What I needed was a project. I love to write but have no discipline about writing my ideas in a workable fashion, so I had the idea that I should re-write a book that needs some TLC. I had in mind a young adult/kids fiction work I loved as a kid and again as an adult reading bedtime stories to my own children. This book is Mystery of the Witches’ Bridge by Barbee Oliver Carleton, published in 1967 by Scholastic Books, currently out of print as far as I can tell.
As a writer who makes money writing technical documentation and instructional material, and aspires to write my own original work, it’s only natural that I have critical thoughts when I read others’ work. For me this critical eye gets in the way sometimes- flaws clank in my head so badly I can’t enjoy the story. This is why I generally read only the very highest quality authors. However, with Witches’ Bridge, I love the story too much to let it go. I found myself editing the story on the fly as I read it aloud to my children, thinking someone ought to do a second edition or something. Well, why not me, if only for my own enjoyment and exercise? I also hope to gain some discipline and habits to help me graduate into writing my own original work.
So with all due credit and respect to the original author, I hereby begin the Witches’ Bridge Project. Hover your mouse over the “Witches’ Bridge Project” label above for chapter selection.
Mark E. Amos 