Once upon a time, Becky Mushko's grandfather owned a sawmill. Sometime in the future, that sawmill might be torn down.

But Mushko is planning ahead -- she hopes to "save a little bit of it into words."

The retired English teacher used her family-owned farm in Penhook and other rural scenes as the backdrop for "Where There's A Will," a collection of eight stories for young people set in the Blue Ridge mountains. Mushko's book, which she self-published through Infinity Publishing, debuted in May.

Geared primarily toward middle school students, the short stories are set in various time periods and feature young protagonists, Mushko said. Characters in the stories learn life lessons such as the value of teamwork and that appearances can be deceiving. In the title story, a boy who feels inferior to his brothers learns that his artistic talent can help his family.

For Kay McGrath, an English teacher at James Madison Middle School, the lessons in the stories brought to mind the pillars of the Character Counts! program. That's why she wrote study guides for each of the stories based on the Virginia Standards of Learning for sixth-grade English. Also, Charlotte Webb, a third-grade teacher at Sontag Elementary School, wrote a study guide for third-graders for the book's title story. Both guides are included in the book.

McGrath said she wanted to create study guides that are user-friendly so teachers "wouldn't have to go through a lot of backbends to use the book." She included pre- and post-reading activities and discussion topics. That way, she said, teachers can choose whether to use the stories as backdrops for other lessons or cover them more extensively.

Mushko started writing more than a decade ago and said she "kind of got hooked." She had taught in Roanoke schools since 1972 and began writing more frequently after retiring from William Ruffner Middle School in 1997. Mushko is an adjunct English instructor at Ferrum College and has published three books in addition to "Where There's A Will."

"I'm having a really good time with this," she said.

Mushko is technically retired, but that doesn't mean she's any less busy than when she was teaching full time. She's involved with the Valley Writers and Lake Writers groups, and she's a founder and group leader of the Franklin County Young Writers Club. Mushko is also a columnist for the Smith Mountain Eagle newspaper.

Her current project is a short story called "Ferradiddledumday," which is an Appalachian version of "Rumpelstiltskin." She often gets story ideas when she's driving and carries a tape recorder so she can record her thoughts and listen to them when she's writing.

As for "Where There's A Will," Mushko said she's had fun with the project and looks forward to sharing her book with children and adults alike.

"This was a joy to do," she said.

"Where There's A Will" is available at several online bookstores, including www.amazon.com and www.bn.com. It is also sold at some local stores, including Kitty's Little Book Shoppe in Moneta and the Gallery of Virginia Art & Gifts in Bedford, or by contacting Becky Mushko through her Web site, home.infionline.net/~rmushko. Mushko will have a book signing Dec. 3 at Ram's Head Book Shop at Towers Mall in Roanoke.