Tom Gnagey

Art and Milly Montague, who have been married for sixty of their eighty plus years, find themselves caught up in one mystery after another - the hanging ghost that seems bent on tightening his noose around their necks, way too many deadly falls from the rim of a canyon close to their Rocky Mountain home, a plot to steal precious government documents, and a death threat delivered in an esoteric code. With the help of ever-bickering Rusty and Becky, the bright, loveable twelve year old twins next door, they go about investigating and solving the crimes in and around the little village of Dingle Dell. The local sheriff gives them a pretty free hand in their investigations. They face life's problems and pleasures with good will, a positive attitude and a wonderful measure of good humor. The stories are as much about the wonderful characters as bringing the bad guys to justice - although they are as perceptive a bunch of sleuths as have ever graced the pages of a mystery.

Tommy was an exceptionally bright and observant youngster. Growing up in the 1940s America, he saw the many social ills around him, he knew about the atrocities in Europe, and, at nine, he was certain he knew how to fix the problems and save the world. This little volume takes an often humorous look at a very serious topic by making reference to entries from the boy's diary and extrapolating a series of Positive Social Agreements, which if embraced across mankind could, indeed, save the world. Tommy discovered numerous roadblocks to his program, foremost of which were the pernicious Yesbutts - typically thirty to sixty-five in age and, according to the boy's observations, quite clearly terrified to have anything change that might rock their comfortable social-economic boat. (They typically responded to his suggestions with, "Yes, but.") The 'grown up' Tommy, now a septuagenarian, uses his uniquely broad experiences and his background in psychology, education and social philosophy to weave a picture, which pits the innocence of youth against the reluctance and fears of adulthood - all in the service of realizing his boyhood goal of saving the world.

Book Two: The Jansen Family Mystery SeriesThe year remains 1940. Federal Agents call on Oliver, when a situation arises in north central Arkansas that needs local intervention - spying - this time with the Ku Klux Klan. The grandsons were already on the case. There had been a recent increase in Klan activity - burning crosses and burning cabins of the rural, black population. Secret codes abound as the boys face life and death situations at the hands of the KKK. They learn things about the origins of hate and fear and greed. Sammy becomes something of a local celebrity with his outstanding essay regarding those topics. In the end the question becomes, will they find a way to save their grampa before time runs out? Should be read after the first book - Deep Cover: 1940 since aspects of the story continue.]

Adults and Young Adults: First book in The Jansen Family Detective Series. A dollop of history, a smattering of humor, a baffling mystery, a wild adventure, and a thought-provoking presentation of the philosophic conflicts which were tearing the world apart in the 1940s, so comparisons can be made with those manifest today. A grandfather and his grandsons - 10 and 15 - find themselves fleeing the city to escape some unknown threat in 1940 America. They arrive in a small, Arkansas, village, where they operate and live in a sawmill. The settlement is run by a religious fanatic, with whom they have disagreements and serious conflicts, which prompts discussions of authoritarian rule, prejudice and the Nazi threat to civilization. It becomes to move to another, more typical, village, where they operate a small hotel. The grandfather must return to the city on a dangerous mission and the boys find themselves in a life and death struggle culminating in a dangerous confrontation as they maneuver a 20-ton steam engine down the rails at 90 miles an hour on a certain collision course with another train.

One Rule Sound too good to be true? Not at all. This is a practical, easy to read and follow training manual for parents, stressing values and rule reduction. Parents learn how to build a family life plan based on their own personal values - not those of the author. It all boils down to one simple rule that speeds the responsibility for appropriate development among all the family members. A tried and proven, very simple, everyone wins approach to improving family happiness. It includes lots of basic psychological and educational information all parents need to be aware of and master.

This is a step by step, value-based training program for parents, showing how to raise or retrain children to stay out of trouble forever. In simple terms and with abundant real-life illustrations, the book presents both the necessary philosophy and developmental psychology needed to lead youngsters toward a trouble free life. The author lists those values that seem to typically produce trouble-prone youngsters and contrasts them with those, which almost universally produce trouble-proofed youngsters. A special section is included to assist adolescents wanting to trouble-proof themselves.

Do you want to get hired? Do you want to make more money? One simple change may really help you How you speak will often determine how much money you will make. People who speak 'formal English' - school teacher English - tend to get promotions and raises over people who speak common English. Making just a few changes in one's common English can make a huge difference. The secret is in knowing what changes need to be made and how to make them. That is what this manual does - directs you thorough a simple step by step program toward a speaking pattern that bosses and employers want to hear in their employees. Do you have fifteen minutes a day for Six Weeks? This program will help you turn your talking around for fun and PROFIT. (Formal English speakers are also generally believed to be smarter, more dependable and better educated.) This program is intended for English speakers.

The QUEST - Book Three in the Christopher Adams Adventure series: Three young teens, a white boy raised as an Indian*, an Indian boy raised as a white boy, and a garden variety white farm boy (Chris, the series 'star') are charged by a tribal chief to locate and restore the fabled Four Eyes of the Universe, to assure the happy and productive continuance of the human family. Their search spans several States, examines basic values, and presents a lifetime of perils in an exciting few short weeks. Secret codes to break, puzzles to solve, daring challenges to complete, and dangers at every turn as they explore the World of the Ancient Tribe deep inside a huge, mystical, tower of rock. Books should be read in order.] *the term used in 1863]

Book Two in the Christopher Adams Adventure Series follows almost 13-year-old Chris back from the Civil War battle zone in Georgia, to his home territory in Pennsylvania. He discovers a secret compartment in a tin box from his mother, which holds three mysterious clues. It sets him on an adventure to find an Indian boy named Jeremy Red Feather. The story involves picking up a new, handicapped, best friend, Jack, two new four-legged friends, and a long trip almost half-way across America. He has exciting adventures aboard trains, stage coaches, a riverboat, and on horseback. The highwaymen from book one return to threaten him. Along the way, he saves a 10-year-old black boy from slavers, 2 girls from kidnappers, a stage coach from being robbed, an old couple with a runaway team, a father, and his family from mounted thieves. As a result of his search he finds himself part of an Indian family that has a special tie to him. Best if reads after Book One. For 9 to 15 Year olds.]

THAT SUMMER AT LORDS is set in imaginary Lords, Arkansas, population 104 during 1943, a time of uncertainty, fear, despair, and determination. It is a story for adults narrated from the often-insightful perspective of an 11-year-old boy. He finds that with all the older boys gone to war, he must step in and grow up faster than he is prepared to do. It seems unfair that he is required to forfeit his childhood. He and the others in his little community must come to grips with tragedies that force them to rethink their long-held, insular values and way of life. The reader is offered mystery, intrigue and humor as the story strives to paint a faithful snapshot of the time - its hardships and possibilities - and offers thought provoking situations and conversations. It promises no rosy solutions and yet there is hope.

1947. Small town, Midwest. Fifteen-year-old Pete's father is the local, well-respected, prosecuting attorney by day and an alcohol induced abusive father by night. The boy has turned elsewhere for adult, male, companionship. He found it in a cabin in the woods in the form of a sage, reclusive, handyman, his father's age. For some, unspoken reason, his father disapproves. Pete sees his role at home as protecting his mother and handicapped sister, thinking if he weren't there, they would become his father's targets. As a school project, Pete researches the recent history of Mason Crossing - his small town - and discovers secrets that turn his world upside down. He presents his findings in a school report that will destroy his father. The novel is a no-holds-barred study of raw emotions, swaddled in hate, love, and the seemingly unresolvable angst of adolescence. A weak mother, a best friend, and a budding romance help Pete put his life into perspective. (To properly tell the story, the depiction of violence was necessary. Intended for adults and young adults).

Intended for socially concerned adults and young adults. During the late 1800s, fourteen-year-old Lucas - very bright and unabashedly forward - and his grandfather, Malcolm McCabe, hiked the United States top to bottom and side to side. During those 6 years, the boy's education, like his life, was in the capable hands of 'grampa'. During the summer of 1890 they happened upon the town of Cob Corner, Kansas, thriving and safe, though under the autocratic religious and political thumb of one Reverend Quentin Redding. He felt his power fading. He saw the McCabe's as his opportunity to regain his standing. He had grampa arrested for having prevented his grandson from attending school - the law in Kansas. A fascinating trial ensues in which the outspoken young man must defend the old man by demonstrating his education has, in fact, been equal to, or superior to, the local students'. The boy refers to experiences along the trail to illustrate his points. At every turn, the youngster's wits and cleverness, better and exasperate the panel of five learned men the court puts up against him. The novel, sporting an upscale vocabulary, intended for socially concerned adults who really enjoy smiling, presents a brutal examination of wide-ranging, serious and timeless, social topics - education, the legal system, prejudice, human rights, government, greed and related topics - woven together with humor and pointed insights into the human condition. The older gentleman learns that jail stew really isn't all that bad so long as the salt holds out, and the younger gentleman receives his first kiss. In the end . . . (Just kidding, there ) A good read for adults who like to smile and are interested in social justice, human rights, social philosophy, tolerance and even old west fiction.

This novella is not a comedy but is a whimsical piece, fashioned to produce smiles from beginning to end. Upon his retirement, a not so nice accountant who feels his boss has put upon him and cheated him for 27 years, takes steps to correct things. That requires he must change his identity. Changing his identity requires that he must change that identity - and so on and so on. Upshot is the necessity for nearly a dozen, plot modifying, twists and turns as the story winds its way toward its unpredictable conclusion. There is suspense, mystery, humor and a few incidental little bludgeoning's. The reader my want to keep a score card. On one level the writing is just lots of fun. On another - let several reviewers handle that: "A fascinating exploration of the psyche of an amoral egotist." "A rare presentation of fear and anxiety at work within the mind of a man without conscious." "Flawlessly constructed." "Smiled 'til I thought my cheeks would burst."

Adults and young adults: This novel is a celebration of life, as it reflects on the most devastating act in society, today - the school shooting. There is no depiction of violence. The story presents five, precious, teen lives - strangers - four in love with life, on their ways to happy, productive futures, while one, understandably, hates the life he is forced to live as an outsider, separate from his peers. The reader grows to love and understand an artist, an athlete, a shy volunteer, an accomplished pianist, and a sad, angry loner. Each of eight chapters presents 5 vignettes, illustrating aspects of the lives they each lead at school and within their families. Gradually, those stories coalesce, painting pictures of five, fascinating teens, each one displaying his or her ups and downs, hopes and dreams, big questions about life, and the responsibilities and activities that come to give purpose to their young lives. And then, the shooting. The novel offers a unique and immediately applicable perspective on the 'Why' of school shootings and the 'How' of stopping them. The author, a long time adolescent psychologist and educator, proposes a simple solution - the only solution to his way of thinking - the illustration of which is developed as the essence of the story. Perhaps it points fingers but mostly it models the one simple change we must make as peers, schools, families, and a nation for the sake of our children and, perhaps, for the survival of the human species. Regardless of the category of the reader's interest, school massacres, violence in schools, troubled youngsters, troubled teens, or guns in schools, this is one of the good reads to come along this year.

As one of the current good reads for pre-teens and young teens, orphaned brothers, Rusty and Willy (14 and 10), find themselves fleeing for their lives across frontier Kansas (1880) in an old west adventure. Rusty witnessed a murder shooting and the bad guy saw him. He is determined to catch them and do them harm. The boys' parents had prepared a set of clues for them to follow so they could learn who they 'really' were. In one action packed adventure after the other, they solve the clues, and demonstrate their strong bond of brotherly love. Along the way they encounter Renegade Indians, highwaymen, a raging prairie fire, and, make fine, new friends, saving the life of an Indian boy their age, the son of a chief. Presented as one of David Drake's beloved western novels in his long list of young adult fiction.

The tiny, sovereign, fictional country of Lelonia has languished in turmoil for decades. The call goes out for citizens to submit plans to rebirth the country - a fully condoned revolution of sorts. A pair of unconventional teenagers take up the challenge; Marcus - brilliant, insightful, optimistic - and his lifelong closest friend, Thomas - smarter than average, well read, pessimistic. Being young, na ve, and fully inexperienced in the ways of politics, these quiet revolutionaries feel they possess qualifications sufficient for creating a fresh, practical, approach to governing. They hike their country listening and observing to determine the nature and breadth of the problems and to discover the positive possibilities and how to set them free. They experience real dangers in a lawless land, the anguish and terror of the homeless, hungry, children, and witness the atrocities of the Despicables - amoral, roaming bands of bandits. They sense the indomitable spirit of Lelonia, poised to surface and soar again under a hope-filled, charismatic, leader. They create a socio-governmental system based in positive social values, which they call Mutual Facilitation. Their plan is the one selected. Marcus becomes the new Leader. As the previous divides between political parties and religions fade, a new, stable, safe, comfortable social order emerges. The story follows these characters through the ups and downs of the next forty years. Life became Eden-like in Lelonia - - until hostile forces gather. As classical goodreads go, this novel has risen to the top of the allegory fiction offerings of The Family of Man Press.

For 9 to 13-year-old readers and their parents. Two 11-year-old boys, both social misfits and different from each other in most ways - one poor as dirt who hated school and one rich as a gold mine who loved it - chance upon each other and begin to form a friendship. As they work together to complete a tree house in the woods, they have wonderful talks about their lives, being eleven, their futures, parents, likes and dislikes and so forth. Ford, the rich kid, helps Jake realize that he's actually pretty smart, improve his grammar and vocabulary, and even enjoy learning new things. Jake helps remodel Ford from a socially awkward, stuck-up rich snob - he didn't know he was one - into a more acceptable and likeable kid. And, oh yes, there's the bobcat that takes up residence in the tree house, a broken bone or two, that near drowning in the creek, and, well, other things. Lots of talk. Lots of excitement. Lots of fun.