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Trilogy Sneak Peak
How one simple campfire spawned 3 books

Hey there,

Thanks for stopping by. Today, I wanted to write a short piece on the three books that I co-authored. If the books were ever featured as a movie, the Hollywood-style trailer would probably go something along the lines as written below (and shown in the video.)

So without further ado …

As Ranger Rusty raised the flag at the crack of dawn, he thought it was “just another day. Little did he know his day would turn into a 3-book odyssey. Or am I talking about myself?

Little did I know (or imagine at the time) that the endeavor of writing those three books would take six years of my life. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, and not that I did it all the time, all day long. It was usually in the evening and early morning hours – before embarking into work at the nearby National Park/Preserve – that I did most of my writing. The caveat is that I did it every day. Rarely did I let a day go by without working on some aspect of the sprawling work. The other caveat is that I had a co-author, as elaborated in the video above. But even he would say when it came to the grindstone of writing it the book was primarily me. The other caveat, and there are lots – is that the three books chime in at just under 500,000 words. That’s quite a bit by any metric. A short book, like the Great Gatsby, is around 60,000 words. Could we have used an editor to help us shorten it up? Maybe so, but I stand by every word.

The three books

My Point:

The trilogy didn’t start as a trilogy. It started as a single book. And that single book didn’t start as a book. It started as a 30-minute campfire talk. The rest, shall we say, is campfire history. At the start of a journey usually you have no idea where it will lead. You can check out the books here: Visit the Trilogy’s website

Or, breaking news, check out the abridged version of all three here:

Buy the book: Kindle and paperback formats

Final Campfire
The stunning conclusion to the trilogy

Welcome to Book 3 …

Of the Centennial Campfire Trilogy.

Cowboy at the campfire reviews the book

Book Summary

Welcome to Book 3 and what critics are raving “the stunning conclusion” to the Centennial Campfire Trilogy. At the end of the first two books of the trilogy — The Legend of Campfire Charlie and Last Stand at Boulder Ridge — our fearless protagonist, Ranger Rusty, finds himself simultaneously trying to man the Sweetwater Visitor Center in the heart of the Big Cypress Swamp while also slipping back in time to distant childhood memories of an old backcountry camp and deeper still to a first-hand historical account of adventures at a Seminole War era fort and a haunted archeological dig for dinosaur bones as he tries to conjure the energy to hold court at a campfire talk in a remote campground at the end of a very (emphasis on very) long day. As exquisite an ending you’ll ever find in a “large canvas” epic work, Final Campfire is a full-body experience that no respectable book reader, plumber or campfire enthusiast (including the inner s’mores roaster in all of us) will want to miss.

Front and Back Covers

Note: Watch the original movie trailer to the trilogy to find out more, and also check out The Legend of Campfire Charlie (Book 1) and Last Stand at Boulder Ridge (Book 2). The Centennial Campfire Trilogy is co-authored by Robert V Sobczak and Rudi Heinrich.

Legend of Campfire Charlie
Ranger Rusty holds down the fort at Sweetwater VC

Welcome to Book 1 …

Of the Centennial Campfire Trilogy.

Cowboy at the campfire reviews the book

Overview of Book

Do you have a fear of being squeezed to death by a giant Burmese Python? Or does being followed around all day by a Florida Panther rattle your nerves? If so, join Rusty, a well meaning but – how shall we say – “often distracted” park ranger who is scheduled to give an evening talk in a swamp preserve on a topic he doesn’t much like. Not to worry (or maybe worry a lot) as the unwitting ranger meets a mysterious stranger who catapults him on a breathtaking journey to confront and maybe finally answer the deepest and most confounding question of his life. That is assuming he can ever get done (or to) his campfire talk …

Front and Back Covers

Click here to look inside the book

Note: Watch the original movie trailer to the trilogy to find out more, and also check out Last Stand at Boulder Ridge (Book 2) and Final Campfire (Book 3). The Centennial Campfire Trilogy is co-authored by Robert V Sobczak and Rudi Heinrich.