Title: David and the Foglinian Menace
Author: Janyce Brawn
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Book Blurb:
When his mother buys an antique water fountain, twelve-year-old David Gonzales is drawn into another adventure down the drainpipes. Foglinians are stealing powerful crystals from the talking rabbits of Rabbitosha and attacking the bird people of Paz. Along the way, a set of living chess pieces help him battle magical cats, giant praying mantises, and a thundering triceratops. Can David save his friends without being stranded forever in the Below Lands?
Excerpt
Chapter 1
MY ball cap almost fell off my head in the fresh breeze as I jumped off the school bus at the side of my house. Spring break was here. Without any homework from my sixth-grade teachers, I couldn’t wait to sleep in or go fishing with my friend, Marty. I kicked a pebble over the curb into the grass.
“David, can you please help me with this?” Papa called from the front yard. He struggled to lift a three-foot-tall cement fountain that my mama had bought at an antique store a few days earlier.
I tossed my backpack onto the back porch then ran to help. A hole in the dirt in front of some bushes by the living room window had a small plastic baby swimming pool in it. In the bottom of the pool sat a box on a short platform. A pipe stuck out of its top and a cord ran from the box up onto the grass. Papa gripped the large, sculpted leaves at the top of the fountain. Three small rabbits played hide-and-seek in the flowers that climbed around the pedestal. At the top, the leaves drooped around a small cluster of the flowers. A small bird perched next to one that had a hole for water to flow through.
Papa motioned with his head. “Come here. This is hollow, but I need to line up the pipe inside with the pipe on pump. It should slide on. Grab a side and lift with me.”
After a few grunts, we had the fountain in place. Stepping back to check it out, Papa wiped his hands on his pants. “That looks good to me. Get Mama.”
We stood beside the fountain. Mama clapped her hands. “It’s perfect, mi amor, gracias.” She smiled at Papa. “I have a few flowers you can plant around it too.”
“Bueno. I tested the pump in the sink earlier, so I know that works. Here, David, take the shovel. We’ll have this finished in no time.”
Mama set two large pots of flowers next to us then headed back into the house.
Papa added large blue and green glass stones in the pool and then filled it with water. I shoveled the dirt up to the edges while Papa planted Mama’s primroses and day lilies. He plugged the fountain into an outside socket. Water burbled out through the little flower on the top, slid over the sculpted leaves and tumbled down into the pool. A rabbit on the side of the pedestal wiggled its nose and ears as the water splashed it.
My mouth opened. “Wha…?”
Did I imagine that?
I stared at the wet cement rabbit, but it didn’t move. I wiped my hands on the grass and cleared my throat. “It looks nice. Mama will be happy.”
Papa rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled. “She knows how to pick pretty things. Take a picture with your phone for her then let’s see if dinner is ready.” He carried his tools to the garage beside the front porch.
I took out my phone and snapped a photo. Bending down, I stared at the rabbit.
It stared back then twitched its nose and sneezed.
I fell back, landing on my butt as my phone flew into the bushes behind the fountain. My mouth opened and I blinked.
The rabbit put a paw to its mouth and said, “Shh, don’t tell anyone, please. Are you a Foglinian?”
I glanced around. No one was nearby. I leaned close and whispered, “Oh my gosh! I thought you were made of cement. What’s going on? What’s a Foglinian?”
The rabbit sighed and wiggled his ears. “They’re a group of nasty people. It’s a long story.”
Mama called, “David, dinner.”
I waved at her, and whispered to the rabbit, “I want to hear it. Don’t leave. I’ll be out after I eat.”
“I certainly won’t be going anywhere, yet.” The rabbit moved his head and gazed up at the rabbit above him.
I saw that one blink its eyes.
What on earth did Mama buy?
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
David encounters talking rabbits and a bird-person who are in danger in his world. He must return them to Rabitosha in the Below Lands. In doing so, he encounters the nasty Foglinians who are after the magic crystals in the rabbit’s mountain. With the support of his allies in Drainovia, and a set of tiny living chess pieces, he fights greedy men, goo-spitting smeersuckers, and giant cats. Adventure and danger surround David and his allies as he battles to save Rabitosha. Readers will be fascinated by the amazing creatures, imaginative story-world and root for David all the way to the thrilling end.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs September 10 – September 17, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on September 18, 2024.
Author Biography:
Janyce Brawn is a retired K-12 English as a Second Language and Spanish teacher who also has a degree in Art. She uses her art training to illustrate magazines and books. With a vivid imagination, Janyce has been writing and drawing since she was a little girl working on handwritten stories and crayoned pictures for books with her twin sister. Her Boston Terrier is always curious about what she’s doing at her desk and sticks his short nose into everything, thinking he is helping create characters and scenes. Janyce’s stories and books focus on family values, being kind, and following the Golden Rule to help others through fantasy adventures. When Janyce isn’t writing or drawing, she likes to read, go boating on the nearby lake, or visit with family and friends.
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