Steps Into Darkness (A Shakertown Adventure) by Ben Woodard @benswoodard

The unknown figure’s back was to them as he connected the wires to the detonator. Will shoved Tom. Only minutes remained.

They located the last connection point where the blasting caps were wired to two sticks of dynamite. The wires to the plunger snaked up the hill. The connecting strands were twisted, tightly, as with pliers. Tom snatched a rock, but Will grabbed his hand and pointed up the hill. Tom understood. The man would hear the pounding. They each took a twisted connection and tried to pry it apart with their fingers. They would need to break only one.

The wires resisted. Tom gritted his teeth, then remembered his pocket knife. He pulled it out, flipped the blade open, and wedged the tip between two strands. He twisted and the blade snapped. The sound startled the man. He whirled around and stared directly at the boys. Tom forced the broken blade into the gap in the wires. Will put his finger on top of one and pulled as Tom twisted. Blood ran down Will’s hand as the metal bit into his finger. They strained, and watched the man. His eyes darted in all directions. Then he made his decision. He pulled the plunger up, hesitated a moment, and slammed it down.

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Genre - YA/Mystery

Rating – PG – 13

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Website http://BooksByBen.com

Ben Woodard – What Inspired Me to Write My Book @benswoodard

What Inspired Me to Write My Book

My writing career started when I first told a story to my oldest grandchild. I was amazed to find out that I could come up with weird, and sometimes wonderful, adventures off the top of my head.

From this I went to telling stories in grade schools through a group called Spellbinders. They provided training for anyone who was willing to go to schools and keep alive the oral tradition of storytelling. I absolutely loved this. And quite often I would tell the stories that I had made up for my grandkids.

My wife, who is a former bookstore owner, told me one day that I needed to write these down. I balked. I didn’t want to be a writer. My career was as an engineer and marketing specialist and I spent a considerable time writing manuals and marketing materials. This was definitely something I did not want to do again. But the excitement of making up a story and seeing it come to life was more than I could resist. Suddenly, I thought I’d found the best job in the world.

Often, I would start writing in the evening and continue until early morning. I was constantly writing and always excited, and then reality arrived. My critique group informed me that while my stories were good, they needed to be edited. Edited? Surely not. After all, that’s no fun. But they calmly informed me that if I had any hope of ever seeing my stories in print, I needed to learn to edit. And not only that, they mentioned such things like plotting, the Snowflake Method, story arcs, and more. So I had a decision to make. Do I want to write stories for the grandkids and for fun, or did I actually want someone to read them? And why?

I thought about the books I had read as a boy and how they influenced me in so many ways. I learned of racism, and how it affected people, through Huckleberry Finn and To Kill A Mockingbird. Books that brought a different version of race relations to a boy in a southern town in the fifties. I learned of adventures around the world, and beyond, in books such as the Count of Monte Christo, Treasure Island, The Sands Of Mars, and many others. All fiction, but written well enough that I experienced them as true. What if I could do the same for the boys of today? I knew I didn’t have the talent or the experience, but I did seem to have some ability, and with effort and study, maybe, just maybe, I could write something that might change a boy’s, or girl’s, life.

It was an easy decision.

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Genre - YA/Mystery

Rating – PG – 13

More details about the author and the book

Connect with Ben Woodard on Facebook and Twitter

Website http://BooksByBen.com