When
his daughters were young, Biggs resident Steve Thompson made up bedtime stories
for them, tales of two courageous girls in a world with “an enchanted forest,
gnomes, witches, and all kinds of fun.” After serving as a drill sergeant in
the Army Reserve and now as a foster care worker, Thompson has begun putting
those stories into print.
“The
Daughters Daring” ($10.99 in paperback from KECELJ Publishing; also for Amazon
Kindle, with more information at daughtersdaring.com) introduces readers to
Elizabeth and Emily Daring, daughters of Duke Daring, “the hero of Highcynder,”
a kingdom that would soon face grave peril. (Thompson’s own daughters are the
cover models; the book also contains chapter illustrations by Paradise’s Steve
Ferchaud and, at the end, a descriptive list of characters.)
While
Elizabeth practices archery, watched by her older sister Emily, 12, things go
awry, just slightly. It was usually Emily, the athletic one with “the
explorer’s heart,” who got into trouble. Fortunately, Elizabeth, “sharp-minded
and a skilled negotiator,” was “able to melt even her father’s stern heart with
her sapphire blue eyes.”
The
Sweetberry Festival is coming (how the duke loves sweetberry pie!), but the
sweetberries have disappeared. Some blame the gnomes of the Enchanted Forest,
so Emily and Elizabeth sneak off to recover the goods.
That’s
when the adventure begins, one that will test the determination and courage of
the sisters as they encounter goblins, ogres, and a witch with a cunning plan
to take over Highcynder. The gnomes are the good guys, as are the Faery Folk,
but seemingly no match against the ogre king, “taller even than their father
and some of the tallest knights in the kingdom. He was also thick like a burled
tree trunk, with skin that looked almost like bark.”
The
witch tempts Elizabeth with talk of the evils of freedom in Highcynder. “I
would harness their selfish energies to be utilized for the greater good.” The
words, perhaps, of every tyrant.
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