Tracy Bond Bird has narrated 4 audiobooks on Listento.it by 2 authors. The most-rated is Stones of Sandhill Island.
The Wonder of Natural Life in Kentucky
Summary
Drawing upon his vast knowledge of the environment, biology, botany, and history, Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. has written a love letter to Kentucky. The lay person as well as the expert will understand as he describes the state’s evolution - its history, original land surface, the river-cut gorges, the mountains, and the lakes. He tells of eons of growth of flora, fauna, rock, and rill. Along with thorough documentation, the writer gives us a poetic description of this “...verdant state, lush in its heat, humidity, and rainfall. The diversity and abundance of life was immediately evident to all who came here”. With stories of Lady Slippers, buffalo trails, and flying snakes, Van Stockum takes us into a Magic Kingdom. This teacher gives us an impromptu course about the state called “Paradise”, as we delight in nature: wandering in the forest, crawling in a cave, walking creek banks, and floating down rivers in a canoe. With engaging material that grasps the listener, this gifted story-teller paints a picture of Kentucky that creates a yearning to join present-day efforts of naturalists to preserve it.
©2016 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. (P)2020 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr.
The Fire God of Cahokia
Summary
You will be mesmerized by Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr.'s description of primitive times at the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city. Written as creative non-fiction, the author takes us to the Mounds of Cahokia, situated directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. His protagonist, Elber, lives more that a thousand years before any European settlers. He dresses in skins, "... was the leader of this small clan of families and was the priest of its Fire. He maintained control of his people through exercise of the Fire Myth. Gods's presence on Earth. His Warmth. His Bounty. His Vengeance. But now some terrible new force had appeared in the woods. It must be placated for the people to survive." The action builds as Elber recognizes a giant Creature and it tells him to build a large temple. Elber observes a horrific battle as the God-like Creature and a gigantic long-clawed Ground Sloth take on a pack of killer Saber Cats. Delightfully slipping from the narrative into talking intimately with the reader, the talented Dr. Van Stockum once again, in equal amounts, delights and instructs. You will want to explore the huge man-made earthen mounds of Cahokia, and imagine those scenes for yourself.
©2017 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. (P)2020 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr.
Side Step
Summary
"Picture a bar in Red Hook, a dangerous port in Brooklyn across the river from New York City. A horrible scene begins between Rebecca who serves beer and a customer Lawrence, who looks with one eye on Rebecca and one on the door. 'I am pregnant,' she says. We, the other bar patrons, listen while she explains to Lawrence. 'I am being watched by a creature, and it knew of the man I was with...the creature is a a monster and facilitates such sexual recombinations.' What is the reader to think as the action unfolds? Is it the effect of too much beer? Some B-movie horror playing out on the TV screen above our heads? Or is it an attack on Rebecca’s cellular ribosomes by the growth of a wasp egg that would feed on her innards unless her brother Lawrence’s antibodies can defend against her enemies? Again, the scientific mind of Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. serves up a mixed-genre story that repulses the senses with images of wasp stings, pimples leaking streams of pus, and Lawrence’s suction of cancerous RNA strands, while also imparting a microscope textbook explanation of processes we never think about. Side Step is connected to two other of the author’s stories - Ollie Deaton and the Breathitt County Silver Mine and The Manure Pit. Van Stockum is always educational, always entertaining." (Mary Popham, author)
©2016 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr. (P)2020 Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr.
Stones of Sandhill Island
Summary
There’s a new jazz singer on Sandhill Island. Billie Stone, named for the late jazz great, Billie Holiday, has her own set of pipes. She grew up on Sandhill Island and has come back home to heal her psyche after a tragic accident took her family. Billie’s mother falls ill, and now, she has a new role as caregiver. Once again, her mental health takes a back seat. Joe Franks, drunk and on the wrong side of the road late one night, crashes into the minivan that comes out of nowhere. But after a year in jail and penniless, he thinks he deserves another chance. No one will hire a jail bird, and he’s not cut out for pizza delivery. Just when Billie seems to be on the cusp of healing - and finding a new love - Franks’ rage spirals out of control. Have Billie’s losses made her strong enough to overcome once more, or will this final disaster be her undoing?
©2018 Peggy Chambers (P)2018 Peggy Chambers