The Idea Miners

In The Idea Miners: The Lost Lake Dig, two young boys stumble into a parallel world called the Land of Lights and join an expedition with a mysterious girl, two dwarfs, and two donkeys on a quest to find a “gusher”—a buoyant, glowing sphere that holds an as-yet unthought-of brilliant idea.

This exciting fantasy adventure book for middle readers is unlike anything else you will find. The unique and imaginative story—full of danger and magic; seers, dwarfs and elves; bloodthirsty trolls and crazy miners—keeps the reader glued to the book, while interwoven historical facts remind the reader of great gifts to the world by the likes of Sir Isaac Newton, Wilber and Orville Wright, Charles Babbage, and others.

In this fantasy story all ideas originate in the Land of Lights. These ideas are released for discovery into our world, which is called the Land of Harvesters. The ideas are contained in glowing spheres call squirts and gushers. Squirts are the everyday types of ideas: “I’ll walk the dog,” or “I’ll wash the car.” Gushers are world-changing: the printing press, flight, computers.

The squirts and gushers encountered by the two young boys on their journey, and while camping on top of a mountain playing a game called “Catch the Squirt,” provide a glimpse into their past and future, creating an excitement for ideas. For children today, preparing to embark on their journey through ideas which we call high school and college, the most important thing they can take with them is a passion for education and discovery. This book, with hidden worlds, crazy characters, and danger, plants these seeds of passion.

As one of the reviewers of the book wrote: “With elements reminiscent of The Hobbit and Harry Potter, the pace and variety of challenges carry the reader along to a surprising and satisfying conclusion.” A part of this satisfying conclusion is captured in the very last line of the book: “Ideas define us, our past, our present, and, most importantly, our future.” It’s for the future that this book may have the most impact, by sending kids forward with a budding thirst for knowledge and an excitement for the world’s undiscovered potential.