Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Akron man interrupts armed burglar
Fan in LeBron's Heat jersey draws ire in Cleveland
Father Sam revelations are painful
Police: Ohio baby who died had adult bite marks
Store apologizes for treatment of Ohio nursing mom
Police in Ohio find woman and 2 kids out naked
Drivers give Fairlawn roundabout thumbs-up
1st U.S. execution of woman since 2005 set for Sept.
Blogs:
The330:
Akron Zoo’s $500,000 Conservation Carousel opens to public Saturday
Akron Docs in Haiti:
Orphans in Fondwa
First Bell - On Education:
Busing, sports fees and class size on table if Copley-Fairlawn schools levy fails
Pets:
Paws & Pitches at Canal Park
The Heldenfiles:
"So You Think You Can Dance" Notes
Akron Zips:
Poll: What season are you anticipating most?
Tribe Matters:
Thursday’s Indians lineup
Cleveland Browns:
Links to Browns coverage: July 30, 2010
Kent State Sports:
Key MAC Games Of 2010 Season
Cleveland Cavaliers:
LeBron still has at least one fan in Cleveland
Buckeye Blogging:
10 Hurdles Standing Between Ohio State and Another National Championship
Varsity Letters:
Important Dates for Upcoming High School Football Season
All Da King's Men:
Arizona Immigration Law Blocked, Drug Cartels Rejoice
Blog of Mass Destruction:
"Muslims Hate Jews, Christians &…Dogs"
Akron Law Café:
Is BP Cornering the Market on Oil Spill Research?
Car Chase:
Sunday – or Anyday Drives
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Brangelina to Buy in Santorini?
Sound Check:
Ohio alt-rock stars weigh in on Lebron….John Mayer too..
HRLite House:
From the White House – New Federal Approach to Hiring
Published on Sunday, Feb 15, 2009
Readers unfamiliar with rock-climbing jargon may be a little confused by some of the terms Jack Ballard Jr. uses in his adventure/espionage novel Rock Dance, but it hardly matters, as the exciting story doesn't need a glossary to be enjoyable.
The main characters are search-and-rescue volunteers in Colorado: Businessman Dusty Palmberg and his friend Todd are out on a cliff one day when a woman climbing alone is injured and must be extricated with a helicopter. When she recovers, Kory trains to join the team and she and Dusty form an uneasy alliance — edging around romance, but she is a little too arrogant for them to really connect.
Meanwhile, a private plane is sabotaged and crashes in the mountains, and the team goes in to rescue the pilot. They don't know he's a CIA contractor carrying a vital piece of software, and that the saboteurs are desperate to retrieve the disc containing the computer program. An FBI agent recruits Dusty's help, and there's a didn't-see-it-coming double-cross.
It can be assumed that Ballard has the details of the wilderness operations correct: He's been involved with search-and-rescue operations in Colorado since 1996. With a doctorate from Kent State University, he teaches music production at Malone University.
Rock Dance (163 pages, softcover) costs $13.50 from http://www.casperianbooks.com.
Time travel by horseback
Ariel's Journey, first in the ''Ice Horse Adventures'' series for young adults by Amherst author Doug Kane and Christy Wood of Oregon, starts out as a straightforward girls-and-horses story. Sisters Kim and Emily Miller, with their parents, raise Icelandic horses on a farm in Pennsylvania. They're friendly with nice Darcy and Laura, but some of the other girls in their 4-H and equestrian clubs make fun of the hardy, amiable little horses.
After a tussle between Emily and snooty Andrea at a riding event, Mrs. Miller has an idea: Send the girls on an overnight trail ride on the ''Iceys.'' They'll have to learn to cooperate, and the ''divas'' will come to appreciate that horse breeds have diversity, just like people.
Though things go well for a while, the girls find they've gone off the trail. Way off — as in magically transported to 12th-century Iceland, where the horses, now telepathic, tell them they have a mission. One chieftain has abducted another's daughter, and the girls must rescue her. Even with the help of the horses, including Ariel, can they do it?
The next book in the series is Prinsessa's Mission. Ariel's Journey (233 pages, softcover) costs $8.95 from http://www.icehorseadventures.com. Doug Kane breeds Icelandic horses.
Events
Canton Woman's Club (822 Market Ave. N.) — Canton mystery writer Audrey Lavin (Eloquent Corpse) will speak about her work Monday. Dinner at 6:30 p.m. costs $14.25; the program at 7:30 p.m. is free. Call 330-454-4541 for reservations.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Legacy Village, Lyndhurst) — Dennis M. Stanfield signs Journey, a book of poetry, 7 p.m. Wednesday. Deneene Jo Florino signs Angel Tales: Refuge for a Parent's Healing Heart (see details below), 2 p.m. Saturday.
Kent Free Library (312 W. Main St.) — Psychologist and Kent State University instructor Branton Shearer signs Creating ExtraOrdinary Teachers. 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Hiram College — Cleveland Heights mystery author Les Roberts will discuss his work, including his most recent Milan Jacovich mystery King of the Holly Hop, and the influence of Dashiell Hammett on his fiction, as part of the Big Read. Noon Thursday in the Alumni Heritage Room.
Reed Memorial Library (167 E. Main St., Ravenna) — Les Roberts continues his discussion of his work and Dashiell Hammett's influence. 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson) — Grief counselor Deneene Jo Florino discusses and signs Angel Tales: Refuge for a Parent's Healing Heart, in which she describes her travels to visit 11 Angel of Hope statues, including the one in Stow. 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
— Barbara McIntyre
Special to the Beacon Journal
Send information about books of local interest to Lynne Sherwin, Features Department, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309 or lsherwin@thebeaconjournal.com. Event notices should be sent at least two weeks in advance.
Get the full article here.
Most Commented Stories
- 137
- 54
- 53
- 47
- 45
- 45
- 37
- 25
- 24
- 17
