Did you know that April is Autism Month? Cindy Rasmussen wrote a book, “Autism, a Family Journey.” It is available through Amazon and was written to help other families understand and cope when a child is diagnosed as having autism. Written from a mother’s perspective, it is certainly worth reading.

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Another book that I am really enjoying is, “If I Could Give You A Day.”

I met with author Dave Richards recently. Let me describe him … He is the kind of person you meet once in a while that you immediately feel is a friend. He’s sort of laid back, but has a sparkle in his eyes that lets you know he is thinking way ahead of this conversation.

His book is set in Poulsbo, so many of his readers will recognize where Scott (the main character) is traveling and recognize what he is seeing.

This story will help you appreciate this gift Scott has, as he meets and helps the people in his life. I can’t tell you any more about the story without giving away too much, but I hope you’ll read it for yourself.

I asked Dave about interests besides writing and he said one of his minor claims to fame was being inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

“I and my pals ran around in a group known as The Larkspur Canyon Gang,” he said. “We would race old bikes down Mount Tamalpais. Road racers Gary Fisher and Joe Breeze lived a couple of towns over. We had mutual friends and they saw how much fun we were having and so they started doing it themselves. They went on to invent the mountain bike as we know it today.

“They freely acknowledge that The Canyon Gang was their inspiration. A documentary entitled ‘Klunkerz’ recently came out about the origins of mountain biking and The Larkspur Canyon Gang has its own chapter. Also, for fun and adventure, for several years my pals and I rode freight trains all over the western United States.”

I think this man has adventure in his soul, don’t you?

Dave has another book, “The Drive-In Miracle,” and it’s also a lovely story and is available on Amazon. Take a look at www.daverichardsbooks.com and he can become your friend too.

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If you are an avid reader and/or writer, you might already have heard about the group The Seattle 7 Writers. They are located in Seattle but are very active in Kitsap too. Their mission is “to support literacy organizations in our communities and to create connections between writers, readers, booksellers, and librarians.”