Mist on the River chronicles a search for wild steelhead salmon in the remaining wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. As he says in the prologue to his book, Michael Checchio likes his fly-fishing on big western rivers where there are lots of mountains to look at, and where the steelhead don't come out of a hatchery but are born as nature intended, in the cold gravel of a clean stream. He finds all this and more up in British Columbia on his search for some of the last great runs of wild steelhead left on earth. Steelhead, the great sea-run rainbow trout of the Pacific Northwest, have long been sought by fly-fishermen. To Checchio, they have become a powerful symbol for the last of the wild in the Pacific Northwest and are to the Northwest what lions are to the Serengeti. And like their cousins, the salmon, they are among the species of fish most threatened by the modern world. A passionate fly-fisherman, Checchio discovered steelhead when he moved to the West Coast a little more than a decade ago. Fishing for ever diminishing returns of these magnificent fish in the rivers of northern California and Oregon, he dreamed of faraway waters in Alaska and Kamchatka, where he might find the last strongholds of wild steelhead remaining on the planet. Finally, he was able to take a dream vacation north to experience for the first time the steelhead Valhalla awaiting the fly-fisherman in British Columbia. Michael Checchio has been praised by the fishing community as a passionate writer on the plight of the great outdoors and the steelhead trout. But this book is not written just for the fly-fishing fraternity, but rather to the general reader who has a love of nature and the outdoors, and a deep interest in the fate of wildlife and the future of the environment. Checchio's personal steelhead journey leads him on a quest toward rivers and landscapes ever more pristine and wild, providing illuminating sights and thoughts along the way.

This second novel in the Emerald Eyes Trilogy starts on the non-magical Earth. It is Christmas and Cindy and Sylvia from Emerald Eyes Destiny are skating on a lake in Washington State. A strange mist swirls in and a little bird arrives with a message on his leg asking for help. They travel through a magical void to another world and find Muftin, the bird, can speak. Gikre a dwarf is with Tulco, a girl with emerald eyes like their own. She is caught in a bear trap set by human invaders trying to catch them. After freeing Tulco from the trap Cindy and Sylvia help her to escape from the humans. However, they must cope with strange mists called vapin that appear to come in two forms; a white one helps them but a red one is a terrible enemy. After being attacked by the red vapin the white vapin comes to their assistance and communicates with them with thoughts. They are told to head to White Sword Peninsular, far away up the coast . Xentrix the dragon provides transport for this perilous journey. There they meet a strange community isolated on a small peninsular. For some reason these humanoids cannot leave the peninsular. Why is this so and what is the dark secret held by these people? What of the strange mists? Are they just a force or something alive? In this adventure all these problems must be solved including the one about Tulco, herself. It appears that Cindy loses her magical powers as Tulco gains them. The youngster matures at a phenomenal rate to become a woman the same age as Cindy and Sylvia. Why is this so? How does this new Emerald Eye Wizard use her special powers to solve the problems in this magical world? If you've read Emerald Eyes Destiny you'll love being with Cindy and Sylvia again. This novel, though, is a complete story in itself that can be enjoyed in its own right. *