The Opal Cavern

by S.G. Byrd

Curl says she' d rather die than spend the rest of her life trapped under Wasso Lake.

What if her wish is coming true?

Nineteen-years-old and still longing to see new things, Curl plans an exploration trip with Lynn' s sons, Mindik and Chera. Their goal is to find Tarth' s legendary Opal Cavern.

Lacht has recurrent, heavy feelings that her Wassandra friend shouldn' t go, but nobody listens and the team leaves.

Then Wave learns something from an old Wassandra diary that can mean life or death for Curl. A rescue team rushes off but they don' t know how long it will take to find her.

They do know that if they don' t find her soon, time will run out before they can get her back.

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2023

About the author

When I was a child, my stuffed animals had incredible adventures. When I wasn’t playing with them, my sister, friend, and I galloped all over Mercer University’s campus in Macon, Georgia, dodging students, whinnying, and having a wonderful time as horses. We thought the students were impressed by us—now I’m not so sure. I have to confess also that we played a game called “Pretty Girls,” in which we put on a record and flung ourselves about the living room in stunning choreography. All these imaginative games had long, intricate stories.

I became a Christian around the age of twelve. I don’t remember an exact conversion experience, but I do remember walking out of the school lunchroom one day and realizing that I knew God. I hadn’t before but now I did. Becoming a Christian that young meant I had a lot of growing to do. I’m still growing.

I majored in English and Religion at Duke University and graduated in 1973. Then I became a US-2 missionary and drove a bookmobile in beautiful West Virginia, where I saw sheep grazing on mountain pastures. Unfortunately, I got sick and had to leave the program. For the next three years, I worked small jobs and learned the truth behind the words, “He is faithful.”

In 1977, I married Bob Byrd and, over the next ten years, had three children, a boy and two girls.
When Stephen, Sarah, and Elizabeth got older, I began writing. All those imaginative games, all the beautiful places, all the hard lessons of faith, even the grammar I learned as an English major prepared me to write. I want to give to other people the same kind of story I have always loved.