Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Resenting unfriendly newcomers


Crossings__reduce_2

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“The unusual dialogue and behavior of the inhabitants of this fantasy demonstrate the talent of the author. I like weird and this story delivers. A very creative fully realized world. Recommended.” ~ Review by Ron Baker
Short Blurb:

Ebe loved the peaceful life of his isolated mountain community until abrasive newcomers started raising vicious guard dogs. The newcomers terrorize the locals, and Ebe finds himself in their sights along with an old family friend because they oppose their abusive ways. When the 'dog-farmers' murder a local healer/magic-worker, Ebe must defeat the frogtrolls if he's to regain his self-respect.

Excerpt:

At first, Ebe hadn’t thought much about the men camping down in the valley after the land sold again. Soon the newcomers were building a cluster of homes and doghouses on the hillsides well above the flood plain of Lazy Man Creek. No dog runs. Just poles stuck in the ground to keep the dogs contained. Ebe thought it funny they built on the north-facing hill where the sun didn’t shine, but he refrained from calling them stupid like some locals did.

Ignoring the bustle, Ebe kept to his placid pattern. His morning chores put food on his table. In the afternoons, he napped, whittled fancy canes for a friend’s tourist trap while listening to the breeze in the oaks and sugar pines at the back of his cabin, and visited his friends. He spent evenings reading. Ebe lived each day much like the last, except for the fall mistletoe harvest that boosted his cash income.

Then, Dipper, his mixed-breed, long-legged hound, disappeared.

Expecting a neighborly hand in finding him, Ebe drove to the dog compound. The hill, lined with rows of miserable dogs tethered with chains to poles by their doghouses, shocked him. He’d always let Dipper roam as he pleased. The operations center looked more like an army barracks than a hamlet with its gravel paths and lack of plants except for a scattering of manzanita trees. A roof covered the quad between the barracks, creating a huge, flagstoned patio.

Ebe’s memory of standing in the shade, hat in gnarled hand, in front of a gauntlet of moon-shaped-faces and gimlet stares haunted him.

“Hi, there,” he’d said, taking a deep breath. He almost coughed at the fetid smell surrounding then, but stopped himself in time. “Name’s Ebe Brown. Live up on the hill across the road from your place. My dog’s gone missing, and I was wondering if any of you have seen sign of him. Looks sort like a black, curly-haired German Shepherd-type dog.”

“Sounds like a mutt to me, runt.” The bruiser in front of the group smirked at Ebe until the old man felt even shorter than usual. “You sure you want him back?”

Laughter greeted the sally, and Ebe surveyed the newcomers as a couple more men came out of the barracks. A chill spilled down his back. While some were taller than others, the men looked as if a cookie cutter made them, huge torsos balanced on bent short legs with faces as round as the moon and wide slits for mouths. Their noses weren’t much more than a slit either. An image of a frog leapt into Ebe’s mind.

Wouldn’t be surprised if their tongue flicked out when a fly flew by.
 
Wonderful fantasy story. ~  Excerpt of review by Susan Keefe.
“This is a wonderful story, anyone who has lived in a small community which has been subject to change can immediately emphasize with this small town, not wanting to be interfered with, resenting unfriendly newcomers, and resisting change. However, this is not an ordinary community and the characters in this story are not all normal people, some of them have magical powers and the changes are not minor, they are a struggle of good versus evil.














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