BEYOND

Beyond is a collection of eight short stories written for young adults.  The stories traverse North America, from New York City to Yellowknife, Canada and seize on having a metaphysical aspect integrated into each normal life.  They occur in a variety of times, reaching as far back as 1932, where the new swing dancing was the rage --- to a recent state science competition.  The stories mix male and female protagonists with families and friends, often in school settings, and always uplifting.

Fireflies

North of Taos New Mexico, corridors of high-tension wires cause the small community of Chimayo to be alarmed.  In the small middle school, Tamia and her friend Miko compete in a state science competition and do well against all odds.  The young Navajo pair takes on the science behind the phenomenon of the firefly.

The Radio

Set on Prince Edward Island, the date is 1938 and art students from all parts of the world come to this prestigious arts camp for the summer to perform, write, and create visual art.  Jamie and Anne Marie meet and become immersed in friendship and the culture of Camp Montague.  The airplane trip home gets caught in a violent storm and they find themselves abandoned on a remote island.  Their only salvation is an object they can only describe as The Radio.

Carmen’s Cross

New York City’s lower Manhattan is the backdrop for this story about a young Hispanic girl who finds a small metal cross in the street.  The power of the cross is unknown until she places over the broken leg of her new puppy. “Maybe this will help my Abuela?” she thought.  Carmen moved slowly without making a sound to her bedroom door, turned the knob, and slipped down to her grandmother’s room.  This metaphysical story brings cultural, family, and faith together as the mystery of this young girl’s find, overcomes the physical obstacles in the real world.

Saving Grace

This story is set in New York City's lower east side, in a time before technology was widespread.  Grace and Nicho are Hispanic seventh graders at St. Vincent DePaul Middle School.  Nicho's experience with prayer weighs in on helping his friend's fight with influenza.  The power of the church crucifix overcomes all odds.
Nicho walked forward, turned around to face the crucifix, crossed himself, and knelt down to pray.  He whispered softly to himself,   “God bless my family…but I need some help for Grace.”  A voice replied inside his head, “Take your hand and touch my feet…then visit the one you love and place that same hand on her arm.”
Set in a Catholic K-8 school setting, the reader learns much about the inter workings of the Catholic faith.

The Necklace

Set in the automotive cultural of Detroit during the depression, the Necklace is story about a family heirloom that gets passed on from father to son.  Vern was born with a natural ability to dance, and when he meets Roxanne, his world changes.  The story is about a family headed up by two musicians, Harry and Ada who struggle with their own challenges.  “To yield is to be preserved whole, to be bent is to become straight, to be empty is to be full, to have little is to possess.” Says Harry to his family as he prepares to become a Freemason.

Philomen

In "Philomen," writer Ron Teachworth returns again to the depths, this time to the ocean. His characters are young people who tend to prefer their own company and pursue their own paths, and in "Philomen" we meet young Kes, drawn inexorably to the sea, who saves the life of a young girl caught in the dangerous offshore undertow. In his stories, Teachworth explores themes of psychological development and growth, and in this story Kes receives the blessing of his father, even though his father drowned in a tragic accident even before Kes himself was born.  Trying to explain the events of a strange day in terms of the ordinary world of cause and effect and relationship, Kes and his mother encounter a young woman named Victoria—who was saved from a watery grave by Kes’ father, even though the act of heroism cost him his own life. Victoria, haunted by the guilt of having survived when he died, and Kes, in search of his father and his own destiny, encounter one another in the shadows of a shared dream, and together they emerge as more complete individuals who can now step into the future.

The Storm

A gift from birth, Clare keeps it a secret.  Her close relationship with her grandfather sets the stage when a violent storm appears on the horizon. Set back in time in a Midwest high school, two girls who excel in math and science navigate the social norms of their peers and then get caught up in The Storm.

Marker At Yellowknife

As in earlier stories, "Marker at Yellowknife" deals with the metaphysical, taking the reader to one of the most remote locations in North America. The story intrigues us with a young man’s discovery of an unknown object, found along the shores of the Great Slave Lake. The elements of water and beach are reminiscent of earlier stories and provide a certain element of natural stability to the story, while we learn about an omnipotent and positive force existing in the region for many years. The story within a story provides insight to the local people and pulls the reader into an Indian cultural we know very little about. The green bar of light that visits the Marker at Yellowknife lives with us long after the story is over.