By Neil Pierson

Robert Harken is far from being crowned the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, but the Sammamish resident has found a modest level of success after the publication of his first novel.

Harken’s self-published debut, “Life on Nubis,” hit library and online shelves in January.

The 44-year-old, who works full-time developing business strategies for a technology firm, had never tried his hand at writ-ing until recent years.

The 18-month writing process, which included several major revisions, ended with the publica-tion of a short story, “Snow Falls,” last November, followed by “Life on Nubis” two months later.

Since then, some strong reviews have bolstered Harken’s sales figures.

The Library Review, which Harken calls “one of the top-five review publications,” compared his novel to works from long-established science-fiction writers like Ben Bova and Kim Stanley Robinson.

The Midwest Book Review also had favorable comments, calling it a “first-class read from beginning to end.”

Maybe the best praise has come from public reviews. “Life on Nubis” is in hundreds of librar-ies across the country, Harken said, and about 25 percent of his sales come from book giant Amazon.com.

“Within the first two pages, Harken had me traveling at the speed of light along with the characters,” one Amazon review stated.

Harken’s road to becoming a published author began with a conversation in the car while driving his daughter, Grace,

to school. She asked what she should do with her life, and when her father’s impromptu response failed to help, he chose to “do something different to really con-vey my learnings in an effective manner.”

Harken said he discovered he enjoyed the process of writing and editing, and the end result was a book that addressed the challenges children could face in the future.

Set in the year 2040, “Life on Nubis” tells the story of Aiden Haven and his daughter, Sarah, who choose to leave Earth because artificial intelligence has made machines superior to humans in the completion of most tasks. They travel to a new planet, only to find it virtually inhabitable.

“They have to struggle to sur-vive, very much like the Pilgrims did when they came to North America,” Harken said.

The story arc stays true to

By Neil Pierson

During her first seven years as a teacher, Jenai Sheffels had never taught Washington state history before, but staffing chang-es at Inglewood Middle School shuffled her into the position last year.

Primarily a language arts teacher during her time at Eastlake High School and The Bear Creek School in Redmond, Sheffels admits being a bit baffled by the eighth-grade course cur-riculum.

“I think in college, every-body focuses on the federal government and how it oper-ates,” Sheffels said. “Teaching Washington state history last year, I realized I don’t know that much about the differences between the two systems. And there turned out to be quite a few.”

Sheffels improved her knowl-edge base during a five-day trip to Olympia in July. At the annual Legislative Scholar Program, she was immersed in state govern-ment procedures – how bills become laws, how elections and initiatives are managed, and key lessons students should learn about representative democracy.

“The Legislative Scholar

Program is based on the assump-tion that, as part of their rep-resentational responsibilities,

legislatures must inform citizens of how legislative institutions and processes work,” the program’s

web page states.As the 2013-14 school year

begins this week, Sheffels is

moving into a new teaching position at the Lake Washington district’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math school. She’ll be instructing high-school students instead of eighth-grad-ers, and she’s gained some valu-able skills that make her a more versatile educator.

Teachers must apply for the legislative program and can receive up to 30 hours of credit for their work. The state funds the program itself, although teachers are responsible for the costs of travel and lodging while in Olympia.

One of the highlights of the program, Sheffels said, was hav-ing lunch with 22nd Legislative District Reps. Chris Reykdahl and Sam Hunt, fellow Lake Washington teacher Mary Kay Weinmeister, and Sheffels’ sister-in-law, who teaches in a small district in eastern Washington. They talked about the funding disparities between districts of different sizes, as well as the McCleary v. Washington deci-sion that has forced the state to increase financial support for basic education.

Sheffels and Weinmeister are invited to return to the state capitol during the 2014 legislative

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ContributedFrom left, state Rep. Chris Reykdahl, Lake Washington School District teacher Jenai Sheffels, and state Rep. Sam Hunt spent time together during July’s four-day Legislative Scholar Program in Olympia.

Teacher gets up-close peek at state government

See TEACH, Page 7

Photo by Neil PiersonRobert Harken, of Sammamish, put 18 months of work into “Life on Nubis,” a science-fiction story that examines the potential impact of technology on society.

Robert Harken finds foothold as a budding sci fi novelist

See BOOK, Page 7

By Neil Pierson

If opponents are hoping to dethrone the Skyline Spartans this fall in the chase for a Class 4A girls soccer title, they’re prob-ably not going to catch many breaks.

The Spartans are loaded with experience: Thirteen of the 19 players starting the season on varsity are seniors. Many of them have already won titles in 2011 and 2012, so the chances of being fazed in a pressure situation are slim to none.

However, head coach Don Braman isn’t about hand the 2013 Spartans anything.

“We’re at a place where we need to recreate our identity,” Braman said. “Each year is a new team and a new set of challenges, so we look at it like starting again.”

Perhaps the scariest thing about this year’s Skyline squad is there’s very little star power. Leading scorer Rachel Shim has graduated, and the Spartans expect every player on the roster to contribute goals, assists, tack-

les and blocked shots.“If we need something to hap-

pen, then we’ll look to the whole team to work together and step it up,” said Brooke Holland, a senior outside defender.

There are some proven goal-scorers at the forward position, including seniors Jordan Branch and Bianca Saint, and junior Izzy Marshall, who notched the win-ner in last November’s state-title contest against Issaquah.

Defensively, the Spartans will rely on Holland, Abbie Litka, Abbey Porter and Erin Schlosser. Three goalkeepers – Emily Baril, Jaeden Chew and Sydney Martinez – will battle for time to start the year.

“It’ll be interesting to see how that position pans out, because we’ve got three capable players and they’ve all had a really com-petitive preseason,” Braman said.

The players are trying to keep emotions in check as they strive for the program’s fifth title in six seasons.

By Neil Pierson

Some football teams are like marathon runners: They like to use their biggest players to grind opponents and wear them out in the second half.

Other teams prefer to act like sprinters: They use their speed and athleticism to grab a quick lead and set the tone for the rest of the game.

For the Eastlake Wolves, the 2013 season sets up to be a 100-yard dash. They don’t have the steak-eaters to punish opponents in the trenches, but they do have fast feet, and plenty of them.

That speed is being utilized by first-year head coach Don Bartel, who spent last year win-ning a state championship as defensive coordinator at neigh-boring Skyline. The Wolves’ new offensive coordinator, Kyle Snell, is running a high-octane offense designed at highlighting the team’s best athletes.

“We’re real quick – no huddle, trying to get on the ball and snap it as fast as possible,” said senior quarterback Blue Thomas. “Last year was kind of waiting for the plays get called. We’d have to go

back and forth from the sideline. We’re not really doing that now.”

During practice last week, the Wolves spent time running the ball out of spread formations. Brothers Drew and Troy Lewis figure to get the lion’s share of the carries, and both are proven athletes. Drew has given an oral commitment to Washington, while Troy is one of the state’s top sprinters. Both guys will play offense and defense for their final season at Eastlake.

Thomas is aiming to finish in the top three for passing yards among KingCo Conference quar-terbacks, and thinks he’ll get a chance to shine, too.

“I feel like we’re definitely going to throw the ball a lot,” he said, “Especially with our offense being real fast, we’ll catch defens-es on their edge.”

Defensively, the Wolves will need guys like Lucas Henkel to carry out a disciplined 3-4 scheme. Henkel, a middle line-backer, indicated the defensive line doesn’t have to dominate. If they can occupy blockers and open up holes, the linebackers can make most of the tackles.

Henkel said the players have

taken to Bartel’s new regime with enthusiasm.

“A lot of guys were kind of looking for that coaching last year, and now that it’s here, everyone is absorbing it,” he said.

“They really like it.”

Skyline tries for third straight title

Rain fell in sheets. A nearby

lightning strike temporarily knocked out power in the locker room. The team photo was can-celled.

SPORTS12 l September 4, 2013 SAMMAMISH REVIEW

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Photo by Neil PiersonDrew Lewis takes a handoff during an Aug. 27 Eastlake practice.

Prep football teams have 1st-game tests

See FOOTBALL, Page 13

See SOCCER, Page 13

Plateau soccer teams looking to win with talent, depth

Photo by Neil Pierson

Skyline High School soccer players Sydney Martinez, left, and Jaeden Chew lead youth players in a skills camp on Aug. 30. Martinez and Chew are two of the three goalkeepers on this year’s varsity roster, which features an abundance of veteran talent at all positions.