'The Wickware Sagas' Guest Post by Penny Estelle

Today's guest post comesfrom Penny Estelle. I first encountered her when I read and reviewed her bok Hike Up Devil's Mountain. She is currently at work on a new series...

The Wickware Sagas

I was visiting my daughter in Utah, last summer and my ten-year old grandson was playing with some of his friends. Somehow, the subject of William Tell came up and not one of these boys had any idea who William Tell was.

This is how my series, The Wickware Sagas, started. It seems so much of our history is getting lost, especially when it comes to historical legends.

Miss Wickware is a history teacher for 7th and 8th grades students at Langdon Middle School in Phoenix, AZ. Rumor has it that strange things happened in her class. Is she a witch? Is she from another planet? Nobody can, or will, talk too much about what has happened. Yea…probably just rumors…or are they?

Every year, she gives an assignment for an oral book report. Each student will draw a name from a box and then give an oral report on whom they have chosen and somehow, one of these students ends up face to face with their drawn subject. How does this happen?

Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare is the first of the Wickware Sagas Series.

Billy Cooper is so annoyed about this oral report. Old Lady Wickware drops this bomb on a Friday afternoon and it’s due on Monday. Well he has plans for the whole weekend and simply doesn’t have time to do a report. He figures he will do a quick computer search on Sunday night on this William Tell guy, whoever that is, and then he will just skate by on this assignment. All that changes when he finds himself in the 14th century and standing in front of William Tell’s house.

Excerpt

Except for William Tell being one of the biggest men he had ever seen, he had to wonder what this guy did to get put on a book report list! “So, Du….I mean, Uncle William, what do you do around here, you know to bring home the bacon?”

“Here in Uri, we would kill a bore to get bacon,” William replied.

“Ooookay,” Billy said, but you are a legend. Why?” Billy figured he might as well take the bull by the horns!

“William, I am no legend. I am but a simple hunter.”

Billy had to wonder why old lady Wickware would put some hunter that didn’t do squat, in the drawing. There had to be more! “So, who’s this Gessler guy? Why is Auntie freaking out about him?”

His uncle did a quick double take and asked, “William, your speech seems so different. Do they all talk like this in Unterwalden?"

“Unter-who?” Billy asked.

“Unterwalden. Where you live.” His uncle started to wonder if his nephew was more than just unbalanced.

“Oh yea, Unter….whatever. My home place,” Billy stammered. “Yea, we all talk like this. We are a laid back kind of group.”

William Tell just shook his head. “Gessler is the Governor of Altdorf. As you must know, Austria is trying to take our lands from us. Some are already paying heavy and unjust taxes. These Austrians are a cruel people, William, and they want everyone to live in fear. Until the Rutli Oath came to be we did not know what to do.”

“What’s the Rutli Oath? Billy asked.

They were almost to Altdorf. William stopped and looked deep into Billy’s eyes.

“Countrymen from Uri, Unterwalden, and Schwytz are ready to take back what is ours and the Rutli Oath is our pledge to do so."

Billy nodded and turned to continue to the town when his uncle stopped him. His tone was deadly. “Speak of this to no one, William. It would not bode well for you.”

Even in a dream, Billy wouldn’t cross a man like William Tell. “No problem, Dude. Your secret is safe with me.”

Buy links:
Muse It Up Publishing | Amazon

I have two more MG/tween stories out at this time.

Hike Up Devil’s Mountain

Ten-year old Andy Thompson disobeys his mother and sneaks into the basement of an old abandoned house that’s due for demolition. He stumbles upon a mysterious box under an old cabinet. And his troubles begin when he looks inside.

The Crew brothers, twelve-year old Jason, and ten-year old Danny, also find their way to the basement. New to town, Jason has established himself as the school bully. A struggle ensues between Andy and Jason, and the bully ends up as a toad.

Somehow, the boys must reverse the magical spell. And that means hiking up the dread mountain: fast pace, fast action and some scary turns and surprises on the way! The lives of all three boys seem destined to change forever, if they survive…

Buy Links:
Amazon Paperback | Kindle | Smashwords | CreateSpace

A Float Down the Canal

Twelve-year old Pam Simpson gets dumped on when her mother is called into work. She must cancel her plans for the mall to babysit her younger brother and his friend and take them to the public pool. To make matters worse her cousin, Candy, is also coming over for the day. She doesn’t even like Candy!

Much to Candy’s dismay, transportation to the pool is on inner tubes, floating down the canal. One thing leads to another and it is Pam who, once again, must save the day.

When things couldn’t seem worse, the day takes a drastic turn for the better and it is Candy, and the float down the canal, that makes this the best day of Pam’s life!

Buy links:
Smashwords | B&N