William the Runaway Woodchuck
Suzanne Harlow
Author Bio
Suzanne Harlow was born in Richmond, Va. Her favorite childhood memories include; free-range parenting, horses, her green machine and playing make believe with her friends and siblings in the marshy and wooded area surrounding her first home. Each evening the dirt sloughed off in waves during bath time revealing an array of cuts and bruises obtained during the hours spent outside. With legs extended, her siblings and friends compared the damaged. She pointed to her injuries noting which ones she obtained riding her bike through a heavily wooded section, grabbing a kick ball from under a holly tree or embarrassingly tripping over her own two feet.
In her 20’s she switched to less trauma inducing activities such as jogging and hiking. She studied Journalism and photography at Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduating she did freelance photography for the Richmond Times-Dispatch followed by a stint in corporate America before deciding to concentrate on her writing.
One of her favorite styles is the animation of animals as their unique personalities have brought her endless delight over the years from the meanest barn cat, to the unruliest of ponies and loyalist of dogs. Even a squirrel chiding her for walking near seeds she herself dispersed moments earlier brings a smile to her lips.
Description
Tired of living a safe existence between the east and west bound lanes of highway 64 near Williamsburg, Virginia William grabbed life by the horns and ran away from home. The original plan was to return by the end of summer to entertain his sweet siblings plus wonderful mother with many wild and crazy tales of life beyond the highway. Surely there were giant fields of dandelions on the other side. While owls posed a threat, he was a smart woodchuck and would find shelter soon enough. After spending many hours sprint training, getting across the three lanes of highway 64 seemed doable.
He did not get far when he stumbled upon a lonely child, Sara, riding her brother’s skateboard. With new experiences as his goal, William climbed aboard the strange contraption. William and Sara were two young souls eager to make the most of what life had to offer when they stumbled into each other’s lives. William wanted freedom from his family and adventure when he set out to see the world but with Sara’s videography skills the world ended up seeing him.
Sara was eager for a new companion after her best friend moved to California leaving her adrift with only two pesky brothers with which to play. Games are just not the same if you can’t share them with a friend. After climbing on the skateboard and feeling the wind in his fur, William knew he was born to ride. The sensation was beyond his wildest dreams. In an instant, he realized his new life meant improving his skateboarding skills. In short order he became a skateboarding YouTube sensation. He knew he arrived when he was invited to show off his boarding skills on the Ellen DeGeneres show.
“William the Runaway Woodchuck” is a story about family, friendship, adventure and the search to find the perfect balance of each. Life is best when shared with others. Adventure and life experiences are wonderful but not always feasible to take everyone you love with you on your journey. In the end, what memories will we treasure the most? What is the best balance?
Come join William on his breathtaking adventure as he tries to figure it out.
Book excerpt
Lying in her burrow with the sound of cars zooming past either side of Chuckette’s house brought her a surprising feeling; peace. Located down a ravine between the east and west bound lanes of I-64 near Williamsburg, Va. the highway created an oasis for Chuckette’s family in an area they dubbed Wood Town. This particular tree filled section was large enough to sustain generations of her family.
The irony was the human’s and their cars while creating this safe haven, didn’t even realize the town existed
Racing to and fro up and down the interstate, none stopped to look at the scenery as they zoomed passed. If they slowed down just a bit, they might, just might noticed a small, faint trail running from the grassy strip alongside the highway, down into the woods separating the two freeways.
Chuckette frequented the grass strip along the road in the spring as delicious grass and dandelions were found here. Today was no exception.
After getting her babies fed, she sang a little tune, following the path up out of the woods onto the bright section along the road. “How I love a beautiful morning, beautiful morning, beautiful morning, how I love a beautiful morning, as I gather food to and fro.”
Walking out of the shade of the trail into the golden sunshine, she spotted a beautiful new yellow flower swaying gently in the breeze. Balancing on her hind legs, Chuckette pulled the stem of the dandelion toward her mouth and slowly gnawed on its tender leaves. “I will never get sick of these,” she said to herself between mouthfuls. “Mmm, mmm good,” she exclaimed.
While savoring each bite, she kept one eye out for predators. Just in case.
Occasionally, during the early evening hours, she spotted a fox between the flash of vehicles watching her every move.
“Savages,” she sputtered spontaneously, and jumped at the unexpected sound of her own hostile voice.
“Silly me,” she laughed; looking around to make sure no one was watching.
Thankfully foxes were smart creatures that realized their chances of getting across three busy lanes successfully were quite slim. Other potential enemies included dogs. They always made her jump barking out car windows but as of yet, none had entered Wood Town. The super evil snakes were frightening but the vibration the cars made roaring down the freeway normally stopped their slithering ways.
Of course there was that one bad morning several years ago when she noticed a large, dead snake in the middle lane. She tried not to think of it too frequently as it made her nerves very jumpy. If that scary creature had found her burrow she hated to think what would have happened to her babies. She pushed the thought out of her mind.
Even if they made it across, they would have to leave eventually, as there wasn’t enough food to sustain the intruders. To make it across twice was tempting fate and thankfully most did not. She suspected the death of the snake helped keep his cousins at bay. Word does get around on such matters.
Author Website
http://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Harlow/e/B00XPQY0C0/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
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