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GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy
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BLURB:
Zed and Tuesday ought to be living the good life. After all, it’s not every day two kids take down an evil dictator and their mom gets put in charge of an entire dimension. But after moving into Falinnheim’s palace, they learn that life as royalty isn’t as carefree as they’d imagined.
Mysterious hidden passages aren’t the only secrets lurking within the palace walls. When the siblings discover a stash of banned books, they realize everything they’ve been told about Falinnheim’s history might be a lie. And though contact between worlds has been cut off for centuries, returning home might not be as impossible as their parents claim.
Could the adventures of a runaway monk, a reluctant viking, a silent ambassador, and a rebel librarian hold the solutions to both problems? To find the truth, Tuesday and Zed will have to learn the stories of Falinnheim’s forgotten founders.
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EXCERPTS
For some odd reason, Bastian started laughing. “Now you’re just messing with me,” he said, wagging an accusing finger at Tuesday. “London’s imaginary!”
Tuesday stared at him, perplexed. “No?”
“Oh come on,” Bastian insisted, “London’s in a bunch of stories. Peter Pan and Sherlock Holmes both talk about London, and they aren’t real either, you know.”
“Wait, now you know Sherlock Holmes, too? He wasn’t in any of the books you showed us.”
“That’s because he’s not from a book,” Bastian said with a shrug. “Here, see for yourself.” He scooted over to the jumble of papers on the crate shelves and pulled out a dog-eared magazine. He flipped past several black and white illustrations until he found the page he wanted, then handed it to Tuesday.
“The Valley of Fear,” she read aloud, “a new Sherlock Holmes story by A. Conan Doyle.” Her eyes flicked to the page heading. “The Strand magazine. January, 1915.”
“See?” said Bastian smugly. “London’s just a place from stories. Like Oz, or Neverland.” He laughed again. “I mean, it’s not like there’s really a land called India full of talking animals, just because The Jungle Book says so.”
Zed tried to break the news to Bastian without making him feel stupid. “Look, we know the stories are made up, but those are all real places. Well, not all of them—Neverland and Oz are imaginary—but India and London are real.”
“Have you ever been there?” Bastian argued.
“Well, no,” Zed was forced to admit. “But I’ve seen them on maps.”
Bastian just rolled his eyes. “Stop trying to prank me. Next you’ll be saying there really are giant wind storms in a place called Kansas.”
“There are!” Tuesday protested.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
C.W. Allen is a Nebraskan by birth, a Texan by experience, a Hoosier by marriage, and a Utahn by geography. She knew she wanted to be a writer the moment she read The Westing Game at age twelve, but took a few detours along the way as a veterinary nurse, an appliance repair secretary, and a homeschool parent. She writes long stories for children and short stories for former children. When she’s not writing, she helps other writers hone their craft as a board member of the League of Utah Writers.
Her debut novel Relatively Normal Secrets is the winner of the Gold Quill Award, being named the best children’s book of the year by a Utah author. The Falinnheim Chronicles series continues with The Secret Benefits of Invisibility (Cinnabar Moth, 2022) and Tales of the Forgotten Founders (Cinnabar Moth, 2023). She also has shorter work published in numerous anthologies. Keep up with her latest projects at cwallenbooks.com.
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Kenyan Poet blog: author’s choice guest post C.W. Allen, Tales of the Forgotten Founders, Cinnabar Moth Publishing
POV 101: get some perspective
by C.W. Allen
When a writer starts a new project, one of the very first decisions they have to make is which point of view to write from. They can choose from:
FIRST PERSON: The main character or narrator is telling the reader the story, frequently using words like I, Me, and My. It might be written in present tense, as though it is happening right now, or past tense, as though the character is telling us a memory. Example: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. (The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
SECOND PERSON: The narration is written as though the reader is experiencing the action themselves, frequently using the word You. This point of view is less common, but can be useful in choose-your-path adventure novels, writing for games, and creative nonfiction. Can be written in present tense or past tense. Example: You’re scared. You knew today was coming, but you thought it would be easier to do what needs to be done. (I Am Not a Wolf, by Dan Sheehan)
THIRD PERSON: An unseen narrator describes the actions of the characters, frequently using the words He, She, and They. Example: “Where's Papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. (Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White) Once the author has chosen a point of view, there are a couple more narrative options to consider:
OMNISCIENT: The third-person narrator describes the thoughts and feelings of all the characters, allowing the reader to “see” into their minds. This can be useful in creating dramatic irony, where the reader knows things the characters don’t. The narrator might also know what’s going to happen next, providing an opportunity for foreshadowing.
OBJECTIVE: The third-person narrator observes the actions of the characters without editorializing, like a fly on the wall. The narrator does not know what characters are thinking, only what they do and say. In addition to fiction, an objective perspective is also useful in journalism and instructional writing.
CLOSE: The third-person narrator describes the thoughts and feelings of the main character only. This allows the reader to experience the story as though they are in the main character’s head.
MULTI-POV: Chapter or scene breaks are used to separate the perspectives of more than one main character. These different perspectives can be presented in either first person or third person.
LIMITED OMNISCIENT: The third-person narrator describes the thoughts and feelings of only some of the characters. This preserves a sense of mystery, since the reader knows the fears and motivations of the protagonists, but not the antagonists or minor characters. Unlike Multi-POV, there are no scene or chapter breaks between character perspectives. Which of these perspectives is the right one for each project? That depends on what kind of writing it is and on the strengths and preferences of the writer. Authors who enjoy crafting lush, descriptive prose might have more opportunity to show it off in third person. If they’ve developed a distinct character voice, making that character a first-person narrator is a great choice. If the author needs the reader to know things the characters don’t, then the narrator will need at least some degree of omniscience. On the other hand, they might want to conceal some information from the reader until the proper moment, which would be easier to do in an Objective or Close perspective.
Tales of the Forgotten Founders was an especially fun book to write because I got to use so many different perspectives! The main action starring Zed and Tuesday is told in Limited Omniscient so that they can be equal protagonists and the readers can hear their thoughts. But the story also features chapters from a banned history book Zed and Tuesday discover hidden in the palace, so those segments got their own distinct narrative voice with an omniscient point of view. I hope readers will have a blast exploring the world of Falinnheim’s past through those chapters—I know I did!
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SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
C. W. Allen will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
RAFFLECOPTER:
9 Comments
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