Story trivia

 We all create meaning of the world around us through our own life experiences. Authors quite often use their own real life experiences when writing a fictional story.
Sandy Hill

 In 1764, Albert Baker built Kingsbury's first sawmill near what is known today as Baker's Falls on the Hudson River. As early as 1792, the area of Kingsbury near Baker's Falls was referred to as Sandy Hill. In 1910, the village's name was changed to Hudson Falls, Washington County, upstate New York. 

 The illustration above is a colored pencil drawing of the home I grew up in. My mother used our front porch as an outdoor living room for family and friends to pass the time. A place where advice was garnered, jokes were told, melodies were sung, and stories were spun. It was a place where my mother told tales that taught us the cultural ideals of family, friends, and community. I’ve carried her lessons into my approach to writing. 

 My home town was the village of Hudson Falls. 

Many of the boys' names are the friends and family I spent my childhood backyard camping with.

I thought using the names of my childhood friends would honor those people I was close to in my younger years.

Mr. Varney was a gentle old man that lived next door. He was kind and generous. When creating the story I was looking to capture the essence of an angry character. I felt Old Man Varney had the right tone, but the reality is Mr. Varney was the opposite.

A New Hampshire man set the North American record by growing a pumpkin that weighed in at 2528 lbs.

Every good backyard campout during the 1960's had a challenge to prove your courage. Sneaking into a neighbor's garden and not getting caught, while your friends made all kinds of loud noises, may have been one of those challenges.