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Tom does not believe in magic.
For a thousand years, the Prophecy of Elfhaven has predicted the arrival of a boy who would irrevocably change their world. But what does that have to do with Tom? with his dog Max? with his robot Chloe? When Tom’s mom and her team of scientists unexpectedly open a portal to another universe they discover a world where magic, not science rules. And when Tom’s robot, Chloe, is drafted into service to explore that strange new world, it unleashes a bizarre series of events. Events where dragons, wizards, ogres, trolls, elves, dwarves, magic and technology collide; events that propel Tom headlong towards a war that threatens to destroy Elfhaven. Even with the help of his new-found friends, and despite the efforts of his new-found enemies, can Tom save this world or will he inadvertently bring about its destruction?
Quotable lines from my
book
·
“Well, that’s a sight you don’t see every day,”
remarked King Dakshi.
“Truly,” agreed Sanuu, glancing sidelong at the king.
“It’s raining trolls and ogres.”
·
“What about the dragon?” asked Tom, nervously
eyeing the huge monster on the other side of the trolls.
“Don't worry, it’s my sister’s.”
A strange look came over Tom’s face as he crawled after
Kiran.
·
Just down the hall Nanni was tucking Kiran in.
Two stuffed animals lay close beside him, one on his right side, one on his
left. “What’s the stuffed dragon for?” she asked.
“Protection, in case a troll comes out of the closet.”
Nanni glanced at the closet with a knowing look. “Ah, and
what's the stuffed gremlin for, then?”
“Backup!” replied Kiran.
Nanni laughed all the way down the hall.
·
Everything
happened in slow motion. As he neared the threshold Tom picked up speed and
reached for his dog. Juanita was closing the distance. Carlos, though far
behind, was gaining fast. Another shudder shook the building. Max ran through
the portal and disappeared.
·
The prince looked once more at the boy tied to
the tree, then back at the trolls. He drew his sword. “Summon your dragon!”
·
Chloe raced forward but the portal collapsed in
a shower of green sparks before she could reach it. Speeding through the space
where the portal had just been, she stopped at the edge of the clearing. Her
platform slowly rotated around in a full circle. She let out a forlorn chirp.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps thundered from off to her left. Chloe turned
toward the sound. The crashing footfalls grew louder. Chloe backed up under
cover of a large tree. A moment later a dark beast with huge muscles and natural
rock-like armor came crashing into the clearing, then abruptly stopped, its
beady eyes scanning the area. Chloe stood still. The creature raised its head
and sniffed the musty humid air, looking right, then left. It took a step
toward the robot. As it did, it brushed a small tree with its forearm. Twigs
from the tree quickly wrapped around the beast’s muscular arm, then seemed to
tighten. Idly the creature snapped its arm away, uprooting the tree then flung
it off without even looking. Sniffing the air once more, it quickly turned and
stomped away. Chloe’s platform rotated slightly, her LEDs pointing in the
direction that the beast had gone. She made another weak chirp.
·
The ghost stared at Tom in apparent disbelief as
he absently tapped his finger on the desk. The effort, of course, made no
noise.
“What is this? Some sort of a joke? Do I look like the
kind of spirit that could conjure up a book out of thin air?”
“Well...” began Tom, thinking he looked exactly like that
kind of spirit.
·
The dwarf lad straightened himself up, puffed
out his chest, and with an exaggerated swagger, sauntered right up to Tom.
Grasping Tom’s hand in his, he vigorously shook it.
“Holla! I hear you’s represents Earth, dog. Well, I
represents Daltar!” Goban pointed at Tom’s Converse sneakers. “Hey, those kicks
are tight.”
Tom just blinked.
“Are you—speaking—Hip Hop?”
“Rumor has it that you’s an inventor. That's old school,
dude, but hey, I got mad skills, too! I can tell we'll be homies. Maybe we
could hang at my crib sometime, yo?”
“Ah, sure—whatever you say.” Tom, not exactly sure what
he'd just agreed to, glanced sidelong at Avani for reassurance.
She just shrugged.
·
Once the kids had left the library the specter
raised his right hand. Moments later, from high up in a secret reserved section
of the library, protected by strong magic and a sign that read “For Kings and
Philosophers’ eyes only; must be accompanied by a ghost!”, a large, dusty tome
floated out of its place on the shelf, then along the aisle and over the balcony.
Lazily drifting down three stories to the ground floor, it finally floated over
to the librarian’s desk and stopped. The book was titled The Prophecy of Elfhaven. It was handwritten by the ancient prophet
Earstradamus. The librarian waved his hand across the book. A small cloud of
dust drifted in all directions as it opened to a chapter entitled: “Thomas
Holland.” The ghost raised his gaze once more, his hollow eyes staring off in
the direction that the children had gone.
·
Tom glanced at his watch, then back up at the
trolls. “Look, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but—this is
going to leave a mark.”
Bellchar raised an eyebrow and glancing sidelong at
Fowlbreth, said, “Huh?”
Tom, still holding his arm out straight like a traffic
cop, smiled as he calmly looked over at his watch and counted down out loud,
“3, 2, 1…” But nothing happened. He counted down once more, a little louder
this time, “3, 2, 1…” Still nothing happened. The smile disappeared from Tom’s
face just as one appeared on Bellchar’s.
The trolls raised their clubs once more.
·
The wizard’s eyes popped open. Nothing happened
at first, then slowly a mist began to rise from the ground. It swirled and
twisted, gently caressing the trees, the shrubs, the vines. As if blown by an
unseen breeze, the grass itself began to move and sway. All across the
battlefield, mist lightly curled around the trolls’ legs, gently winding up
their bodies. Naagesh looked around uneasily. Trolls and ogres stood frozen in
their tracks, unsure of what was happening. The mist thickened… Vague shapes
began to form in the fog, indistinct at first, like an old photograph left too
long in the sun. But slowly the forms grew more and more substantial until all
became clear…
·
Tom frantically tried to escape but he tripped
over a stone, falling on his back, the troll almost upon him. Instinctively he
raised his arms above himself, as if that would protect him. The troll let out
a blood-curdling scream and swung his club high up into the air. Tom closed his
eyes…
rpt of your choice in this area.
For author inspiration: The flight of the Valkyrie www.youtube.com/watch?v=V92OBNsQgxU
Tom’s favorite song is: enjoys the theme from Harry Potter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCNHVMIYqiA
Avani (13 year old elven girl, head strong, magically gifted) enjoys Radioactive by Imagine Dragons www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s
Goban (a dwarf lad, always hungry, speaks hip-hop) also drools when he hears: My Songs Know What You Do In The Dark by Fall Out Boy www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkIWmsP3c_s
Kiran’s (8 year old precocious elf lad. Avani’s younger brother) favorite song: The theme song from Lord of the Rings www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMInqyumZ3I
Prince Devraj (15 year old conceited elf boy who’s engaged to Avani) is enthralled by the Main Theme from Aliens by Ivan De Jesus: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-jGrL7U09Y
Bellchar (The troll) enjoys smashing elves while listening to: “You Don’t Dream in Cryo” (Avatar) by James Horner www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hus7Iv47YwE
Naagesh (Evil Wizard) works his favorite spells while humming: the theme from the Disney flick “Maleficent” http://www.mtv.com/news/1721247/lana-del-rey-maleficent-soundtrack/
Larraj (Good Wizard) likes to relax to the theme from The Hobbit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=giZrnHDQpRA
Max (Tom’s enormous, slobbering St Bernard) happily drools whenever he hears: “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang (Probably because it was in one of the “Beethoven” movies.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M
Juanita (Tom’s mom. A brilliant theoretical physicist who is trying to prove the existence of parallel universes) works out to the theme from Stargate SG1: www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5F_PIm5vR4
Professor Snehal (Grumpy, sniveling magic teacher) thinks he could sing better than Snape in: “The Snape Song” by Kayla Kreger: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi6BpwSfqoU
King Dakshi (King of the elves of Elfhaven) listens to “The Best of Robin Hood 2010 (Original Soundtrack)” www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMHzge6c-I as he goes into battle!
Bellchar is a critically acclaimed author in Elfhaven. That’s in a parallel universe, for those of you who don’t know. Obviously, Bellchar is a rock troll. As this is his first novel published on the planet Earth, and due to the fact that there appears to be strong and continued prejudice against rock trolls on this planet, Bellchar has wisely decided to publish on Earth using a “quill name.” The author has chosen to write under the name of a human who befriended him some years back, K. M. Doherty. The two first met when, due to an unfortunate series of mishaps, Bellchar journeyed to the planet Earth. But that’s another story…
K. M. Doherty
K. M. Doherty grew up in eastern Oregon in the shadow of the blue mountains. When he was a young lad he and his dad would stay up late at night watching old movies. But watching movies wasn’t enough. No, they’d painstakingly analyze them, searching here and there for little bits that didn’t work, and then discussing how they could fix them. Perhaps a bit of foreshadowing here, getting a character to stay in character there, adding or removing clues, etc... They especially loved mysteries and who-done-it’s, trying to figure out ahead of time who the real murderer was and what they did wrong that got them caught! Likewise with heist movies: how the crooks screwed up and how they could have gotten away with it. That was the catalyst that finally led to writing this book. However there were a few detours along the way. For instance, skiing, motorcycling, playing lead guitar in a rock and roll band, aikido, tai chi, acting, drawing, a master’s degree in engineering, working for a time as a hardware and software engineer, racing small sailboats, poker, and pool. Lastly, he loves to read science fiction and fantasy novels and he’s seen way too many movies…
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