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Hi, my name is Jack Dahlgren and I’m doing a guest post for C.K. Volnek today. She’s not in any shape to blog. I can’t get her to quit jumping up and down and staring at the new cover of our book, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island. Geesh, you’d wonder which one of us is the kid. I guess I can’t blame her. It is pretty exciting. It’s fun to see a cover to my story. Yeah, I’m the main character of C.K.’s ghost story.

If you like action, adventure and mystery with some Indian folklore and history thrown in, you’ll love Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island. C.K. got the idea to write the story when she read an article about the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. Some think the people that came over on the Mayflower to Plymouth were the first colonists, but they weren’t. Roanoke Island was the very first colony.

In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh dispatched  a group of colonists to Roanoke Island to set up a colony in the new world. A few short months later the colonists sent their Governor, John White, back to England for supplies and help. With the start of the Spanish war, White was not able to return right away. And when he did return to Roanoke Island three years later, the colonists were gone. Completely vanished.  No one knows what happened to them. Did they die of starvation or disease? Were they killed? There weren’t any bodies. Did they get blown away by a hurricane? If they had, then why weren’t the buildings destroyed? Many questions surround this never-solved mystery. And so C.K. decided to come up with her own explanation.

When I saw C.K. working on the book, I realized I had to help. After all, I'm almost 13 and it is my story. I didn’t want to move to Roanoke Island. But my dad had lost his job and I heard him and mom whispering about the bank taking our house in Ohio. So, when Great-grandma Ellis left us this beach house on Roanoke Island, Dad went to check it out. He got a job right away and it was a done deal, we were moving. Great-grandma’s house is said to be haunted. At least that’s what the kids at school say. They didn’t have a clue what was really haunting the island.

C.K has created some nice friends for me. There’s this really neat Old English Mastiff and Manny, he’s a cool Native American guy. He can whittle and has a bag of powders that send me on a vision quest to help solve the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.  Mrs. Grundel is a nice grandmotherly-kind of lady. She treats me like a guy wants to be treated, not like a baby…like my dad. Dad doesn’t think I can do anything right. Especially since my sister, Kimmy, fell off the cliff next to our house. I didn’t know she’d followed me up there, but he blames me for it.

C.K. also created this wicked creepy monster from some Indian folklore. He’s big and ugly and smelly. If it weren’t for the Mastiff, I would have been monster meat several times.

I hope you’ll look for me and my friends when Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island comes out in September. It’s one great ghostly adventure.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jack Dahlgren   

Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, by C.K. Volnek. Due out September, 2011 by MuseItUp Publishing.  


 
 
Greetings all,

Thanksgiving is upon us, conjuring up memories of family and feasts. Such wonderful thoughts. So much to be joyful for. I’m posting a piece today that I wrote several years back and had accepted by
Chicken Soup for the Family Soul. It's a special piece as I remember and treasure the memories of my children, family and friends. I pray for each and everyone of you to have a most blessed Thanksgiving holiday as you celebrate 'just another day.'

                                                                                           Just Another Day
                                                             by Charlotte “Charlie” Volnek

Is it morning already? I rub my eyes and get up to ready myself for just another day. It's just another day...I look out my window to see the sun beaming down, caressing the Earth with its golden rays. Above, white clouds float in the brilliant blue sky. I hear a cardinal singing to his mate as he perches upon my back fence. And a bed of crocus open their purple heads to the heavens in joyful thankfulness.

It's just another day. My small daughter bursts into the room, her giggle ringing through the house as she hugs my neck tightly. Her small hand fits into mine as she pulls me to the kitchen to show me the card she has made. A stick figure with curly brown hair waves from the paper and beneath it, written in purple crayon are the words, "I love you, Mommy."

It's just another day as I stand quietly and watch a handicapped child. He struggles to get his special walker over the curb, but it won't budge. A well-meaning teacher offers assistance, but he brushes her away. With determination, he conquers the curb and is off to laugh and play with his friends. I weep inside for his handicap, but I am inspired by his courage. And I smile as I watch the children play, totally accepting their friend for who he is, not judging him for what he lacks.

It's just another day. My son proudly presents the report he did for school. He shares with me the hopes and dreams he holds for his future. His curiosity and excitement are contagious as we unfold the limitless possibilities that lay before him. I am encouraged that no dream is beyond our reach if we want it bad enough.

It's just another day. My beloved wraps his arms around me and surrounds me in love. I turn to look in the eyes that share my innermost feelings. What a special friend I have. Someone who loves me for who I am. Someone to lean on when I feel down. Someone to share my happiness. Someone to love.

Yes, it is just another day. A day to enjoy God's gracious beauty upon this Earth. A day to kiss the cherub cheeks of my children, and share in their hopes and dreams. A day to learn the value of determination and hard work. A day to learn the value of judging mankind for the quality he has, not what he has not. A day to learn the value of love.

Yes, it's just another day, I sigh. The stars dance in the velvet sky as a full yellow moon smiles cheerfully down. The house is quiet and still. The only sound is the soft even breathing of my spouse. I recall the scripture: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) And as I lay at the side of my soul mate I pray that God will let me see "just another day"!

God Bless!
C.K. Volnek