Levelland High School teacher writes children’s novel, ‘The Creatures of Caprock Canyons’
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A current Levelland High school English teacher is celebrating the release of his new children’s book, ‘The Creatures of Caprock Canyons.’ It’s based on his adventures while camping in Caprock Canyons in Quitaque, which is about an hour and a half northeast of Lubbock.
"The Creatures of Caprock Canyons, is a book for second through fifth graders, that takes place at Caprock Canyon State Park," said Jefferson Marshall, The author of ‘The Creatures of Caprock Canyons.’
Marshall is a Frenship High School graduate and is the current English teacher at Levelland High School. He’s been there for the last three and a half years. Now, he can add author to his life story.
The book was released about a week ago.
“It’s about a group of five kids who upon going to the park realized that there’s some kind of mysterious creature in the park. So most of the book is spent them trying to figure out what this creature is and unravel this mystery, all while exploring different parts of the park that people might know and be interested in,” said Marshall.
Marshall said he has always loved the outdoors and has a passion for camping. He hopes his book encourages readers to get outdoors and enjoy our State Parks.
“I always really enjoyed the state parks I think they’re a really good place for people to be able to explore, even if they’re not necessarily the camping type," said Marshall.
Marshall said, although it’s fiction, a lot of research went into writing the book.
"I spoke to local science teachers about what kind of plants and animals should be mentioned in the park,” said Marshall, “I saw the people that work at the state parks as a state park rangers and got some information from them as well.”
While Marshall hopes it inspires young and old alike to get outside, there was something even more special about where the story takes place.
“I was inspired by wanting people to explore the outdoors more, but also at the same time. Try to enjoy reading a little bit more through a context that they might like or even places that they can actually go visit,” said Marshall.
Marshall said he’s thankful for the help he’s received along the way.
“About two years ago. I’m a writer’s conference and John R. Erickson, writer from ‘Hank the Cowdog’ was there, as well S. J. Dahlstrom, another local author that writes a series called ‘Wilder Good’,” said Marshall, “They were very helpful in me to start this process.” Marshall said he’s working on revising book two in the series and says it’s going to be about Palo Duro Canyon.
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