The Messenger Misadventures – Out Now!

messenger misadventures

The Messenger Misadventures: the Dylan, Deirdre and Dougall Collection is now published. You can find it on all your favourite online retailers.

About Messenger Misadventures

Four short stories (c 5,000 words each) for 8 years and upwards, set on the Isle of Mull, and starring my guinea pigs, Dylan, Dougall and Deirdre (who looks exceedingly like Victor on the cover).

Deirdre is pure invention. The first thing I did was write her own story in the Castle Haunn world — Deirdre and the Mermaid. I couldn’t think of a title more whizzy than that, I’m afraid! Then I rewrote the other three tales to include her in key elements.

The book starts with Dylan’s Yuletide Journey, although it’s the least magical. Dylan, the castle’s Messenger discovers some people doing strange things with stolen strawberry juice, and gets himself into big trouble. Dougall is in trouble for trying to find a substitute for strawberry juice in their power system, and ‘borrowing’ various items to test his theories. Personally I think he’s justified, since they haven’t got enough power for a Yuletide hot meal!

After Deirdre saves Dylan from a fate worse than death – with the help of a mermaid, she’s with the brothers most of the time in their other adventures. In the third Dougall helps a reindeer recover his compass, even though he doesn’t know what the reindeer means. And Deirdre takes the lead when she does some things better than them in the final story, Dylan and the Lights of Ulva, which is quite mysterious!

messenger misadventures

Buy the eBook!

These stories have not been available individually on Amazon, so this book is new for Amazon fans. You can find it here.

It’s also on Apple Books, B&N for Nook, Kobobooks, and Smashwords in any format at the equivalent of $2.99.

It’s arranged as four chapter books, (4-6 chapters in each), totalling 30,000 words. Suitable for age range 8-12 (and possibly upwards for teens that like flying reindeer and mermaids).

The Paperback comes in two versions

Chapter illustrations in their original black /white or colour: available on the Blurb website here. Price £8.25 ($ 12.57)

Note the preview is in the UK store – select your preferred country in the drop-down box top right on the Blurb store page.

The budget version with all greyscale chapter illustrations, is available from your online retailer via the Ingram distribution system. Check the link from your ebook retailer. RRP £5.99.

And now… The Messenger Misadventures

messenger misadventures

The Messenger Misadventures has the subtitle ‘the Dylan, Deirdre and Dougall Collection’. So, apart from the introduction of Deirdre, fans of the Princelings of the North have seen most of these before.

Introducing Deirdre

Deidre was clearly needed to balance out the ‘boy bias’ in these stories. That crept in because I have only male guinea pigs. They are left behind for some reason, when people are adopting guinea pigs, and for obvious reasons I prefer a same sex group. So my instant characters are boys.

Deirdre is pure invention. The first thing I did was write her own story in the Castle Haunn world — Deirdre and the Mermaid. I couldn’t think of a title more whizzy than that, I’m afraid!

Then I rewrote the other three tales to include her in key elements. She’s not so obvious in Dylan’s Yuletide Journey, which remains the first in the collection, although it’s the least magical. I placed it second to give Deirdre a good introduction, and a reason for the boys to take up with her. Then she’s with the brothers most of the time in their other adventures, and takes the lead when she does some things better than them!

messenger misadventures

Buy the Book!

These stories have not been available individually on Amazon, so this book is new for Amazon fans. You can find it here.

It’s also on Apple Books, B&N for Nook, and Kobobooks, all available for pre-order at the equivalent of $2.99.

You can also get it on Smashwords in any format after the publication date on 8th April 2021.

It’s arranged as four chapter books, (4-6 chapters in each), totalling 30,000 words. Suitable for age range 8-12 (and possibly upwards for teens that like flying reindeer and mermaids).

Paperback to follow.

POTN Launch plans include a JustGiving appeal

ulva buyout island picture

The Princelings of the North is on schedule for its launch on 30th January 2018.

You probably know that Dylan and Dougall’s Princelings home is on the Isle of Mull.  I spent many happy holidays there. My drawings of D&D’s castle use pictures of the cliffs and rock formations of the area.  A few miles further south there’s an island, Ulva, accessible by ferry, where I went for walks each year.  I even did some bird surveys – on one special day I saw a peregrine, a buzzard, a golden eagle and a hen harrier in quick succession!

Castle HaunnBut the tiny Ulva community is in trouble.  The island is for sale, and rather than have some rich absentee landlord take control, they have worked with the North West Mull Community Woodland Company to get permission to put in a community buyout for the island.  Now they have until May 2018 to raise the cash.

This is where you come in.  I’m writing a new short story featuring Dylan and Dougall, and everybody who donates on my JustGiving page can claim a free copy, downloadable from Smashwords. It’s called Dylan and the Lights of Ulva.

To learn more about the appeal click the picture to go to my JustGiving page, which is also linked to the charity’s JustGiving page which expands on their objectives and targets.

ulva buyout - raise money to buy this island for the islanders

 

The new story is now ready.  If you donate on my page, your money will go direct to the Ulva buyout fund (not via me). In return you’ll receive a message with the code to claim your free ebook Dylan and the Lights of Ulva.

I’m also considering bundling this new story with the previous two D&D stories. Dylan’s Yuletide Journey is already available on Smashwords, as well as in the BookElves Anthology Volume 1, while Dougall’s Reindeer Adventure is only available in the BookElves Anthology Volume 2.  I think it would be nice to have the three of them together in one ebook.  Maybe there will be more, who knows?

 

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Cover Reveal for the Princelings of the North

vexstein-rear

I’m still waiting on my edits for Book 7, Willoughby the Narrator, but since I’ve made a new badge for the site, I thought I’d better reveal the cover for The Princelings of the North, book 8 of the Princelings of the East series.

This is the story that finally brings Dylan and Dougall away from their beloved Castle Haunn, where they have appeared in stories for younger readers in the BookElves Anthologies.  Now they are gallivanting around the Realms with their own major story, firstly rescuing Kevin from exile, then helping to restore him to his birthright.  That’s the plan, anyway.  Since they meet up with a rebel called Locksley in the forests on the way, and then fall in with his brother named Ludo, you can bet things aren’t going to go well.  You may need to reread The Princelings and the Pirates to place that pair!

So… here goes… Ta-da!!!

princelings-north-kindle

Thanks as always to my marvellous illustrator, Danielle English, and thanks also to Rebecca Douglass for providing me with the perfect picture reference from her hiking gallery.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice this is based on one of my #Inktober sketches – Castle Vexstein from the north.

Vexstein from the north

And that is the heart of the trouble in this story, as it is in Willoughby the Narrator, due out now on April 27th.  Vexstein has been trouble from day one of book 1, really.  Or maybe day seven of book 1;)

I anticipate bringing The Princelings of the North out in the winter, but it may slip.