I just got in the proof of my new book. I'm really beginning to get excited. It won't be long now.

The Verdict: The Life and Times of Lemuel Xandiver - Part 6

“The boy’s fate is for the council to decide, Red Bear” said a gray-haired man stepping up out of the hut behind him.

Red Bear growled and pushed past as the old man motioned for them to enter the hut. The angry native stomped across the bridge and out of sight.

Lem walked through the doorway and looked nervously at all of the stern faces sitting around the center fire. He stopped just inside, not sure what he was supposed to do. Running Wolf walked up behind him and led him to a pile of furs on the floor. Lem slowly sank down onto the unusual seat. The gray-haired man walked around the fire and sat down cross-legged in the only other empty spot.

“I am Standing Elk, the chief of the underland tribe. Your presence here causes us great trouble, offlander.”

Lem looked away embarrassed. His curiosity had led him into a great many problems in the past, but never anything like this before. He didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry.”

“Perhaps,” replied Standing Elk, “but that does not change the facts. The facts are these: our underland tribe has remained a secret for over one hundred years. During that time, we have not had to face the trials from the offlanders that our brothers who chose to stay on the surface have endured. We will not easily give up the freedom that we enjoy here. Therefore, we will not take any risks that our location might be found. “

“Um, ok,” Lem stammered. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

“No, you will not,” Standing Elk sighed sadly.

Lem began to panic. Were they going to kill him after all? “Wh…what do you mean?”

“I am sorry, but we cannot allow you to leave here. Do not worry. We will not go as far as Red Bear suggested, but you will not set foot up on the surface again.”

“B…but, but, wait. That’s not fair. I have to go back. My mom and dad… You can’t do this!” Lem grew angrier and angrier as the reality of what Standing Elk meant began to sink in.

“I am sorry, but that is my final word. Running Wolf will find you a place to live and help you get settled in. You are his responsibility now.”

Lem glanced over at Running Wolf still shocked at what the chief had said. Running Wolf didn’t look pleased.

“But my parents,” Lem all but shouted as an idea occurred to him. “They’ll look for me. They’ll get the whole town involved. You don’t know them. Won’t it be dangerous to have everyone searching the forest? They might find you anyway.” Lem smiled triumphantly.

“We will ensure that the search takes place on the far side of the island. There will be no danger to us. Running Wolf.” Standing Elk looked at the native boy sitting next to Lem and nodded dismissingly.

Running Wolf nodded back and stood up. “Come.” He looked down at Lem who was still sitting there dumbfounded.

“But…”

“Come!” Running Wolf repeated sternly. He grabbed Lem’s arm and pulled him to his feet.

“B...but…” Lem stuttered as Running Wolf pulled him out of the hut. He couldn’t believe it. He was a prisoner! He’d never see his family again. His eyes scanned the cavern walls as Running Wolf pulled him back across the bridge and down the path. He’d have to escape. That’s all there was to it. But as he looked around, he realized that would be all but impossible. Guards stood at each entrance. He knew that he’d never be able to get past them.

It began to grow difficult for him to breathe, and his chest felt unusually heavy. Lem feared he might have a panic attack. He forced himself to calm down. They can’t keep me here, he thought. My parents will find me. Or if they don’t, I’ll be able to escape. I can do this! They can’t watch me all the time. It won’t be easy, but I will. I will get out of here! I will!

The Secret Cave: The Life and Times of Lemuel Xandiver

Lem walked to his P.E. class with a familiar sense of dread. He’d never liked P.E. which shouldn’t be surprising since he often tripped over his own feet just walking. Running, though, running was something he could do. It’s surprising how good a person can get at running when that person has a habit of annoying other people.

Yesterday, their P.E. teacher, Coach Ketter, had told them that they would play dodge ball today. He really hated dodge ball. It hurt. And now that he had made a group of enemies at this new school, it hurt a lot.

Lem ran through a list of excuses in his mind as he slowly trudged toward the gym. Inwardly, he felt along his body. Did anything hurt? Even a little? For a brief moment, he thought he might have felt a slight pressure in his head. That was good. He could say he had a headache. It kind of ached. Well, he could feel it at least. That could easily grow into a headache, couldn’t it?

As he contemplated the exact definition of “ache,” he walked past the science room and looked in longingly. Now, that was a class he liked. He’d gladly trade gym for three or four extra science classes. Glancing through the door into the back of the room, he stopped suddenly and took a quick step back. There they stood. The native boys he had seen on his first day.

Almost two weeks had passed since Lem had followed the dragon into the woods. Even though he hadn’t seen Running Wolf again since then, he still nervously felt like he was being watched every time he even went close to the tree line on the school property. But he hadn’t tried during school hours. He hadn’t dared after the lecture he received from missing class that first day.

Today felt different. P.E. was his last class of the day. He wouldn’t mind skipping it. Running Wolf and his friends had a science class, so he didn’t have to worry about them. He just had to think of a good excuse to convince Mr. Ketter to let him leave.   

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he walked down the hallway with renewed vigor. Excitement at the possibility and nervousness at the danger fought within him until he almost felt sick. He might have to go throw up before he left, but at least he had his excuse now.

As he entered the gym, he stopped smiling and tried for a believably sick expression as he approached his teacher.

“Coach Ketter, I don’t feel good. My stomach feels weird. Can I be excused from class today?” Lem tried to control his voice, pitiful enough to earn sympathy but not so pitiful that it sounded fake.

Coach Ketter looked at Lem carefully. He didn’t believe for a moment that the boy was sick. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Lem hated P.E., but he felt sorry for him. Coach Ketter knew Lem would get clobbered in dodge ball. For some reason he seemed to be the one all the others went after. He sighed.

“Ok, you may be excused, but I expect to see you back tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!” Lem said a little too enthusiastically.

Coach Ketter raised his eyebrows knowingly. Lem clutched his stomach and said, “Thank you,” in as sickly a tone as he could manage and exited quickly before his teacher could change his mind.

He hurried to the bathroom and waited for the bell to ring. He didn’t want to run the risk of being seen and having to abort his mission. When it seemed that the coast was clear, Lem snuck onto the hall and rushed toward the side door avoiding the hallway with the science room. Once outside, he hurried into the woods.

It took him a little while to locate the spot where he’d lost the dragon, and when he did get there, he had to dig around in the bushes to find the hole where the dragon had disappeared.  Grabbing the small flashlight that he had carried hooked to his belt every day since he’d first followed the dragon here, he carefully aimed it down into the hole leaning back a little in case the dragon was inside. He’d expected to find a small burrow or other type of dragon lair. What he didn’t expect to see was a tunnel that appeared to grow wider the further in it went. His light didn’t shine far enough for him to get a good look, but he felt pretty sure that this was a cave that opened up further in.

Sitting back on his heels, he took a moment to think. If he was wrong, and this was a dragon’s burrow, he would be an idiot to crawl inside it. But he hadn’t seen any dragons, and he was pretty sure it had opened up. He’d read a lot about animals, and he remembered reading that komodo dragons would sometimes dig “shallow” burrows. This wasn’t shallow. But, then again, this dragon looked different than any picture of a komodo dragon that he had ever seen, and he had watched the thing disappear down into this hole. Arrggg! His curiosity almost felt overwhelming, but his sense of self-preservation wouldn’t be ignored.

A rustle behind him made him turn his head sharply just in time to see a squirrel run up a tree. He let out a sigh of relief. He’d thought for a second that Running Wolf had followed him. That decided it. He might never get an opportunity like this again. He had to check it out. If he didn’t, he’d never forgive himself.

Lem looked around on the forest floor and picked up a thick stick. It would be difficult to carry this down the hole with him, and it probably wouldn’t do much good against a dragon, but he wasn’t about to go down there without some sort of weapon.

Pushing the stick in front of him with one hand and holding his flashlight in front of him with the other, Lem crawled awkwardly into the hole scooting along on his elbows for several yards until the passage opened up enough for him to stand. As he walked along, the walls seemed to be closing in making his path narrower and narrower. Disappointment began to rise in Lem when it seemed like the passage came to a dead end.

“No!” he complained loudly. Exasperated, he looked around frantically shining his flashlight in every direction, but he could see nothing except shadows. Refusing to give up so soon, Lem walked up to a wall and began examining every crevice determined to circle the entire space. About three quarters of the way around, he found a crevice that was more than a crevice. The opening couldn’t be seen from where he had been standing, but it could clearly be seen from the opposite angle. It was wide enough for him to walk into even though it was a bit tight in places.

With renewed excitement, Lem pushed through the narrow passageway. To his surprise, the cave tunnel began to get brighter as he walked. Before long, he didn’t even need his flashlight. He quickly turned it off and clipped it back on his belt. Not only did the path get brighter, it also grew wider. He had to continually remind himself to be cautious to stop himself from running. Finally, he turned a corner in the tunnel and stopped to stare in wonder. The passage opened up into a huge cavern. Small holes sprinkled around the top let in sunlight, and trees and other plant life dotted the floor and clung to the walls everywhere. A large waterfall fell down into a stream that flowed through the length of the cavern.

Lem stood on a ledge overlooking the beautiful scene and gazed at it in wonder. But his wonder quickly turned to fear as an arrow swooshed by his face and stuck in the wall right next to his ear. Looking around in alarm, he saw seven island natives standing on ledges high above. All of them had arrows pointed directly at him. He gasped in alarm tightly clutching the stick he still carried. Well, he’d done it now. His curiosity had finally killed him. Lem lifted a shaking hand to wave.

“Um, hi?” he said smiling nervously.

Into the Woods: The Life and Times of Lemuel Xandiver - Part 3

Lem walked through the woods as quietly as he could, but even to him, his footsteps seemed to pound through the underbrush like an elephant tromping through a bed of broken glass. The dragon kept looking back at him and hurrying on as fast as its injured body would allow. Lem knew that he was on dangerous ground. Komodo dragons were deadly in the best of times, and this one was injured, but his curiosity kept him going.

They walked quite a ways from the school through the woods, and Lem almost lost his reptilian prey a few times as the trees thickened and the ground began to rise. They were coming closer to the mountains.
Lem thought he saw the dragon disappear into a hole in the ground and hurried forward to get a better look.  He hid behind a tree close to where the dragon had disappeared and peered around to make sure it wasn’t just hiding in the underbrush. He certainly didn’t want to accidently step on the injured animal. Looking into the dense bushes intently, Lem almost jumped out of his skin when the native boy from the school jumped out of the tree and landed right in front of him.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” Lem gasped accusingly. He looked nervously at the boy who just stood there with his arms crossed. “My name’s Lem. I’m new in town. I, uh, saw you up at the school.”

The native boy just looked at him for a second. Finally, he responded, “I’m called Running Wolf.” He seemed to relax a little as he leaned back against a nearby tree. He still had his arms crossed in front of him, but he didn’t seem quite as threatening as he had.

“You are not supposed to be here, you know,” he said with a lifting of his eyebrows. “You would get in much trouble if the school officials knew.”

“I know I’m skipping class,” Lem admitted, “but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a dragon before. I had to follow it.”

“Yes, you will get in trouble for skipping class, but it is more than that. These woods are considered the personal property of one of the most powerful men on the island. He would not look kindly on you for trespassing.”

Lem hadn’t thought about that. “Oh, well, where does he live? I could go ask him if he’d mind.”

“No! He does not like kids.” Running Wolf replied almost a little too quickly.

Lem looked at him curiously. It almost seemed like the other boy was hiding something.

“Besides,” Running Wolf continued, “only a fool would go after an injured dragon. He could still easily kill you and will if you get too close.”

Lem considered at him carefully. Something didn’t seem quite right. Running Wolf’s posture seemed too casual, almost posed, and the muscles standing out on his crossed arms indicated more of a stressed nature than the calm one he seemed to be trying to convey. He was hiding something.

As soon as Lem made this realization, he decided to change tactics. If there was something here that Running Wolf wanted to hide, then Lem’s curious nature insisted that he discover it. He was pretty sure that the dragon had gone into a hole or hidden cave nearby, but he was also pretty sure that this was about more than the dragon.

He couldn’t do anything now with Running Wolf on guard, and he didn’t want to raise his suspicions, so Lem relaxed his shoulders and let out a big sigh. He smiled.

“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ve just never seen a dragon before, so I guess I got carried away.” He chuckled. “There’s no telling what trouble I might have gotten myself into if you hadn’t come along. I guess we should get back, huh. I’m probably already in enough trouble.” Lem turned and began walking back toward the school.

“Thanks for following me and making me see reason. I really appreciate it. My curiosity can get the better of me sometimes.” He chuckled and looked behind him at Running Wolf, but the boy wasn’t there.

Lem stopped and looked hurriedly around.  Running Wolf was nowhere to be seen. He had simply disappeared without a sound. Lem hesitated for just a second to consider going back to look for the hole, but then he thought better of it. Running Wolf had followed him all the way from the school without him knowing it. He was obviously good at the whole stealth thing. Lem didn’t want to run the risk of the native seeing him now.

He would go back to the school and act like everything was normal then, after a week or so, he’d go back. He would find out where the dragon went and what Running Wolf had been so worried he’d see. His curiosity could wait that long, surely. One week, and he’d be back.

An Experiment You Can Do at Home: A Balloon-Powered Craft

An Excerpt from The Lost Laboratory of Professor Xandiver

Once all of the boxes had been loaded in the raft, and everyone had seated themselves securely beside them, one of the sailors stepped in the front and started adjusting some strange-looking valves on the platform.

“What‘s that?” asked Jake.

Anicia looked over at him. “Oh, those control the pressure inside the balloon.”

“The balloon?” asked Jake.

“Well, it’s not really a balloon,” corrected Ms. B. “It’s bigger and thicker, but the concept is the same. Professor Xandiver invented it.”
            “Who’s Professor Xandiver?” asked Molly.

Jake glared at his sister then looked up at the balloon-like contraption hanging over them. “More importantly, just what does this balloon do?”

“It runs the raft,” Anicia answered in her usual formal tone. “Do you see the bar to which it is attached?” 

Molly looked up. She hadn’t noticed the huge balloon connected to a bar floating over the raft. How did I miss that?, she thought.

“The raft is also attached to that bar. A cable runs through the middle and extends from here to the manor entrance along the stream. The driver adjusts a valve, releasing the air pressure from the balloon, and we shoot out at a great speed over the stream.”

“Wow, just how fast are we talking about here?” Jake asked.

Anicia smiled slyly. “You will see.”

An Experiment You Can Do at Home

The Balloon-Powered Craft

If you would like to make your own miniature version of the balloon-powered craft that Lord Ravenworth uses to bring goods and passengers through the caves from his ship to his manor, just follow the directions below.

Easy version:

Items needed

   Two small cotton threads (one shorter one to tie to the boat and one longer one to run the length of your tub or pool.)

   One straw (Bendy straws do not work as well as regular straight straws.)

   One balloon

   One small toy boat

   One large tub or pool

   Tape

Directions

1.  Run both of the threads through the straw.

2. Tie or tape both ends of the shorter thread to both ends of the boat to attach it to the straw. (Make sure the thread is connected to the center of each end, so the boat will float straight.)

3. Set up a mini clothesline by tying or taping both ends of the longer thread to a wall or other solid support on both ends of the tub or pool. Adjust the height so that the boat just rests on the water. Make sure the thread connecting the boat is not slack and the thread tied to the wall or supports is pulled taut.

4. Next, blow up the balloon and hold the end closed without tying it.

5. While you are still holding the balloon closed, tape it to the top of the straw.

6. Once the balloon is securely attached to the straw, let the balloon go. It will fly quickly from one end of the thread to the other.

Advanced version:

1. Follow the directions above except replace the thread holding the boat to the straw with something more solid and steady such as small light pieces of cardboard or wood. You want the boat to be firmly attached to the straw, so it is stable and moves smoothly and unwaveringly through the water.

2. Replace the thread that you use as a line with something thicker and steadier such as a leather string or small wooden or metal bar. Just make sure that it is small enough to enable the straw to slide smoothly over it.

3. Measure carefully to ensure that the boat just sits on the water before attaching the line to both ends of the pool. If it sits too low in the water, it won’t run as well.

4.  Instead of holding the balloon closed, go ahead and tie it. When you are ready to set the boat in motion, get a straight pin and poke a small hole in the boat. It needs to be big enough to let enough air escape to move the boat, but small enough to make the air last longer, so that the boat can travel farther.

Now, you are ready. Put your own miniature passengers in the boat and watch their ride.

My New Book: A Blurb

Now that I’ve signed a contract with Bluewater Publications to publish my first manuscript, I’ve had to think long and hard about finalizing some points associated with it. One of which was my penname. After much deliberation, I’ve decided that it would be better if I publish under my real name instead. As a result, I’ve had to change the title of my blog.

I hope you will continue to read and enjoy.

Below is a short blurb about the first book in the Guardian series: The Lost Laboratory of Professor Xandiver.

For many generations, dangerous secrets have lain hidden in a cavern laboratory deep below the surface of a small island in the Pacific Ocean. Despite many efforts to find and claim the incredible powers within, none, so far, had succeeded, and the story of the lost laboratory faded into legend. Until now. A dark enemy has arrived on the island, and he has heard of the wonderful power waiting to be found through the professor’s scientific creations. A power so great and unfathomable that it surpasses the magical. 

It’s up to Jake, his sister Molly and their new friends to hold back the evil that threatens to rise. To do so, they have to find the laboratory before their enemy and his minions do. With the help of the professor’s ancient journal, the group begins their quest. They must solve numerous puzzles, overcome countless obstacles, and survive perilous traps set by both the professor and their new enemy.

Even after getting stuck helplessly hanging by their ankles from the branches of a large tree, finding themselves locked in an underwater cave, and almost freezing to death inside a volcano, they don’t give up their search for the laboratory. Little do they know that their greatest and most dangerous challenge will come after they find it. It’s then that they must make a terrible decision: turn their backs on the world and let evil win, or risk losing everything they know and love, everything they are, by using the powers in the cavern themselves.