Yvonne-.-
PART ONE – THE RINN OF BARETH
PROLOGUE- BEDTIME TALES
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“Ebb Autumn stood tall and slender in his coat of many pockets. He was wearing his world-traveling clothes, and while the items in his many pockets normally remained private, tonight he had presents
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Lily and Jasper were bouncing on the bed when he knocked. A gentleman always knocks. Their uncle had a habit of arriving late or not at all, but when he showed up at bedtime, he always had a new story in need of telling – as if a thousand-year-old publishing factory resided in his head…..”
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I wonder what uncle’s story will be about tonight?
Why does he have presents on this visit?
Why is he wearing his world traveling clothes, is he going on a trip, or has he just returned from a trip?
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They say that the first lines of a piece of writing, are always the most difficult to set down on paper. It seems to me, that they may also be the most definitive, as I find they often set the scene in my mind, even before I have turned the first page… and it is quite disappointing if they don’t…
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To avoid too many spoilers, I have not included a full synopsis with this post, but if like me, you can’t wait to read the book to find out additional details about the story, please click on the image.
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Want to take part in ‘Book Beginnings’?
Would the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?
If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?
Click on the link and visit Katy, at ‘A Few More Pages’
You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be found.
Don’t forget that Katy and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time.
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This YA Fantasy book, was gifted as an e-book by the author Richard Due, with a request for me to read and leave my comments about it.
This will in no way influence any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments will be my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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I haven’t seen this meme before! What a cute idea, thanks for sharing the first lines 🙂
Hi Jen,
It is a great meme and thanks to Katy for hosting each week.
Because of the time differences, I am usually just about to leave for work each Friday, as Katy’s Mr. Linky is posted, so I generally post early on a Thursday evening, then all I have to do is nip in and change the link address at the last minute.
If you are going to take part in the meme, then I suggest that you hang on until Friday morning before you post, if that’s possible.
I haven’t read a great deal of either YA or Fantasy in the past, however, I did check this one out before agreeing to review and I have to say that ‘The Moon Coin’ sounds like it is going to be a great read and as it is also hopefully going to be part of a larger series of stories, then I thought that I should get in on the first episode.
I hope that you decide to join us each Friday, look forward to seeing you there.
Ebb Autumn is a great name and he sounds like a ‘magical’ person to have as an uncle.
Interesting to hear that there will be a series of stories.
Hello Linda,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving comment, it is much appreciated.
YA in general and Fantasy in particular, are both quite new genres for me and still not something which I would read on a day to day basis. I took a long look at the synopsis and supporting information before deciding to accept the book for review, as it is very difficult to be both objective and supporting, about a storyline which you fundamentally have no interest in.
This series of books does seem to have quite an exciting and innovative future and given that Richard already has the first four episodes mapped out, with the second episode already having a planned release date for 2012, the whole project is obviously a labour of love for him.
I haven’t actually got as far as starting on the book yet, due to previous committments, but as you say, the main protagonist Ebb Autumn does seem like a striking, eccentric character, notwithstanding the amazing name he has been christened with.
The artwork is particuarly arresting, being both on the cover and throughout the story, with artist and author seemingly having a great rapport and mutual vision for the pieces.
I hope it is as good as it looks and sounds!
I am afraid I am not a “fantasy” fan—I’m not sure why, but these kinds of books and movies rarely, if ever, interest me…..The Characters sound interesting as you describe them—well, he does, but for some reason I personally have never been attracted to these kinds of story’s—I hate to admit it but, it is the truth, for me. I am attracted to “memoir” and Autobiograohy—particularly contemporary people in the Theatre and Film…I just received my copy of Stephen Sondheim’s, “LOOK I MADE A HAT” which is the second volume of his book on his Lyrics…The First being “FINISHING A HAT”…..The thing is–He is our (United States) most fantastic Genius Theatre Composer and these books are so much more than his ‘Lyrics’….they cover his experiences of collaboration; his opinions about so very many other Theatre Artists, his process in writing, etc., etc., etc. THESE Books are a Treasure Trove to me because I have devoted my life to The Theatre and I am a composer myself…..I find each and every page thrilling, beyond words.
It seems to me YA and “Fantasy” are bigger than ever, if blogs are any indication, and I think they are…..It’s just not for me, my dear Yvonne.
Hi Naomi,
Don’t apologise for not liking a post I have written, if we all liked the same things, this world would be a boring place, wouldn’t it?
I have to admit that the Fantasy and Paranormal genres are growing in popularity at an amazing rate, although they are not something that I read on a regular basis. There are so many new authors coming on the scene in these days when electronic and self publishing make things so much easier, that it is difficult to keep up with them all. To be honest, I sometimes have my doubts about the competence and ability of some of the authors, who seem to churn out weak storylines, even weaker characters and text which is full of both grammatical and spelling errors, which seems to be an accepted norm. these days.
Not for me, I’m afraid. I will always check out a book thoroughly before agreeing with the author that I wish to review, so that hopefully my recommendations are at least of the best quality, even if they are not to everyone’s taste.
I have to admit that I am not a great fan of memoirs, although I will occasionally read a good historical memoir, that has content of some interest and is not all just about the author.
Having said that, I do love the lyrics of Sondheim, along with Gershwin and Bernstein and
of course, we also have our own Gilbert and Sullivan, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
I always enjoy going to the theatre to see any live performance, where it is just so easy to immerse yourself in the great music and lyrics, although of course I bow to your superior knowledge about all things theatrical, however I did not realise that you were also a composer. I just went back and found the post where you talk about your showbiz life of the 1950’s, complete with your promotional pictures, however the link to the lyrics seems to have disappeared, so I couldn’t enjoy the songs as well.
I haven’t heard of this one before, but those first lines have got me interested 🙂
Hi Nikki,
It looks like it is going to be an interesting series of books and the illustrations which go with it are certainly alluring.
I am not really into fantasy that much, but this intrigued me enough to want to review and I am really looking forward to getting started on it.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you had a good weekend
Hi Nikki,
In January of this year, while attending a writers intensive at the Winter SCBWI Conference in New York City, an editor from Simon & Schuster suggested I edit those two opening sentences this way:
[Original]
Ebb Autumn stood tall and slender in his coat of many pockets. He was wearing his world-traveling clothes, and while the items in his many pockets normally remained private, tonight he had presents.
[Edited]
Their uncle stood tall and slender in doorway, and while the items in his pockets normally remained private, tonight he had presents.
In my second writers intensive, an agent told me I should remove Uncle Ebb from the Prologue entirely, because readers wouldn’t be able to identify with an older character so prominently on display in the first chapter.
It was just this kind of crazy talk that convinced me it was time to form a small press and go it alone.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for stopping by and adding your comments to the discussion.
I am hoping to start out reading ‘The Moon Coin’ later this week, but without having turned a single page, I am pretty certain that ‘Ebb Autumn’ should stay exactly where he is, as he fits exactly into the profile of the story from what I can tell.
I am definitely not sure where the second suggestion came from, about Uncle Ebb not being able to identify with the reader. I should think that an obviously quirky character such as he is, would be an instant draw to the reader, especially the younger reader, who would identify with and be intrigued by, such a flamboyant person.
It was a brave move to set up your own small press, although more and more authors are making that choice, especially in the wake of the advances into e-books, where so much more is possible. I love the name of the press and the great post on your site, explaining about its conception.
http://themoonrealm.com/2011/06/10/to-launch-an-ebook/
Hi Yvonne,
I’m glad to be here.
At the time of the SCBWI conference, I was in high pursuit of the traditional publishing track. Sure, forming my own press and becoming a publisher was something I’d thought about—I had filed it under the heading: Don’t cross the streams!
I wanted a big publisher and all that goes with it: connections to the school and library markets, an art department, a budget bigger than a piggybank. But after processing the bizarre tips the pros were giving me, I decided The Moon Coin might be something they didn’t know what to do with. It wasn’t full of vampires, werewolves, or undead. It wasn’t a re-fried classic, masquerading as something new and original with a ya fantasy twist tacked on. But what I think confused them most was how The Moon Coin defies age categories.
But now I’ve gone and done it: I’ve crossed the streams! There’s no knowing what will happen next!
I love the line about the uncle having a thousand-year-old publishing factory in his head! This is such a promising beginning. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for participating in Book Beginnings!
Hi Katy,
I have literally only just started reading the book, but I am hooked after just a few pages.
Uncle Ebb is so quirky, although a little cagey about what ‘Moon Realm’ is, when he is quizzed by Lily. We already have flying Faeries and Dragons, so ‘Moon Realm’ must be a very special place ….. I can’t wait to find out!
Free Sneak Preview of The Moon Coin! Formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF. Please share. Enjoy. http://wp.me/p1BEjH-2U
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the great link, I have sent it out on ‘twitter’, so I hope that you get some visits soon.
You have been getting some great reviews by the looks of things, so you must be very pleased.
Several things have cropped up this week, which have stopped me from reading as much as usual, so I am still only a little over half way through ‘The Moon Coin’, but it is a clever and absorbing read, which I am enjoying immensely.