Category: Sample Chapter

Indiana State Park Travel Guide Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Shakamak Indiana State Park – Indiana’s Coal

300 million years ago Portions of the region we know as Indiana was covered at one time by huge swamps. Indiana was much warmer at this time, an environment that was ideal for plants to grow. Vast quantities of dead vegetation accumulated over the centuries to form a layer of brown, spongy peat at the bottom. Geologic and climatic changes over the centuries allowed soil and rock to form over this layer of peat. As time passed the heat and pressure of this buildup converted the peat, hardening it into the substance we know as coal. Each ten-foot layer of peat will generate about one foot of coal from this pressure and heat buildup. The coal in Indiana is of a type called bituminous coal which is very low in moisture and is an ideal fuel for using in electricity generating plants and to make coke for the steel industry. The earliest records of commercial mining in Indiana date from the mid-Nineteenth Century. Most of the coal in Indiana is found in the southwestern part of the state. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Shakamak Indiana State Park – Indiana’s Coal

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – First Indiana Gas Well

Natural Gas
Drillers searching for coal usually found natural gas in the process. This gas was highly flammable, hard to handle and considered a nuisance gas. Steel maker Andrew Carnegie pioneered using natural gas in his foundries in the 1880’s and proved that using natural gas was feasible. In 1885, he claimed that using natural gas saved 10,000 tons of coal a day in his huge blast furnaces. On January 20, 1886, drillers discovered a huge gas well in Findlay, Ohio that drillers could not control, so great was its gas flow. The flame plume from the well burned for four months. Continue reading Sample Chapter – First Indiana Gas Well

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Indiana’s Timeless Tales – Pre-History to 1781

Pleistocene Era
The Pleistocene Age began roughly two million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. During this vast period, at least three episodes of extensive glaciations covered most of what is now Indiana. These glacial events are called the Pre-Illinoisan, Illinoisan, and the Wisconsinan Ages.
The Ice Ages Continue reading Sample Chapter – Indiana’s Timeless Tales – Pre-History to 1781

Gardener's Guide to Annual Flowers, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Gardener’s Guide to Marigolds – Propagatio

Plant marigold seed about six to eight weeks before the last spring frost. Use a soilless potting mix, available at garden, hardware or farm stores, to plant he seeds. Fill bedding packs, pots or other suitable container with the soil, place the seeds about 1 inch apart on the soil surface and cover with Continue reading Sample Chapter – Gardener’s Guide to Marigolds – Propagatio

American Short Biography Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Spanish Explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón Lands in South Carolina to Found Colony

The son of Juan Vázquez de Ayllón and Inés de Villalobos, Lucas was native to Toledo, Spain. Ayllón studied law and received instruction in Spanish politics from his city councilman father. In 1502 he accompanied a flotilla of ships that carried the new Spanish governor of Hispaniola, Nicolás de Ovando, to the island. Ovando appointed Ayllón as alcalde mayor with the responsibility to establish order in the gold mining region of the island Continue reading Sample Chapter – Spanish Explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón Lands in South Carolina to Found Colony

Sample Chapter, Wizards of the Golden Star Series

Sample Chapter – Looming Disaster

Bees hummed as they gathered nectar from fragrant wildflowers and the cadence of birdsong filled the sunny meadow. A family picnicked in this meadow, nestled near the hemline of the forest, unaware that danger lurked nearby. A small boy wandered among the wildflowers, gathering blossoms to make a bouquet for his mother. There were blue flowers, white flowers and flowers of many other colors. It would be a wonderful bouquet and the boy could not wait to see his mother’s smile when he gave it to her. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Looming Disaster

Sample Chapter, Wizards of the Golden Star Series

Sample Chapter – Aron’s Fear

The wizard Aron stood on the summit of Crystalcrest and gazed at the valley of the River Fleet. The vast green valley stretched out to the horizon as it followed the river that carved it.. Dark figures moved along the road that followed the river’s course as it wound its way along of the Crystalline Mountains on its way to the sea. The last of the pilgrims were departing and he would again soon taste the flavor of loneliness. Each year the crowds came here bringing with them their ten-year-old children as they completed the Quest of the Covenant. Then each year they departed, leaving Aron, the Guardian of the Covenant, to his solitude. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Aron’s Fear