L.W. Samuelson

I do a lot of walking and thinking, reading and writing. I live in a house surrounded by trees. It abounds with owls, squirrels, red tail hawks and countless other birds. There are spots on my farm where you can stand and feel the calm and peace of a forest. It's almost a religious experience, one too few people ever get to experience.

My fervent hope is to preserve our world and natural resources for future generations. Therefore; I am deeply concerned about our environment. One has only to watch the evening news to see tangible evidence of climate change. I pray that our politicians heed Pope Francis's encyclical on the morality of treating our planet like a garbage dump.

My first book, A Benwarian Fix expresses a sense of urgency about the dilemma of an ever increasing population and the resulting environmental degradation. I spent two years researching climate change, its causes and likely outcomes. One source stated that the sustainable population of Earth is one half a billion people. We just reached seven billion humans and are on our way to nine billion. This story is based on the old story about twelve people on a life boat that is sinking because it can only carry ten. Who do you save? I pondered this question for months until I came up with an interesting "fix". It involves an alien race and a device called a spectrometer.

I have also written The Blue African, a prescient look at the Ebola epidemic of 1975. It is fictional account of the virus based on research. A Benwarian, Porter Tellez, accompanies two doctors to investigate its causes. He traces the virus back to a research facility in Uganda. When he visits Triton Labs to investigate, other startling discoveries are made. When he runs afoul of the CEO, Porter experiences the power of an American Corporation.

My third novel, Traveller, deals with teenage angst and the adventures of young college students who help an unusual visitor survive. The young Benwarian becomes all too human when he succumbs to the distractions found on a college campus.

I recently finished my forth book, The Verde Sanctuary. An old rancher takes the young Benwarian, Traveller, under his wing and teaches him to wrangle cattle and train horses. The two become friends as Travis helps the eighty-year-old run the ranch. The novel is populated with horses, cowboys, a Benwarian, and an unusual boy with visions. It is both humorous and tragic.