Tracks — Jim Black

It's 1968 in the small Texas town of Archer City. The average price of a new car is twenty-eight hundred dollars. Gasoline is thirty-four cents per gallon. A postage stamp costs a nickel. And people still sleep with their doors unlocked at night. Fifteen-year-old Jim and his buddies, Charles and Gary, are charting new territory-high school-and finding the transition challenging to say the least. Together, they confront broken hearts, bullies, initiations, and all the trappings of being teenagers. Meanwhile, just outside of town, a mystery is brewing: Cattle are turning up dead amid reports of strange lights in the night sky and claims of a bizarre "creature" roaming the countryside. Come join the boys as they cope with all that's going on while trying to pull off their greatest prank ever in this funny and endearing sequel to River Season. A lifelong Texan, Jim Black was born in Center, Texas in 1953 and today lives in Wichita Falls with his wife, Lorrie, and their dog, Max. Tracks is his second novel. His first, There's a River Down in Texas, was originally self-published before being sold to Viking/Penguin and re-released as River Season. Hailed as "An excellent first novel" by Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry, the story was largely based upon the author's true-life experiences growing up in Archer City. For the past twenty-four years Jim has been employed by the Texas Department of Transportation, and in addition to writing, he enjoys reading, movies, and involvement in community theater. He is the author of two plays and has produced, directed, and acted in numerous stage productions. He is currently at work on a third novel despite having flunked creative writing in college.