Böcker av Bill Girvin

Throughout history, there have been a handful of brave souls who cast it all to the winds and let fate decide what might be hiding around the next bend in the road. These remarkable individuals all shared a yearning to discover the world, not only to find the treasures that were out there waiting to be had, but also to discover what made them who they were as they dealt with near impossible, unexpected, and, too often, dangerous situations. This is the remarkable true story of a small group of modern-day adventurers traveling overland to India from Holland on the infamous hippie trail in a $360 Volkswagen van during 1973. They were challenged by the hatred they faced in countries like Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan-just for being Westerners. There were unforgettable moments sitting on top of their wheels as they drove through the blazing Desert of Death in Afghanistan toward the lush Himalayan Mountains en route to the Heavenly Valley of Kashmir and Nepal. They were saddened by the poverty they experienced in the slums of India yet enlightened by the holy gurus and people they met along the way. From the crossing at Dover to the brothels of Thailand, each day brought new memorable moments never to be forgotten, originally written in a daily journal. More than forty years later, that journal was discovered buried deep in a steamer trunk about to be sold at a garage sale. In book form, it is now ready to be shared with the world and hopefully encourage readers to make the most out of this gift we call life.

It was in July 1502 when the sailing ship El Dorado, laden with plundered treasures, was making a return trip to Spain from Santo Domingo. The El Dorado was thought to have perished in the dark depths of the Mona Passage during the worst-recorded hurricane in history-one with winds of incredible strength and a tumultuous, angry sea of towering waves. Juan Perez, a survivor of that shipwreck, was held captive in Florida for nineteen years by the long-lost tribe of Calusa Indians. He endured torture, war, inhumane treatment and witnessed acts of cannibalism . . . and eventually fell in love with King Senequne's daughter, Tepe. This is the story of Juan's eventual escape and rescue . . . and the sacred Vid, the true Fountain of Youth, that his mentor, Ponce de Leon, had long dreamed of finding. But along with the Vid came the human curse of greed that endangered the lives of any who possessed it.

Wiglaf, the last remaining relative of the deceased heroic king of Geatland, Beowulf, was in for the fight of his life against the giant two-headed mountain troll and his vicious flock of ravens in the forbidden and mysterious lands of the Hardanger Kingdom of Norway. At stake was the very survival of those who occupied those strange forests, including Wiglaf's newfound love, Elenora, a lady troll who had rescued him from winter's deadly, icy grip. It would be a historic battle against time in the snow-covered mountainous fjords where good fought evil and the outcome could mean a brighter future and hope for all during the sixth century A.D. - in the northern most country of Europe.

In many ways, it was one of the worst winters in California history. The evil, mass murderer and drifter, Tommy Lee Higgins had come to visit Gibson Ranch County Park just outside of Sacramento to steal the lives of the young who had come to play there. To their rescue came the most unlikely of all saviors, a homeless, tiny, seven-pound toy poodle named Lucky, who was hell-bent on revenge and possessed the supernatural ability to battle her mighty foe against all odds and save the life of eleven-year-old Bobby Bailey. It would be a fight to the death for all, born from the endless love of the innocent.