The Storm is here...
Days after the events featured in The Watcher, the Watcher is taken hostage by a dragon, leaving Kristen, Will and Nicki alone in a strange new world. With no choice but to try and rescue their friend, Kristen and the others must travel through ancient cities, forgotten burial grounds, and eventually into the heart of the great storm.
Faced with the unknown, will they be able to traverse the storms that stand before them as well as ones within their own hearts?
Book Details:
Title: Stormdancer (Sequel to The Watcher)
Author Name: JoshuaPantalleresco
Genre(s): Poetry, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Tags: Poetry, Epic, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, science-fiction, dragons
Length: Approx. 104 pages
E-book: 978-0-9947490-4-8
Paperback: 978-0-9947490-3-1
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)
Appropriate for all ages from Young Adult to Adult.
Follow the Tour to Read Exclusive Excerpts, Guest Posts, and Reviews:
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/blog-tour-schedule-stormdancer-sequel.html
Guest Post:Why Joshua Pantalleresco Writes
So before we begin, I want to thank Sharon
for having me. She's secretly a unicorn, and that story will have to be told
some other day, but she's a kind, sweet lady and it was a pleasure to be asked
to come here and write.
I am going to write about my books, why I
wrote them, and the lessons you can learn from them. Stormdancer is book two of the Watcher Saga. In
it, the Watcher, the main character from book one is kidnapped leaving Kristin,
Nicki, and Will to chase him down. The journey is improbable and fantastic and
in my opinion the kind of magic a good story creates.
I want to talk about some of the themes of
the story. In particular, dealing with grief and changes. Because entering into this book, I was left
in a quandry. The Watcher was the Watcher's story; about his journey to
discovering who he was, and more importantly, what he wanted to be. This wasn't
the Watcher's story anymore. It is the first line in book two.
“This
is not my story anymore.”
That was deliberate, conscious line that
illustrated the problems I had starting book two. I wanted to flesh out the
characters I introduced at the end of book one, yet I didn't want to lose the
strong presence the Watcher had in book one.
So who were the three kids I rescued? I chose
Kristin as the main character in book two. They had just gone through the loss
of everything they knew. Kristin represented that tragedy. Losing a family.
It parallels my own story. Not that I lost my
whole family, but my whole family situation collapsed at a very young age. My
mom and dad fell apart and I remember that when I was younger it was like my
fault. Why did two people I love have to do this? Why did things have to
change? It messed me up. I tried to tell myself I was over this pain of not
having this unit in my life. I ran away from home at one point because of the
pain.
I was very fortunate. I had two teachers look
after me. One of them a principal, and the other was my grade four teacher. I
was her last class. We didn't make the greatest impression, but to my surprise,
she was there for me when I least expected it.
That's Kristin in chapter three. She was
happy in her life – it was all she knew. And that turmoil is expressed very
much in all her actions for the first half of the book. She has become my
favorite character to write in the saga so far. Watching her rise above her own
stuff was a vicarious experience.
I had to learn at a young age that life was a
struggle. A lot of kids have their childhoods end a lot sooner than maybe they
should. I thought the three kids had been through hell, and it was just
beginning. Making them grow up happened
to me.
The silver lining going through grief is that
people come together. Family isn't just blood. It's the people you go through
things with, that are there with you through thick and thin. Going back to the
very beginning, it wasn't just the Watcher's story anymore. It was about the
kids, and going through their own fires, and becoming closer for it.
So if you are a kid reading Sharon's blog, I
hope this book teaches you to be brave. I'm not going to lie to you; life is
hard. Chances are you have gone through some painful things and are probably
stronger and braver than I was ever was. I'm not going to make you a promise
that it'll get any easier. What I can tell you though, is that you can
overcome. The big secret that most adults don't even know is that if you believe
you can do it, you can. You are strong and powerful and can do anything.
But I'm also going to say that there are
people who are there for you no matter what. People that believe in you. They
will be there when you fall, and they will be there to help you rise. They are
the people worth being with.
STORMS WITHIN
he ran
disappearing into the night
leaving us all alone
we tried to follow him
but were unsure of the trees and trails
we went slowly
we knew something had happened
when we found his blades in the forest
blackened and alone
he had come
like a force of nature
wrecking our lives
in the name of freedom
freedom from what?
the hollow embers and ashes we found
I didn't build them
those ruins were his story
not mine
never mine
I...was happy
yeah, I was happy
is there something wrong with that?
my parents loved me
I didn't care about anything else
the dragons were bastards
but I understood the game
the moves that could be made
with one flick of a blade
he changed all
that
shattered the illusion with a roar of rebellion
now my life is here
in this forest
now he had vanished into the night
leaving me abandoned
leaving everything in shambles!
Purchase Links:
Amazon
http://amzn.to/1jjBlnY
Mirror World Publishing
http://mirror-world-publishing.myshopify.com/products/stormdancer-e-book
Meet the Author:
I love Joshua's post! I hope many children read his wise words and take what he says to heart.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Amber! Very inspiring for kids and adults! Cheers!
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