The Ascent of PJ Marshall

ISBN: 1477539220

Author: Anderson, Brian J.

Condition: New

Product Description When PJ Marshalls father, Butch-about to present evidence of illegal timber and oil company practices to Congress-disappears from his Wisconsin Northwoods home under a cloud of suspicion, PJ embarks on a grueling cross-country search. And when he's drawn into the simmering conflict between the aging activist and a pair of industry giants, PJ begins to unravel a web of lies and violence designed to keep Hansen Timber and Bighorn Oil out of the cross-hairs of public scrutiny.And to silence those trying to expose their secrets.PJ's sister died when he was four. His mother-in a car crash that nearly took his father as well-when he was sixteen. As a result, his youth was spent in a haze of addiction-fueled anger and guilt. Now, after a lifetime of unwavering support from his father, PJs wounds have begun to heal.Suddenly, Butch is gone.The mysterious 911 call accusing him of kidnapping and assault. The out of state warrant implicating him in a theft and extortion conspiracy. Armed with corroborating evidence inexplicably left behind on Butch's computer, local authorities question PJ on his fathers recent activities and a file named Tim-Oil-recently scrubbed from the hard drive. Unwilling to accept the allegations against his father, and with the investigation turning to what he himself knows and may be hiding about Tim-Oil, PJ knows it's up to him to uncover the truth.PJ's lonely, desperate search. The discovery of hidden files containing Butchs planned testimony and years of research. Hansen Timber's illegal clear-cuts in the Pacific Northwest. Bighorn Oil's illicit offsite wells in Wyoming Indian territory. Political corruption. Pending legislation in Congress-paid for by company shills-that would not only wipe the slates clean, but would net Hansen and Bighorn untold millions. With everything to lose, two corporate titans willing to do anything to win.Anything.From a remote camp in the North Cascades to the offices of a Chicago high-rise, PJ confronts those charged with the companies survival-clashing with friends, new foes and past demons alike. Beaten in both body and spirit, and with his fathers fate growing ever more uncertain, PJ returns to Wisconsin and a remote hunting cabin to face the one person who knows everything.And in the end, maybe even come to terms with his past.If it's not too late. From the Author Stephen King, in his elegantly inspiring book, On Writing, likens the process of novel writing to the unearthing of a fossil. The story is already there, waiting to be discovered, and the writer's job is to carefully excavate it with his or her collection of tools, (grammar, style, voice, etc.) leaving the whole largely intact. I like this analogy, as it accurately describes the development of The Ascent of PJ Marshall.The first several drafts--products of working with dull or rusted tools ill-suited for the task--resulted in little more than blistered and bloody hands, the topsoil covering my fossil barely dented. But I knew it was down there. And so, inspired by the many brilliant writers who have gone before me, encouraged and supported by my team of beta readers and propped up on countless late nights by enormous volumes of coffee, I gradually honed the appropriate tools, discarding those that produced nothing but smashed thumbs.My excavation of The Ascent of PJ Marshall has been a life-changing experience, and I have loved every mud-caked, raw-knuckled moment. I sincerely hope you enjoyed what I have dug up here.Thanks for reading! About the Author Brian J. Anderson grew up in Middleton, Wisconsin--spoiled by a childhood filled with outdoor exploits and Midwestern warmth. He has spent the last twenty-odd years in life science research, including work in Agronomy, Microbiology and Biotechnology. Brian had dreamed of writing a novel since the age of sixteen, and after innumerable false starts and dead ends--not to mention decades of simmering experience, patie