Red Ridge: Beyond the Painted Roads

Publisher Marketing: Set in the year 2225. For Torrin of Red Ridge, the journey to leadership and manhood begins at age 25. No longer will he be a watcher on the lookout ridge, seraching the warning beacons for signs of war. He will learn the secrets hidden deep within his mountain home of Monte Cristo. Secrets even his own mother has held from him. But his best friend Sherman will be there for him, just as he always has. Torrin's journey begins east, to the very fringes of his own wilderness. Deep in a northwest forest, an ancient world is revealed to the young leader - a world of power and strength in the form of a man. What he learns from his father, however, he can share with no others. No one must know of the forest dwellers. Friendships are rekindled as five young adults revisit their past. A past of childhood pranks, and laughter, hard work and training. They seek answers of the America they read about, and the Oil Wars that changed everything. Youth may have grown to adulthood, but a bond of courage has formed that will remain unbreakable. The great Dome in the mountains has also begun a journey. For 200 years it lay silent and menacing, well protected by the Red Ridge people. But silent it will be no more. Its slow rise from the earth has shattered the quiet, well-blended community. Peace and laughter has reigned for more than a hundred years in the Robe Valley. But the thunder of evil looms on the horizon. The forgotten Dome in the Cascade Mountains has been remembered once again. Red Ridge must transform themselves from mountain people to hardened warriors. Contributor Bio:  Takoda, T M So the"Window Guy" wrote a book. I've been working with glass, repairing windows, and installing them in homes for the past twenty-five years. My background is construction and the blue collar school of hard work. This is my first attempt at writing a novel. The idea for the Dome came to me in high school in the late 70s. I drew pictures in my art class of a dome in the mountains, surrounded by military tanks. "What if someone came across such a thing," I thought," deep in the unforgiving forests of Washington State?" I wondered if I could ever write a story about it. Life moved on for the next twenty-plus years as I hiked, fished and hunted to my heart's content. Most of which has been done from my hometown area of Seattle, Washington. Where the dark and mysterious northwest forests can leave Big Foot prints on the wild imagination of a young thinker. I also started a family, and have enjoyed being a father. I have hiked and fished almost all of the lakes and streams in Red Ridge - I couldn't help it, they're in my backyard. Twin Lakes, high above Monte Cristo is where you can bury me. They sit just below heaven, sprinkled with angel dust. The dream of writing a novel about the dome in the mountains always haunted me. I never thought I had the skills to do it - until I tried. My wife reminded me I told her on our first date, one of my dreams was to write a book some day. In November 2000, I wrote, "Chapter One" on my computer and a tingle ran up my spine. I knew then, there was no turning back. The journey Torrin of Red Ridge has taken me on - has been amazing. I thank God for the abilities given to me, and my parents for the drive to work hard and succeed. Ialso thank the America I love, for bearing the children of our forefathers, who have sacrificed their lives, for the freedoms I enjoy.