The Middle World

What really happened in the former coal-mining town of Redstone, Colorado, located in the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains? When two local twelve year olds, Rose and Kenai, discover that they both can communicate with spirits from the past, they uncover the mysteries behind the Redstone Castle, once named "Cleveholm," with the help of their new friend, Manuele. Book One of THE MIDDLE WORLD children's book series recounts the true story of iron-and-coal-mining tycoon John Cleveland Osgood and his second wife, Swedish countess Alma Regina Shelgrem, also known as "Lady Bountiful." This odd couple built Redstone during the early 1900's as a social experiment. But just a few years later, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. and Jr, took over Osgood's Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, and the 25,000 square-foot castle has haunted its multiple owners, inhabitants and town residents ever since. Combining magical realism with historical fiction, THE MIDDLE WORLD explores the relationship between healing past tragedies and overcoming present-day struggles through the power of children's clarity and innocence.