Books
Stories from Homewood
Adventures in a Secret World
Book 1
Twelve-year-old Aaron hated moving to his new home in the country. To say he was bored was an understatement! That is, until a hike in the woods leads Aaron to discover the secret land of Homewood. Now, he must balance his world with that of his new Homewood friends.
Will he be able to keep Homewood the beautiful, untroubled place he found?
Will he be tempted to share it with others?
Will Homewood change him?
This is a 196-page middle-grades novel with twenty-two full-color illustrations and sheet music for four original songs.
What Readers Are Saying About
Stories from Homewood
Through the eyes of Aaron, the book’s protagonist, the author reminds readers of the naked optimism that children need to cultivate…to be able to see potential in the unknown and to not be afraid of struggling through self-doubt.
Brad Stooksberry
Elementary Principal
I highly encourage everyone to go along on Aaron’s adventure in Stories from Homewood! As he learns who he is and where he belongs, readers, too, grow in knowledge of themselves and their place in the world.
Allie Wilson
Teacher of Gifted
The concepts in this book are the types of core life lessons that we never stop learning, no matter how old we get. Aaron is a good kid who wants to do the right thing, but he’s discovering that the right thing isn’t always obvious and it definitely is not always easy. Especially when his friends and family will never know (and therefore can’t admire him or praise him for it).
Jennifer Butler Keeton
Writer/Editor
A little bit of Alice in Wonderland combined with Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh with a sprinkle of The Jack Tales, Stories from Homewood offers timeless life lessons for both the young and old.
R. Stooksberry
School Psychologist
One thing remains the same no matter where I am teaching… our kids need more opportunities to just be kids. They need opportunities to distract them from the pressures of today’s society and their personal traumas. They deserve a chance to lose themselves in the moment, let their imaginations take over, and allow their worries to fade away, if only for a short while. Stories from Homewood: Adventures in a Secret World provides tweens and teens the connection to do just that!
Kalie Snipes
Math RTI Facilitator
Beautiful, Delightful Imperfections!
Poetry and Notes on life, loss, and love. But mostly love.
These poems and notes cover many themes, but I categorized them into life, loss, and love. But love is about life, and life includes loss, and well, you get the picture. Every life is a collection of poetry just waiting to be written. Facing challenges, avoiding challenges, overcoming challenges, being damaged by challenges, growing from challenges.
I write to share what I’ve learned with the hope someone else will be able to find some clarity in their own thoughts. It’s powerful when someone says something or writes something or sings something or creates anything that makes us feel like we aren’t alone, that we know just what they’re describing, that we find some peace or joy from their efforts. I hope this book can do that for you.
What Readers Are Saying About
Beautiful, Delightful Imperfections!
“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'”
The first time I ran across this quote (attributed to C.S. Lewis), I noticed that it also perfectly describes the element that makes the best writing so impactful. When you recognize yourself in someone else’s writing, it’s a connection a lot like a friendship. Rick Burcham’s poetry collection, Beautiful, Delightful Imperfections! is likely to evoke at least a few “What! You too?” moments for any reader, regardless of their particular life experiences.
The poems are organized under the categories of “Life,” “Loss,” and “Love,” which are universal themes. But it’s the specificity within the poems that really create those points of connection. Burcham shares fixed moments and emotions from a span of 50 years of his life, and he distills each one to its relatable core. With language that’s as accessible as it is precise, Beautiful, Delightful Imperfections! is the type of poetry book you’ll pick up any time you want to understand yourself a little better.
Jennifer Butler Keeton
Writer/Editor
In “Beautiful, Delightful Imperfections!” Dr. Burcham unravels more than seven decades of experience into a rich, wonderful, many-faceted tapestry. It’s a remarkably vulnerable journey through a life well-lived: collected wisdom and love and scars and loss. Each verse fulfills the titular promise of beauty and delight, while also revealing a very open, kind, and reflective heart.
It’s a rare and precious thing to find a work that can be both consistently beautiful and occasionally transformative. You will discover pieces that resonate so deeply that they cause you to pause, reflect on your own life, love, and imperfections, and – if you are anything like me – cry in your living room.
Dr. Joe Barrow
Head of AI@Pattern Data
Rick Burcham pours out his heart in the pages of this book. His writings are deep, wise, funny, heartwarming, and inspirational. While reading the poems and notes, I was surprised by how much I laughed and cried. The book is a wonderful reflection on the beautiful life and love Rick and his wife have shared for over forty years. Although the poems and notes were specific to their lives, I could relate to many of the feelings that a special love brings to a life. This book will definitely touch your heart as it did mine.
Sherry H.
Retired Educator
I love this book so much! I laughed, I cried, I learned about the author, and, interestingly, I learned about myself. Having met the author, Rick’s writing style is just like him: direct, no-nonsense, indirect, and all nonsense. The stories included in these poems will entertain and enlighten you. A must read!
Allie W.
Teacher of the Gifted
“Perfectly unbalanced, raw and unique, Rick manages to bring everyone on his journey throughout life—and teach us a thing or two along the way…”
Cameron Kerfoot
Editor