Strike While the Iron Is Hot

This is the story of John Kelly, a widowed machinist, and Ellen MacIntyre, a draftsman of unexpected talents. A chance encounter on a Vancouver bus is just the prelude to an adventure at an open-pit mining operation in British Columbia.

Back in print after many years, fans of Guy’s other fiction (The Rebirth of Morgan Ranch, The Bullseye Mixture, . . .) and well-known non-fiction books (including The Machinist’s Bedside Reader series) will enjoy this story, which is peppered with machining tips, moose hunting, an underwater salvage, and even a recipe or two.

Guy Lautard, age 75, was born and raised in British Columbia and has travelled in almost every area of his native province, across Canada, and in various parts of the United States. An agriculturist by training, in the early 1970’s he was in charge of researching revegetation at an open pit copper mine in west central B.C. where much of this story takes place. He then worked as an agricultural consultant for forestry and engineering firms, and as Regional Agricultural Specialist for the Department of Indian Affairs. Since the late 1970’s, he has been self-employed, writing and developing plans for various tools, primarily for machinists and model engineers.