Once Upon the River Platte

IT IS HOT - so hot that folks in the American heartland no longer scoff at government warnings about "lethal heat" and "climatic crisis." Something is very wrong and everyone knows it.

This is a full-length novel about an environmental crisis in the Platte River Valley of eastern Nebraska. The crisis takes place in the not-too-distant future, possibly in the 2020s. In addition to scorching temperatures, prairie fires, and water shortages, there is yet another problem: "heat-crazy" wild animals are attacking humans in many parts of the Platte River Valley. Within only a few weeks, the death toll begins to soar.

Zephaniah Pike, a federal agent, is sent to Nebraska to investigate. He and his team of experts soon find themselves in a bizarre and ever-worsening predicament, one that pits armed locals against angry environmentalists. Amidst the turmoil, Agent Pike must find some answers-and a way to avoid mob violence and bloodshed.

The members of Agent Pike's "crisis team" include Jake Vogel, a Nebraska-based federal agent; Dr. Susan Hotaru, a wildlife biologist, and Old Man Elk, a Pawnee Indian artist and activist who is intimately familiar with Nebraska wildlife. The four members of the team struggle to solve the crisis and to work together as a truly united team. Observing them all the while is Ahwa, a female coyote, who does not trust the ways of the intrusive "Two-Leggeds."

An integral part of the story is the very important role played by the Platte River (the "Great Flat Water"). Many of the cultural groups who once lived in the Platte River Valley country had a mystical or reverential relationship with the river. Early Spanish explorers, for example, christened the Platte as the "Rio de Jesus Maria" (River of Jesus Mary). The Omaha and Otoe tribal name for the Platte River, "Ni-Braska," inspired the name of the state of Nebraska. Throughout the book, there are references to the mystical and symbolic importance of the Platte. One of the book's main characters even asserts: "If God were a river, God would be the Platte."

An early reviewer has described Once Upon the River Platte as "a real gem. It shines and sparkles in every way." Another reviewer commented: "This book is a futuristic Western-complete with buffalo, coyotes, prairie fires, Indians, shape-shifters, drones, biometric scannings, and gun-toting lawmen. If this is the American West of the future, we all need to saddle up. And we're sure to enjoy one wild, unforgettable ride."