Born amid the exciting roaring '20s, Orva Lee's childhood was far from charmed, and being the sixth of ten children of humble parentage made for some harsh times growing up during the depression years of the 1930s. But in this endearing tale, Branch Water Children, the author, Orva Lee McCarson Warren, describes those turbulent times through a wondrous perspective-though the eyes of an innocent child. You'll come to know the whole McCarson Clan: her forefathers who came from Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and England; her five brothers and four sisters; and the ones in between who fought in the American Civil War. As you read Branch Water Children, Orva Lee will take you back to your own childhood; to a time when simplicity and innocence, trust and unconditional love surrounded you as sure as the mountains surrounded the valley Orva Lee grew up as a child. You'll enjoy this wonderful story of survival of a family bound together by a proud heritage, a loving concern for one another, a fear and respect of God, an awareness and love of nature, simple living, and sheer hard work.

In the kingdom of Branchwater, the humans have peacefully lived alongside their guardians, the mantliks, for the last seven hundred years. But that changes one morning when they wake up to find a foreign army encamped outside the castle town. What follows is a gripping story of several young friends-human and mantlik-and how they come together to survive. Facing an onslaught like no one imagined, the two races must stand side-by-side on the walls of Branchwater, bracing themselves for the future. As the siege commences with lifted shields and drawn bows, the children hide deep inside the castle. It is the young Desirae who wanders through the inner halls and down into the basement. What she stumbles on below the castle could mean either salvation for Branchwater or its destructive end.