Charlie Kane The Magic Writer

Kelly Scidmore-Sievers

Description

Charlie Kane's Saturday started out like any other Saturday; his favorite day of the week. That is until his mother asked him to gather clothes from the dryer. To his surprise, he found much more than laundry waiting for him. Charlie’s day of writing his magical story is interrupted by more than chores as he is stolen away into a world of fantasy, where he meets creatures and characters only found in the imagination. A world where he is a major player in the revival of magic and saving a land called Pulchritude Amity.

Sujets

• Adventure
• Fiction
• Action

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 25 novembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781478749691
• Langue: English

Extrait

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

Charlie Kane the Magic Writer
Book One of the Kane Saga
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2014 Kelly Scidmore-Sievers
v2.0

Cover Illustration by Emilia Kolarova

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.
http://www.outskirtspress.com

ISBN: 9781478749691

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014915435

Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
I dedicate this book to my children Charles, Cassandra and Jeff. It’s been a privilege to be a part of your world all these years. You are my true heroes. And to my husband Daniel who pushes me outside my comfort zone to do things I never thought possible. Thank you for having faith in me and believing in me especially during the times when I lost faith in myself. Without you four I would never have accomplished this dream.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
– Edmund Burke
Chapter One
The Uninvited Visitor
T he sun peeked through a broken slit in Charlie’s blinds and fell directly onto his sleeping face. The warmth of the light brought an unsuspecting smile to his peaceful features. Pulling the covers up to his chin he let out a small groan as the bed grew warmer and he became more awake to the coming of a new day. He turned towards the edge of the bed and let his leg hang out from the sheets to test the chilliness of his room. His long gangly leg dangled over, searching for the floor and found warmth he didn’t expect to find on a cold winter day. The unexpected warmth prompted a quick hop out of bed to start another day.
What to do, what to do, Charlie pondered. Saturdays were his favorite day of the week. Of course Saturdays were probably all teenagers favorite day of the week, but Charlie’s reasons for enjoying Saturday were different. Most teenagers were excited about being off school for the weekend and making plans for partying and social events. Charlie on the other hand enjoyed school. Well at least the learning part. He just didn’t really enjoy the social part of it. He couldn’t wait for Saturday because it was the one day he felt free to read and play chess and study up on topics he really enjoyed. He never went to parties and rarely socialized unless playing a game of chess with his one friend Amanda or telling his stories of a far-away land to his sister Kassie. Otherwise his time was spent quietly with family, books and computers.
Charlie was especially excited for this Saturday. He’d been playing with an idea all week for a story about a young boy’s adventure into a strange land where he meets strange creatures he’d only read about in his fantasy books. Kassie loved stories about far away mystical lands, so he was going to write this one for her, certain she’d love all the creatures he was planning to create. But first Charlie needed brain food. Lucky Charms. That was another thing Charlie loved about Saturday. His mom insisted on the family eating oatmeal or eggs or fruit or yogurt all week since she felt they were a more acceptable brain food source, but on Saturdays they were allowed to eat anything they wanted for breakfast. Charlie’s choice of Saturday breakfast food was Lucky Charms. And no matter what his mom proclaimed, Charlie insisted that Lucky Charms was better brain food then oatmeal or fruits. He always seemed to have the best ideas after a heaping bowl of Lucky Charms.
Charlie found his sister had already beaten him to the kitchen for breakfast and a small look of panic came and went from his face quickly as he saw Kassie was actually sitting with a bowl of fresh grapes and strawberries and a glass of milk in front of her. True, Kassie had better nutrition than her brother, but once in a great while she was known to indulge in a bowl of Lucky Charms. Since Charlie knew he’d only left enough Lucky Charms for one more bowl, he was relieved to see Kassie was staying true to her healthy eating on this Saturday. Charlie felt for certain he’d need a heaping bowl of cereal and not one morsel less this morning to get his creative brainwaves moving for his special laid book plans.
“Hey, Charlie,” Kassie sang out before popping a beautiful bright red strawberry into her mouth.
“Hey sis,” Charlie answered back while pouring his heaping bowl of Lucky Charms.
“You’re so predictable,” Kassie said. “Always head right for the Lucky Charms every Saturday, then up to your room and onto the computer you’ll go. Maybe you should try doing something different. Mix it up.”
“Why should I mix it up? If it’s not broken, why fix it? Besides, a bowl of Lucky Charms can only bring luck thus the name Lucky Charms .”
Kassie chuckled. “Sometimes you are so ridiculous yet so funny,” she said as she popped the last strawberry into her mouth and gathered up the bowl and cup, went to the sink and then paused, turning to Charlie. “Mom said we’re all going to Alzanos for dinner tonight and then to see The Hobbit.”
The Hobbit! Charlie couldn’t believe it. The day just kept getting better and better. “Awesome,” Charlie exclaimed. “I’ve been waiting for that movie for months! It’s finally here!”
“Yeah, I thought you’d be excited about that. Mom also said we can bring a friend if we want. I’m bringing Alison.”
Charlie’s smile faded a little with that news. He always looked forward to spending time with just family and was a little disappointed Alison would be joining them. Strange as it was, he so loved it when he and Kassie sat at the movies together, especially when it was a fantasy movie, which was their favorite to watch. Kassie picked up on the change of the mood quickly, even though Charlie covered it up by smiling broader again.
“Hey, you know, I’m planning a ‘Just Dance’ day tomorrow with Alison and some of the others, so I’m thinking maybe I’ll skip asking her to go tonight. You know how it is, if you spend too much time together then they aren’t special anymore. Unless you plan to bring Amanda or something tonight.”
Charlie turned and faced Kassie, who was standing by the sink wiping down her last plate before putting it in the dishwasher. He silently watched her as she wiped the dish and then shook it off. Certainly she didn’t think she was fooling him with this Just Dance thing. How could she believe that would fool him? Her heart was so huge and whether she knew it or not she wore it on her sleeve.
The silence brought her gaze towards Charlie and they stared at each other for a short while in silence both truly knowing what was behind the others stare. They knew each other so well. Charlie was the one to break the silence. “Amanda is out of town this weekend, so I won’t be asking her, but don’t feel you have to not ask Alison because of that.”
“No, I’d rather not, really. Alison doesn’t even really get stories like the Hobbit anyway. She’d only make me mad with her comments about it through the movie,” she said before giving him a quick smile and leaving the room.

Charlie sat down at the computer, pulled up Word and started to write. He hadn’t gotten more than a paragraph into the story when he heard his mother yell up the stairs. “Charlie, go downstairs and get the clothes out of the dryer for me please.”
Well, there was one downfall to weekends…chores. “Sure Mom,” he yelled back. Maybe he could get at least one more paragraph written before going downstairs.
Ten minutes later Charlie, once again absorbed in his story, heard his mother’s voice. “Charlie, now please.”
“I’m coming,” he yelled back. He hadn’t meant to get so caught up in the story to forget his mom’s request. Well, maybe if he could just run downstairs and whip through those clothes he could get back upstairs before losing his place in this story. His mom just didn’t get how easy it was to lose the rhythm of a story when you stop, and he knew if he told her she’d never understand.
Charlie took the stairs two at a time and made it down to the bottom of the steps only to hear his mom’s voice once again, “Charlie, don’t jump down the stairs. One of these times you’re going to fall and break your neck.” This statement from her was so predictable minus the neck part. That changed every time. Sometimes it was neck, sometimes leg, sometimes head, but all in all she said it often. Why couldn’t she understand how he just wanted to get to the bottom as fast as he could so as not to waste so much time? “Sorry mom, I won’t do it again,” was his regular response, knowing all too well he probably would.
The laundry room was in the basement along with shelves filled with sealed boxes and Christmas decorations. An old couch sat in the middle of the basement along with an old sewing machine and then the washer and dryer. All in all it wasn’t a place they ever really ventured much other than to use the laundry facilities. Charlie had always been curious what stayed hidden among all those sealed boxes. He’d asked his Dad once a long time ago only to get a two word response: “The past.”
Charlie grabbed the laundry basket off the top of the dryer, placed it under the dryer door and scooped the warm soft clothes into the basket. As Charlie was grabbing a handful of warm clothes, he felt something move. Startled he yanked his hand away from the clothes, making a yelping sound. Charli