About the Book
Follow Mandy Mandez and her extended family as they embrace their new-found magical powers! While their wizard mentor, J.T., helps the young witches discover and hone their unique skills, the family dives into a crisis and saves a group of firemen trapped in an inferno. The family finds an ally inside the F.B.I. and begin to leverage their magic to fight crime until they encounter a wizard whose own magical force is committed to pure evil. When Mandy is taken prisoner by this evil wizard, she has to try and withstand his power or succumb to the temptation of becoming even more powerful as a dark wizard herself. Witches. Wizards. A dragon! And a whole world in danger! “The Power of the Emerald Ring” is the second book in the Dragonstone Story series by multi-award-winning author, Mark Even. The first book, “The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol” was released in 2019 and has earned multiple awards and great reviews.
About the Author
After nearly 40 years at IBM, and based on his love of comic books, superheroes, science fiction and Harry Potter, Mark M Even created “The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol” for his
grandchildren’s enjoyment His niece inspired him with her children’s game of make-believe travel and vivid details of those adventures Mark M Even resides in Minnesota with his wife.
Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?
In the spring of 2018, Mark and his wife met up with his niece, Gina, and her family for a few days in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Mark shared a children’s book idea. Gina then recounted that at a friend’s wedding in Lucca, Italy, in 2015, “the three nieces of my friend carried parasols into the ceremony rather than flowers. After the wedding, the three young girls and their brother and I invented a game that if one of the children twirled the parasol, it would transport them to a different location, and no one at the wedding would know where they had gone. One girl said that when she twirled the parasol, she went to England to have tea with the queen. Another went to Egypt and rode camels in the desert. The young boy went swimming under the sea with a purple octopus.”
After hearing this idea of a magical parasol over the course of their dinner, Mark and Gina fabricated the story of three young cousins who discover an enchanted parasol and learn they have magical powers. “The Wonders of the Peculiar Parasol” is the first in the Dragonstone Story series, of which “The Power of the Emerald Ring” is Book II when Mandy and her family continue learning about their magical abilities and putting them to good use.
Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?
YA/MG for 8 – 14-year-olds.
Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?
Mr Even says, “I grew up loving comic books and science fiction movies. As a child of the 60s, TV was a dominant part of my life, and the only reading I ever did was comics. The heroes were all teenage kids who came from many different worlds, each with a unique power. Lightning Lad could shoot bolts from his hands, Ferro Kid could turn into solid iron and steel, Saturn Girl could change the gravity around items or people, making it impossible to move.”
Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?
Write your story, and make sure you have an excellent editor!
Qn 5: Where can our readers find out more about you, do you have a website, or a way to be contacted?
Go to www.dragonstonestories.com for more information.
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