The Deliverers 4: Chapter 4 - 1777

Eric felt like he was in a dream as he walked down the dusty road with his friends past places that were familiar but foreign. Many of the houses he was used to seeing were not there. Others were, but they were different—newer looking and less worn, and also less modern. He felt like someone who had been out of town for a long time. It was the same place, but it had changed.

As they walked, they encountered some of the townspeople going about their business—a farmer on a wagon pulled by a team of oxen, a middle aged woman in a long homespun dress and shawl shepherding a couple of children in linen shirts and patched breeches. Everyone they met wished them a good day, but it seemed to Eric that they eyed them strangely and perhaps a bit distrustfully. Eric guessed that the sight of two unfamiliar children and a dwarf being followed by a snowy owl in flight was the cause of their consternation.

They continued along the road toward the center of town. But it took longer to reach than Eric thought. The town center was much smaller in 1777 than in the present day. It seemed alien to him. There were no supermarkets or shopping centers, just houses and a few shops. Eric’s stream, which had followed the road widened out into a mill pond that powered a grist mill, the rushing water turning a large wheel to grind corn and wheat into flour.

                                        

“My town is really different,” he said.

“I think it’s nice,” Kate said.

“Yeah, you said that, but to me it’s like being in a museum. It’s also freaky to think that no one I know will be born for, like, 200 years or more.”

“That’s gotta be strange, sure enough,” Hallo agreed. “But it’s also somethin’ that few if any have had a chance t’ do.”

“What do you mean, Hallo?” Eric asked.

“Well I know I’d love t’ go back t’ the foundin’ of the Dwarf Kingdom, don’t ya know. It’d be great t’ see King Orvis I settin’ up the Kingdom and diggin’ the first mine. It’d be a chance t’ see hist’ry.”

A chance to see history. Eric had not thought about it like that. He might even get to witness the real Battle of Candlewood Corners. That would be cool.

They were passing by the town blacksmith’s shed. When he heard the clang, clang of a hammer ringing on iron, Eric realized how quiet it had been. In the 21st century he was used to hearing the constant rumble of traffic and the occasional jet or helicopter flying overhead. Here in the 18th century bird calls, the hum of insects and the mooing of cattle were the dominant sounds.

In the center of town, only a few things were recognizable. Just about everything was different. In the heart of the village, King’s Highway intersected the road they were traveling on. Directly ahead of them, Eric recognized the old Congregational church which would one day be converted into the town library.

When they reached the King’s Highway intersection, Eric looked to his left and gasped. There stood Keller Tavern. What had surprised him was that it looked almost exactly like it did in his time.

“Wow, I guess some things never change,” he murmured.

“What was that, my boy?” Stig asked as he landed beside him.

“The tavern—It looks the same. The people in my town treat it almost like a shrine.”

“Why’s that?” Hallo wondered.

“There was, or will be, a battle here,” Eric explained. “The British came up this road looking for stores and ammunition collected by the colonists here in town. The local militia mustered under and around that tree,” Eric pointed to a large oak across the street from the tavern. Eric noted it was a lot smaller than it was in his day. “It’s called the Liberty Tree, or that’s what it will be called someday. The militia stood against the British troops. In the fighting, the tavern was hit by several cannonballs. One even lodged in the wall. In my time, it’s a museum and the cannonball is still stuck in the wall.”

Sharky and the Jewel New Cover Reveal

 Hello, everyone! The time has come to share the new cover for Sharky and the Jewel with you. Many thanks to Emily Hurst Pritchett for her great work on the cover art and design, the map, and the chapter heading illustration. She really has knocked it out of the park if you ask me. 

Here is the new cover:

The 2nd edition of the Kindle version of the book is live. The paperback version is, too, I'm told, but the old cover is still showing on Amazon. However, if you click on that, the "Look Inside" has the new paperback cover and interior. I'm told that it might take a few days for the cover to appear on the product page.

I have updated the book trailer as well. Here is the new version:

Emily has started knocking around ideas for the updated book 2 cover. I hope to be sharing more news on that sometime later this month.

Please let me know what you think of the new cover in the comments below. Also, please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested in checking out my books. It's a great series, but I'll need all the help I can get in spreading the word. Have a great week!

A Writer's Week #121: Cover Reveal Coming Soon

 It's been exciting times here in Candlewood Corners, Eric Scott's home town. Illustrator Emily Hurst Pritchett has come up with the goods, delivering (no pun intended) the final map, chapter heading, and of course cover for The Deliverers:  Sharky and the Jewel. 

I must say, that Emily did a fantastic job. It really gets me looking forward to what she's going to do for the next two books! You might also have noticed that the blog design has changed a bit as well. While I'm not usually a big fan of black as a design color, I think it works for a refresh. I had considered white, but it just didn't work for me. This is just much crisper and fresh. You can also see a glimpse of the Deliverers themselves at the top of the blog. I've been dying for a "portrait" of our four heroes, and Emily delivered a good one.

Now, I'm not ready to reveal the cover quite yet. I've reformatted it and uploaded book interior changes to Amazon's KDP. I'm currently waiting on a proof copy to review to make sure everything worked out all right. For now, I'll share the new map of Calendria and the chapter heading picture:

Not too shabby, right? Right now, I'm working on updating the Sharky and the Jewel book trailer. When that's done, I'll post it on my YouTube channel as well as here on the blog.

With all this going on, writing has taken a back seat, but I'm hoping I'll have some time to sit down and type out a few lines over the next week or so. I'll see you again soon. Be well.

A Writer's Week #120: An Illustration in Progress

 Hey there, everybody. As I've noted here in my previous posts, I've partnered with Boston illustrator Emily Hurst Pritchett to produce new covers and maps for the first three books in the Deliverers Series. I'm hoping to have the completed cover any day now, and I'm on pins and needles with excitement and anticipation. So much so, that I've let my writing completely slide.

I'm finding it hard to concentrate because I'm thinking of everything I'll have to update once I have the finished cover. First, I'll be redesigning the blog to whatever color scheme will match the cover. I'll also have to change the blog's title and graphics. I'll also have to update the interior of the book, the cover and interior for the Kindle version, and the audiobook cover. I'll also have to redo the book trailer. I've always been proud of the original as it's the first video I ever produced:

Actually, while all this is true, I have to admit the real reason I haven't been writing is that I've got a massive case of writer's block. I've never really had trouble in this area before. Usually I'll puzzle over a sticky situation for a couple of days--no more than a week--and get back on track, but this has been going on for over a month. Part of it is due to distraction, but most of it is because there's a major plot twist, and I just can't work out exactly how the rest of the book will play out. Hopefully, I'll get it sorted out soon and will be able to move forward quickly.

Anyway, here is a look at the final two cover choices I picked out of the half dozen or so that Emily presented to me:

These are both extremely rough, but you get the idea. I won't tell you which one I picked. We'll save that for when I have the final version!

The Deliverers 4: Chapter 3 -- Brave, Old World

As soon as they were through, the door disappeared, just as it always did. Eric surveyed the landscape.

They were standing next to a stream that was bordered on the left by a steep grass-covered rise and on the right by a dusty dirt road. It was fall—the leaves on the trees off in the distance were a fiery mix of red, yellow and orange.

A few large oaks bordered the road, but the nearby area was mostly farmland. Stone walls marked off fields. On the ridge above them a herd of brown cattle grazed.

“This is your world, any idea where we’re at, laddie?” Hallo asked.

“Uh, I’m not sure,” Eric replied. “If this is the Revolution, then it’s almost 250 years before I was born.” Just thinking about the meaning of that was creeping Eric out.

The sight of the hill, the stream and the road gave him a funny feeling. It all seemed so different, and yet familiar…then it hit him.

“Hey guys, I think this is my stream.”

“What do you mean?” Kate asked.

“Well, there’s a stream a lot like this one that flows through my front yard, right by the state highway,” Eric explained. “And there’s a hill that leads up to the yard on the other side.”

“Ah yes, I think I see what you mean,” said Stig, who had been to Eric’s house before. “That’s the hill you had to blunder down to get to the drainpipe, only now there are no trees or undergrowth and the state highway is just a dirt track.”

“Oh wow,” Kate gasped. “Very weird.”

“Yeah, real freaky,” Eric agreed. “Hey, my house was only built 50 years ago. I wonder what was there before.”

“It seems to me you’ve been given a unique opportunity to find out,” Stig said.

“Well, what’re we waitin’ for?” Hallo asked. “Lead the way, laddie. Let’s see what the ol’ homestead looks like.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Eric said.

With Eric in the lead, they all crossed the stream and climbed over a stone wall. Eric was gripped by a strange sense of unreality as he walked up what would have been his driveway toward his house. But there was neither driveway nor house. Instead, he saw a meadow where cows were grazing on thistles and dry autumn grass. A few fields away was a small farmhouse, wisps of gray smoke rising from its chimney.

Eric’s legs went a little wobbly. This was a little too much to take.

“Oh man, this is messed up,” Eric said. “My yard is a cattle field.”

“That farm reminds me a little of home,” Kate said. “I kind of like your world, Eric.”

Eric gave a weak smile. “Um, well Calendria sort of reminded me of descriptions of the American colonies during the Revolution, but I never thought I’d actually get a chance to find out for sure.”

“I say, it must be quite a shock to you my boy,” Stig said. “But I really think we should see about finding someone who can get us up to date on what’s been happening around here—er, no pun intended.”

“Yeah, I guess that would be good,” Eric agreed, nodding absently.

“Which way to town?” Stig asked.

“Town? Um, uh it’s that way,” he said, pointing vaguely toward the road.

Stig flapped his wings. “Splendid! Then I daresay we should be off.”

The owl took to the air and Kate turned and started back the way they had come.

Hallo took Eric gently by the arm. “Come on lad, ya can’t stand around lookin’ for what won’t be here for a couple hundred years, don’t ya know. Let’s be off.”

They headed down the hill to the road together.