Book Review The Seer's Stone

Review of The Seer’s Stone

Twelve adventures for children under La Palma's starry sky

by Sheila Crosby

A very enjoyable book

Nicely illustrated by Jorge Beda and Mercedes Martin; many of the delightful interior illustrations make me think of old wood-cuts.

This is meant to be a collection of stories for children, and I’m sure the grandchildren will enjoy it, but I liked it, too. Crosby presents a dozen stories, closely tied to the history and legends of La Palma in the Canary Islands. The mysterious seer’s stone is a unifying thread for the stories, which cover events from 1493 to a little past the present day. Of course, as a fantasy and science fiction writer, Crosby throws in such elements as dragons, time travel, space ships,  and visiting aliens.

The Seer’s Stone, as well as Crosby’s other books, A Breathtaking Window on the Universe; and The Dodo Dragon and other Stories can be purchased at http://dragontree.sheilacrosby.com/blog/products-page/.  A Breathtaking Window is a fascinating view of the many observatories on La Palma, with all sorts of scientific details explained in clear, understandable English. Crosby is a scientist (and an observatory tour guide) as well as a writer, which is a fortuitous combination for her readers. The Dodo Dragon is also available on Kindle from Amazon.com (see my review).

See also:
http://lapalma-island.com - The island of La Palma, and http://starisland.co.uk its amazing night sky. 

       

 

Princess Buttermilk Biscuit has a new portrait

Actually, it's the old portrait, but at a higher resolution. Artist J.W. Kalin just brought me a new closeup of the famous cat, taken directly from the cover painting for The Mountains of the Moon. It's going to my publisher, Solstice, for the cover of the new five-in-one edition of The Hall of Doors, which I'm expecting to see released this summer.

Books four and five of the series, The Secret Door and The Water Door, will also be released as individual books for Kindle.

BB is very happy with her new "cover girl" look, and hopes you'll join her on her many adventures with her girl, Sammy.

I need to print more bookmarks, having given away all I had of the popular "kitty" pictures in the last few days, so I'll be updating them for BB's "new look."

Do you want bookmarks to share with friends or maybe a group? Let me know. Besides her lovely Cattiness, I have artwork from all the Hall of Doors books, and from my newest book, Fairy Gold. I'm always happy to share, or to talk to groups (especially kids, but I like adults, too) about my books or writing in general. You can reach me through Facebook or at gramajan500[at]msn[dot]com.