Home, again
William returned to Placerville in 2015. The places, history, and people of El Dorado County became the foundation for a children’s mystery that belongs to a real place.
The journey home.
A real dog. A real town.
A story worth opening.
THE PLACES THAT LED BACK TO PLACERVILLEChoose a place to trace the journey
William & Dixie · real photograph. Background texture: Main Street, Placerville, 1866.
A NOTE FROM WILLIAMThe adventure I wish
The adventure I wish
I had grown up with.
I grew up with books like the Hardy Boys and Amelia Bedelia, but reading never felt quite like it belonged to my own world. If I could have opened a mystery set in Placerville—recognized a landmark, asked my mom to take me downtown, and seen the history from the page in real life—I would have been all in.
That is the reason for Moss Boss & Dixie: give kids a story exciting enough to open a book, get curious about the place they call home, and carry that curiosity outside.
— William Bouldry
“She got me through one of the hardest times in my life when I first got her. Now it’s her turn to shine.”Travel through Dixie’s memories →
Open the next chapter of this story +
One book. A bigger vision.
Moss Boss & Dixie is published by 530 Elite Adventure Press. William’s work spans writing, illustrations, design, book production, and new experiences that extend the adventure beyond the page.
The series connects fictional mysteries to recognizable places around El Dorado County. The mysteries are fiction; Main Street, the courthouse, and the town around them are real. Historical photographs on this site are captioned separately from the illustrated story.
For teachers & librarians →Look inside the project notebook →