Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The problems Chase and his friends face in The Ugly Mood Storm, mimic difficulties the pandemic has highlighted. Distrust. Closed minds. Misinformation. The fantasy was ready for publication just before the disease exploded across the planet. Unfortunately, a distanced world where author and reader could not meet, was not the time to introduce a new book. The paperback and eBook are now available. The lexicon is manageable for fourth to sixth grade students.
In the Ugly Mood Storm, no ordinary storm has hit Bench Springs. It’s evil. Its job is to make town citizens destroy one another. The Malefics have created a constant, magical, thunderstorm. It forces residents to stay inside the town’s limits where they fight among themselves. Logic is lost someplace inside an unopened dictionary.
Fights arise about nothing, flip-top phones, or the only downtown traffic light. A busy League spirit hides bullets from all the guns in town. The sun never rises. Chase and his Star League friends need to tackle the untouchable, the impossible, and the foul. Ugly moods affect every man, woman, and child who needs air to breathe. It is poisoned by the unnatural rain.
The Malefics sit back, relax, and watch. Let the people destroy themselves. Yet, the Star League kids know there must be a flaw in the plan. Somewhere. They must find a win for the Star League because the series ends on the last page. With truth. In a solid-story form.
The complete tale begins with book one, The Curse Under the Freckles, where Chase learns that only he can remove the curse that holds his magical powers hostage. But the fight does not involve weapons. It asks for much more.
The adventure continues with Stinky Rotten Threats as Pitch Hardside, kid Malefics member, makes his move to become a stronger and more grownup vicious leader. Pitch isn’t at big-time-curse level yet, but he creates a well-placed stink that could keep Chase and friends from entering their own safe quarters. Not bad for a preteen. Also, not the end of his story.
Now, during the last pages of the journey, a strong dose of truth appears. A tangible kind of honesty. May it leak into the real world.
(Cover art by Philip Rogers)
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