Before the Full Moon Rises
Chronicles of the Secret Prince Book # 1
By- M.J. Bell
Deston Lespérance grew up believing faeries and monsters are just stories told to children at bedtime. However, when his mother mysteriously vanishes and he stumbles into the mystical realm of Tir na-nÓg, he discovers the shocking truth that these beings are not only real, they hold the key to his future. With a new friend, Margaux, and Excalibur’s twin brother sword, Caluvier, at his side, Deston races against time to find his mother and the Light Crystal before the full moon rises on the autumnal equinox. The odds are stacked against them and the obstacles they run into push the limit of what two teenagers can handle: an attack by gremlin-like creatures; captured by 6 foot tall vampire bats; hunted by a giant wolf, and almost lost forever in the mist of Avalon. Yet Deston doesn't give up, for he vowed to do whatever it takes to get his mother back—even if that means fighting the devil himself. The thing is … when he made that pledge he had no idea how close he would have to come to doing just that!
And here is an excerpt from Before the Full Moon Rises
Deston woke with a start at the sound of a slamming door. His heart was racing and he was drenched in a cold sweat, as he was every time he awoke from the dream. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up to see an old woman hobbling down the front steps of a small stone cottage. Neatly trimmed bushes and tiny, white and yellow flowers ran in a wide border along the foundation of the house, and a variety of multicolored flowers edged the walkway to the small gate and wire fence that separated the house from the road.
The old woman herself looked like a gypsy, complete with the stereotypical puff-sleeved, scooped-neck blouse tucked into a long, print skirt with an apron tied over it. Her round, wrinkled face was framed by a scarf, which covered her hair except for a long gray braid that dangled over her shoulder almost to her waist. She wore two large gold hoops in each ear, and the sun reflected off the cluster of medallions around her neck.
The woman stopped to talk with Peter for a moment, pointing to a window in the upper level of the house, before making her way around to Deston’s side of the car. As she approached, Deston unfolded his legs and stepped out, bracing himself with the door, as his legs were tingling and buzzing from the long ride in the cramped quarters.
Standing face to face with the woman, he noticed she was no more than a few inches taller than him, and wasn’t at all what he expected. She looked to be as old as Peter, and as he stared, he wondered how she could possibly be Joliet’s cousin.
As Deston scrutinized Nicolette, her eyes were locked on him as well. She reached out, gently placing a hand on his cheek, and smiled into his eyes. It wasn’t just a surface smile like Mrs. Motley’s, though. Her smile lit up her whole face, causing her wrinkles to fade and instantly making her look decades younger. Her violet eyes, just like his and Joliet’s, sparkled with a youthful intensity, and her cheeks plumped out like two rosy balls.
“Deston, I have waited a long time to meet you. I was so afraid I would pass over before I had the chance,” Nicolette’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and she spoke in a thick accent. “You have the Lespérance eyes. Did you know that?”
Deston had never met anyone quite like this woman before, and as Nicolette held his gaze, he felt hypnotized. He was unable to move, unable to think, and had the strangest sensation she was looking into his head reading all his thoughts and secrets. The spell kept him completely captured until she blinked and stepped back an arm’s length to look him over.
Disoriented and confused by what just happened, Deston took hold of the car door with both hands to keep from falling. The silence pounded loudly in his ears, and his palms grew sweaty. He knew it was rude not to respond, but with his mind so scrambled he found it impossible to think of anything to say. As the seconds ticked off and the pressure to speak rose, he finally blurted out the first thing that had popped into his head.
“You look like a gypsy.”
Seeing the amused look on Nicolette’s face, he flushed a deep red and dropped his eyes to the ground.
Nicolette laughed a loud, hearty laugh. “Pfew, non! So you think I look like a gypsy, eh? Did you know here in this country, calling someone a gypsy is considered an insult?” Waving the comment away with her hand, she continued, “But I know you did not mean it as such. Non, Deston, I am not a gypsy. I am Nicolette Jolicoeur, your maman’s cousin, but I want you to call me NiNi, like all my friends do. Oui?”
Deston’s cheeks were still hot as he looked up through his eyelashes. “Mom’s never mentioned you before. She told me all her family was gone. She said there was only the two of us.”
“Ooooo! You poor bébé!” NiNi said, a sad expression instantly replacing her smile. “Such a shame you grew up not knowing your family. But as you see,” she spread her arms wide, “I am here and very much alive. And there, you see?” She pointed over her shoulder at the cottage. “That house is where your maman grew up. We used to play together right out there in that meadow.”
Her brow creased. “I do not know why Jolie would tell you such things as that. But … well, it has been fifteen years so I guess she must have thought …” NiNi paused and shook the thought away. Looking back at Deston, her smile returned. “Did you know your maman wrote to me once, right before you were born? I still have the letter somewhere in the house. I will show it to you later. After that one time I never heard from her again.” NiNi cocked her head, a pensive look in her eye. “So much time has passed,” she sighed. “So much time wasted. I can see how she might think I was gone by now.”
Deston stood up straighter, a belligerent look suddenly hardening his face. “My mom is not dead!” he blurted out.
A soft light came to NiNi’s eyes. “Oui, I know.”
“Huh? … You do? How?” Before she had a chance to answer, he hurried on, “Well, if you really believe that, you also know I shouldn’t be here. When Mom comes back she won’t know where I am.”
“Non, you are wrong in that, Deston,” NiNi said, shaking her head. “Jolie will know exactly where you are. Trust me. There is no other place she would want you to be right now but here with me. I am all that is left of your maman’s family, and this is the safest place for you to be right now.”
Once Upon a Darker Time
Chronicles of the Secret Prince Book # 2
By- M.J. Bell
Defying the odds, Deston Lespérance defeated Grossard, the Solitary Faerie who kidnapped his mother and father, and delivered the Light Crystal back to Tir na-nÓg in time to secure the Fae’s reign of the high realm. Now at long last, his dream of having a whole family has come to pass. Unfortunately, “happily ever after” doesn’t last forever, for Grossard lives and is more resolved than ever to get his revenge on the Fae—this time teaming up with Mordred to unleash the darkness which has lain dormant since the earth’s creation.
Deston, though still struggling with his newly found powers, sets off with Margaux on another epic adventure to locate and destroy the Shard of Erebus before Grossard and Mordred can find it. He is fully aware the stakes are high, but he has no idea the scope of sacrifices he’ll be required to make. As his world crumbles around him and his friends fall, he holds onto the only glimmer of hope he has left … that the Fae power and strength truly does reside within him and that he still has a chance to become the hero they claim him to be.
And here is an excerpt from Once Upon a Darker Time
Deston’s pulse quickened and his senses went on high alert. Slowly, he straightened and looked around. As he concentrated on his surroundings, he picked up on the sound of heavy breathing and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Someone was close by, but he couldn’t tell if it was a friend or foe. He peered deeper into the shadows and then flinched as a low, raspy voice spoke from within the darkness.
“I must say, I’m a bit surprised the Fae would allow their new found prince to venture out into the forest alone,” the voice stated with a hint of contempt.
Deston jumped at the sound and flipped around to face the direction of the voice, his hands coming up in front of his face at the same time to be ready for an attack. His heart was pounding inside his chest and as Rellik stepped out of the shadows, his eyes widened in shock. The last time Deston had seen the colossal wolf was when Rellik leapt into the abbey. Deston assumed the wolf had been killed when the building collapsed on top of him and the shock of seeing Rellik standing less than ten feet away was only surpassed by Rellik’s appearance.
The white of Rellik’s left eye was blood red and the pupil was a cloudy white. A yellowy liquid oozed from the corner of the eye and crystals had crusted all the way around the lid. The fur on the left side of his face, as well as most of the fur along his left side, was gone, except for a few small patches here and there. The exposed skin was splotched pink and red, with ugly crinkled scabs and scars. He was thinner than when Deston last saw him, but the weight loss actually emphasized the powerful muscles of his chest and legs, making him look more threatening than ever.
As Deston gawked, the right corner of Rellik’s mouth lifted somewhat as the left side drooped to give him a twisted half smile. “So tell me then … why is it the Fae would allow their young prince to come to the forest all alone, knowing Grossard is still seeking his revenge?”
Deston visibly tensed and his eyes widened even further as horror replaced the look of surprise. Grossard is still alive? The words silently slammed into his brain.
Seeing Deston’s reaction, Rellik cocked his head. “Oh come now, don’t tell me you didn’t know?” Rellik hesitated and studied Deston another moment. “You didn’t, did you? They never told you Grossard survived!” He chuckled deep in his throat, which quickly turned into a fit of coughing. When he regained his composure, he didn’t bother to wipe the drool dripping from his mouth. “I swear I don’t know how They can be the chosen ones and guardians of this planet. They are so naïve about so many things.” He shook his head in amazement. “Though I’ve thought Them foolish many times in how They handled things, this—not telling you about Grossard and letting you come here without a guard—this is beyond foolishness!” Rellik took a step forward, the corner of his mouth lifting higher, stretching his lips back to expose more of his teeth. “So I can’t help but wonder if fate has brought you here for me to find, or—”
Before Rellik finished his sentence, there was a loud crack within the shadows of the trees. Both Deston and Rellik looked up just in time to see a tree trunk arching toward them. They both jumped backward as the tree fell into the center of the clearing, bouncing up once before settling between them. As the sound of the crash quieted, several indecipherable yells echoed through the trees along with the boom of feet pounding into the ground. Then five giant ogres appeared at the edge of the clearing. Upon seeing Rellik and Deston standing there, they slid to a stop, their ugly faces contorted even more than usual by their surprise.
Deston took a couple of steps back and reached behind him, trying to be inconspicuous as he broke off a branch of the tree to use as a makeshift weapon. Rellik’s eyes narrowed and he lifted his head to stand taller.
“What are you doing here, Iccasor? This is not your normal haunt,” Rellik growled.
Iccasor stared back in a daze, as surprised to see Rellik as Rellik was to see him. He hadn’t been told the wolf was back and his first thought was he was being upstaged once again. The last time Grossard sent him after Deston, Rellik had stolen his glory. To think it was going to happen again pushed Iccasor past the point of reason. In his tiny brain he reasoned Grossard didn’t trust him enough to capture the boy on his own and in an instant his surprise turned into indignation.
Narrowing his eyes, he purposely moved forward with the resolve to be the victor and claim the prize himself. “We have the situation under control here, Rellik, so I suggest you return to whatever freak show you belong to and leave the boy to us.” The four other ogres chuckled callously at Iccasor’s intended sting.
Rellik ignored the gibe about his appearance and shook his head. “Yes … well, I’m afraid you are mistaken as usual, Iccasor. You have nothing under control here.”
Iccasor tensed at Rellik’s words, but after a quick assessment of Rellik’s apparent weakened state, he took a step forward with confidence. Rellik wasn’t intimidated and he too stepped forward. At Rellik's bold response Iccasor’s eyes went hard and he brought his club up, slapping it loudly against the palm of his hand. At the same time the other ogres silently moved back, vanishing into the shadows to surround the perimeter of the clearing while Iccasor kept Rellik occupied.
“Grossard sent me to capture the boy, not you, Rellik, so there’s no reason for you to be here. I will be taking the boy back. You can either step aside or suffer the consequences.”
Rellik eyed Iccasor with malice. He despised ogres. They were stupid, ugly, and what’s more, they had an obnoxious smell. Before his injury he could have, and would have, taken care of the whole lot of them, but at the present he knew he was still too weak to take on this many. However, he didn’t want them to know that, and so with as much indifference as he could muster, he relaxed his stance.
“I don’t wish to take your glory, Iccasor. That,” he said in a softer tone, tilting his head toward Deston, “is all yours. I’m only here to make sure nothing happens to our … umm, your captive.”
Deston stood rigid, watching Rellik and Iccasor argue over who was going to deliver him to Grossard. He’d seen the four ogres move into the shadows and once they disappeared, he held his breath and inched slowly backward to take advantage of Rellik and Iccasor’s distraction. All he needed to do was make it to the trees and find a place to hide before they realized he was gone and he might have a chance.
He moved silently and as quickly as he could. The edge of the clearing was only a few feet away, but suddenly a nauseating smell assaulted him from behind and before he knew what was happening, two large stubby hands grabbed his arms and launched him into the air. He landed in a heap between Rellik and Iccasor, stunned and with the breath knocked out of him.
Iccasor didn’t flinch, or even look surprised. The second Deston hit the ground the ogre jumped forward and put an enormous, mud-caked foot on Deston’s back. “Going somewhere?” he sneered.
Deston let out an “oomph” as Iccasor’s foot crushed him into the ground, forcing the rest of the air from his lungs.
About the Author-
MJ Bell's love of reading and everything magical is what motived her to jump head first into a writing career. Her first novel was honored with a Gold medal in the Mom's Choice Awards' Fantasy category in 2009. From there she has gone on to write the first two books of a new fantasy trilogy, Chronicles of the Secret Prince, and is currently working on the final chapter of Deston's adventure.
MJ grew up in Iowa, but now considers Colorado her home and lives there with her husband, Tim and her dog, Tasha. Her growing family has always been her pride and joy and provides her with a great source of inspiration to write and bring a little more magic into the world. She loves to hear from readers through her FB page at MJ Bell Author. Or visit her website at mj-bell.com.
Interview
Welcome
to Kelly P’s Blog!
Please tell us in 20 words or less, why we should read your book.
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for having me on with you today!
My book - A teen’s fantastical journey involving family secrets, mythical
creatures, sword battles, blossoming friendships, and a little Arthurian legend
mixed in—what’s not to love about that!
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The adventure. I’m fortunate in that I’ve been adopted by a Muse. His
name is Daniel, and the way Daniel works is to keep me in the dark about the
story until I sit down at my laptop and start typing away! Then as I go along,
everything falls into place. I’ll admit I get a little freaked out at times
when I don’t know where he’s going, or how he’s going to get the characters out
of some of the situations he’s put them in! But I’ve learned to trust him -he’s
proven that he knows what he’s doing and he’s never let me down. So you see, it
truly is as much of an adventure for me to write the stories as it is for my
readers to read them, which is way
cool!
What kind of research (if any) did you have to do for this book?
Well, seeing as how this is a fantasy, much of it is mine and Daniel’s
imagination. But the Forest of Brocéliande is real, so I spent quite a few
hours searching the internet about it, its layout, its features, its legend,
etc. I also read up on medieval monasteries and their structures, several books
on faeries and druids, and just about every book ever written on King Arthur
and Merlyn—I’m a HUGE fan of King Arthur, which you’ll be able to tell after
reading the trilogy. The second book, Once Upon a Darker Time, took quite a bit
more research, trolling the internet, hitting the libraries and picking up
books and documents on Michelangelo, his paintings, the Sistine Chapel,
climbing Mt. Everest, Miyo Lang Sangma, Antarctica,
and the underground stations in London. But it’s all fun and I really did learn
some very interesting facts
What’s your favorite quote about writing or reading?
“You fail only if you stop writing.” Ray
Bradbury
What inspired you to write this book?
JK Rowling got so many kids and teens
into reading again and those book have made such an impact on young people’s
lives. I wanted to do that too. I wanted to give our young something more,
beyond Harry Potter, to keep them reading, because I believe the love of
reading is one step of success.
If you could visit anywhere in the world for 1 week, where would you go?
Wow, that’s tough ‘cause there’re so many
places that I want to go! The top of my
list right now, though, would probably be New Zealand. It looks so beautiful
and has a little magical feel to it,
too.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
The hardest part is coming up with name
for characters and the title! I never
have the title for a book until long after it’s written, and knowing how
important it is makes it all the harder for me to come up with it. And Daniel
doesn’t seem to want to help me out on
the titles!
How many books have you written?
I’ve finished two books and one short
story. I’m currently working on Book III of the trilogy and I’m already amazed
at where Daniel is taking it!
Who designed the cover of your book?
I was incredibly fortunate to come across
this new young artist, Aria Keehn. I
gave her no direction, but from her first rough sketch, she captured the
essence of the book and I'm thrilled with both covers she’s done for me so far.
What can your readers expect from you next?
Well, I’m wrapping up the Chronicles of the Secret Prince trilogy, and
I’ve got several other stories piling up in the back of my mind that are dying
to come out. And one of these days, I’d like to do a time travel—another
one of my weaknesses.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I am not a huge chocolate fan. I know that may sound sacrilegious to
some, but it’s true. I’ll take a piece of blueberry or peach pie and that’s
heaven to me! I also love biking, skiing, hiking, traveling and cooking,
especially for the big old family holiday dinners. And I really appreciate
being here with you today. Thanks again for having me!
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