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Virginia Rising
The Ku Klux Klan and the National Alliance are at home on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia. After the shooting death of one man, the lynching of another man, and a deadly melee over use of a campground, the U.S. Forest Service contracts with Harley Fremont and her K9, Gemma, to resolve the case. Will dirty cops, protesters, media coverage, and an attack on the Appalachian Trail cause Harley to lose her reputation as a resolver?
351 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2019
9 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Deborah J. Chavez
20 books54 followersDeborah J. Chavez, Ph.D., winner of the Literary Titan Award 2025 and the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence Runner-Up 2025 is the author of twelve novels. These novels touch on pieces of Deborah’s life: her love of dogs, her love of camping and travel, her love of nature and science, and her knowledge of the Forest Service.
Deborah grew up in a small town in Southern California, where her family moved when she was three years old. Her nuclear family always had dogs, which ranged from strays to AKC-registered Clumber spaniels. Much of her young life revolved around those dogs. One stray became Deborah’s favorite for being impressively smart. The pup would ride in the car, watching for the “idiot” light to come on, then pull Deborah’s mom’s shoulder to warn her about the car overheating. Her family claimed the dog saved them from breakdowns many times.
Deborah took many long summer car trips with her family and dogs. Her family always camped on those journeys. For most of her life, that meant tent camping back in the days of canvas tents. Eventually the family moved up to a camper shell, and later to a motorhome. Their favorite trips were to the Sierra Nevada mountain range to see the giant Sequoia trees and those that took them back home to the mid-west to see extended family.
Deborah’s years as a research social scientist with the Forest Service was the foundation on which many of her novels were built. Her research took her to many of the places she chose as locations for her novels. Her studies of crime and violence on our forests are re-formed, using much creative license, into the stories Deborah tells. Deborah’s novels include adventures that range from the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest, to the Custer/Gallatin National Forest, to the Los Padres National Forest, plus many more.
Deborah continues to reside in Southern California with her family, takes frequent camping trips, is raising three dogs, and loves her post-retirement career as a novelist. She was recently awarded a Literary Titan Award for her twelfth novel, Buckaloo. Soon after, she was awarded the 2025 Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, Runner-Up in Fiction - General.
Deborah grew up in a small town in Southern California, where her family moved when she was three years old. Her nuclear family always had dogs, which ranged from strays to AKC-registered Clumber spaniels. Much of her young life revolved around those dogs. One stray became Deborah’s favorite for being impressively smart. The pup would ride in the car, watching for the “idiot” light to come on, then pull Deborah’s mom’s shoulder to warn her about the car overheating. Her family claimed the dog saved them from breakdowns many times.
Deborah took many long summer car trips with her family and dogs. Her family always camped on those journeys. For most of her life, that meant tent camping back in the days of canvas tents. Eventually the family moved up to a camper shell, and later to a motorhome. Their favorite trips were to the Sierra Nevada mountain range to see the giant Sequoia trees and those that took them back home to the mid-west to see extended family.
Deborah’s years as a research social scientist with the Forest Service was the foundation on which many of her novels were built. Her research took her to many of the places she chose as locations for her novels. Her studies of crime and violence on our forests are re-formed, using much creative license, into the stories Deborah tells. Deborah’s novels include adventures that range from the George Washington/Jefferson National Forest, to the Custer/Gallatin National Forest, to the Los Padres National Forest, plus many more.
Deborah continues to reside in Southern California with her family, takes frequent camping trips, is raising three dogs, and loves her post-retirement career as a novelist. She was recently awarded a Literary Titan Award for her twelfth novel, Buckaloo. Soon after, she was awarded the 2025 Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, Runner-Up in Fiction - General.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 30, 2020
A great read! Harley and Gemma must unravel a tangled skein of clues to discover who is behind mysterious murders in the forest. Hard to put down!
October 27, 2019
Really enjoyed this book. Hope to read more books with Harley. Kept me interested throughout the whole book. Looking forward to the next book. Thanks. I would recommend this book to all my friends. I chose this rating because I really enjoyed the book.
I really enjoyed this book. It is great that someone I went to school with wrote such an interesting book. Hope to read more books with Harley and Gemma. Thanks.
I really enjoyed this book. It is great that someone I went to school with wrote such an interesting book. Hope to read more books with Harley and Gemma. Thanks.
August 5, 2025
3 stars
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews