interesting. We are still finding new expressions despite posting descriptions of the origin and meaning of over 200. Perhaps the day will come when we run out of new material, but we aren’t there yet.

The two frequent contributors also have been busy writing and publishing books. Ponderer (Kate Rauner) published a sequel to her book “Glitch.” This one is titled “Venture,” and I recommend it to anyone who has interest in space exploration. A sequel to “Angry Pigs Organized Against Gerbils:  The Farmer Island War,” is titled “Farmer Island Magic,” and should be published soon. The four grandchildren who once again served as “Creative Staff and Illustrators” are hoping to have a copy before Christmas. I’m also in the early stages of writing another Rocky Flats book that I think will be interesting to people who worked there and/or protested the place.  More about that later.

Angry Pigs Organized Against Gerbils: The Farmer Island War

Posted on by

apoagThis review is about what may turn out to be my favorite book of all time. The reason is that I am the author and our four grandchildren are the Creative Staff and illustrators. The grandchildren are, in order of age, Andrew, Davis, Clayain, and Campbell. The intriguingly creative Angry Pigs book is the product of sharing ideas with those grandchildren and is, according to one reviewer, “An entertaining and well-illustrated book.”

Why in the world did pigs organize against gerbils, and why were they angry? The gerbils that had been farm pets did not prepare for the future when the Old Farmer, the only remaining human caretaker of the isolated farm, died. The pigs recognized that the animals had to grow food to survive, but the gerbils resorted to declaring war after the pigs refused to surrender their supplies of corn. The pigs became angry when the gerbils began using lethal weapons.

The pigs form a military organization and develop weapons to respond to the threat. They gain allies from other animals, including secret spies. The pigs also gain honor and respect as they bravely face danger together, and learn compassion is more rewarding than anger.

We are confident that you will enjoy this entertaining story and encourage you to order the book here. We also encourage tell your family and friends about the book, forward them the link to the book, and write a “customer review” on Amazon.com. We don’t think you will be able to resist ordering the book when you see the intriguing cover art that was developed by Keith Motyl, our publisher.

You also might also be interested that we have begun a web site to highlight the book and to post information about pigs and gerbils and describe the upcoming and continuing adventures of the animals on Farmer Island.

Angry Pigs Organized Against Gerbils: The Farmer Island War

Posted on by

This posting is about a book that has been a fun family project. I am listed as the author and the four grandchildren are listed as Creative Staff and Illustrators. I am confident that readers will agree that the Creative Staff were indeed creative and that the illustrations range from cute to clever. One reviewer commented it is “An entertaining and well-illustrated book.” For those wondering what ages would be appropriate to read the book, the Creative Staff and Illustrators are 6-12, and we think the creativity of the book makes it appropriate for anyone young at heart.

Why the strange title? Why did pigs need to organize against gerbils, and why did they become angry? The gerbils that had been farm pets did not prepare after the Old Farmer, the remaining caretaker of the isolated farm, died. The pigs recognized that they had to grow food to survive, and the gerbils resorted to declaring war after the pigs refused to surrender their supplies of corn. The pigs become angry when the gerbils resorted to using lethal weapons.

The pigs form a military organization and develop weapons to respond to the gerbil threat. They gain allies from other animals, including secret spies. The pigs also gain pride and respect as they bravely face danger together and learn compassion is more rewarding than anger.

There are several positive messages in the book. The pigs are rewarded for their industry while the gerbils pay a price for their failure to prepare for the future. The pigs use their intelligence to organize and prepare to defend their barn, their families, and their food supplies when the gerbils declare war. However the pigs are not arrogant about their intelligence; they recognize that other animals have strengths and abilities that are also quite admirable. The pigs also learn that facing danger strengthens their mutual respect.

We think you will find this an entertaining and heartwarming story that you will want to share with friends and family. We also think clinking on the link and looking at the intriguing cover will increase your interest.

You also might be interested that we have begun a web site to highlight the book and to post information about pigs and gerbils and to describe upcoming and continuing adventures of the animals on Farmer Island.