When journalist Josh Wittmore moves from the Illinois bureau of Farm Country News to the newspaper’s national office in Wisconsin, he encounters the biggest story of his young career—just as the paper’s finances may lead to its closure. Josh’s big story is that a corporation that plans to establish an enormous hog farm has bought a lot of land along the Tamarack River in bucolic Ames County. Some of the local residents and officials are excited about the jobs and tax revenues that the big farm will bring, while others worry about truck traffic, porcine aromas, and manure runoff polluting the river. And how would the arrival of a large agribusiness affect life and traditions in this tightly knit rural community of family farmers? Josh strives to provide impartial agricultural reporting, even as his newspaper is replaced by a new Internet-only version owned by a former New York investment banker. And it seems that there may be another force in play: the vengeful ghost of a drowned logger who locals say haunts the valley of the Tamarack River.

Limping through Life A Farm Boy’s Polio Memoir Jerry Apps “Families throughout the United States lived in fear of polio throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, and now the disease had come to our farm. I can still remember that short winter day and the chilly night when I first showed symptoms. My life would never be the same.” —from the Introduction Polio was epidemic in the United States starting in 1916. By the 1930s, quarantines and school closings were becoming common, as isolation was one of the only ways to fight the disease. The Sauk vaccine was not available until 1955; in that year, Wisconsin’s Fox River valley had more polio cases per capita than anywhere in the United States. In his most personal book, Jerry Apps, who contracted polio at age twelve, reveals how the disease affected him physically and emotionally, profoundly influencing his education, military service, and family life and setting him on the path to becoming a professional writer. A hardworking farm kid who loved playing softball, young Jerry Apps would have to make many adjustments and meet many challenges after that winter night he was stricken with a debilitating, sometimes fatal illness. In Limping through Life he explores the ways his world changed after polio and pays tribute to those family members, teachers, and friends who helped him along the way.

In this combination memoir and craft book, award-winning author Jerry Apps shares the next phase in his life story begun in Limping through Life and Once a Professor. Beginning with a boyhood surrounded by storytellers, Jerry takes readers along on his path to becoming one of the Midwest’s best-known and most revered writers. In characteristic no-nonsense style, he shares the joys, disappointments, and frustrations of the writing life and describes the genesis and creation of many of his best-known books. In recounting his nearly six-decade writing career, Jerry provides an insider’s view into the creative process, delving into sources for ideas, research strategies, and guidelines and essential tools for writing. Along the way he recalls his relationships with publishers, editors, TV producers, librarians, booksellers, and others and shares a scrapbook’s worth of stories—some funny, some heartwarming, a few of them harrowing—from the road. A book for book lovers!

In the sixth novel in Jerry Apps's "Ames County series," a proposed frac sand mine in the local community park divides small-town neighbors into factions.

Bo Tully, sheriff of Blight County, Idaho, has seen his share of small-town crime. Fact is, everyone in the area knows Tully, and knows his Blight Way of doing things. But when he and his deputy hike into the deep woods, tracking a suspected bank robber, little do they realize that they are about to witness a murder—and that, in turn, will lead the sheriff on an intricate trail, a series of twists and turns demanding his utmost attention and keenest crime-solving abilities. Along the way, Tully has to deal with the likes of a shadowy local named Gridley Shanks, who seems to have a spider web of connections throughout town; two out-of-town elk hunters who don’t know much about elk hunting, but are tied to the murder; an elderly couple who end up dead while caring for a rundown mansion and property out of town; a sassy assistant named Daisy; an attractive, tough FBI agent named Angie, who suddenly finds herself involved in her first murder investigation; and a host of other characters. There’s also the case of missing loot, which no one can find—at least, until Tully puts his mind to it. Will Tully get his man (or men) this time? Does the Blight Way ever fail? Read another page-turning mystery turned misadventure by bestselling author and beloved humorist, Patrick F. McManus. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Northeastern Ontario is a sprawling region that encompasses much of the Canadian Shield, boasting gorgeous vistas of granite rock, boreal forest and thousands of lakes. Shaped by ancient glacial activity, this wild landscape is full of interconnected streams and rivers, while heading north leads you to the remote and rugged land around Hudson Bay. From the sparkling waters of Georgian Bay to the northern backcountry of Polar Bear Provincial Park, outdoor explorers can enjoy a wealth of opportunity in this sparsely-populated region. Features - Map Key & Legend - Topographic Maps - Detailed Adventure Section >> Backroad Attractions, Fishing Locations, Hunting Areas, Paddling Routes, Parks & Campsites, Trail Systems, ATV Routes,Snowmobile Areas, Wildlife Viewing, Winter Recreation, Service Directory, Accommodations, Sales & Services, Tours & Guides, Index, Adventure Index, Map Index, Trip Planning Tools,