BOOK EXCERPTS for Book Blogs and Reviews
Excerpt #1 from ‘Til the Last
Snowflake Falls
Today was going to be the
day!
Fawn had it all planned out.
The young reindeer would wait until her dad and mum, Comet and Vixen, came home
to the stable, and she was going to calmly explain how unhappy she was.
Sure…she’d mentioned it
before, (more like every other day), but each time her bad mood had gotten the
better of her and she’d wound up arguing with her parents. Each time they had
told her she wasn’t old enough…not mature enough…to be going out on her own.
Fawn had often pondered over
their words.
Not mature enough?!
She wasn’t exactly sure what
that meant…but just the same she didn’t like the sound of it!
I think it’s like saying I’m still a baby! Darnit! I’m four and a half
months old!!
Fawn was convinced
fun…excitement….maybe even friends could be hers to enjoy if she was free to
explore the world outside Santa’s Village.
I blew it those other times by getting too excited. If I can plainly and calmly explain to mum
and dad how bored and lonely I am…how
I need some friends…surely they’ll see how much I’ve changed…how much more ‘mature’ I am now…whatever that means! I’ll wait for them to come home…and then I’ll show them.
Yes, indeed! She had it all
planned out!
But sometimes even the best
laid plans can fall apart.
Excerpt #2 from ‘Til the Last
Snowflake Falls
How long they wandered in the blizzard,
they didn’t know. Fawn slipped and hurt her injured leg. It began to throb and
hurt a great deal. Walking on it was becoming more painful with every step she
took.
The falling snow was making her back very
wet, and very slippery. Bunny fell off again, and again, and again. Try as she
might, it became much too difficult for her to stay on for very long.
As Bunny slipped off yet again, Fawn saw
the look of fear and frustration in her eyes.
“Let’s try this.” she shouted.
With her teeth, Fawn gently grabbed Bunny
by the scruff of her neck. She carried her that way, as they struggled through
the cold, biting wind and drifting snow.
Hanging from her friend’s mouth, Bunny
watched as her leg bandage came undone. Then, it went flying off in the wind.
She saw it bounce into a drift or two. Then, it disappeared in the dizzying
whiteness of snow, which blew like a hurricane around them.
“Fawn! Your bandage just came off!”
“There’s nothing much I can do about
that!” answered Fawn, doing her best not to drop Bunny as she called out.
“Right now…a bandage coming off is the least of my worries!”
A voice in Fawn’s head seemed to be
shouting at her, taunting her, “Is this
enough excitement for you?! Do you
still not care how dangerous it is?”
Fawn wanted to argue back, “But I’m just a
kid! I was bored! Sometimes kids say stupid things! Sometimes kids say things
they don’t mean!”
But at that moment, Fawn understood words
once said, cannot be unsaid. She tried her best to shut out the voice. She had
enough trouble at the moment.
“I—I—I’m freezing!” Bunny cried. “I’m
s-s-sorry Fawn!!”
“Why? What for?” Fawn mumbled as she tried
to hold onto Bunny.
“It was my idea to go out looking for
clues! I made you break your promise. Now…we’re probably going to die in this
blizzard.”
Bunny almost slipped from her grasp, as
Fawn scolded her, “Stop that! Don’t talk like that! Don’t even think like that!
Everything is going to be fine! Just remember…together…until the last snowflake
faaallll—”
Suddenly, with Bunny still clenched in her
teeth, Fawn was tumbling down a steep slope. Head over hooves she rolled and
rolled. She never lost her grip on her little friend until they came to an
abrupt stop at the bottom of the hill. Bunny flew from her mouth, up into the
snowy air.
“Aahh!” Fawn cried out in fear. “Bunny!”
She was lying in the snow, unable to move,
and then suddenly Fawn felt something land on her belly. It was Bunny! But, she
wasn’t moving! She just lay there…silent and motionless.
“Bunny! Bunny? Are you alright? Speak to
me! Bunny!!”
She was too weak to raise herself to check
on her friend. The sound of her voice was lost in the roaring winds. Tears
rolled down her cheeks, as she looked at Bunny lying helplessly on her belly.
“Oh…Bunny!” she murmured through her
tears.
Then, she saw shadows approaching. She
could hear voices…but couldn’t make out who they were
Foddle?
Snowman?
But, she couldn’t see…and she couldn’t
stay awake any longer.
Excerpt #1 from Book 2- The
Ona Pendulum
It was at that
very moment…something very strange occurred.
Santa and Wajic
suddenly became motionless, and their faces appeared in energized broken
patterns…almost like shattered, electrified pieces of glass. Every angle of the
fractured pattern sputtered and flashed likenesses of them……but each one
different. In some they looked younger…and in others, older…….and older still.
Fawn, Bunny,
Snowboy and Doctor Weather were all quite surprised and taken aback. They had
absolutely no idea what was happening…or what they should do. The only choice
they had was to stand there powerlessly watching.
Then, just as
suddenly as it began, it stopped.
Looking a bit
overwhelmed, everyone just stood there…watching Santa and Wajic.
“Are you
alright?” asked Fawn.
“Yes…perfectly
fine.” Santa answered. He noticed the concerned looks on everyone’s face, and
added, “Why do you ask?”
The Doctor
explained, “Well…something just happened a moment ago. Very odd! You didn’t
notice? You didn’t feel anything?”
Wajic stretched
his arms and yawned.
“Come to think of
it…I am a little tired all of a sudden.”
Santa brought a
gloved hand up to cover his mouth, as he also yawned.
“Me, too! Hmmm.
That’s very strange! What was it you saw?”
Fawn, Bunny,
Snowboy and Doctor Weather gave them the details of what they’d seen, and with
each piece of information, Wajic looked more and more worried.
Santa noticed.
“What is it, old
friend?”
“I’m not quite
sure, Kris. It could be nothing…or….it could be something! When we get back to
the Village, I’ll head to my workshop and look into it.”
As he yawned a
second time, Santa said, “Let’s just hope it’s nothing serious.”
Excerpt #2 from Book 2- The
Ona Pendulum
The young
reindeer’s chest suddenly felt tight, and she felt she might faint as she saw a
faint gasp of air escape Bunny’s lips. And then, her little chest stopped
moving.
“NO! Bunny!
Bunny! Don’t…………..leave me!”
She was frantic
as she crawled across the dirt floor of the cavern to Barney and Bert.
“Barney!! Bunny’s
not—”
But she stopped
when she saw Barney and Bert were no longer breathing, as well.
She hung her head
and huge teardrops fell from her big doe eyes. Her heart was palpitating and
she was quivering. She couldn’t believe it could end this way.
No…not
like this! This isn’t fair! How could we make it this far…only to lose anyway?
Fawn lay on her
side and her body literally trembled as a flood of unstoppable tears began to
fall.
And then, a
bright glow emanated from the area of the throne. Though her vision was blurred
from her tears, Fawn managed to get to her feet and peered toward the light as
an apparition slowly came into view. Ever-so-gradually it became clearer and
clearer until she recognized who it was.
“Atch?”
Although he was
rather transparent, and more of an outline than a true semblance of himself, he
was undeniably Atch. He casually walked toward Fawn, smiling warmly and holding
out his hand. As he neared her, he reached out and stroked her head.
He spoke softly,
and kindly, in his high-pitched voice.
“Do not grieve,
little one. Help is on the way this very moment.”
Through her
tears, Fawn blurted, “But….it’s….too……….late!”
“Faith, child.
Have faith! But…you’ll need to remember one word.”
Fawn’s ears
perked up, and she looked at him quizzically.
“A word? What
word?”
Atch smiled
impishly at her and answered, “Yes….just one word. Vita.”
“Vita? That’s
it?”
Excerpt #1 from Book 3-Far
And Yet So Near
“A little snow shouldn’t be a problem,
eh?” Doctor Weather called out to Foddle.
For the umpteenth time, she brushed snow
off Hutch that probably measured a couple of inches thick.
Foddle looked at a loss for words, as he
flicked snow off his beard and face.
“What can I say?” he replied. “How could I
have known?”
Bunny was completely covered in snow, and
shouted angrily at Snowboy, “A little snow never hurt anybody! Isn’t that what
you said?”
Snowboy couldn’t think of anything to say,
except, “I’m sorry! Really! I am!”
He took a moment to look down at himself
and then blurted out, “Hey! I think I’m getting bigger again!”
Once again, Bunny pointed a paw at him.
“Stop that!!”
Snow was falling so heavily, it was
difficult for anyone to even see the end of the dog teams.
Perched on Fawn’s back, Bunny cleaned snow
off herself as best she could, and shook her head disgustedly.
“A drop-off into nothingness…Hangnail
Pass…a Bridge with a mind of its own…playing ‘catch-up’ with a bunch of
wandering reindeer…and now a heavy snowfall! What’s next? An earthquake?!”
Fawn’s eyebrows came down heavy over her
eyes as she looked at her friend.
“Shh! Don’t say that! Don’t even think it!
When folks say ‘Things could be worse!’...you’re
not supposed to help things get that way!”
Excerpt #2 from Book 3-Far
And Yet So Near
Camilla seemed to be having a fairly good
day, and had just finished her fourth game of checkers with Fawn.
“Wow! We’re tied! Are you up for one
more….to see who the winner is?”
Fawn felt relieved her friend was in good
spirits and accepted the challenge.
Camilla was setting up the checker board,
and was just putting the last checkers in place when she suddenly turned her
head thoughtfully toward Fawn. Her emotions came to the fore, as they silently
sat looking at one another, and a single teardrop escaped her eye to run down
her cheek.
In a soft, sincere voice that sounded
almost pleading, she said, “Don’t forget me.”
All at once, the young reindeer felt short
of breath, and she blinked a few times. She knew what Camilla was doing…what
she was saying…and she didn’t want to hear it. She would rather have been
cooped up in her stable stall all day than have to face the fact her friend was
dying. She’d rather be anywhere else, than here….by Camilla’s bedside….having
this conversation.
But they were having this conversation…and Fawn was her friend. Apparently…her only friend!
It suddenly dawned on her that in the
eight weeks she’d been at the Fleming’s home, Fawn had never seen one friend
come to call on Camilla. She didn’t know the reason why…but for some reason,
this charming little girl was friendless…save for her.
Fawn came to Camilla’s side and nuzzled
her head against her arm. Then she stepped back…unsure of what to say or do.
What
would Mum or Dad say?
In an instant…the right words came to her.
“If I should forget you….it would be like
I have forgotten how to breathe.”
For a long time, they stayed like
that…close enough to feel each other’s love…and far enough away to not break
down and cry. Camilla’s tired eyes glistened with tears, and she bit down on
her bottom lip, as she beckoned Fawn nearer. All the reindeer could think of
doing was lay her head in her friend’s lap, and just feel her presence.
Fawn looked up and told her, “My friends
at the North Pole and I have a saying. It always seemed rather cute and
charming before. But now…it hurts me so when I think of the words.”
Softly stroking her head, Camilla asked,
“What is this saying you and your friends have?”
“Friends…..’til the last snowflake falls.”
The girl could feel Fawn’s head tremble as
she broke down in tears, and she tried her best to fight the urge to do the
same.
“You and your friends have a wonderful
saying. It really means that you’ll love each other forever.”
Fawn lifted her head up, and stared into
Camilla’s eyes.
“You……..are my friend…too! You’ll always
have a place in my heart….until the very last snowflake falls. And ever after
as well!”
As Camilla hugged Fawn tightly, she
whispered, “Thank you.”
Standing at the doorway, unnoticed,
Roberta handed a clean handkerchief to Mrs. Fleming, holding one back for
herself. Then, they quietly stepped back from the doorway, leaned against the
corridor wall and cried.
Through almost 40 years as a Santa Claus, Al E. Boy developed quite a repertoire of tales to explain and answer the many questions children ask about Santa, the North Pole, his reindeer, and his friends, the elves.
It was this collection of tales which prompted him to begin writing The Adventures of Fawn. Through the young daughter of legendary reindeer Comet and Vixen, he's been able to weave an exciting, colorful, imaginative world which will delight readers of all ages!
Mr. Boy not only hopes you enjoy these tales, but make reading them part of your Christmas traditions, as well.
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When a Native American Salish woman seeks out her past, she must challenge her beliefs in herself and her family or lose her chance at love.
Rachiah has always prided herself in her heritage in the Salish community in northwestern Montana. When she finds out her dad isn’t her biological father, Rachiah determines it’s time to find out the truth everyone has kept hidden.
Damon has hurt a girl like Rachiah in the past. His need to make it up to her and assuage his guilt overwhelms him, forcing him to pursue a friendship with Rachiah when her aloofness would normally discourage him from trying further.
Will Damon’s need to fix his guilty past mess with Rachiah’s need to find herself? Or will they both diminish into the forgotten world of what-ifs and ranches?
Grab the next installment of the Montana Trails series and get roped into a family saga worth risking your heart for.
