The first story in the series is …

CARVING OUT A PATH

A young shoplifter not only swipes a couple of hand-carved figurines from Ray Davenport, owner of Victoria Square’s Wood U gift shop, but barrels into and injures Katie Bonner, manager of Artisans Alley. Upon his escape, the police are called, but before the ink is dry on the report, the boy’s grandmother drags the would-be thief back to return the purloined items.

She’s got an agenda and great expectations.  Can Ray come through in a pinch?

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The story behind the story …

My father, Len Bartlett, was a jack of all trades. Literally. He was known as a “fitter,” and got his training at the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth, England. When he came to the US, he found similar work, but also had side jobs. One of them was framing houses, which would come in very handy when he added rooms onto our home, family cottage, and he gutted and rebuilt my first house. He had lots of hobbies, too. He made jewelry, fixed watches and clocks, and in his later years he took up carving. (Santas were his specialty.)

I love the cover for Carving Out A Path, which was done by Wicked Smart Designs. In it, the designer was able to incorporate three of my father’s wood carvings. The tall Santa even won an award from a prestigious contest in Berea, KY  One of Dad’s carving buddies moved to KY from Western NY and wanted to make the same design, but he needed to actually see the finished project. So my father mailed the Santa to him, not knowing that it would be entered in the contest. So imagine my Dad’s surprise when the carving arrived back home with that first place ribbon!

I own more than 100 of my Dad’s carvings, and I enjoy looking at them every day. I hope you enjoy the three Santas on the cover.

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