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Erica Gore

Erica Gore

About

I am a retired primary school teacher who writes mystery adventures for young readers.  My stories are aimed at the children trying to make the transition from picture books to novels.  They are about real kids with no special powers who have to use their wits to cope with the situations in which they find themselves. 

The Race for Flugal Farm

The Race for Flugal Farm

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Description

<p>The Race for Flugal Farm is the first book in a trilogy that charters the lives and adventures of the inhabitants of the Riding Stables at Flugal Farm.</p><div>Times had been hard for George Flugal and his wife, and this inevitably resulted in him having to sell the majority of the school's horses until he was left its just four: Pogo, Biff, Troy and an ex-racehorse called Chance.</div><div>The horses who along with a young stable hand Rachelle Perkins, a dog named Nugget, a pig called Nigel and an old family friend Uncle Dave, make up the Flugal's extended family.</div><div>When they find themselves facing the possibility of having the farm repossessed by the bank, and bought out by the odious Mr Williams, have to pull together to enter a carriage drive in order to win the prize money and save their way of life.</div>

Story Behind The Book

When travelling many years ago, I got a job as a nanny in a tiny fishing village working with two young girls. The village with its headland and old light tower fired my imagination. I have been creating stories for my classes about this place for the last 30 years. This one is the first in a series of Taya Bayliss stories.

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Reviews

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Taya-Bayliss-Treasure-J-Gore/dp/1462894313/ref=cm_cr_dp_orig_subj"><strong><font color="#0066cc">Taya Bayliss - Treasure Hunter (Paperback)</font></strong></a> It is not difficult to see that Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys had some influence over the writings of retired teacher, Erica Gore, but she has managed to bring us what we love about those stories into a new setting (Australian) with new and interesting characters.<br /><br />There's plenty in this story for middle-grade readers: 11-year-old Taya Bayliss is uprooted from her home and friends to move to a tiny fishing village in South Australia; she abandons house rules to follow leads, which then puts her and others in danger; two local boys make the path difficult for the protagonist; and the mysterious old woman who appears to know the details of the missing treasure.<br /><br />It's a well-constructed plot, and the author also challenges readers to find something unusual or off-point in the story adding another layer of mystery on top of those the story holds for adventurous, curious pre-teens. <br /><br />*****  Melanie Walsh  Association of Independent Writers