Reviews for Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook are starting to come in!  I couldn't be more pleased with readers' reactions!  Learn more about the book and read the reviews, plus a preview of the book, on the website!  Once there, you can find a link to download an e-book for your Kindle and find the book in other formats as well!

The book is starting to appear in local bookstores and is also getting used in 5 classrooms to encourage children to read, including a few TAG programs.

http://somewhatsillystory.com

thanks!

Thanks for the Gerald Morris recommendations.  I have to say, looking through a sample of your "Black Magic Academy", that looks interesting too.  The style with which you write is the sort of thing I strive to and we seem to have the same sort of flow and pacing ... brief pauses during dialogue to add in character reactions and thoughts and short, bright, colorful descriptions of actions.  I'll add it to my "to read" list.

Thanks!

An excerpt from Part V of Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook.

- - - - - - - -

The sun shone out of a dazzling, blue sky and warmed the forest floor. The weather was changing, getting cooler in preparation for winter. The leaves of the Hootentoot Trees were shifting colors with the change in seasons, going from green to white with pink polka- dots. Nothing looked more stunning than an entire forest of Hootentoot Trees in the fall.
Every puff of wind caused more and more of the changed leaves to drop gently from the trees, where they would swirl and waft and scream all the way to the ground, for nothing has a greater fear of falling than the leaves of a Hootentoot Tree. If you were going to go for a walk through a Hootentoot Forest during the fall on a particularly windy day, you'd be smart to bring some ear plugs.

The forest floor was covered in a colorful carpet of leaves. Chattering Hobnobber Squirrels hopped and scurried about. The dry, autumn leaves crackled and crunched underfoot and the noise caused by the busy squirrels was almost as loud as all the screams of the terrified, falling foliage.

The Hobnobber Squirrels were busy looking for Huckle Nuts from the few Huckle Nut Trees scattered amongst the Hootentoots to store for the long winter months ahead. Fortunately for them, they weren't finding very many, for nothing is more poisonous to a Hobnobber Squirrel than a few tastes of Huckle Nut. In the dazzling sunshine, the fuzzy, blue squirrels stood out brightly against the background of the forest floor covered in pink polka-dot leaves. There were even a few late-season Grumble Bees buzzing here and there, muttering about how cold it was already getting at night even though summer had just ended.

It was a wonderful, crisp autumn day to be out in the woods. It was a day where the chill in the air was countered by the toasty warmth of the sunshine. And the Hobnobber Squirrels chattered happily as they searched for nuts, all of them just as delighted with the day as they could be.

Except for one.

This one particular squirrel just sat on a stump. If you listened closely, and you could find a quiet moment amongst all of the wailing leaves, you just might have been able to hear an occasional naughty word or two come from the squirrel's tiny mouth.

My thanks as well to all the good replies on this thread.  I've been dealing with the same dilemma.  Aside from wading through poorly written books, there's also the challenge of finding a unique story idea.  My 9 year old son will tell me all about a book that he claims to be the best thing since sliced bread where, in my mind, I'm thinking of all the books that had done the exact same thing, years and years before.  But, to him, it's an amazing work because he hasn't gone through that particular story thread before. 

I will be visiting the suggested links others have posted.

Thanks and enjoy!  I'd love to hear what they think!

Thanks for the opportunity!



Book Description Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook is a silly fairy tale, written for ages 7 through 12, and for those young at heart.

Queen Gobbledeegook has gone missing and it is up to Sir Nathan, the Hero of Mariskatania, to find her. Along the way he meets all sorts of odd folks, including pixies and wizards and a hulking creature named Mitzy that likes to knit. The land of Mariskatania is a colorful one, filled with bright Jubb Jubb Trees and fuzzy, blue Hobnobber Squirrels who spend all their time looking for Huckle Nuts.

Bio Mark Smith lives in a small town in the Midwest and has enjoyed the creative outlet of writing since a young age. Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook was originally written as a silly romp through a land of adventure for the author's young nieces and nephews. Now it has been rewritten and edited for a general release, aimed at other children like the author's 9 year old son and for those young at heart.

Put me down for another vote for the Piers Anthony Apprentice Adept series.  Luckily for me, a quick google of the series shows there's a total of 7 books.  I only read the first 3 and didn't notice the other 4 came out.  Put it on my "to read" list.

It's often difficult to read the dedications because it might be talking about stuff you're not familiar with in regards to people you've never heard of.  What's touching for an author and the people he/she is thanking, is (to me) kind of like hearing about a fatal car accident on the news involving ... you're just not as affected because it's events beyond your personal horizons. 

BUT ... I think they're important.

Kind of surprised to not see John Varley mentioned here (that I noticed).  From his writing, it's clear that he's a Heinlein fan, so anyone liking R.A.H. ought to give Varley a try.  Books of his that I decree a MUST are his 3 book Titan series and then a stand-alone, Steel Beach.  I've given those books to so many people ...

He's got some odd stuff too that seriously made me wonder whether or not it's the same author.  But try these I mentioned.  I've read and reread them lots and lots.

Brand new to Kindle Boards, the site was recommended to me by the Smashwords marketing guide.  I've already been digging through postings looking for new stuff to read (there's never enough!) and making my to-read lists.

I'm an author of silly adventure fairy tales for that 'tween age of around 8-12 years and hoping to make something sustainable from that while gobbling up the work of others!

Nice to be here!
Mark

Sir Nathan and the Quest for Queen Gobbledeegook is a silly fairy tale, written for ages 7 through 12, and for those young at heart.

Queen Gobbledeegook has gone missing and it is up to Sir Nathan, the Hero of Mariskatania, to find her. Along the way he meets all sorts of odd folks, including pixies and wizards and a hulking creature named Mitzy that likes to knit. The land of Mariskatania is a colorful one, filled with bright Jubb Jubb Trees and fuzzy, blue Hobnobber Squirrels who spend all their time looking for a snack guaranteed to poison them.

I originally wrote this fairy-tale merely to give to my young nieces and nephews many years ago.  Now that I have a 9 year old son of my own, I rewrote and re-edited the story and have (not so) bravely ventured into the world of self-publication.  My intention was to write a book than not only appealed to that 8-12 year old "tween" group of readers, but also to the parents and older kids that read alongside them.  

http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Quest-Queen-Gobbledeegook-ebook/dp/B0074NQ6ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329336941&sr=8-1