Based on the experiences of Captain William A. Barber as he embarked upon his remarkable career as a commercial airline pilot and stunt pilot.

Petunia is a story about guilt, loss, and redemption. I wrote Petunia because it had been my professional experience that guilt and the difficulty in managing that emotion is perhaps the most ubiquitous bane of both children and young adults. In a sizable percentage of cases, the guilt acquired in childhood is still undiminished by those who have reached full adult and even older adult ages. Although guilt is experienced by most people at some time in their existence, there are simply too few guidelines when it comes to working through the discomfort that most feel when guilt becomes a part of their everyday thinking and feeling. One of the more prevalent challenges encountered in the education and care of today's child is the responsibility parents and teachers undertake as they struggle to impart sensible and lasting guidelines in behavior choices. The story of Petunia Rabbit provides an enjoyable matrix through which the caretaker has a basis for this undertaking. Petunia's story demonstrates that even in the most dire of circumstances, faith, structure, and tradition continue to be of lasting importance in the life of the developing child and ultimately becomes the sanctuary for the self-hatred felt by a surprising number of youngsters and young adults in all levels of our society. Many of today's children are overly protected in some venues but exposed to unacceptable (age inappropriate, pointlessly violent) material as seen in video games, on their computers, on television, and in films. The core event in Petunia's story is a huge flood that devastates her family's life and those of most of the characters included in the story. Using a natural disaster as the impetus for events was a purposeful choice in that most individuals are able to identify with those events that result in the probability of altered lives and fortunes. And while devastating, natural disasters are not the result of purposeful or directed cruelty. The story of Petunia provides an excellent basis of learning from models within the family and in society. Petunia's story demonstrates the following: 1. The necessity of a personal belief system to augment and strengthen individual coping abilities and societal structures, which are often lost during chaotic events. 2. The importance of fostering reliability, competence, caretaking, and self-respect 3. The value of developing an awareness of the feelings and struggles of others. 4. The risk and uncertainty associated with impulsive behaviors. 5. The ultimate worth of meaningful work, interpersonal ties, and education. 6. The value of paying attention. 7. The challenge of responsibility. 8. The value of and need for suitable mentors. 9. The importance of using resources wisely, including emotional resources. 10. The necessity of building a reputation for honor and integrity.

This story is about a revenge kidnapping that uncovers a major crime enterprise stretching along the Pacific coast of Alaska. Bonnie and Billys relentless pursuit of justice causes the entire enterprise to fail. I also shows that no good goes unrewarded as one of the perpetrators of the kidnapping has a twinge of conscience and turns his life around. There is danger, intrigue, and love to be found. Justice is served, sometimes violently. And true love is found. This story all takes place in the wild beauty that is Alaska.

But his brilliance was often overshadowed by his personal failings.".

Billy Doyle, a twelve-year-old boy, is caught in a horrible life in the middle of the 1930s Great Depression. Billy's parents take him to his aunt and uncle to live on a farm in a secluded community in rural Ohio. His aunt and uncle offer love and respect to Billy. He meets a special man through the blessing of heaven and is taught the most important lessons in life. Along the way, Billy makes friends and learns that, to God, all lives matter. He witnesses a change in himself and what it means to be a friend. He comes to see that his love for family, friends, God, and country are the things that matter the most.

This story is about two strangers, both emotionally scarred and embittered by the events of their past. They are thrust together in a wilderness survival setting over which they had absolutely no control. Their survival demanded that they work together as a team.