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James M. McCracken
"Writing for me is like taking a mini-vacation that doesn't cost you anything and doesn't require hours of travel. When I am writing I get to see a different world filled with people/ characters who don't always cooperate with each other and at times even with me. It makes the whole experience interesting."
James M. McCracken began writing stories when he was a teenager and dreamed of someday becoming a published author. After spending twenty years working for the telephone company, his dream became a reality with the publication of his first novel: SECRETS. He retired early in 2002 and continued pursuing his writing. He currently lives in Redmond, Oregon. His young reader mystery series, inspired by his teenage years spent in a seminary boarding school, and his Sci-Fi books are published under his name James M. McCracken. His other books of various genres are published under the pen name A. M. Huff. |
CHARLIE MACCREADY
The Ghost in the Attic James M. McCracken Charlie doesn't believe in ghosts . . . but finding out the source of the noise may prove dangerous for a 12 year old boy. Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult, Mystery |
CHARLIE MACCREADY
Shadows in the Dark james M. McCracken Charlie sees something lurking in the shadows . . . is it real or just his imagination? Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult, Mystery |
CHARLIE MACCREADY
Sirens in the Night James M. McCracken Where there's smoke . . . is St. Michael's Abbey doomed to repeat its past or can Charlie and his friends stop it before it happens? Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult, Mystery |
TITLE
Author tagline Genre: |
AWAKE
James M. McCracken Get ready to hit the SAC and have the best rest of your life. A dying planet, A government plan, what could possibly go wrong? Genre: Post-apocalyptic, Dystopian, Sci-fi |
SECRETS
The Wallace Family A. M. Huff We all have secrets . . . but what if your family found out? Steven's secret will change the family forever. Genre: Contemporary, Family Drama, Gay & Lesbian |
THE MILLIONTH YEAR
A. M. Huff Cory Martin's life changed on his twelfth birthday. It's about to change again. Sometimes facing your past is the only way to have a future. Genre: Contemporary, Family Drama, Gay & Lesbian |
RUNNING
(A Short Story) A. M. Huff Sometimes when you're 17 and different, running is your only option. Ollie likes to run. It gives him time to think . . . or is he just running away? Genre: Contemporary, Coming of Age, Gay & Lesbian |
ELLENSBURG
A. M. Huff A missing friend. A small coastal town. A police chief with something to hide. And a couple willing to risk everything to help. Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Gay & Lesbian |
STUMPTOWN
A. M. Huff Life is all about Friday nights and hooking-up for Justus. That is until his friends start disappearing. Can a 22 year old file clerk do what the police can't or will he become the next victim? Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Gay & Lesbian |
reviews:
AWAKE
James M. McCracken Reviewed by William J. Cook Rated: 5 Stars "The Earth Will Heal Itself...But Will We?" In "Awake," James McCracken presents us with a fascinating premise: the answer to the pollution of the earth is to put humanity into suspended animation for twenty years. Given two decades without human intervention or interference, earth's natural ecosystems would cleanse themselves. A newly awakened humanity would have its first chance to start over with cleaner technologies and renewed hope. But Paradise is lost. Instead of sleeping in the SAC's--the Suspended Animation Centers--for twenty years, people have slept for fifty-three years. And only a few have awakened. The rest remain in their glass pods in a precarious limbo, dependent on generators that are beginning to fail. Tim is awake, but his mother Della remains entombed in the Hillsboro SAC. His father Philip has awakened, but suffers from severe dementia and has wandered off. The mystery deepens when Tim discovers the bodies of the two medical supervisors who were monitoring his SAC--both dead from gunshot wounds. Worse still, all communication has been lost with the other SAC's across the country. McCracken gives us an engrossing tale told from the perspective of two families caught up in it. There are hints of larger conspiracies, deadlier gambits, but we can only see through the families' eyes, cut off from the rest of the world, making the story even more mysterious and captivating. I found myself thinking about this novel for a long time afterward. At first I was stymied by asking myself the wrong questions: Could so much technology survive for fifty-three years without maintenance? (Where would our computers and cell phones be without updates?) Could a single country, let alone the world, agree to undertake such an ambitious endeavor? My doubts were allayed when I realized I had missed the point. "Awake" is an allegory poignantly describing how we "sleep" through the relationships that are most precious to us, often until it's too late. Tim is awake at last, but cannot be heard by his mother, asleep in her glass coffin. His father is awake, but the sleep of dementia has rendered in-depth communication with him impossible. As Tim laments, "There is so much I wanted to say, so much I wanted to hear." For those of us with parents in the twilight of their years or family members stricken with terminal illness, it's a message that rings all too true. |
ELLENSBURG
A. M. HUFF Reviewed by William J. Cook Rated: 5 Stars "A Spooky Coastal Town" On a road trip from Portland to San Diego to visit his mother, Thomas mysteriously disappears. His friend Harrison, who provided him a room when Thomas was evicted from his own apartment, fears something bad has happened. The police are unwilling to help because no crime has been committed and Harrison has no evidence that Thomas is in any danger. When Harrison embarks on a journey to find Thomas, he gets stranded in the small coastal town of Ellensburg, where things are not what they seem. Harrison's suspicions of foul play are confirmed when he sees the Chief of Police driving Thomas's car. But where can Harrison turn if the police themselves are involved? Huff has crafted a fast-moving tale of mystery and suspense that you will want to read in one sitting. Harrison is an "everyman," unschooled in martial arts or any other "movie skill," without a gun, driven only by friendship to find a person he genuinely cares about. With shades of "Deliverance," the town becomes claustrophobic as the suspense heightens and Harrison cannot tell what lurks in the shadows. What he doesn't know may kill him. |