Down from the Mountains – A Timothy Michael O'Hara Adventure, Book 1

Down from the Mountains
150 Pages
ISBN 978-1492855279

As his pa lies dying, Timothy Michael O’Hara, 12, promises he will leave the Allegheny Mountains he loves, and head east to find his appointed guardians.

Wise in the ways of the mountains and survival, Tim begins his journey of self-discovery and manhood, vowing to fulfill his pa’s wishes. Even so, he doesn’t like them. He doesn’t know what he wants most in the world; he just knows that going east isn’t it.

Tim avoids two known thieves in the Allegheny, only to be kidnapped by these same thieves and their bond-slaver partners in the Shenandoah Valley. If he can’t escape, he will spend the next 15 years in bondage, and what he has discovered about himself, and what he wants for his future, won’t matter one whit.

Down from the Mountains is an historical adventure novel for readers 12 to Adult, set in the fall and winter of 1774-1775, just after the beginning of the Revolutionary War in faraway Massachusetts.

This novel is available in paperback and as a Kindle download

Mary Lois Sanders

About Mary Lois Sanders (The Villages, Florida Author)

Mary Lois Sanders

A native Texan, Mary Lois Sanders is the daughter of a Baptist preacher and a Baptist preacher’s daughter, both of whom were published authors in their special fields of expertise. They both loved music as well. Perhaps her love of both writing and music are in her genes, who knows? But she grew up loving to write and sing.

To this end, Mary Lois worked on her high school newspaper, wrote stories she never showed to anyone, and took voice and piano lessons. The voice lessons took, the piano just barely passed.

As she tells it, her most obvious talent, upon entering college, was singing, so she chose to major in music, earning both a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Baylor University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Church Music and Vocal Performance from Southwester Baptist Theological Seminary. Her writing skills became focused on academic articles and papers.

After teaching for nearly 20 years, Mary Lois married. Instead of teaching she became the volunteer minister of music in several churches in Kansas City and New Jersey. She also began writing for children. Her credits include nonfiction articles in Cobblestone, Calliope and other periodicals. She also wrote and published short stories for Boy’s Life and several anthologies. Her award-winning novels include:

• The Vision Seeker, A Tale of the Tuscarora, a YA historical novel awarded the Silver Medal for YA fiction by the Florida Book Awards in 2014, and First place for YA novel, published, in the Royal Palm Literary Awards of FWA in 2014. • Down from the Mountains, a Timothy Michael O’Hara Adventure—a Middle Grade historical novel that won First Place, Middle Grade published novel in the Royal Palm Literary Awards of FWA in 2014.

Mary Lois is a member of SCBWI, Florida Writer’s Association (FWA), and Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). She’s also Publisher/Managing Editor of Creative Writer’s Notebook, a monthly newsletter for writers, and owner of Court Jester Publications.