It’s Sunday and that means blog day!!!

I hope you don’t get sick of what I have to say on Sunday, but it is important to me. Fewer possessions, more experiences is the theme this year. I’ve been cleaning jewelry. I discovered that my silver was tarnishing and that is when I realized it sat to close to the humidifier. Problem solved, jewelry in the process of cleaning. I am in possession of tarnished silver soon to be untarnished silver. I guess that’s my cleaning out this week.

I thought we’d discuss an Oklahoma fairytale I wrote, titled Glome’s Valley. It is a young adult novel for kids 12-15 years old, but you can read it too. I won’t tell.

Years ago, I discovered the Heavener Runestone in southeastern Oklahoma, and I fell in love with the place. The tall pines on Poteau Mountain are magical and I’m sure there is magic all around them. Standing on the hillside breathing the scent of pine and listening to the birds – you know you are in the middle of some kind of magic.

The first time I was there, a man with a preschooler came into the gift shop where my books now sit and asked about the book, In Plain Sight by Gloria Farley. He was working on his PhD in archeology and had his son with him. I later bought that book and it was the basis of the fairytale I titled Glome’s Valley. I thought what a charmed life that boy lived following his dad on archeological digs whether or not he knew it and that was when the story was born.

There are many, Gloria Farley for one, who believe that the sandstone monolith named the Heavener Runestone was carved by Vikings who visited Oklahoma long before Christopher Columbus discovered the new world. And that person claimed the valley as his own by carving “Glome’s Valley” into the stone. I was hooked.

Glome’s Valley is the story of Ethan, a young boy who is stuck in the forest with his dad during the summer while he studies the runestone. He’s bored without his friends to play with and begins hiking the area only to bump into another boy about his age – dressed as an ancient Viking. It is soon apparent that Glome isn’t a normal boy with a normal life. He’s a ghost who has inhabited the valley for centuries and his companions are fairies and wood nymphs in an eternal battle with the trolls who live nearby. He’s thrilled to have another boy to play with and Ethan begins to live the life of a Viking in the forest with his new friends. He’s thrown into an ancient battle while his father looks for him. Viking lore always included Thor and Loki and they make an appearance in Glome’s Valley, too.

Check out a copy of Glome’s Valley, https://tinyurl.com/ycxychjm set in Oklahoma. It is just about hiking time!

What are you reading this week?