Today I would like to welcome author Ardyth DeBruyn. She is one of the many authors involved in the Summer Teen Reading Party event and has graciously agreed to be a guest on Sired Scribblings and has included an excerpt from her latest book!
Also, after reading the interesting post by Ardyth, please enter to win my own ELEMENTS giveaway at the bottom of the post for your chance to win the first ebook in the ELEMENTS series, The Beginning. Good Luck!
Thank you for hosting me, Kate! The Summer Teen Reading Party has been a
blast this month. It’s going to be a
great summer. I always used to check out
a huge stack of books from the library when I was a teenager. Now it’s even easier to pile up the books on
my reading pile with the e-reader.
I was always the sort of kid who liked to make fun
of everything, even things I really enjoyed, because I never could resist a
good laugh. Who says you can’t be both
serious and funny at the same time? So,
it’s no surprise that when it comes to writing, humor and satire is what I
really enjoy. I love reading serious
stories as well, but when I sit down to write, I find I take my favorite ones,
and twist them around for a good laugh.
My first novel “Chosen Sister” uses a lot of
standard high fantasy conventions and some of my favorite parts of “Lord of the
Rings” to tell a story that’s both satirical, but also has a serious plot and
character journey underneath. I like
chosen one stories, even if they’re overdone, and the fact that they are, makes
for a lot of good laughs.
I’ve always also been a fan of “Harry Potter” and
all the accusations in the news about the books being “evil” made me roll my
eyes, but also got my brain going. What
would an evil magic school actually be like?
And how funny could I make it?
Thus was born my second novel “A School for Villains.” I actually wrote both books at the same time,
but found pure satire harder to write than my semi-serious first novel, and
thus took longer to revise it. I plan to
try a sequel this year.
Chosen Sister
Reina’s brother Austyn has been declared the Child
Warrior, but he’s only six. What’s a big sister to do?
Allowed to accompany her brother, Reina discovers
they’re in deeper trouble than she thought-the Gold Wizard isn’t shaping up to
be the guide he’s supposed to be and the Red Wizard’s harpies and snakewolves
are on their trail. If anyone’s going to find a way to track down the elusive
Sword of Chivalry for Austyn and get him into the Red Wizard’s castle to
fulfill whatever it is the obscure prophecy insists must be done, it’s got to
be Reina.
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A School for
Villains
Thirteen-year-old Danny is astounded when his father
decides to send him to Dark Lord Academy to learn to be a villain. Pa claims it
will make him stand out and fulfill his own lost childhood dreams. Being evil
doesn’t appeal to Danny, but he’s always been a good and obedient son, so he
goes.
Dark Lord Academy’s not just unappealing, it’s
downright terrible. His advisor dyes Danny’s blond hair black and changes his
name to the unpronounceable Zxygrth. He can’t get the hang of maniacal
laughter, his second-in-command servant is a puke-colored monkey, and the
cafeteria lady enjoys serving stewed cockroaches or fried bat wings. A run in
with a hero results in hate mail and he gets caught up in a rivalry with the
school bully. The only way for Danny to
stay alive is to find his inner villain.
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Excerpt:
When Danny tries to escape
from Dark Lord Academy, he finds walking across the drawbridge out of the
school it seems to go on forever, the only way to possibly get anywhere is to
walk backwards:
Wham! He slammed into something hard, tangled with
it, and fell. Danny tensed, gripping at the wood, suddenly afraid he’d get
knocked off the drawbridge.
“Oww, watch where you’re going!” He’d run into
another person.
Danny pulled himself free and turned to meet the
gaze of two bright blue eyes. It was a boy, perhaps a year or two older. The
boy rubbed his head, mussing up his red-blond hair. He wore a bright red tunic
and purple pants and was that a hint of glitter
on his cheeks? Danny stared.
The boy pushed himself up and put a hand on the hilt
of the sword he wore. “You could have knocked me off this thing. Be more
careful.” He held out a hand. “I’m Alec.”
Danny took it cautiously and the boy hauled him to his
feet. “Um…Danny. I mean, Zixy.”
Alec quirked an eyebrow and considered him. Danny
self-consciously flattened his hair and shook out his black robe. Alec’s
friendly expression hardened. “Wait! You’re a villain!”
“Aren’t you?” Danny realized the second he said it
that Alec was too brightly colored and honest-looking to possibly be a fellow
student.
“I am a
hero!” Alec drew his sword.
Danny took a step backward. “W-what?”
“A hero,
oh, Agent of Darkness. Your evil plans will be foiled, your conniving schemes
thwarted, you dastardly hopes defeated!”
“Wait, I just got here yesterday and I’m trying to
leave,” Danny said. “I’m not the villain you’re looking for.”
“A likely story!” Alec waved his sword, making Danny
wince. This was going to hurt unless he did something fast. “I’m not fooled by
your filthy lies. You might think you’ve trapped me here, but Alec the Brave
will not be deterred.” He jabbed his sword skyward to emphasize the point.
“Goodness and Right will prevail. On guard, Emissary of Evil!”
“I’m stuck here, too, and I’m unarmed,” Danny
protested. He glanced first right, then left; nothing but lava. This was not
looking good. “It’s not fair to attack me. Isn’t killing unarmed people against
the rules?” He had no idea what the “rules” of being a hero were, but it was
worth a try.
“Hah! I’ve got a spare.” To Danny’s dismay, Alec
reached behind his back to pull out a sword. It was half as short as Alec’s
regular one, but looked just as sharp. He held it out, making Danny take
another step backward.
“Why don’t I just surrender and you take me prisoner
without a fight?” Danny suggested. That’d at least get him out of the school,
right?
“No can do, I have to infiltrate Dark Lord Academy
and defeat a villain before I get the extra credit badge. We’ll have to fight,
although if you beg for mercy like the coward you are, I might consider sparing
your miserable life.” Alec bent and slid the sword toward Danny across the
wooden planks.
Maybe I should have gone to
magical weapons class after all. He could use a magical weapon about now. Danny had
practiced fighting, but only in play with his brothers. Fighting with a sharp
sword for real was not his idea of a good time. “I can’t, sorry, I’m a paci—”
Alec didn’t give him an opportunity to make up any
further explanations—he attacked with a war whoop.
About the author:
Ardyth DeBruyn is a native Oregonian with a restless
nature and a degree in Anthropology. After hiking over 1500 miles across Europe
and living on the Mexican border for a year, she settled back in the Pacific
Northwest (for now) to write fantasy stories. She has decided she can type
herself into adventures faster than walk.
See her website and blog at: http://www.ardythdebruyn.com
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