From the Author's Note of The Week from Heaven and Hell:
I told my family that my goal was to provide a fitting tribute to an exceptional young man who deserved to live out his life, a good person who had much to offer this somewhat warped world...The tribute moves far beyond our beloved son, however, and the effect of the tribute would be diluted if any part of the story of our faith, our family, our friends, and our community was not included. It is a devastating and incredibly sad story, and the tragedy that struck that beautiful May afternoon remains firmly fixed in the realm of disbelief.
I pray that the story of the powers that brought us through it is uplifting in some way to each of you. It could never be a happy story, but I believe it can be a positive one.

About the Author
Duke Southard is a retired public high school English teacher and Library/Media Specialist. He has published professional articles in Media and Methods Magazine and served as president of the New Hampshire Educational Media Association. In 1997, he was presented with an "EDie," the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Award for his contribution to the school library/media profession in the state. His educational credentials include a BS from Villanova University, an MA in English Education from Glassboro State University and a CAGS in Library/Media Technology for Boston University.
He is married and the father of three children. He lived in Tuftonboro, New Hampshire for almost forty years before moving to Green Valley, Arizona.
He is the author of two novels. His first, A Favor Returned, was published in May, 2000 by Peter Randall and distributed by University Press of New England. His second, Agent for Justice, was published in October, 2003 by Hot House Press of Cohasset, Massachusetts. He also is the author of The Nick: A Vision Realized, published in May, 2007.