The Freelan Series The Freelan Journals
Other WIPs (some ready for publication)
Note: All images below were created by the author and are meant as representations only, not actual book covers.
The Freelan Series
This is a story of “what if…”, an imagining of possibilities.
A story so big, one book wasn’t enough to tell it all.
Hammil Valley Rising
(1st book in The Freelan Series)
Approx. 218K words
Request Synopsis or Manuscript
“A blend of Jane Austen, Ayn Rand, and William W. Johnstone.” – Mike R.
A lot has happened in Hammil Valley, California, before Peter Thorn arrives as a spy for the state government. Newly widowed Rose Wilson, faced with the choice of staying on the ranch she had inherited from her dead husband or returning to her home in Los Angeles, is being used as a pawn in a battle between her neighbor Jim O’Connell, who owns most of that valley, and an enemy from his past. Peter learns the true nature of life in the valley and how he fits in as the battle reaches its climax. And it is the start of Peter’s journey to become a true hero. This is a story of “What if…” that we hope will inspire others to see the potential of the world around them.
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The Hammil Valley Effect
(2nd book in The Freelan Series)
Approx. 245K words so far
Final edit in progress
Jim and Rose and characters spanning the full spectrum of humanity continue their struggle to live free, a desire that grows and spreads, affecting other parts of California, starting with the county in which Hammil Valley is located. Personal challenges and dangers loom from enemies past and present as well as from the natural world around them. And the need to break away from California becomes more apparent. This story of “And what if…” continues from Hammil Valley Rose with events and characters that we hope will inspire others to see the potential of the world around them.
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Beyond Hammil Valley
(3rd book in The Freelan Series)
Approx. 195K words so far
In developmental edit stage
Jim, Rose, and a host of characters spanning the full spectrum of humanity interact in an intriguing and timely plot. Elements of romance, determination, danger, and triumph will keep the reader entranced. And the events spread beyond Hammil Valley as more people join the struggle for true freedom. This story of “And what if…” continues from The Hammil Valley Effect with events and characters that we hope will inspire others to see the potential of the world around them.
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The Ceres Stratagem
(4th book in The Freelan Series)
Approx. 216K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
This covers the 6th and 7th years of the new Nation of Freelan. The first five years were a time of tumult as people adjusted to life without the Nanny State and in a growing atmosphere of animosity toward them from totalitarian governments around the world.
While the influence of the free thinkers expands to parts of Europe and the lives of many Freelanians progress toward productivity and wealth, things heat up in the Freelan nation as a wealthy financial speculator plots to embarrass the nation before the world and take out two key figures, Jim and Rose O’Connell, in the process. Will Peter, recovering from a bout of amnesia, bring the “cavalry” to their rescue in time?
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The Freelan Journals
This is an ongoing series. Every book covers one year of life in the Nation of Freelan.
The story of “what if…” continues.
The Freelan Way
(Book 1 of The Freelan Journals)
Approx. 135K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
Covers Year 9 of Freelan
Freelanians continue their struggle to maintain their hard-won freedom against forces growing around the globe to stop them. An organization called World4All is their main enemy, along with The China Empire, The India Empire, and other nation conglomerates.
Jim, Rose, Peter, and a host of characters from all walks of humanity are determined to win.
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Challenges
(Book 2 of The Freelan Journals)
Approx. 129K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
Covers Year 10 of Freelan
The continuing progress of Freelanians and the split of the world into the free and the unfree who seek to enslave all.
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Forging On
(Book 3 of The Freelan Journals)
Approx. 98K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
Covers Year 12 of Freelan
Freelanians move ahead in spite of obstacles in their path.
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Triskaidekaphobia
(Book 4 of The Freelan Journals)
Approx. 106K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
Covers Year 13 of Freelan
Some think the number 13 is unlucky and blame some of the events in this year on that number. In reality, it’s just life with its ups and downs, or so many Freelanians recognize.
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Obsession & Survival
(Book 5 of The Freelan Journals)
Approx. 119K words
Draft completed, awaiting edits
Covers Year 14 of Freelan
Freedom can be an obsession and is certainly crucial to the survival of individuals and the human race in total. The events in this journal portray this great truth.
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Drafts for these journals nearing completion.
More coming. Drafts for several more years are partially completed. The series is planned to go through Year 60, skip to 100, and then transition to a new series set on a distant planet called “Remnant.”
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Other Works In Progress (WIPs)
The B’raith Chronicles
Approx. 90K words when completed
Draft in process, about halfway done
Stories could be published separately
A series of stories starting with the arrival of a faceless and mysterious creature in a red, hooded cloak with a “final task” to perform. It’s appearance starts Glenda Miller, a young woman in search of her second best-selling novel, on a life path she had never anticipated. Her search for the solution to the puzzle of her father’s murder 10 years earlier is part of the motivation that induces Glenda to help the creature in achieving his goal. And her friend, Maxie, the 60th Earl of Brayforth, conceals a surprise that the creature reveals to her.
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The Greeting Card Girl
Approx. 86K words
Request synopsis or manuscript
A young woman in the fictional town of Steadville in eastern Colorado designs greeting cards, and to do her job well, she lives “upside-down,” designing Father’s Day cards in the Christmas season and Christmas cards in the heat of summer. She meets a young man who has his Uber car decked out for Christmas and is drawn to him even as she tries to shut out all the holiday cheer around her. Family and a friend’s betrayal all conspire to keep her from reaching her deadline for card designs before Christmas Day arrives, but the young man is there to help.
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A Year of Stories
Approx. 90K words when completed
Draft in process, about two-thirds done
Stories could be published separately
A collection of short stories in a variety of genres and arranged by season. Some are set at particular holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and some are based on real events from my life but are fictionalized.
Titles so far include (in alphabetical order):
- A Christmas Alone (holiday romance)
- A Memory of My Sister (drama)
- Evelyn’s Thanksgiving (holiday)
- Grandma’s Braids (drama)
- Mom and the Piano (drama)
- She’s So Small (drama)
- The Blue Vase from Prague (drama)
- Walter (drama)
More stories to come. See also Flights of Fantasy.
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A.C. Cargill, Author 