Yvonne
“For Lily and Jasper Winter, the Moon Realm began with a single secret bedtime tale. As the children grew older, Uncle Ebb enthralled them with thrilling tales of the Dragondain riding horse-sized, catlike Rinn; mysterious tales of peerin-wielding lunamancers manipulating the magic that lies just beneath the surface of reality; exciting tales of flying dragons, swimming merfolk, stomping giants, and troublesome faeries. But as the magic of their childhood faded, so too did the tales. Eventually, they were just . . . good stories.
Or were they?
Now, nine years after it all began, Uncle Ebb is missing.
Lily and Jasper search for clues, but their uncle’s mansion is full of distractions. A Tesla generator thrums in the basement. Prismatic electrimals flit around walls resembling underwater reefs. Then a most unexpected friend comes to their aid, leading them to a hidden room where they find a mysterious coin—the moon coin. Before the night is out, Lily is transported to the real Moon Realm. But the moons are in trouble. The Rinn of Barreth are under siege, and the lunamancers of Dain are beset by the very dragons they once loved. Most horrifying of all, the moon Darwyth has fallen to a villain named Wrengfoul, whose creeping evil now threatens to overshadow all the Realm.
Are Lily and Jasper too late to save the Moon Realm, or will they have enough time to write an ending of their own?”
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ABOUT RICHARD DUE
Richard knew from an early age that he enjoyed story-telling, although ‘The Moon Coin’ did not come easily and with some major reworking of the storyline necessary before Richard was happy with the adventure and its outcome, some six years had past from inception to publication.
Following some difficult encounters with various publishers and editors, Richard took the brave step of setting up his own small press and self publishing ‘The Moon Coin’ as an ebook. He now has the distinction of being the founder of ‘Gibbering Gnome Press’, a division of Ingenius Inventions Run Amok, Ink. (I love the name ‘Gibbering Gnome’, I must remember to ask Richard how he thought that one up!).
Richard currently hails from Southern Maryland, a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, where he is also the co-owner of ‘Second Looks Books’.
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I feel that there also needs to be some mention of the fantastic cover art and the twenty or so illustrations which adorn the pages of the book. The images on my kindle are small and in black and white, but even so, they scream quality and have been executed by an artist with a fantastic eye for mood and innovation. These are the concept of illustrator Carolyn Arcabascio, who hails from Massachusetts. Carolyn’s portfolio is quite extensive and impressive and covers a wide range of applications, from children’s illustrations, through to the more formal illustrations of the commercial and academic world.
To get ‘close up and personal’ with just a small selection of the fantastic illustrations in ‘The Moon Coin’ and to find out more about the working relationship between illustrator and author, click here.
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Richard has gifted me a copy of ‘The Moon Coin’ for my kindle, in exchange for me reading and sharing my thoughts about this magical adventure and which, I am sure for Richard, has now become something of a ‘labour of love’.
The fact that my copy was gifted, has not influenced, nor in any way will influence in the future, any comments I may express about the book, in any blog article I may post. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.
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I know that I am still in the midst of reading the first installment of this epic adventure … but no-one is too old for this fantastic journey, in my opinion.
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I do love the sound of this and will go investigating tomorrow for my Kindle. Weirdly I have actually been to Maryland but not the part where Prince Frederick is… we were on the other side of Chesapeake Bay. It’s a very beautiful state.
Hi Cath,
My visits to the US have been confined to Florida, although ‘hubbie’ has worked for several US companies and his job has taken him to most States at one time or another. Maryland doesn’t ring any bells, although when I checked it out, I did notice that there is a town and county called Somerset there!
‘The Moon Coin’ is a great story of fantasy which is really suitable for all ages and for a relative non-believer in the genre, I have to say that having read a little over half of the story, I am quite hooked. I find myself wanting to read on, so that I can discover what happens to Lily and whether she gets home safely.
I hope that you have a great weekend and that you are almost ready for Christmas.
FYI: if you don’t have a Kindle Fire, you can still view Carolyn Arcabascio’s illustrations in full color by downloading the free Kindle Reader app for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000493771
Also, you can get a free Sneak Preview of The Moon Coin formatted for ePub, Mobi, or PDF here: http://wp.me/p1BEjH-2U Please share. Enjoy.
P.S. Carolyn”s been attempting to take the gibbering gnome’s portrait (for the corporate logo). However, she tells me she’s had a very hard time getting the little guy to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. Not all that surprising, I suppose, given all the gibbering . . . and all those butterflies.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for giving details of those great links, I think that I covered most of them off in my posts, but sorry if I missed any.
You really must tell me how you came up with the name ‘Gibbering Gnome’, it’s certainly one not to forget very easily.
This sounds like an interesting read. I’m usually not a YA reader, but this does sound good. I love the cover. I agree with you that it’s an eye-catching cover. I love the way all the colors mix together so well.
Hi Yvonne,
Like youself, YA, or for that matter fantasy in general, are not my usual genres.
This story however has captured my imagination and held my attention, much more than I ever thought it would.
I am almost there, with the characters, such is the fast pace of the story and the intensity of the descriptions of both the characters and places.
The cover art and interior imagery are superb, capturing the essence of the story and the strength of the characters beautifully.
I also like the colourways which Carolyn has used, they almost bring the ‘Rinn’ to life, they are so rich and vivid.
Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic weekend.
Great cover too!
Hi Peggy,
The cover art is certainly one of the good selling points for this particular book, as are the other illustrations throughout the story.
The story itself is fantastic and eminently suitable for all age groups. It is so easy to let your imagination go, I never thought it would be so much fun to read.
Thanks for the visit and I hope that you are having a good weekend so far.
Hi Yvonne,
It’s been a few weeks since I stopped by at your blog, and I missed it! This looks interesting, and with the magic that is kindle, just dowloaded for a thrilling xmas read. My youngest daughter wants to read it, so I need to make sure the “young adult” aspect is ok for her. Have a fab xmas.
Hi Chris,
It is good to speak with you again and to have you stop by my blog. It is always good to see your comments, I love to receive them and they are always appreciated.
I must admit that I still don’t use my kindle on a daily basis, still preferring printed books as my first choice. It does come into its own though, when I am approached by an author or publisher to speak about their latest work. Many still choose to send copy through to the PC as a PDF, however it is just as inexpensive and easy for them to simply gift the book as a kindle download.
This book is aimed at US Middle School children, who would be about 13 or 14 years of age. Having now finished the book, I would say that it might well be suitable for slightly younger children and of course adults could easily become addicted to the series, as the excellent dialogue and narrative draws you in.
I hope that you both enjoy the read, have a great week and Seasons Greetings to you all.