Kevin Garrahan always liked writing, especially as a Navy dependent uprooted periodically as a child. He felt then, as now, that he made his voice heard when he wrote. The Louise Archer Elementary School sixth grade teacher is making his voice heard nationally with the publication of his newly published young-reader novel, "Third House Down Hidden Cove."

The story centers on the conflict 12-year-old Dan faces as he distances himself from the bully who had been his friend and befriends the victim whose flaw is that he is "poor." Jim lives in the third house down shabby Hidden Cove.

"Bullying’s not always about the kid who takes your lunch money," says Garrahan. "The book is about someone thinking he’s better than you are, that ‘might makes right.’"

Garrahan came to Louise Archer almost 13 years ago, and the story was born a year later on a school "snow day." He was watching "garbage" on television when story ideas came into his head and he began to write, longhand, the story of a pre-teen boy examining his own conscience. He finished the book two years after he had begun it, and until last summer, the book sat, lifeless, on his computer.

"I always wanted it to be public, but there’s something about putting yourself out there like that." When he did approach a publisher directly in late fall, it was a quick turnaround to publication. "Third House Down Hidden Cove" went on the market in late February.



DANNI NICHOLLS, 12, said that Louise Archer has "no big bullying situations," but she’s witnessed students saying "mean things, going back and forth, putting other friends in the middle. Some of them take one side, and some take the other side.

"It never turns out well," Danni said.

She loves having Garrahan as a teacher because he makes social studies "fun."

"He compares stuff to what we can relate to."

That, Garrahan said, is his strength, interacting effectively with his students. He brings that success over to his stories, particularly in "Third House Down Hidden Cove."

The story, while geared to children in grades four through eight, appeals to adults, as well, who understand that intimidation crosses any stage of life.

Dylan Miks, 11, read through the book quickly because he enjoyed. Danni wanted to hear the ending, which Dylan shared. "I think it ended a good way. It is realistic. It does make sense and it’s a pretty happy ending all-in-all.

"I’d recommend it to everyone. It appeals to all kids because it relates to everybody. When the younger kids get up to sixth grade, they’ll understand."



"TO ME, what a kid is looking for in his life is equilibrium," Garrahan said. He reads excerpts of his original stories to his classes and they discuss the lessons within.

Danni is close to the end of Garrahan’s book, and she has an idealistic idea of how the story should end. "I’d like to see the poor person, Jim, get along with all the guys. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or not."

Assistant Principal Lisa Pilson, who ordered a personal copy of the book, said, "Mr. Garrahan is a phenomenal orator. … An incredibly talented man. I think his talent is that he is able to relate historical situations to current situations. He is so worth celebrating."

Garrahan, the son of a career Navy man, comes from a family of five boys and one girl. He’s the father of 10-year-old fraternal twins, a boy and a girl. His wife and siblings, he said, are big supporters.

With an anthology of ghost stories that he hopes to publish next, he’s looking to the future.

"I tell my students that when you write, you get to create characters, situations, and settings that don’t exist until you say they can," said Garrahan.

For now, Danni Nicholls is enjoying her read of "Third House Down Hidden Cove."

"I don’t want to rush through this book and wait another 10 years for Mr. Garrahan’s next one," says Danni.



"THIRD HOUSE DOWN HIDDEN COVE" is available at www.PublishAmerica.com, www.Barnesandnoble.com, and www.Amazon.com, and is priced between $22.45 and $24.99, plus shipping.