Though only twelve years old and without a day A NOVEL

spent in a classroom, June is just as comfortable

reading and thinking deeply as she is hunting

game and chopping wood. Thanks to her rustic

but joyful life in the Blue Mountains of Washington

State, June is growing into a young woman who

combines the best traits of her scholarly mother

and her practical father.

But when welfare workers and government

officials threaten to take June away from her

parents, her idyllic childhood is thrown into

dangerous turmoil. To defend their way of life,

June and her father must run. They escape into

the mountains on horseback with nothing to

protect them but her agile mind and survivalist

skills. Will everything June's parents taught her

be enough to outrun the danger? Or will she be

taken away from the only home and family she's

ever known?

Bruce Blizard is a former teacher and coach. He lives in southeastern Washington State on 25 dusty acres in the narrow valley between the Horse Heaven Hills and Rattlesnake Mountain with Tina, his wife of 37 years, and various dogs, cats, and horses.For 21 years he taught Advanced Placement courses in both literature and history in the Richland, Washington School District. He has also coached track and field and cross country in Richland and Benton City, Washington.Bruce has won numerous awards for both teaching and coaching, including the prestigious Crystal Apple, awarded to outstanding and innovative teachers in Washington State.Bruce's First Book is God's Instant. His second, Dark Canyons, was published in February.