American military forces are scrambling to vacate France and find new bases in West Germany after Premier Charles De Gaulle's 1966 mandate. While the international community focuses on the conflagration in Vietnam, General Blake Rutter and his Soviet pal, Ivan Petrovski form a "Society" of high-ranking NATO officials to sell stolen weapons to enemies behind the Iron Curtain. Unless army intelligence can stop them, a handful of greedy officials may succeed in setting a match to the Cold War's fuse. Bill Conley, Military Intelligence Commanding General, recruits multi-talented Joe Wolf. A humble country boy from Virginia, Joe defies odds to identify the villainous Society members and uncover their plans. How he does that astounds his mentor, and especially thugs and bullies sent to destroy him. Joe is an expert marksman with hand-to-hand combat skills beyond his army instructors. But even his recruiter and mentor, General Bill Conley, is not aware of his special gifts of memory and intelligence that allow him to piece together the puzzle of the Society operation and outthink the bad guys. Villains run him off the road, physically assault him, kidnap his girlfriend, Sara Matthews, and attempt to kill Joe. But nothing deters him from completing his mission. He is incensed by the corruption at the very top of the army, and relentless in defeating the Society. Yet even heroes need a balance and Sara does that for Joe in a heated romance that keeps him centered on his goals and ambitions. Does he strive for a military career and a life of crime-fighting? Or, does getting shot and nearly killed in action change his goals, force him to accept a simpler lifestyle? But playing it safe is not in his make-up. If Joe has a weakness it's found in his idealism and the desire to stop all crime. He confesses to his mentor, Bill Conley, "People aren't paying attention to what matters. There's a war in Southeast Asia and GIs are being killed. Students are revolting in the States, yet a four-star, commander in chief becomes a greedy common thief making extra money on the side off Uncle Sam's nickel." General Conley advises his young champion that not even Superman stops all the bad guys from their evildoings. The 350-year tradition of the burning of the Heidelberg castle serves as its ultimate diversion as the Society makes its final push for one last major arms transaction. Joe Wolf is challenged to stop the crooks and bring crushing defeat to Rutter and Petrovski.
About the Author: Bill Ellis has also published Second Chances (2001), Leading Voices (2004), and A Good Man (2008). Burning Castle is the initial story in a continuing series of adventures of Joe Wolf. Bill served a tour of duty as an Army officer stationed in Germany 1967-1969 and worked in Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado as a problem solver for major Federal programs. Bill has taught writing workshops in public and private organizations since 1976. In 2002 he worked as an AmeriCorps writing mentor first in the Fruita, Colorado Alternative School, and then in the Grand Junction Juvenile Detention Center. He and his wife, Joan, moved to Longmont, Colorado where he joined the Longmont Writers Club and served as president 2007-2009. Bill was awarded grants from the Longmont Council for the Arts to be writer-in-residence at Sunset Middle School 2007 -2008. He coached 8th graders in writing, editing, and publishing an online magazine containing over 200 essays, stories, and poems. He is a frequent contributor of guest opinions/commentaries in the local paper, and speaks to schools on writing. Joan has published her own cookbook and volunteers at the Senior Center each week handquilting. Bill and Joan have a combined family of six children and 11 grandchildren. Black cats Jack and Grace are new residents after being rescued from the Longmont Humane Society.