The Orchard's Offspring

In rural Indiana, fourteen-year-old Jay Hicks and his four best friends spend their days swimming in the Eulachon River and hanging out in their hideout, which lay deep inside a peach orchard on the outskirts of town. Danny is the smartest of the bunch, while Henry is the timid follower. Recently-orphaned hoodlums, Dave and Roy Herrick, round out the group. But when their lazy summer is agitated by Dave's increasingly reckless and peculiar behavior, the boys are forced to choose sides. The arrival of a mysterious drifter only adds to the tension—and incites a series of events between Jay and Dave that will haunt Jay for the rest of his life.

Eriksen Dickens was born and raised in Oakdale, California. He began writing stories at age six with help from his grandmother. His first novel, The Orchard's Offspring, was partly inspired by his upbringing in California's Central Valley, which serves as the country's main source of agriculture. As a kid, Eriksen spent hours in his grandfather's peach orchards, building forts and playing army-man each summer. This would later serve as the inspiration for the setting of his novel. In addition to writing, Eriksen grew up making movies and playing baseball, and even received an athletic scholarship to Cal State Stanislaus in 2013. Two years later, he started a media agency with his younger brother called Platinum Peek Productions. The company specializes in videography, website development and social media management. In 2017, he received his B.A. in philosophy from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is currently working towards a master's degree in Clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. He is a lifelong student of history, psychology, philosophy and filmmaking.