Dear Reader,
Have you ever wondered what it
would be like if your wish truly did come true?
Have you ever wondered what
the world would look like from the eyes of someone from another world?
I was thinking about those
questions when I wrote my new novel, Summer on Earth. This novel tells
the story of Grady Johnson, a young boy whose father has recently died. He
lives on a small farm, deep in the country, with his mother and younger sister,
Luanne. Grady is trying to get his life back to normal, but he knows how hard
his Ma is working, trying to make ends meet.
Their lives change when
extraterrestrial engineer Ralwil Turth is forced to land on their farm when his
space craft loses power. Ralwil has one objective, to fix his power drive and
go back home. But things don’t go as planned. Using his advanced technology,
Ralwil, who the family knows as Will, takes on the form of a human and starts
to work as farmhand for the Johnsons. He connects with Grady’s mind through a
synch-link, and is able to understand some of the human language, and starts to
understand a bit of this world through the boy’s eyes. He grows to love the
exotic charms of this planet, and has a real connection with Grady and his
family.
Seeing how they are
struggling, and that the source of the problem is a lack of money, Ralwil comes
up with a solution. He uses his technology to combine a twenty-dollar bill with
an oak twig, and over the next week this new creation grows to a towering tree
– every leaf a twenty-dollar bill. He is sure this will solve all the family's
problems. It doesn’t.
The Johnson’s sudden wealth
starts rumors and suspicion in this small town, and soon their problems are
worse. With the family’s fate, and Ralwil’s life, on the line, Grady must find
the courage to help his family and save his friend.
In Booklist’s review, they
said, - The unique, fablelike story with gentle charm and strongly drawn
characters - human and otherwise - will satisfy with its quiet aura of
resilience and hopefulness. I hope you will enjoy the way that Ralwil looks
at common things as exotic and new. I hope you will see things in your own life
a little differently as a result.
About the Author
Peter
Thompson grew up in Illinois, and lives near Chicago. He remembers how excited he was when the first astronaut
stepped on to the moon. He has had an appreciation of space, and all its
possibilities ever since. His love of children’s books developed while
reading to his three sons. His first
novel, Living Proof, was a thriller
published by Berkeley Books. Summer
on Earth is his first book for younger readers. It will
be released in August of this year.
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About the Book:
The night
that eleven-year-old Grady Johnson looked out his window and wished upon a
shooting star, his life changed forever.
Grady,
his Ma, and younger sister Luanne are having a hard summer. Dad has died and
the family
The
shooting star he saw was a space craft plunging to Earth, and landing at the
back of their farm. Extraterrestrial engineer Ralwil Turth has one goal, to fix
his power drive and go back home. But things don’t go as planned. Stuck in human
form, he gets to know Grady and his family as he works on their farm. He starts
to learn about what it means to be human, and the exotic charms of this planet
like the taste of potatoes, and how amazing bugs are.
Ralwil
grows to care for Grady and his family. On a trip to town, he realizes that
money is what matters to humans, and is the cause of the family’s trouble. That
night, he uses his technology to combine a twenty-dollar bill with an oak twig.
Over the next week this grows to a towering tree, every leaf a twenty-dollar
bill. This, Ralwil is sure, will solve all the family’s problems.
But
the family’s wealth raises suspicion in this small town, and this soon leads to
more trouble. With the family’s fate, and Ralwil’s life, on the line, Grady has
to find the courage to help his family and save his friend.
Summer
on Earth
blends humor, adventure and poignancy to create an unforgettable story
about finding home.
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