Title: Keeper of the Black Stones
Author: P.T. McHugh
Age Range: 10 and up
Paperback: 369 pages
Publisher: Glass House Press
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0981676804
ISBN-13: 978-0981676807
Jason Evans, a shy, introverted high school freshman, thought that his mundane life was all there was – girls, golf, physics, and the occasional bully. Until he found out about the secrets his grandfather had been keeping from him … a set of stones that allowed them to jump through time … a maniacal madman who used the stones to shape history to his liking … and Jason’s role as one of the few people in the world who could stop that man.
Against impossible odds, a fourteen-year-old boy must take up his legacy, learn everything he needs to know within one short day, and travel helter skelter into the Middle Ages, to join Henry VII’s fight against Richard III, end the Dark Ages, and stop the man who now holds his grandfather captive. In this romp through history, Jason and his friends must race against time to accomplish not one, but two missions.
Save his grandfather.
And save the world.
Excerpt:
I never thought anything exciting would happen to me. The sky was blue, the football jocks were arrogant, and my best friend was absolutely crazy. To be honest, my life was a little boring. Until things, well, changed.
And then suddenly, I was meeting Anne Frank before she wrote her diary. Consulting with Churchill on political doctrine. Crossing thePotomac with Washington. I even shined Napoleon’s shoes in the streets of Charleroi, once, though it’s not a story I like to tell. I’ve been in too many places to name, and done things I never thought I would do. All in the name of saving history, and saving the world we call home.
I realize that these boasts won’t be taken seriously, but I must remind you that at one time the earth was flat, the atom unbreakable. And the thought of reaching the moon was just as ridiculous as the idea of jumping through time.
I know, because I was there.
My name is Jason Evans. I’m ten days shy of my fifteenth birthday, and this is my story…
About the Author:
PT McHugh didn’t start out as a storyteller. He was, however, born into a family of that encouraged imagination. He became a fan of history in school and then went to college to become a construction engineer, to build a world of straight lines, angles, and equations.
He was just as surprised as everyone else when he realized that he believed in magic, and might just know the secret of how to jump through time. Since then, he’s been researching the possibility and learning everything he can about history. Just in case the opportunity arises.
PT was born and raised in New Hampshire and currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, two daughters, and a dog named Bob, daring to dream of alternate worlds and cheering for his beloved New England Patriots.
His latest book is the YA fantasy/time travel, Keeper of the Stones.
Visit his website at http://www.ptmchugh.com/.
Connect & Socialize with PT:
TWITTER | FACEBOOK
Character Guest Post
Ten things we didn’t know about Tatiana
1. Tatiana speaks five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian). She’s fluent in every language, and used to taunt her father in Romanian whenever she got mad at him.
2. She’s practiced martial arts since she was five years old (tai-kwon-doe). She achieved black belt earlier than anyone else in her class, but did it quietly, because she doesn’t really believe in bragging. She does, however, love knowing that she could beat anyone else in the class.
3. Since her mother’s death four years ago she’s been going to prep schools and living in dorms rather than living with her father or grandfather, who she doesn’t really like. She’s currently staying at KUA (Kimball Union Academy) in Plainfield, NH, where she’s studying languages, literature, history, and marshal arts. During vacation she has to travel home to Vermont to stay with her grandfather, but she spends most of her time away from him.
4. Her favorite place in her grandfather’s home is the tiny room in the eaves of the barn. She found it when she was ten, and realized that no one used it for anything – it was full of old tack, grubby clothing, a wealth of cobwebs, and several very large spiders. She promptly cleaned it out and claimed it for her own. Since then she’s installed a small television, the most comfortable chair in her grandfather’s house, and a mini fridge. She’s also been steadily stealing books from her grandfather’s three libraries, and building her own. He’s never said anything, and she doubt that he cares. This is where she disappears for days on end. She calls it her Neverland.
5. Favorite Movie: The Princess Bride. She won’t admit it, but she’s a romantic at heart, and cries whenever Wesley tells Buttercup, “As you wish.” She’s also kind of jealous that Wesley becomes a pirate. It’s on her list of things to do one day.
6. Favorite dessert: cheese cake, with raspberries and chocolate syrup on top. She likes New York style, not that fluffy whipped kind. She likes to say that whipped cheese cake is for sissies. Her favorite restaurant, thanks to the cheese cake obsession, is Junior’s in New York City.
7. She plays the clarinet, and she’s incredibly talented. She thinks it’s a girly thing to do, though, and doesn’t tell many people. But she’s already been invited to join the New York City orchestra when she gets older.
8. Favorite sport: riding horses. It’s one of the only things that makes her grandfather worth the trouble, in her opinion, because he buys her horses that no one else ever could. She’s been in state and national competitions, and done extremely well. One day she’d like to be in the Olympics. If she has the time. Her riding abilities have come in handy so far, considering she practically had to teach Jason how to sit on a horse.
9. Tatiana keeps a journal, but she’ll never let anyone read it. It’s the only place where she’s truly honest, and it would make her extremely vulnerable for anyone to hear what she actually thinks.
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