Did you ever wonder how to deal with the mischievous actions of an adolescent boy? As a parent, have you ever thought of what it might take to get your point of view across? How could any of that relate to the wonderful game of golf?

Follow the journey of two teenage boys, Justin Ventimiglia and Keith Pucchio, after they get caught committing a petty act of vandalism on one of the first days of their summer vacation. Experience what happens after their misstep lands them at Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of St. Louis.

Can the professional staff at the course mold the character of the boys? What on earth can a growing cast of golfing misfits show the lads? How will the characters deal with the deadly cancer disease? What role does a single-parent household play in all of this? Could a dysfunctional family situation solve the dilemma?

Enjoy the special relationship between a pseudo-Big Brother and an impressionable child in an enjoyable, heartwarming story about life and death. What can the old-timers that hang around the clubhouse teach the young boys? How will the kids react? And where do the lessons from the game of golf fit into all of this?

Read Finish Line, due out in late May 2008 from Xlibris. It is the second novel by James Ross set on Prairie Winds Golf Course. Feel free to visit his web site at http://www.authorjamesross.com for more information.

I read an interesting article that was published in an e-zine the other day. It went on to explain the varying lengths of written works and how those pieces were categorized. The purpose of the article was to explain how length can obviously equate to the cost of publishing a book.

At any rate, I thought that I would share a few of the numbers to those that may have an interest in writing. The number of words in a manuscript determines what sort of work an author has created.

• Short stories…………….under 15,000 words
• Novella……………………..between 15,000 and 29,999 words
• Short novel………………..30,000-49,999 words
• Novel…………………………between 45,000 and 69,999 words
• Plus or Super Novel……over 70,000 words

You can rest assured that the products that I will be developing will fall into the latter category. Lifetime Loser and Finish Line were both well over 100,000 words. Believe me, that is quite a challenge. Hopefully that is a comfortable length for those readers that enjoy a thorough story.