After a successful novel-writing experience last summer, Smithfield resident Marty Reeder is looking to repeat this year by writing a proposed young adult novel titled Showdown at the Burnt Creek Café, releasing it one chapter per week in e-reader formats starting this fall.

Because of the positive responses to last year’s novel, Once Upon a Fjord, Marty, a creative writing teacher at Sky View High School, was excited to charge ahead with a new story. The young adult, family friendly tale will follow the adventures of a boy named Bert Gardner who earns the nickname, Bertie the Kid. The story summary posted by the author is as follows:

Bertie the Kid is the 10-year-old prodigy tapped to collect missing golf balls from the rough wilderness off the fairways of the Burnt Creek Golf Course, using his trusty bike as his steed. This prestigious position among the neighboring youth is not all fun, however, since each hole of Burnt Creek’s Back Nine brings different challenges ranging from the bullying brothers Jesse and James Woodson, the wild Anderson boys, unexpected flash floods, and more—each chapter echoing the grand cowboy adventures of the Old West on a miniature (though not mini golf!) scale.

As the summer progresses and Bertie the Kid nears completion of a tour of the Back Nine, he also discovers that someone has been rustling golf balls in his territory, threatening his job and eventually leading to an epic showdown at the Burnt Creek Cafe!

The novel is being funded through a Kickstarter campaign that will end on 8 August, with the first chapter being released on September 5th. Marty has the story’s prologue posted on his website (writingreeder.blogspot.com), so that people can get an idea for the type of writing they can expect.