A humorous fantasy tale set in ancient Britain. Iscium, an isolated Roman town in the west of Britain, is cut off from the collapsing Empire. Most of the town senators and officials are primarily concerned with keeping a low profile with the neighboring barbarians and renovating the city baths--with the exception of the crotchety old bishop. But when young Falx runs away, and finds a lost barbarian girl, things begin to happen. The children are brought back by a one-eyed merchant who returns them to an Iscium quivering with the possibility of a barbarian invasion. The mysterious merchant has a plan--involving two talking ravens and The Hallelujah Chorus--and life is never quite the same again, for either the Romans or their invaders. A zany mix of history, humor, and the miraculous--in the satisfying tradition of Don Camillo. Ages 14 and up.

With humor and pathos, Forrest Pritchard recounts his ambitious and often hilarious endeavors to save his family’s seventh-generation farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Through many a trial and error, he not only saves Smith Meadows from insolvency but turns it into a leading light in the sustainable, grass-fed, organic farm-to-market community. There is nothing young Farmer Pritchard won’t try. Whether he’s selling firewood and straw, raising free-range chickens and hogs, or acquiring a flock of Barbados Blackbelly sheep, his learning curve is steep and always entertaining. Pritchard’s world crackles with colorful local characters—farm hands, butchers, market managers, customers, fellow vendors, pet goats, policemen—bringing the story to warm, communal life. His most important ally, however, is his renegade father, who initially questions his son's career choice and eschews organic foods for the generic kinds that wreak havoc on his health. Soon after his father’s death, the farm becomes a recognized success and Pritchard must make a vital decision: to continue serving the local community or answer the exploding demand for his wares with lucrative Internet sales and shipping deals. More than a charming story of honest food cultivation and farmers’ markets, Gaining Ground tugs on the heartstrings, reconnecting us to the land and the many lives that feed us.