The Bog Maiden

An ancient shaman, aghast that his final chance for renewed life has just slipped away, curses the thwarted lovers who have foolishly eaten his last mushrooms of immortality. Millenia later, among the boggy dunes of the Southern Oregon Coast, Johnny Wander's vision quest leads to mind-blowing encounters in the eerie grove on the edge of the haunted bog. Meanwhile, farmer Ole Gorseman baffles fellow cranberry growers with his change of heart, the Confederated Tribes of the Sand Coast struggle to build a casino, the Conservancy's Grace Flores fights to protect a globally endangered ecosystem, Sheriff Ray Wilson spars with Berry Queen-turned-novice-reporter Maybelle Tattleton and tribal elder Mary Duneflower Jackson quietly schemes to reunite lovers kept apart for far too long. It's all enough to keep Bugsy Sopp's eye twinkling with bemusement!
Author David Pilz and co-author George McAdams invite you to journey with us through the mists of time and complexities of human motivation to rectify an ancient imbalance in the bog!

David Pilz is presently a writer and consultant through the auspices of his business, PilzWald - Forestry Applications of Mycology. Previously, for nine years he conducted research on the Productivity and Sustainable Harvest of Edible Forest Mushrooms at the Pacific Northwest Research Station (USDA-Forest Service) in Corvallis, Oregon. Subsequently, he worked four more years as a Forest Mycologist with Oregon State University where he published research on the production of commercially-valuable fungi that grow wild in forests managed for timber and other amenities. During his career, Dave also has been a forest fire fighter, a reforestation specialist, and has helped manage forest tree seedling nurseries. He has advocated for wilderness preservation and alternatives to harvesting ancient yew trees for Taxol production. Lifelong hobbies have included growing rare or unusual tree seedlings and hiking off-trail to places seldom visited. Since retiring from paid jobs in 2013, Dave has turned his attention to creative endeavours and started to write a series of fanciful mushroom fiction novels that illustrate the ancient relations between people and forest fungi. You can learn more about Dave, and contact him, at his web site: www.pilzwald.com. Happy reading!