An Eagle Scout Gets Spooky
Sep 14, 2024
Ten interlocking campfire tales told in the spirit of Stephen King and Roald Dahl
Dear Friends, Campers and Bookworms,
I was a Scout in the 1970's and 80's, and attained that lofty rank of Eagle in 1981. I admired my Scoutmaster, Ed Hennings, and the other adults who taught me the practical skills of building a fire, cooking over it, and generally getting by in the woodlands of piedmont North Carolina. When my own son started first grade, I marched him into the Troop 72 Scout Hut in Cornelius, NC, and started the journey all over again. I was an unreliable volunteer - an ASM, or Assistant Scoutmaster - who could not erect a fifty foot pioneer tower, or even back up a truck with a trailer. My contributions came after sunset, when the sleepy boys sitting around the campfire asked for a scary story. I conjured poor Billy, whose eyelids were ripped off in a bizarre fishing accident, and Petey, who overdosed on homesickness pills. And many others. At the end of my tenure as an ASM, the Scouting organization voted to allow girls to join - a decision I heartily supported. My own daughter was too old and otherwise preoccupied to become a Scout, though I wish she had. My stories are designed to scare boy and girls alike.
Campfire Tales is published under the pseudonym Junior Jackson, Jr. He's the central character of this novel, and the Scoutmaster I never was. You can read these stories in any order you choose, but if you read them straight through you will encounter an arc that ties together a few of the odds and ends.
Campfire Tales will be released on Halloween 2024. If you pre-order now, Amazon will take notice and stock more copies. If you find this book worthy, please write a glowing review to appease the fickle gods of online search.
Dear Friends, Campers and Bookworms,
I was a Scout in the 1970's and 80's, and attained that lofty rank of Eagle in 1981. I admired my Scoutmaster, Ed Hennings, and the other adults who taught me the practical skills of building a fire, cooking over it, and generally getting by in the woodlands of piedmont North Carolina. When my own son started first grade, I marched him into the Troop 72 Scout Hut in Cornelius, NC, and started the journey all over again. I was an unreliable volunteer - an ASM, or Assistant Scoutmaster - who could not erect a fifty foot pioneer tower, or even back up a truck with a trailer. My contributions came after sunset, when the sleepy boys sitting around the campfire asked for a scary story. I conjured poor Billy, whose eyelids were ripped off in a bizarre fishing accident, and Petey, who overdosed on homesickness pills. And many others. At the end of my tenure as an ASM, the Scouting organization voted to allow girls to join - a decision I heartily supported. My own daughter was too old and otherwise preoccupied to become a Scout, though I wish she had. My stories are designed to scare boy and girls alike.
Campfire Tales is published under the pseudonym Junior Jackson, Jr. He's the central character of this novel, and the Scoutmaster I never was. You can read these stories in any order you choose, but if you read them straight through you will encounter an arc that ties together a few of the odds and ends.
Campfire Tales will be released on Halloween 2024. If you pre-order now, Amazon will take notice and stock more copies. If you find this book worthy, please write a glowing review to appease the fickle gods of online search.
_w200_h/Campfire%20Tales%20Cover%20Art(1)_09140500.jpg "Campfire Tales")