Books with author Lane Roberts

When his parents surprise Jason with a family vacation to California, he is totally excited. Not only will he get to fly, he’ll have a chance to try out for Masquerade Mania! That’s before he learns that they will be camping cross-country in a sardine can (at least that’s what the contraption looks like). Jason’s willing to do just about anything to get a chance to be on Mania. But isn’t wearing pink underwear, enduring the stares of fellow campers, and putting up with his pain-in-the-neck sister above and beyond the call of duty?

A zany road trip adventure for fans of game shows and reality talent competitions like America's Got Talent! Jason will stop at nothing to be a Maniac -- a contestant on his favorite show. But when his mom makes a critical mistake, can he still make his dream come true?When his parents surprise Jason with a family vacation to California, he is totally excited. Not only will he get to fly, he’ll have a chance to try out for Masquerade Mania, the planet's ultimate trivia game show! That’s before he learns that they will be camping cross-country in a sardine can (at least that’s what the prehistoric camper looks like). While Jason is willing to do just about anything for a chance to be on Mania, isn’t wearing pink underwear, enduring the stares of fellow campers, and putting up with his pain-in-the-neck sister above and beyond the call of duty?

Elvis Blue just turned sixteen and struggles with the challenges of becoming a man. In the small town of Hillsborough, North Carolina, there aren’t a lot of opportunities for young kids who come from the wrong side of the tracks. He is also dealing with the unfamiliar emotions that go with finding his first love in neighborhood girl Maria. Together with his best friend Monk and loyal puppy Sherlock, Elvis decides to embark on a ghost-hunting adventure to find his fame and fortune.

Milan Jacovich, Cleveland's private eye extraordinaire, gets the usual PI's run of cases -- checking on insurance claims, looking for missing persons, validating a job applicant's credentials. But now and again, along comes the unusual case -- one that is really out of Milan's sphere, but which he takes on from a sense of justice, for personal reasons, and even if the client can't afford to pay. There's nothing pro bono about Milan's current case. His client is a woman of status and wealth. But it is definitely on the personal side. It seems that Judge Maureen Hartigan has a serious problem that she wants to kept quiet. And since her daughter Cathleen and Milan have had an off-again-on-again friendship, which only teeters on the edge of something more, she asks Cathleen to call him. Judge Hartigan, a woman of impeccable reputation, has unwittingly given refuge to a scam artist. Through her, Cathleen had become involved with the man, and all because Cathleen's cousin Hugh had been a sucker. It happened in a familiar way: The man came into an Irish bar, made a beeline for Hugh, who was drinking alone and a little in his cups, told him that he was just off the plane from Ireland, and that his luggage, containing not only his clothes but his passport and wallet, was lost; he had no clean clothes, no money, no identification, no credit cards. Could Hugh help him until the luggage was found? A fellow Irishman, thought Hugh, even to one a couple of generations removed from the Auld Sod? Sure. Judge Hartigan didn't expect to recover the money this "Brian McFall" had stolen. She wanted revenge. It was Milan's job to find the man. Then he was saved the trouble when McFall turned up shot to death. The missing-person case became a homicide, one that Lieutenant McHargue, Milan's nemesis, warned him to keep out of. Milan didn't heed the warning.. He wanted to finish what he started, he wanted to help Cathleen and her mother. What he did not want was to become the target of a killer. But in Milan's business, you can't have everything, now can you? Readers, however, will get what they want: an engaging, thrill-packed story with a number of characters they would like to meet -- and a few they wouldn't.

“The Monster of Tomb Lake” is a hilarious novel about a small town called Tomb, Wyoming, that finds its idea for an annual summer festival in a most unexpected way. The residents eagerly compete with festival proposals that include the good, the bad, and the crazy. Adam and Ellie Green, who have newly moved from the East, join the effort. Adam, a serious professor, wants to fit into the community and he then learns a lot about dogs, rattlesnakes, gossip, and the quirky social politics of a small town. Comedy and chaos are also on his path. And then there's the monster of Tomb Lake. The memorable and amusing characters include Waldo, who runs a survivalist shop; Oscar the sheep rancher with his colorful sheep; Benny the hunky fireman; Jethro the town drunk; Betty Jean, whose name always has a way of coming up in the gossip; Mrs. Thundermug, who hates the idea of a festival and change generally; a barking dog named Gomer, and others. It is a funny comedy with laughs for readers who are adults or even young adults.

"Don't go in the house! Don't go past the door!"Halloween night; trick-or-treat over. All is dark but the house on the hill. Little Max Bruno climbs out the window for one last treat.If only he knew. If only.In verse and illustrations, richly portrayed, the Story of Little Max Bruno.Every child looks forward to Halloween and none more so than Max. When trick-or-treat is over and all is dark, he sees a light in the spooky old house at the top of the hill.The jack-o-lanterns whisper their warning—“Don’t go in the house! Don’t go in the door!”—but all Max can think of is getting that one last treat.What harm can there be, he wonders? After all, it’s only pretend.The door opens, and he is invited to come in. Of course he’s been warned not to go in strange houses, but—with every good intention of coming right back out—he goes in the door.When all have given up on ever finding him, his twin sister Jane insists he is there somewhere and sets off to bring him back. Jane follows Max’s trail and braves the unthinkable.For it is only on Halloween night that spirits may turn, and spells be unbound.The story of Little Max Bruno is about bravery, loyalty, and never giving up.