I continue to search for an agent...in the meantime, I might as well introduce my novel and the characters.
UNPRECEDENTED
(A humorously heroic adventure in the vein of The Phantom Tollbooth. )
Deep in a cavern, beneath the Black Mountain, the Demon waits…
Throughout the ages, the battle between aspiring authors and their demons, between the dreamers and the spirit crushers, has raged. Ottomotto, however, knows nothing of this when an enigmatic muse, a fairy beset with self-esteem issues, insists he author a novel. The prospect electrifies him – for the first time in his life, he is ready to seize his destiny
Alas, this is the perfect moment for the Demon to strike!
And strike he does, kidnapping a motley trio of misfit characters as they search the Forest of Imagination for their author (who is none other than Ottomotto). The Demon, who despises all things imaginative, rejoices with a dark dance of cruel exultation, marking yet another unrealized story, forever nameless and untold. Tragically, Ottomotto has no choice but return to his duller-than-dishwater job at Amalgamated Rejects, counting defective Tootsie Roll Pops that have no Tootsie in the center.
Or perhaps not. Maybe, just maybe, this aspiring writer will choose become a hero, the kind who would willingly sacrifice his life to rescue his characters from the Demon’s cavern. A lair, by the way, marked with an ominous sign that warns: Abandon all happy endings ye who enter here.
I wrote this story to help readers of all ages summon the courage and enduring fortitude to pursue their creative dreams.
I wrote this story to help readers of all ages summon the courage and enduring fortitude to pursue their creative dreams.
THE CHARACTERS
Ottomotto Onono: He is a Counting Gnome. His dark secret: he finds zero joy in enumeration! He also hates his duller-than-dishwater job at Amalgamated Rejects where he inventories defective candies such as Tootsie Roll Pops that have no Tootsie in the center. Ottomotto will soon discover he has a remarkable destiny: he has been AUTHOR-ized by a magical scroll to become a writer.
Esmeralda, the Fairy Who Can’t Eat Dairy: She’s the enigmatic muse in Ottomotto’s life. She gives him a mysterious blank book and tries to encourage him to write. Esmeralda, being lactose intolerant, can’t eat the ice cream she craves constantly. Poor dear!
The Crystal Wings: The most elite corps of fairies (they’re like the Green Berets of fairies). Esmeralda longs to become a Crystal Wing but can’t, her lactose intolerance is considered a disqualifying disability.
The Demon of the Cavern of the Black Mountain: He is the enemy of aspiring authors (actually, he despises all things creative) and specializes in kidnapping characters from the Forest of Imagination. He is bound and determined to sabotage Ottomotto’s literary destiny.
And speaking of the characters Ottomotto is supposed to write about, they are:
Erick Severhead, the Orc whose battleaxe is made of cork: He looks fierce but he’s a softy inside.
Karkadann, the Unicorn whose horn is but a thorn: A risk-taking sort of fellow, his dream is have wings and fly like the fabled Pegasus.
Hotaru, the Firefly who told a lie: She’s pugnacious yet compassionate.
Fartlek the Troll: He is the keeper of the Scroll of the AUTHOR-ized. He lives on the Knoll of the Scroll and spends the better part of his days sunning himself in an oversized beach chair.
The Tome Raider: That would be the famous pirate, Bartholomew Skelly Killigrew. Unlike your run-of-the-mill pirates who plunder for gold, silver or gems, the Tome Raider plundered for books. By the way, he was named Pirate of the Year eight years running by The Buccaneer Journal, a record not even Jack Sparrow can match.
Formido Frommage: A ditzy but helpful dragon with the worst breath imaginable.
Kylie Nippentuk: A witch who specializes in Cosmetic Sorcery and Transfiguration.
Megatome the Bookbot: The world’s first book transformer – transforms from an ordinary looking book to a combat-ready Bookbot.
Professor Helvetica Edison: He runs The Writer’s Laboratory and is a distant cousin of Thomas Alva Edsion.
Gram Marian: A delightful, elderly woman who runs The Ink Well Inn.
Fabula the Thaumagurge: An miracle worker of ancient times. He planted the Tree of Tales and brought the art of storytelling into the world.
Bronthesaurus Nagurski: The all-time champion in the fast-paced sport of WordBall.
The Storywraiths: What happens after the Demon of the Cavern of the Black Mountain kidnaps a character from the Forest of Imagination? The character is taken to the Demon’s cave and, over time, transforms into a spiteful, spirit-deadening ghost known as a Storywraith.
Laedeal Gagag: Also a Counting Gnome. With Ottomotto’s help, she pursues her dream of becoming a singer and starts a band called The Metrognomes.(Disclaimer: Any resemblance to Lady Gaga may not be unintentional.)
Ababa Booboo: Another Counting Gnome, his love is cooking; he is the owner of a restaurant called Gastrognome.
The Duke of Assonance: Sir Alexander Van der Lance. A fictional character in a television show, he rules over the duchy of Assonance.
YoSimile Sam: Also a fictional character in the television show, YoSimile Valley; he’s an irascible, wild west type of character. As the song says, He’s fleet as the wind and straight as an arrow/Old as the hills, silent as a shadow/Gentle as a lamb – he’s the one, the only, YoSimile Sam!
1. AMALGAMATED REJECTS
2. EARLIER THAT DAY, A MYSTERIOUS DELIVERY
3. THE CHROME DOME
4. AN ANAGRAMMATIC BREAKFAST
5. A SMILE JUST RIGHT
6. DULL AS DISHWATER
7. THE MUSE LEAVES A NOTE
8. COUNTING GNOMES ARE BORN COUNTING
9. OTTOMOTTO WASN’T BORN COUNTING
10. 1,001 CRAYON COLORS
11. A VERY BAD DAY AT SCHOOL
12. A VISIT FROM LAEDEAL GAGAG
13. THE DREAM AT CAMP COUNTING
14. MORE NOTES FROM THE SECRET MUSE
15. A FEW MONTHS EARLIER,
16. ON THE KNOLL OF THE SCROLL
17. CHASING THE MUSE
18. JOE’S PROSE
19. INSPIRATION?
20. FROM INSPIRATION TO EXCUSES
21. EATS, LEAVES AND POOTS
22. THE FOREST OF IMAGINATION
23. THE UNICORN WHOSE HORN WAS A THORN
24. THE FIREFLY WHO TOLD A LIE
25. THE ORC WHOSE BATTLEAXE WAS MADE OF CORK
27. THE FAIRY WHO COULDN’T EAT DAIRY
28. A CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
29. SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
30. A SERIOUS QUESTION
31. THE DEMON OF THE CAVERN OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN
33. A REASONABLE SOUNDING DEMON
34. HOTARU FADES AWAY
35. NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE
36. UNPRECEDENTED
37. FARTLEK THE TROLL
38. THE TIME BEFORE STORIES
39. THE STORY LORRY
40. TOME RAIDER
41. THE WORDSMITH
42. THE INKWELL INN
43. MEGATOME THE BOOKBOT
44. THE NYM GYM
45. A FAMILIAR ONOMATOPOEIA
46. THE TREE OF TALES
47. HARD WEEKS OF TRAINING
48. HOTARU AND MEGATOME HAVE A CONVERSATION
50. HOTARU AND GRAM MARIAN WATCH TELEVISION
52. THE RETURN OF BRONTHESAURUS NAGURSKI
53. PROFESSOR EDISON’S BREAKTHROUGH
54. NAGURSKI’S OPPONENT REVEALED
55. PLAY BALL!
56. IT GOES BADLY FOR OTTOMOTTO
57. WRITING ON WATER
58. THE FESTIVAL OF LOST TALES
59. SKELLY’S FAREWELL GIFT
60. TO THE CAVERN OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN
61. OF STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES
62. DEMON SLIME
63. MEANWHILE, IN THE PEN OR THE CLINK OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT
65. REUNION
66. DEAD AS A DOORNAIL
67. POULTRY ONOMATOPOEIAS
68. THE BIGGEST PIECE OF TOAST IN THE HISTORY OF TOAST
70. VERSE FOR VERSE
71. THE GREATER THE RISK
72. THE STORYWRAITHS
73. FAITH VERSUS WRAITH
74. A MOST WELCOMED ONOMATOPOEIA
75. DOMEWARD BOUND
76. A VISIT TO LAEDEAL GAGAG
77. WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2. EARLIER THAT DAY, A MYSTERIOUS DELIVERY
3. THE CHROME DOME
4. AN ANAGRAMMATIC BREAKFAST
5. A SMILE JUST RIGHT
6. DULL AS DISHWATER
7. THE MUSE LEAVES A NOTE
8. COUNTING GNOMES ARE BORN COUNTING
9. OTTOMOTTO WASN’T BORN COUNTING
10. 1,001 CRAYON COLORS
11. A VERY BAD DAY AT SCHOOL
12. A VISIT FROM LAEDEAL GAGAG
13. THE DREAM AT CAMP COUNTING
14. MORE NOTES FROM THE SECRET MUSE
15. A FEW MONTHS EARLIER,
16. ON THE KNOLL OF THE SCROLL
17. CHASING THE MUSE
18. JOE’S PROSE
19. INSPIRATION?
20. FROM INSPIRATION TO EXCUSES
21. EATS, LEAVES AND POOTS
22. THE FOREST OF IMAGINATION
23. THE UNICORN WHOSE HORN WAS A THORN
24. THE FIREFLY WHO TOLD A LIE
25. THE ORC WHOSE BATTLEAXE WAS MADE OF CORK
27. THE FAIRY WHO COULDN’T EAT DAIRY
28. A CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
29. SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
30. A SERIOUS QUESTION
31. THE DEMON OF THE CAVERN OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN
33. A REASONABLE SOUNDING DEMON
34. HOTARU FADES AWAY
35. NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE
36. UNPRECEDENTED
37. FARTLEK THE TROLL
38. THE TIME BEFORE STORIES
39. THE STORY LORRY
40. TOME RAIDER
41. THE WORDSMITH
42. THE INKWELL INN
43. MEGATOME THE BOOKBOT
44. THE NYM GYM
45. A FAMILIAR ONOMATOPOEIA
46. THE TREE OF TALES
47. HARD WEEKS OF TRAINING
48. HOTARU AND MEGATOME HAVE A CONVERSATION
50. HOTARU AND GRAM MARIAN WATCH TELEVISION
52. THE RETURN OF BRONTHESAURUS NAGURSKI
53. PROFESSOR EDISON’S BREAKTHROUGH
54. NAGURSKI’S OPPONENT REVEALED
55. PLAY BALL!
56. IT GOES BADLY FOR OTTOMOTTO
57. WRITING ON WATER
58. THE FESTIVAL OF LOST TALES
59. SKELLY’S FAREWELL GIFT
60. TO THE CAVERN OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN
61. OF STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES
62. DEMON SLIME
63. MEANWHILE, IN THE PEN OR THE CLINK OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT
65. REUNION
66. DEAD AS A DOORNAIL
67. POULTRY ONOMATOPOEIAS
68. THE BIGGEST PIECE OF TOAST IN THE HISTORY OF TOAST
70. VERSE FOR VERSE
71. THE GREATER THE RISK
72. THE STORYWRAITHS
73. FAITH VERSUS WRAITH
74. A MOST WELCOMED ONOMATOPOEIA
75. DOMEWARD BOUND
76. A VISIT TO LAEDEAL GAGAG
77. WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
