"Hi! I'm Annabelle. And I'm Angus. We are black-tailed prairie dogs who live in Kansas. We want to tell you a story about a real wildlife hero, our friend Larry Haverfield." Through the voices of Annabelle and Angus, discover what almost happened to wildlife on the Kansas prairie. When Larry receives a letter that says he must destroy the prairie dogs on his land, he and some of his neighbors join together to make certain that all wildlife remain unharmed. Not only were black-tailed prairie dogs at risk of destruction but the already-endangered black-footed ferrets were at risk of becoming extinct. In Larry Saves the Prairie, with the help of Annabelle and Angus, you'll discover what it means to be a true hero, and most especially, what it took to save prairie wildlife in Kansas.

A former student of architecture at the University of Illinois, Kanfer has developed a kinship with the rural regions of the Prairie State. He draws upon a rich background in art, design, and travel to focus on the unique qualities of the midwesten landscape, exhibiting an unusual sensitivity to composition, color, texture, and light. Kanfer isolates singular images--a solitary barn, a rural mailbox atop a roadside post, a red stop sign caught in the nighttime glare of a car's headlight, cornflower blossoms springing from a ditch--as well as broader prairie scenes.

Based on actual events, this is the epic story of Abilene, Kansas, at a time when the cowboy was king, might made right, and the future seemed as unsettled as the endless prairie. Abilene, 1871. Will Merritt is fiercely protective of the cattle trade that made his father’s fortune. Idolizing the cowboys who flood the streets each summer, Will and his friends are drawn to Abilene’s exotic Texastown district—a powderkeg of saloons and brothels so notorious that the mayor has hired the West’s most famous gunman, Wild Bill Hickok, to police its streets. Yet even with Hickok as marshal, Abilene boils with deep divisions. The townsfolk resent the migrant settlers whose new farms are slicing up the rangeland. And no one is more intolerant than Will’s best friend, Jasper, who delights in tormenting any farmer he encounters. But Will finds himself torn when he meets the beautiful and beguiling Anna, whose dignity and determination test his deepest beliefs. Then Will’s father reveals a stunning secret that challenges Abilene’s future, one that makes the Merritts outcasts. And when Wild Bill’s tenure as marshal comes to a violent head, Will realizes that everything—his family, his friends, and the only home he’s ever known—could be gone in an instant, leaving only an empty wilderness once again.

You’ll be delighted with the wit and humor of three stories of marriage plans that don’t go as expected. Clara Fields tries to escape a difficult situation by finding a bride for a storekeeper’s son, only to discover that the task is more complicated than she thought. The shotgun wedding that results from Opal Speck’s hasty confession—that Adam Grogan is the father of her unborn baby—ends up creating more problems than it solves. Gavin Miller’s mistaken proposal to the wrong cousin leads to tension when Marguerite Chandler—the wrong bride—and Daisy—the right bride—both arrive in town.

An endearing tribute to the well-grounded majesty of Illinois barns

What makes a good story or a screenplay great? The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding where to begin. Some labor their entire lives without ever learning that successful stories are as dependent upon good engineering as they are artistry. But the truth is, unless you are master of the form, function and criteria of successful storytelling, sitting down and pounding out a first draft without planning is an ineffective way to begin. Story Engineering starts with the criteria and the architecture of storytelling, the engineering and design of a story--and uses it as the basis for narrative. The greatest potential of any story is found in the way six specific aspects of storytelling combine and empower each other on the page. When rendered artfully, they become a sum in excess of their parts. You'll learn to wrap your head around the big pictures of storytelling at a professional level through a new approach that shows how to combine these six core competencies which include: • Four elemental competencies of concept, character, theme, and story structure (plot) • Two executional competencies of scene construction and writing voice The true magic of storytelling happens when these six core competencies work together in perfect harmony. And the best part? Anyone can do it!