Then I hear it: the drone of an engine, swelling above the gulls' protests. It comes from somewhere above the canopy, its source hidden by the cloud cover above. Just as the sound reaches its climax and begins to wane, a cough interrupts the otherwise solid purr of the aircraft's motor. It carries on for another second or two before it sputters and stops. I listen for several more minutes, ears straining to learn the ultimate fate of the stricken craft, but neither crash nor splash gives me the answer.
Just as I give up to return to my cabin, another sound splits the sky: a human cry. What's that? A rebel yell cuts through the silence like a warning. I look up again, just in time to avoid the parachutist dangling beneath the shrouds of a colorful canopy. She lands with a smooth glide and a shout of exhilaration.
Let's welcome to Distant Shores, teen-lit author Penny Estelle, here to show us a bit about her new release, Billy Cooper's Awesome Nightmare.
Penny: Good morning Cyrus! I
want to thank you for letting me stop by today.
Cyrus: Not like you had a whole lot of choice, young lady. Thanks for dropping in. Tell us all a bit about yourself.
Penny: I have written a couple posts on my life in rural Arizona
and living with no electricity. We have
solar and wind generators. It’s been
quite an adjustment for this city girl.
I retired three years ago after living in the big city all my life. I told my hubby he had two years to make me
love it or he needed to promise to move me back to the good life.
Cyrus: Yeah, we're all a little hooked on our conveniences. I'd be willing to bet, then he fulfilled his end of the bargain?
Penny: Well little did I know, this yahoo kind of life was the good
life. There is one thing I can’t seem to
get a handle on. The annihilation of
snakes and mice (or rats) in the area.
When we first bought this property we were moving some wood
and I said, “Oh my look, a baby bunny..uhm..with a really long skinny
tail!” No, it was a pack rat – a HUGE
pack rat. I have come to hate these
things and in the three years we have been up here, they seem to have moved on
to find other living arrangements.
Cyrus: Did I mention I had a gerbil named Penny once? She was my fuzzy little buddy. Any other little buddies you encounter out there?
Penny: The other visitors that drop in uninvited are the
rattlesnakes – Diamondbacks and Mohave
greens. We are indeed lucky enough to
have seen them all.
Cyrus: Well, I guess lucky is a relative term, there. All the same, I would think you'd be happier seeing them than not seeing them, if you know what I mean.
Penny: One day, my husband called me out and said, “I am moving the
truck and there is a rattler underneath.”
He handed me the gun that always has the first three shots loaded with
snake shot. For those that don’t know,
snake shot shoot a 3 – 5 inch circumference.
He moved the truck and I started blasting, emptying the
gun. He ended up crawling away but I
know he was wounded! Apparently I need
work on target shooting!
Cyrus: You never know. The critter could have been wearing armor. Sounds like one tough snake. You sure you don't need to follow up with a grenade next time? Though a couple extra hours on the range wouldn't hurt, either.
Penny: I have also learned NOT to shoot the bull or king
snakes. They eat the mice, rats,
etc. The only problem there is they look
an awful lot like rattlers, so when they appear out of nowhere, another 5 years
is taken off my life. My life continues
to get shorter and shorter.
Cyrus: Well, Penny, if it was upo to us, you'd have a long, long life cranking out these cool teen stories.
Tell us about your new release.
*
* * *
Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare – The Wickware Sagas
Now let me set the stage before I tell my little story. 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.
Okay, okay…I’m getting to the point. 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.
Billy Cooper’s Awesome Nightmare!
You can find me and the rest of my stories @ www.pennystales.com or www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com
Stop by for a visit and let me know what you think!
Cyrus: Looks like an intriguing concept, Penny. I can see this taking off for sure. Speaking of taking off, you don't mind sticking around for a while, do you? The next plane arrives some time after it runs out of gas.
Congratulations on your release, sis, and welcome to MuseItUp Publishing.
I love it when history and modern day meet, and a mysterious teacher and classroom, from a young boy's eyes sounds like tons of fun! Nice interview Penny and Cyrus! I once ran into a huge pack rat as well, I turned and ran the other way:)
ReplyDeleteSara
Yea, Sara...those rats are not pretty. These stories have been fun to write. I'm working on 4 more and they will be made into a book. I am pretty darned excited! Thanks so much for stopping by. I truly appreciate it!
DeleteHahaha, My big adventure was with a muskrat! Alas, the poor thing didn't survive, and my three-year-old son was never the same afterward.
ReplyDeleteHEHEHE...Cyrus, thanks so much for having me on. You have a great site. You are "le bomb"!
DeleteWell, thank you for droppintg in, as it were. Still working on the bells and whistles here, but we're getting there, slow and sure if nothing else.
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