SUMMER 1957: Twelve-year-old IZZY, long on hope and short on cash, claws golden nuggets from the waters of a secret spring. His co-discoverer COLLUM swears him to secrecy.

Izzy hopes to be a regular kid, not just the class shrimp. Half his brain teems with schemes to fit in with his peers, while the other half struggles to keep his family from falling apart.

MOM and DAD are at odds, Izzy helpless to save their marriage. THE RUSSIANS launch the first artificial satellite, blighting Izzy’s hopes of space-age glory. Bullying LYLE dashes Izzy’s self-image; breathtaking IRMA ignores his wistful ardor; and GRANDPA, who taught him to be brave, wastes away in a hospital room.

Money could ease these woes—but Izzy has pledged silence about the gold in the hidden spring.

Deep in dilemmas, how can Izzy hold on to hope?

Author Larry F. Sommers writes historical fiction, seeking fresh meanings in our common past. His new middle-grade novel, Izzy Strikes Gold!, will be published by Three Towers Press July 24, 2024.

His short story, “Beast of the Moment,” appeared in the June 2023 edition of Well Read online magazine. His first novel, PRICE OF PASSAGE, came out in August 2022 and will soon be republished in a new edition. He won Honorable Mention in The Saturday Evening Post’s 2018 Great American Story Contest for “The Lion’s Den”—like Izzy Strikes Gold!, a tale of childhood in the 1950s, with the character Izzy Mahler at its center.

He has spent his life working as a writer, editor, photographer, writing coach, public affairs consultant, and crisis communicator.

He blogs weekly at https://LarryFSommers.com.

A Vietnam-era veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Larry is active in church work and belongs to the Sons of Norway, the Authors Guild, the Wisconsin Writers Association, and two local writers’ critique groups.

He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife and dog.

Livestream: Larry F. Sommers w/ Doug Moe