Paige W. Pendleton's Blog, page 12

The Winner of the YA Mythology Giveaway Hop....

is ...  Ryan!

Thanks to everyone who participated !

The Magnificent Map

Thomas Block created this illustration for  The Keeper and the Rune Stone , the first book of The Black Ledge Series.
 Camden, Maine as seen by those aware of the Realm.  





























                  

-click image to enlarge-


ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Tom holds a degree in art education from the University of Southern Maine and was an art teacher in mid coast Maine for over 37 years. He has exhibited watercolors, sculpture, oils and mixed media in various locations through out New England. Tom's most recent book illustrations includes, Togus, A Coon Cat Finds a Home by Don Carrigan and Baxter in the Blaine Houseby Paula Benoit.









*Photo by Dara Hurt

The Winner of the 2012 Spooktacular Giveaway Hop is....

... Sarah !


Thanks to everyone who participated !  That was fun!

Book One

The Black Ledge Series
The secrets of the Red Paint People have haunted Maine for 7000 years. From the vast fjords of Norway to the shores of New England, ancient standing stones mark a trail of betrayal, greed, and murder.
                The Keeper and the Rune Stone 
An unholy ritual, a ticking clock. Four children discover there are things that go bump in the night ...

Centuries ago a group of Elves committed an unholy ritual. But the ritual was a spectacular failure. It transformed the Elves into the Noctivagi - the beings we know as vampires.

Striving to maintain a fragile peace, the ancient Elves and Dwarves negotiated an Accord, which they've renewed every year on the Summer Solstice. The ceremony depends on the magical Rune Stone, but it's missing. If it is not found—and quickly—the consequences could be dire, and not just for Elves and Dwarves.

Four children, Rob, Jack, Eleanor, and Flora, stumble into a world of magic and mayhem when they move into Black Ledge, the old estate on the Maine coast, and discover they aren’t the only ones who live there.



Available on Amazon

"something wicked is going to happen.." EAD

"Hell, yes" KZF

"cracking tale of mystery and adventure" JBW

"Basically, I loved this" MF

Boo!

A Good Scare for a Great Cause

A Good Scare for a Great Cause
This time of year, who doesn’t love a great, chilling ghost story? This year, five mystery/thriller authors have come together to fill that need for hungry readers – All in the name of a good cause. Authors Susan Russo Anderson, DV Berkom, Jen Blood, Joanne Sydney Lessner, and Wayne Zurl have each contributed a ghostly/paranormal short featuring their respective series’ detectives, with 100% of their profits donated to the non-profit organization Doctors Without Borders.
For just $1.99, you get plenty of quality chills and thrills… And the knowledge that your hard-won dollars are going to a great cause. To whet your appetite, here’s a snippet from SERIAL SLEUTHS, Volume 1: Haunted.
The following excerpt is taken from DV Berkom’s short story Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, featuring the heroine of her bestselling Kate Jones thrillers.
He smiled as he took a leisurely sip of his coffee. “Yep. Lived here all my life. Gary here has, too,” he said, as he nodded at his companion. “Where're you from?”
“Durm. I guide Jeep tours down the way.”
Yellow Cap appeared to ponder this as he took a bite of pie. “What're you doin' in this neck of the woods, you don't mind my asking?”
“Not at all,” I replied. Luci placed a plate of fragrant fry bread and a squeeze bottle of honey in front of me. My mouth watered as I cut into the warm, doughy goodness and wolfed down a bite. “I'm looking for a friend, Rana Celik. She mentioned she was in Hok'ee the last time I heard from her.”
Yellow Cap frowned and looked at the other guy. “What's she look like?”
“Around five-four, medium build with dark hair, brown eyes, and a Turkish accent. She would have been with a guy named Tony,” I added with a smile. I didn't know if these guys were friends of Tony's, and didn't want to tip them off I was worried.
Gary sat forward in his chair. “Yeah, there was a couple here two days ago. The woman matches your description. Turkish, huh?” I nodded and he continued. “They picked up supplies at the grocery store. Said they were going camping.”
“Did they say where?” Two days. I'd have to step up my game to find Rana before the trail went cold.
“Nope. But he had some weird ass things for a camping trip in the back of his pickup. Witchy stuff, if you ask me.”
“Witchy stuff?” I shifted uneasily in my chair.
“You know, stuff for ceremonies an' shit. He asked if Manny had any blood from a hog he just butchered. When he said no, the guy got pissed off and stormed out of the store. Your friend apologized for him and followed him out.”
“He Navajo?” Yellow Cap asked his friend.
“Nah. A wannabe, maybe. I never seen him around.”
“What kind of ceremony?” I had a bad feeling about Tony's quest for blood.
Gary glanced at Yellow Cap and shrugged. “It's probably nothin’.”
Yellow Cap seemed particularly interested in the last bite of his pie. Luci walked over with the coffee and freshened everyone's cup.
“He's talking about yee naaldlooshii. A Skinwalker,” she said.
Yellow Cap cleared his throat.
“Aren't they like shapeshifters?” I asked, ignoring his apparent attempt to silence Luci.
Luci nodded and set the coffee pot on the table. “Usually coyotes, but they can turn into any animal. I've heard they can even take over another person's body. Only thing is,” she glanced at the two men at the table. “To become a Skinwalker, you have to be initiated.”
“Which means,” I prompted.
She took a deep breath before continuing. “Which means your friend is probably in danger. In order to gain power, they're supposed to kill someone close to them.”

Celebrate the Halloween season by picking up your copy of SERIAL SLEUTHS, Volume 1: Haunted on Amazon for just $1.99!

Illustration Teaser

         Thomas Block has created a magnificent illustration for 
The Keeper and the Rune Stone, and it's time to reveal a tiny peek of his magic.  


Are you ready?  (scroll down)




















We are very excited!  Thank you, Tom!


ABOUT THE ARTIST:


Tom holds a degree in art education from the University of Southern Maine and was an art teacher in mid coast Maine for over 37 years. He has exhibited watercolors, sculpture, oils and mixed media in various locations through out New England. Tom's most recent book illustrations includes, Togus, A Coon Cat Finds a Home by Don Carrigan and Baxter in the Blaine House by Paula Benoit.



*Photo by Dara Hurt

Aldermere Achievers in The Belted Galloway Journal

     The digital edition of the Belted Galloway Journal is out, and the Aldermere Achievers' trip to the North American International Livestock Expo (NAILE) in Louisville was spotlighted in the feature article.

Send 'em South! 
    The trip was an experience these kids (and their parents) will never forget.  Again, thank you to Ron Howard, Heidi Baker, everyone at Aldermere Farm, the Belted Galloway Society, and friends, family, and supporters who made this happen.  


For more about this spectacular trip:  
     Send 'em South (pt 1)

 

Ode to the Crow

I know a secret - Silver Halide Crow Print


"As a group, crows show remarkable examples of intelligence. Certain species top the avian IQ scale.[8] Wild hooded crows in Israel have learned to use bread crumbs for bait-fishing.[9] Crows will engage in a kind of mid-air jousting, or air-"chicken" to establish pecking order. Crows have been found to engage in feats such as sports,[10] tool use, the ability to hide and store food across seasons, episodic-like memory, and the ability to use individual experience in predicting the behavior of environmental conspecifics.[11]

Research has found some crow species capable not only of tool use but of tool construction as well.[2] One species, the New Caledonian Crow, has also been intensively studied recently because of its ability to manufacture and use its own tools in the day-to-day search for food. These tools include "knives" cut from stiff leaves and stiff stalks of grass.[12] Another skill involves dropping tough nuts into a trafficked street and waiting for a car to crush them open.[13][14] On October 5, 2007, researchers from the University of Oxford, England presented data acquired by mounting tiny video cameras on the tails of New Caledonian Crows. It turned out that they use a larger variety of tools than previously known, plucking, smoothing, and bending twigs and grass stems to procure a variety of foodstuffs.[15][16] Crows in Queensland, Australia have learned how to eat the toxic cane toad by flipping the cane toad on its back and violently stabbing the throat where the skin is thinner, allowing the crow to access the non-toxic innards; their long beaks ensure that all of the innards can be removed.[17][18]

Recent research suggests that crows have the ability to recognize one individual human from another by facial features.[19]


Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals."

Taking Wing

  
   Pig Wing Press will release the first book of The Black Ledge Series, The Keeper and the Rune Stone, in October 2012.