Sunday, September 18, 2016

It's Everybody Reads YA Sunday - the Bearded Dude in the Puzzle





Many years ago, in the land of kings and knights, Dozer, a powerful wizard, casts a spell over Scartin, and changes him into a tiny toy wizard and puts him inside the box of a puzzle.

Centuries later, Shelly Taylor, and her two kids, Bobby and Andrea, find their lives in turmoil. They are uprooted from their home and friends and moved to a small town in Idaho.  Their parents’ marriage falls apart, and to make matters worse, for some reason the kids at their schools are shunning them.

Shelly, once an advertising executive, starts cleaning houses to make ends meet.  It is in one of these old homes where the ancient puzzle is found.

As the family works on the puzzle, strange things start to happen.  An evil presence is making its way to the Taylor house, intent on making sure that puzzle never gets put together, no matter the cost, and it’s up to Bobby and Andrea to make sure that it does!


Excerpt

Miss James turned to look at the two kids in the backseat.  “Andi – that’s a name you don’t hear everyday.” 
When there was no reply, Steve jumped in.  “It’s short for Andrea.”
“How darling,” the woman said, smiling at Steve.  She turned her attention again to the back seat.  “So, how do you like our little town?”
Oh no!  Bobby groaned inside, squeezing his eyes shut.
Andi sat up a little straighter, smiling.  “Oh Miss James, my mom, brother, and I are just loving it here.  We are living the dream.”  The woman smiled; apparently not having a clue sarcasm was being thrown in her face.  “Picture this,” Andi continued, “My mom has a fabulous, great paying job, but because our dad loved us so much he talked her into giving up her career to come to Smallville, USA.”
“Andi,” her dad said in a low warning tone.
“Not only that, Miss James, Bobby and I were in schools we loved and we both had so many friends, but what was important was our family being together. You know, a loving family, everyone being a team member, so dad could have his chance.”
The woman’s eyes darted nervously around the car.  “Well…uhm…that’s just lovely Andi.  Now if we…”
Andi wasn’t through.  “It is a lovely story, isn’t it?”  She leaned forward, as if to tell the woman a secret.  “But the love didn’t stop there,” Andi said, putting her hand on Miss James’ shoulder.  “Bobby and I were nervous about going to a new school, yet excited to meet new friends.  You can surely understand that, right?”  Andi’s stare demanded the woman’s eyes to stay trained on her face.  Miss James, her mouth partly opened, slowly nodded.  “Can you imagine Bobby’s and my dismay when the kids, all but shunned us?  We didn’t understand.  We are nice people.  Why would the kids, at a new school, who have never even met us, give us dirty looks and talk about us?”
            Miss James, wide-eyed, shook her head back and forth.  “Why would they?” She asked.
            “That’s what we wanted to know.”  Andi sat back in her seat.  Her voice changed from sugary sweet to matter of fact.  “Imagine our surprise when we found out our father felt the need to shag the neighbor’s wife.”
            “Andrea!” Her father snapped.  “That’s enough!”
            .  “And who could have guessed that the lady’s family that our dad destroyed, had two kids that are the same age as Bobby and me?  Yep, John Slater, who is extremely popular, has apparently told everybody in my sophomore class that it’s my fault that his family life is in the toilet.”
            “I’m warning you, Andrea,” her father threatened.
            The sugary sweet voice was back.  “What?” Andi purred.  “Seriously, dad, how could you have known that mom wouldn’t understand about you screwing around with another woman?  The nerve of her telling you to get out!  Now, Miss James, she is working two jobs.  An up and coming advertising expert is now answering phones at a real estate company, part time, and cleaning houses for a management company.  Isn’t that priceless?” Andi’s voice dripped with sarcasm.




I write for all ages, from the early reader to adults.  My books range from pictures books for the little ones, to fantasy, time-travel adventures for ages 9 to 13. I also write adult stories, including a family drama and contemporary, paranormal and historical westerns romances, under P. A. Estelle.

I was a school secretary for 21 years.  My husband and I moved to our retirement home in Kingman, AZ, on very rural 54 acres, living on solar and wind only. 
More about my books can be found in the following links:



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