Reveal Blast Young Knights of the Round Table

The King’s Ransom, book 1 of Young Knights of the Round Table

Three Friends. Three Quests. Three Mysterious Predictions

In medieval Wales, eleven-year-old Prince Gavin, thirteen-year-old orphan Philip, and fifteen-year-old blacksmith's apprentice Bryan are brought together in friendship by one they call the Wild Man. When an advisor to the king is killed and a jewelled medallion is stolen from the king's treasury, the Wild Man is accused of the theft and murder. Filled with disbelief at the arrest of the Wild Man, the three friends embark upon a knight's quest to save their friend's life. To succeed, the three must confront their fears and insecurities, and one of them will have to disclose the biggest secret of all.

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Prince Gavin

Gavin’s gaze was drawn back to the castle’s battle-scarred walls and the heavily armed guards. The evil emanating from the structure surrounded and held him captive, like a lone deer surrounded by hungry wolves in the dead of winter, unable to move, its eyes glassy with fear, its limbs frozen by the hypnotic gleam of the wolves’ yellow eyes. Even knowing its life was ending, the deer wouldn’t break and run. So Gavin sat frozen in front of the castle.

The enormity of his quest enveloped Gavin and he sighed. Continuing on meant he might save the Wild Man, but he might put himself in danger as well. King Edward was his father’s enemy and possibly responsible for Aldred’s murder. If Gavin were caught, Edward wouldn’t treat him kindly. The young prince summoned his courage and focused on the Wild Man. It had seemed so simple last night in the company of Bryan and Philip.

Bryan

The air inside the blacksmith shop lay dense and heavy, making it difficult to breathe for any who ventured inside. The fire from the forge still burned red hot, even though the bellows hadn’t fanned the embers in some time. Sixteen-year-old Bryan submersed the newly formed sword into a cold bucket of water. Steam enveloped him, adding to the sweat already streaming down his face. With his free arm, he wiped his forehead and pushed back his soaked red hair.

The blacksmith, James, watched intently as Bryan Balyard lifted the sword out of the water, its blade cooler but still hot to the touch. Holding the sword in front of him, Bryan sighted down the blade’s edge as he’d been taught. Straight and flat, just as it should be. He made a few short cuts to check its balance. It responded well to his moves. Bryan handed the sword to James for approval. After checking its weight and doing a closer inspection of the craftsmanship, James nodded.

“You’re getting better. This weapon is good enough for a knight of the Round Table.”

Bryan beamed, his eyes reddened and watering from the smoke.

“I haven’t an order from any of Arthur’s knights, so make this your own.”

Bryan’s lower jaw dropped.

“Mine?” he forced out.

Philip

The late afternoon sun still held the day’s heat. Philip set the ax down and wiped his brow before getting a drink of water. Looking at the stack of chopped wood, he smiled sadly. Two years ago he would never have dreamed he’d be here, chopping wood for food and a dry place to sleep. He shook his head at his thoughts, his shaggy, ill-cut black hair falling unevenly across his forehead. Two years. It seemed like forever.

Two years earlier, he had lived with his parents and baby brother on their small farm up north. His parents worked hard to put food on the table and to pay off the farm. Philip’s main job was to watch baby Benjamin while his mother helped his father in their small field. When Benjamin fell sick, Philip helped his father clear the old stalks and rocks from the soil while his mother nursed the baby. He helped his father carefully plant the winter wheat and barley for harvest in the spring.

As autumn slipped into winter, Benjamin hadn’t gotten better. His tiny body burned with fever. Those last few days when Philip held him, the heat coming from Benjamin threatened to slowly engulf him like the embers of a dying fire.

Then one day, the heat drained from Benjamin’s body, and cold took its place. Philip didn’t understand at first why his mother and father cried. For days they’d waited for the fever to leave, and finally it had. Then he noticed the stillness of Benjamin’s body. His small chest didn’t rise and fall; he wasn’t breathing. Along with the heat, life had also left the tiny body.

Book Sound Track for Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend, book 2 and The King’s Ransom, book 1 of Young Knights of the Round Table.

Stand By Me by Ben E. King

Fight Song by Rachel Platten

I’ll Be There For You by The Rembrands

B.B.B.F.F. (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Float On by Modest Mouse

Learning to Fly (Brave) by Tom Petty

Learn Me Right (Brave) by Mumford & Sons, Feat Birdy

Touch The Sky (Brave) by Julie Fowlis

AUTHOR BIO

I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those Young-at-Heart to read more through my Tales & Legends for Reluctant Readers set in these worlds.

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Tour & #Giveaway for Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom

TITLE – Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom

SERIES – Book I

AUTHOR – Cheryl Carpinello

GENRE – Middle Grade Arthurian Legend

PUBLICATION DATE – 2016/2012

LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 120 Pages

DISTRIBUTOR – Bublish, Inc.

PUBLISHER – Beyond Today Educator

COVER ARTIST – Berge Design

Formats – paperback, ebook

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Answer the hero's call to Adventure with the Young Knights of the Round Table on their Quest.

Three friends. Three quests. Three mysterious predictions.

In medieval Wales, eleven-year-old Prince Gavin, thirteen-year-old orphan Philip, and fifteen-year-old blacksmith's apprentice Bryan are brought together in friendship by one they call the Wild Man. When an advisor to the king is killed and a jewelled medallion is stolen from the king's treasury, the Wild Man is accused of the theft and murder. Filled with disbelief at the arrest of the Wild Man, the three friends embark upon a knight's quest to save their friend's life. To succeed, the three must confront their fears and insecurities, and one of them will have to disclose the biggest secret of all. Join Gavin, Philip, and Bryan on their quest and share the adventures that await them in the land of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

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AMAZON KINDLE US

AMAZON KINDLE CA

KINDLE UK

AMAZON PAPERBACK

BARNES & NOBLES NOOK

GOODREADS

AUTHOR BIO

I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those Young-at-Heart to read more through my Tales & Legends for Reluctant Readers set in these worlds.

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EXCERPT

Prince Gavin

Gavin’s gaze was drawn back to the castle’s battle-scarred walls and the heavily armed guards. The evil emanating from the structure surrounded and held him captive, like a lone deer surrounded by hungry wolves in the dead of winter, unable to move, its eyes glassy with fear, its limbs frozen by the hypnotic gleam of the wolves’ yellow eyes. Even knowing its life was ending, the deer wouldn’t break and run. So Gavin sat frozen in front of the castle.

The enormity of his quest enveloped Gavin and he sighed. Continuing on meant he might save the Wild Man, but he might put himself in danger as well. King Edward was his father’s enemy and possibly responsible for Aldred’s murder. If Gavin were caught, Edward wouldn’t treat him kindly. The young prince summoned his courage and focused on the Wild Man. It had seemed so simple last night in the company of Bryan and Philip.

********************

Philip

Looking at the stack of chopped wood, he smiled sadly. Two years ago he would never have dreamed he’d be here, chopping wood for food and a dry place to sleep. He shook his head at his thoughts, his shaggy, ill-cut black hair falling unevenly across his forehead. Two years. It seemed like forever.

Two years earlier, he had lived with his parents and baby brother on their small farm up north. His parents worked hard to put food on the table and to pay off the farm. Philip’s main job was to watch baby Benjamin while his mother helped his father in their small field. When Benjamin fell sick, Philip helped his father clear the old stalks and rocks from the soil while his mother nursed the baby. He helped his father carefully plant the winter wheat and barley for harvest in the spring.

As autumn slipped into winter, Benjamin hadn’t gotten better. His tiny body burned with fever. Those last few days when Philip held him, the heat coming from Benjamin threatened to slowly engulf him like the embers of a dying fire.

**********************

Bryan

In the five years he’d been James’s apprentice, Bryan had learned a lot. He made a sturdy sword, so James said. Two years still remained in his apprenticeship. Two long years.

Like most sons of tradesmen or farmers, his family had secured this apprenticeship early on. At eleven, he and his father had made the three-day journey south to the Pembroke Castle blacksmith. At first, the prospect of being away from home, on his own, and learning a respectable trade, was exciting. More importantly, it allowed him to see and talk with real knights.

He spent every day learning how to forge stronger swords, tougher armour, how to shoe horses, and even make pots and pans. It was a satisfying trade and one that would ensure him a livelihood. But Bryan didn’t want just a livelihood. Even now, only two years away from completing his apprenticeship, he still couldn’t see himself working with metal for the rest of his life. As long as he could remember, he had wanted only one thing: to be a knight like Sir Lancelot.

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Book Blast & Giveaway for Makai United - Makai Series Book 3

Book blurb

In the depths of the ocean a war is brewing. Ka Moho-ali, ruler of the sharks, has joined forces with the ruthless Lua Pele to destroy Queen Tessa and the city she loves and protects. But Queen Tessa holds a secret that could change everything. Will revealing this knowledge be enough to pierce the darkest of hearts?

Evil permeates the sea and threatens the very survival of those who call it home. The time has come for Queen Tessa and her friends to stand and defend their city once and for all. How much will the ocean queen be willing to sacrifice to save the souls of those she holds dear? She is about to find out.

Author Bio

Dr. Fairfield is a licensed psychologist with her doctorate from Northern Arizona University.

Tara grew up in Southern California and loves being near the ocean. Some of her fondest childhood memories are of swimming and snorkeling around Catalina Island. She has three grown children, three grandchildren and four dogs. Life is good!

When she's not writing, you'll find her having fun on the ocean, playing with her dogs or just hanging out with family in the Pacific Northwest.  

Makai United Book Blast Giveaway

Rose Delacroix and the Lost Eye of the Serpent

I know this sounds crazy when I say it, but I think my sister Rose really is Sherlock Holmes.  How else can I credit what she achieved, during that long, strange summer of 1893?  And when she was still only a girl of fifteen, no less?  I mean, who ever heard of a girl of fifteen being a Detective?

The trouble started quickly.  My family and I were minding our own business (that business being the opening of our hotel, the Delacroix), when the Emerald Serpent jewels showed up.  They had come all the way from China, but they weren’t in our hotel safe for even twenty-four hours before somebody stole them.  What’s worse, the blame for their theft fell right on my brother Bill, who was minding the hotel front desk when the jewels disappeared.  Pretty soon, it seemed as though the whole town of Hope Springs was out to get him.  Our hotel business fell right off, what with everybody in the area believing that the Delacroix family was a bunch of thieves.  Dad was afraid we might even have to sell off our hotel.

But then Rose stepped in.  Rose was interested in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and more than anything she wanted to be a detective when she grew up.  Before I even had time to think about it, Rose and I were both trying to find the person who had really stolen the jewels.  It was the right thing for us to be doing, but I knew we’d have to get it done quick.  Poor Bill was already locked up in the town jail, and I had a bad feeling that if he wasn’t freed soon, some town hothead was going to do something a lot worse than wait for him to go to trial…  

 Buy Links
Paperback 
Kindle

Rose Delacroix and the Lost Eye of the Serpent

Interview Questions with Jeremy Phillips
 
Why do you write? 
I write because I enjoy it, and I feel compelled to express my ideas in written form. I have always been a big reader, and I enjoy exploring the idea of writing, creating stories that I would find myself reading if I were the one doing the reading.
 


Do you work from an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you? I always create an outline for how I want the story to go, but then when I am writing the story, it always organically changes from that outline into something else, hopefully something better. I think that if I found myself writing something that didn’t change somewhat and offer itself up to alteration as I am writing it, then I would know that I’m just going through the motions. That would probably be time for me to stop writing that story, at least for the day. Perhaps forever. Some stories just don’t make it, they are dead on arrival, and it’s important for me to be honest with myself when that happens and try something else instead.
 


What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? The hardest thing about my new book, and perhaps the most fun thing, was doing some good research on the historical period in which it is set. The story is set in 1893, so we’re talking post-Old West stuff. It’s not the chaotic Gunslinger West, but it also isn’t the modern America, either. So that’s an interesting time to write about, as there would have been elements of both, Old West and Modern, present in such a time and place. And often, those two elements would not get along nicely.


How did you develop the idea for ‘The Rose Delacroix Files Book One: The Lost Eye of the Serpent’?

To be honest, I originally wrote the story with the idea in mind that the kid detectives in the story would be younger than they ended up being. But as I started to write the story, I realized that if Rose and Jon were actually fifteen years old, then they would be on the cusp of adulthood. People grew up fast in those long-ago days, and these kids would be expected to be nearly adults at that age. With the two protagonists as near-adults, the story ends up being much richer and more interesting. Rose would be expected to be looking around for a suitor to marry and start a family with, either that year or in her very near future. This is an expectation that Rose rejects soundly, as she has a much more modern view of what a woman can be and can do. She ends up rejecting a lot of expectations of her time, and for the reader, that will give them a window into her world, too.

What is your main character like?

My main character is Rose Delacroix, who is a young woman of fifteen, who stubbornly believes that women can do the same things that men can do, if they feel like it. In her case, that involves wanting to become a detective like her hero, Sherlock Holmes. As the story develops, especially throughout the other books in the series, she will grow into becoming something larger than that; but at first her intention is to become like Sherlock Holmes. The story is told through the eyes of her brother Jon, who is her twin brother, and who takes an almost Watson-like role in Rose’s story, to Rose’s Sherlock Holmes.

About the Author

Jeremy Phillips has lived and worked in Spokane, Washington for most of his life. When he isn’t writing or keeping busy being a father and husband, he works as a Respiratory Therapist at several different hospitals. He lives in Spokane with his wife, children, dogs, and bonsai trees. This is his second novel.


Author links:

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Jeremy.Phillips.Author

Twitter:
www.Twitter.com/Jphillips2323

Rose Delacroix and the Lost Eye of the Serpent

I know this sounds crazy when I say it, but I think my sister Rose really is Sherlock Holmes.  How else can I credit what she achieved, during that long, strange summer of 1893?  And when she was still only a girl of fifteen, no less?  I mean, who ever heard of a girl of fifteen being a Detective?

The trouble started quickly.  My family and I were minding our own business (that business being the opening of our hotel, the Delacroix), when the Emerald Serpent jewels showed up.  They had come all the way from China, but they weren’t in our hotel safe for even twenty-four hours before somebody stole them.  What’s worse, the blame for their theft fell right on my brother Bill, who was minding the hotel front desk when the jewels disappeared.  Pretty soon, it seemed as though the whole town of Hope Springs was out to get him.  Our hotel business fell right off, what with everybody in the area believing that the Delacroix family was a bunch of thieves.  Dad was afraid we might even have to sell off our hotel.

But then Rose stepped in.  Rose was interested in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and more than anything she wanted to be a detective when she grew up.  Before I even had time to think about it, Rose and I were both trying to find the person who had really stolen the jewels.  It was the right thing for us to be doing, but I knew we’d have to get it done quick.  Poor Bill was already locked up in the town jail, and I had a bad feeling that if he wasn’t freed soon, some town hothead was going to do something a lot worse than wait for him to go to trial…  

 Buy Links
Paperback 
Kindle


Interview Questions with Jeremy Phillips
 
Why do you write? 
I write because I enjoy it, and I feel compelled to express my ideas in written form. I have always been a big reader, and I enjoy exploring the idea of writing, creating stories that I would find myself reading if I were the one doing the reading.
 


Do you work from an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you? I always create an outline for how I want the story to go, but then when I am writing the story, it always organically changes from that outline into something else, hopefully something better. I think that if I found myself writing something that didn’t change somewhat and offer itself up to alteration as I am writing it, then I would know that I’m just going through the motions. That would probably be time for me to stop writing that story, at least for the day. Perhaps forever. Some stories just don’t make it, they are dead on arrival, and it’s important for me to be honest with myself when that happens and try something else instead.
 


What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? The hardest thing about my new book, and perhaps the most fun thing, was doing some good research on the historical period in which it is set. The story is set in 1893, so we’re talking post-Old West stuff. It’s not the chaotic Gunslinger West, but it also isn’t the modern America, either. So that’s an interesting time to write about, as there would have been elements of both, Old West and Modern, present in such a time and place. And often, those two elements would not get along nicely.


How did you develop the idea for ‘The Rose Delacroix Files Book One: The Lost Eye of the Serpent’?

To be honest, I originally wrote the story with the idea in mind that the kid detectives in the story would be younger than they ended up being. But as I started to write the story, I realized that if Rose and Jon were actually fifteen years old, then they would be on the cusp of adulthood. People grew up fast in those long-ago days, and these kids would be expected to be nearly adults at that age. With the two protagonists as near-adults, the story ends up being much richer and more interesting. Rose would be expected to be looking around for a suitor to marry and start a family with, either that year or in her very near future. This is an expectation that Rose rejects soundly, as she has a much more modern view of what a woman can be and can do. She ends up rejecting a lot of expectations of her time, and for the reader, that will give them a window into her world, too.

What is your main character like?

My main character is Rose Delacroix, who is a young woman of fifteen, who stubbornly believes that women can do the same things that men can do, if they feel like it. In her case, that involves wanting to become a detective like her hero, Sherlock Holmes. As the story develops, especially throughout the other books in the series, she will grow into becoming something larger than that; but at first her intention is to become like Sherlock Holmes. The story is told through the eyes of her brother Jon, who is her twin brother, and who takes an almost Watson-like role in Rose’s story, to Rose’s Sherlock Holmes.

About the Author

Jeremy Phillips has lived and worked in Spokane, Washington for most of his life. When he isn’t writing or keeping busy being a father and husband, he works as a Respiratory Therapist at several different hospitals. He lives in Spokane with his wife, children, dogs, and bonsai trees. This is his second novel.


Author links:

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Jeremy.Phillips.Author

Twitter:
www.Twitter.com/Jphillips2323

Rose Delacroix and the Lost Eye of the Serpent

I know this sounds crazy when I say it, but I think my sister Rose really is Sherlock Holmes.  How else can I credit what she achieved, during that long, strange summer of 1893?  And when she was still only a girl of fifteen, no less?  I mean, who ever heard of a girl of fifteen being a Detective?

The trouble started quickly.  My family and I were minding our own business (that business being the opening of our hotel, the Delacroix), when the Emerald Serpent jewels showed up.  They had come all the way from China, but they weren’t in our hotel safe for even twenty-four hours before somebody stole them.  What’s worse, the blame for their theft fell right on my brother Bill, who was minding the hotel front desk when the jewels disappeared.  Pretty soon, it seemed as though the whole town of Hope Springs was out to get him.  Our hotel business fell right off, what with everybody in the area believing that the Delacroix family was a bunch of thieves.  Dad was afraid we might even have to sell off our hotel.

But then Rose stepped in.  Rose was interested in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and more than anything she wanted to be a detective when she grew up.  Before I even had time to think about it, Rose and I were both trying to find the person who had really stolen the jewels.  It was the right thing for us to be doing, but I knew we’d have to get it done quick.  Poor Bill was already locked up in the town jail, and I had a bad feeling that if he wasn’t freed soon, some town hothead was going to do something a lot worse than wait for him to go to trial…  

 Buy Links
Paperback 
Kindle


Interview Questions with Jeremy Phillips
 
Why do you write? 
I write because I enjoy it, and I feel compelled to express my ideas in written form. I have always been a big reader, and I enjoy exploring the idea of writing, creating stories that I would find myself reading if I were the one doing the reading.
 


Do you work from an outline or plot or do you prefer to just see where an idea takes you? I always create an outline for how I want the story to go, but then when I am writing the story, it always organically changes from that outline into something else, hopefully something better. I think that if I found myself writing something that didn’t change somewhat and offer itself up to alteration as I am writing it, then I would know that I’m just going through the motions. That would probably be time for me to stop writing that story, at least for the day. Perhaps forever. Some stories just don’t make it, they are dead on arrival, and it’s important for me to be honest with myself when that happens and try something else instead.
 


What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book? The hardest thing about my new book, and perhaps the most fun thing, was doing some good research on the historical period in which it is set. The story is set in 1893, so we’re talking post-Old West stuff. It’s not the chaotic Gunslinger West, but it also isn’t the modern America, either. So that’s an interesting time to write about, as there would have been elements of both, Old West and Modern, present in such a time and place. And often, those two elements would not get along nicely.


How did you develop the idea for ‘The Rose Delacroix Files Book One: The Lost Eye of the Serpent’?

To be honest, I originally wrote the story with the idea in mind that the kid detectives in the story would be younger than they ended up being. But as I started to write the story, I realized that if Rose and Jon were actually fifteen years old, then they would be on the cusp of adulthood. People grew up fast in those long-ago days, and these kids would be expected to be nearly adults at that age. With the two protagonists as near-adults, the story ends up being much richer and more interesting. Rose would be expected to be looking around for a suitor to marry and start a family with, either that year or in her very near future. This is an expectation that Rose rejects soundly, as she has a much more modern view of what a woman can be and can do. She ends up rejecting a lot of expectations of her time, and for the reader, that will give them a window into her world, too.

What is your main character like?

My main character is Rose Delacroix, who is a young woman of fifteen, who stubbornly believes that women can do the same things that men can do, if they feel like it. In her case, that involves wanting to become a detective like her hero, Sherlock Holmes. As the story develops, especially throughout the other books in the series, she will grow into becoming something larger than that; but at first her intention is to become like Sherlock Holmes. The story is told through the eyes of her brother Jon, who is her twin brother, and who takes an almost Watson-like role in Rose’s story, to Rose’s Sherlock Holmes.

About the Author

Jeremy Phillips has lived and worked in Spokane, Washington for most of his life. When he isn’t writing or keeping busy being a father and husband, he works as a Respiratory Therapist at several different hospitals. He lives in Spokane with his wife, children, dogs, and bonsai trees. This is his second novel.


Author links:

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Jeremy.Phillips.Author

Twitter:
www.Twitter.com/Jphillips2323