About the dodgy author, a man of knavish reputation, apocryphal credentials, inconsequential means, and low-born acquaintances:
I worked indoor jobs (editorial, teaching) until I was 26. Got real bored, and it sure didn't suit my self-image as a writer, always shut up inside. So I wandered for 10 years (the western States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala,), trying on new experiences for size: ranch hand, farm laborer, gardener, janitor, small-town news reporter, consultant for tribal health clinic, martial arts instructor, stuntman in production company, movie extra. I now rent a little house on a Pacific Coast beach of Costa Rica, tending my organic veggies and pampering my bantam chickens. I'm a fishing guide there, and also offer instruction in Chi Kung, Tai-chi Chuan, and Shaolin. Besides writing books, I've written, performed in, and produced 30 DVDs in the fields of health, exercise and martial arts. All these I peddle on my website chuan-fa.tripod.com and on Lulu.com.
Story by Edward Orem
Slip Slidin' Down Gold Mountain
There have gotta be better choices for a kid than beheading, hanging or slavery. Northern California, 1850's:...
