Richard Merrill is a Maine writer currently working on Digger, a middle grade/young adult adventure novel with sci-fi elements. The story is set in eastern Oregon's high desert (home of the famed John Day Fossil Beds), where Merrill grew up. Drawing on his studies of paleontology, evolution, and biology, the story follows Kenny, a seventh-grade boy and Claire, an eighth-grade girl as they deal with an escalating series of events flowing from the discovery of a living dinosaur. It is grounded and realistic, with conspiracy and danger, a paleontologist who was one of the first women in the Army Rangers, a dramatic final high-tech confrontation, and a satisfying conclusion.

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