Journey With the Comet: Beautiful Dreamer

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Leona Haley and Mark Twainher favorite writerhave something in common. They were born under Halley's Comet, and amazingly Twain died under it too, just 5 days before Leona was born. Upon learning this, the young girl's dreams of performing on Broadway are now replaced by dreams of becoming a famous astronomer like Edmund Halley; hoping someday to discover a comet of her own and to live long enough to see Halley's Comet return from its 76 year journey. But that's not all, Leona's newfound knowledge triggers 'fantastic dreams' in which she rides through the heavens on a 'magical comet', allowing her to see places and things she has only read about; and helping her overcome obstacles in her life's journeyas does surreal earth-bound encounters with a giant American Bald Eagle.

Join Leona on Haley's Comet and experience the ups and downs of her fascinating life. Beginning in the bustling town of Bangor, Maineknown then as the Lumber Capital of the World and the birthplace of Paul BunyanLeona's journey takes her through childhood and into adulthood in the scenic rural town of Glenburn, where she interacts with a motley group of family and friends (and a few obnoxious adversaries) on Earth; including:

Her father Murdock, a skilled carpenter from Canada who is anything but humble, with a penchant for whistling Beautiful Dreamer and playing cribbage; her loving mother Margaret of Glenburn, Maine"the best cook in the world" according to her daughterwho is related to the Plymouth Colony's first governor, John Carver, and to a beautiful Indian: Princess Falling Star; eldest sister Lillian, a procrastinator with a hysterical hyena-like laugh; older sister Arlene, a stubborn girl with a knack for writing humorous poems mocking her siblings; Wally, the annoying little brother who enjoys playing pranks on his siblings; Grandma Eunice, who often visits the Haleys for humorous storytelling sessions via what Leona refers to as 'Grandma's Path'; Crazy Charlie, an old hermit living in the woods who prefers his "animal friends" to humans; and Jill, Leona's best friend and the only one who believes her dreams are real and not some figment of her imagination.

Author Bio

Dana Wayne Haley was born and raised in West Glenburn, Maine, and served in the U. S. Army from 1965 to 1967. He graduated from the University of Maine with a BS/MS in electrical engineering in 1975, working in the Boston area until 1992 as a design engineer, lead electrical engineer, project engineer, and independent consultant specializing in infrared system design and development. He also served as the chief engineer responsible for development of a large screen projection TV in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Haley won the Honeywell Electro-Optics Operations Technical Achievement Award and the prestigious H. W. Sweatt Engineer-Scientist Award in 1981. He was also an online editor, journalist, and writer (1997-2000) for Maine RoundBALL Magazine before leaving to concentrate on researching and writing the novels Journey With the Comet--Beautiful Dreamer; Journey With the Comet--The Journey Continues; and The Omieja Project--Adventure on the Appalachian Trail.

He currently lives in Orono, Maine.