For A Speck Of Gold
Donna Getzinger
Art by David Maguire

THE BOOK

When a boy’s father is injured during a gold mining accident, he must travel alone to California to find him and bring him home again. It is journey filled with adventure, danger, and courage. A novel for anyone who wants a taste of life during the Gold Rush by the author of the International Writing Competition award-winning novel The Picture Wagon.

Selected Reviews I found this book a joy to read form beginning to end. It is of the high standard that one would expect from the pen of Donna Getzinger. A book that I highly recommend. —Warren Thurston, eBook Reviews Weekly Author of - Gladiss and the Alien

"...Donna Getzinger writes a well researched historical novel that depicts the horrors and humanity of the Gold Rush era. Getzinger builds the suspense of an adolescent's quest for his sick dad in a world more concerned with instant wealth than human dignity.

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In a lucid style young readers can appreciate, the author develops a mesmerizing tale of survival. Throughout the fabric of the novel, a mystery is woven which Robbie is compelled to solve, or die trying." —four stars, Reviewed by: Michael L. Thal, author of The Legend of Koolura.

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Getzinger has researched this book in great detail. She wrote the story for her students and kept in mind their abilities and interests. The book has great power and is not a whitewashed, storybook version of what was a very difficult time in history, filled with greed, pain, poverty, sacrifice and violence. This is an outstanding view of the gold rush from a child's perspective. —reviewed by Terrie Bitner, The Homeschool Teacher's Lounge, an inclusive site for homeschoolers of all religions, beliefs and teaching methods. It is designed to provide practical assistance to parents who teach their own.

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SAMPLE

Every day that the ship crept closer to the Cape Horn of South America the weather got a little colder.  Within a week after leaving their last port everyone on deck was nicely bundled up in their winter clothes.  Two weeks later they could see their breath throughout the day.  A few more days after that they’d awake each morning to a layer of frost and ice coating the railings.

The sea became choppier, and the ship pitched much more violently.  If Robbie had a hard time sleeping before, it was impossible now.  The constant rocking of the ship caused the heavy man beside him to keep rolling over and squishing him.  Men who had gotten control over their weak stomachs after the first few days aboard were constantly throwing up again.  Many of them had fevers from not bringing adequate clothing for this level of cold.

Robbie didn't feel sorry for them in the least.  Did they really think it would always be sunny and warm in California?  When he started getting his own scratchy throat and sniffles he blamed them.  He also worried.  Robbie had seen plenty of corpses thrown over the side of the ship in the past week.  They had enough trouble keeping the food fresh.  No one wanted bother with storing a germ-infested human body.

“You’ll be all right,” Danny assured him.  “It’s just a cold.  Stay warm.  Drink water.  I won’t let anything happen to you.”

His words were comforting, but they didn’t prevent his cold from worsening.  by the time the ship hit the worst of the weather, Robbie was flat on his back, every inch of his body screaming in agony.

Eric Durnst gave Robbie his berth and slept on the floor in his stead.  Robbie felt constantly dizzy when awake, but he couldn’t tell if the dizziness was caused by his illness or the incessant jolting of the ship.

The captain stepped into the cabin at one point.  “The water will be rough for the next few days,” he told everyone.  “Do not attempt to be on deck until I send further notice.  The gale winds are strong, and any man who doesn’t know what they’re doing could get blown off the ship.  Should you go overboard, no one will stop to save you.”

Passengers duly warned, the captain left, his shouts to the crewmen to lower the mast and tighten the rigging trailing after him.  The men in the cabin grumbled, knowing it would get even more crowded in here because of the steerage passengers that would have to move inside the ship.

“Worse than it has been?” Danny said.  “I can’t imagine.”

Robbie stared in wonder at his friend.  “You can’t imagine?  Then it must really be getting bad.”

To punctuate that remark the ship swung to the side as if trying to climb a mountain sideways.  Anyone standing fell over, and those lying down rolled across the cabin into a huge heap with the baggage.  The ship stayed in this position so long, Robbie wondered if it might just flip over and trap them all under water.

He clung tightly to the wooden frame of his berth to keep from being thrown across the room.  Danny clung painfully to Robbie’s wrists.

“Let me up there with you,” Danny said.

Robbie tried to scoot closer to the wall, but gravity prevented him from moving much.  “You’re going to get sick if you’re in here with me.”

“You think it will make a difference?” Danny said, climbing up.  “I’ve been breathing in your face for days and haven’t gotten sick yet.”  He positioned himself opposite in the berth from Robbie so that his feet were upby
Robbie’s head.  The snugness of both their bodies locked them firmly into place.  They wouldn’t fall now.

“That’s how to do it, boys,” Eric observed from the floor.  “Hold tight and heed to what the captain told us.”

“You too, father,” Danny responded.  “No heroics, okay?”

The ship snapped flat again, causing everyone to roll once more.  Shouts and curses flew.  The monkey cage dislodged from Danny’s pile of belongings and clanged against the far wall nearly hitting a man in the head.  The door hinge to the cage busted, and the monkey jumped out.

“What the…!” the man shouted.

“Here boy!” Danny called.

Hair’o’mine bounded across the room, using heads and knees as stepping stones to get to his beloved master.  The monkey curled up between the boys and chattered warmly.

“There boy,” Danny murmured, petting the animal.  “Just stay with us.  You’ll be okay.”

Robbie didn’t know how Danny could stay so positive through all of this.  He did not think everything was okay at all.  The way the ship creaked and groaned, the way the men bickered, and the way he felt signaled otherwise.  They were either going to sink, be killed by a fed-up argonaut, or he was going to die of fever.  Either way, he did not hold out hope of making it around Cape Horn.

“We’ll be fine,” Danny said to assure the monkey, Robbie, and himself.

No, we won’t, Robbie thought as the ship tilted dangerously on its side once again.

 

Will Robbie and Danny be all right?  Will they survive the Cape Horn and get to California?  Will Robbie find his father and maybe some gold too?  Get a copy of For a Speck of Gold and find out the exciting conclusion.

DEDICATION

To David with love

For my students at A+ Learning Center who watched over my shoulder and gave me lots of clever ideas as I wrote this novel. This story will always remind me of you.

THE AUTHOR

Donna Getzinger is a native Californian, and like all the other kids in California, Ms. Getzinger learned about the Gold Rush in 4^th grade. She found it fascinating then and fascinating now.

For a Speck of Gold is Ms. Getzinger's second published historical novel for young readers. Her first historical novel The Picture Wagon is still available from Denlinger's Publishers, Ltd., and won Honorable Mention in the 2000 International Writing Competition hosted by WriteMovies.com. Other books by Ms. Getzinger are Saving Christmas Spirit from Shadowbox Media Publishing and L.A.'s Best Sketch Comedy from Meriwether Publishers, and The Wisdom of Teen Chat from Oakwood Publishing.

Ms. Getzinger has won several awards for her writing, including awards for best children's stories from Writer's Digest and Children's Writer. She also won Honorable Mention Literary Masters Award from Center Press for her photo-anthology Couching. Her work has been seen in many publications including Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, L.A. Parent, Children's Digest, Cat Fancy, Story Friends, My Friend, and Listen magazines. She is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine and lives in Burbank, California with her husband, her new baby, and a feisty cat named Shadow.

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