June’s Character – Sheridan

Sheridan is the Stallion of the Henshaw stables. And the most important horse on the farm. Not to mention the most handsome, smart and loved. At least, if you ask him. He may be contrived, and full of himself, but he also has a great heart, and when Nonna needs his help, he does not hesitate. He will also risk his own life to protect those of his two friends in the stables, Bessy – the old mare, and Camilla – the thoroughbred race horse of the farm.

Sheridan has an enormous crush on Camilla, but she rarely notices him. He is quite a bit older than her, and she thinks of herself as a queen or a breed apart. But Sheridan’s status, in her eyes, does improve tremendously when he saves her from horse thieves, and even more so when he brings Nonna home from her long absence from the stables.

In the next book, Sheridan will meet another stallion, and will have to work hard to keep his status in the stables. But is it even a fight he can win?

Excerpt from the new book, coming later this year

Nonna and the Great Horse Rescue

Prologue

The white stallion stared wildly at the human wielding the whip, standing opposite him. He had already felt the sting of the whip across his flank twice, and had no intention of letting the human get close enough to hit him a third time. Hot, angry air was expelled in short bursts from the horse’s nostrils.  His eyes never wavered from the human’s and his ears were laid flat against his head.  Quivering from head to foot, he slowly backed away from the man, who equally slowly advanced towards the horse. The other two horses, still in their stalls, neighed in fear.

“Easy now, you brute,” the man whispered angrily, slowly raising the arm wielding the whip. “Let me whip you again, maybe you’ll learn to respect me this time.”

The stallion continued to slowly back away, but suddenly turned tail, exploding into action. With a hard kick of his back legs that just missed the man, he burst out of the stables and out into the courtyard of the estate. The man, shaken by the near–miss, cursed loudly and followed the horse at a frantic run, the whip undulating wildly behind him.  Entering the courtyard, he was just in time to see the back of the horse as it disappeared through the main gates, off down the country lane that would eventually take it to the village of Tewksley. The man screamed in frustration, stamping both feet on the ground, and hurling his whip to the floor.  There was nothing he could do now. The horse bore very clear signs of abuse, and if he tried to fetch him back, he would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He would just have to let the horse go, hoping they would never figure out who the horse belonged to.

Seething with anger, he picked up his whip and stomped back into the stable. The two horses in the stable shook in fear. There was no doubt, they’d be in for it now.

Final Excerpt from Nonna the Gnome

When darkness fell they were still an hour or so from the farm, and they were all beginning to feel tired and depressed about the fact that they would not reach their home tonight either. Nonna felt very helpless as they began looking for somewhere suitable to sleep. She wanted nothing more than to be home, in her mother’s arms, but she would have to wait a few more hours to see her. Home was so close yet so far away and she felt such a frustration that she kicked the nearest tree, pain shooting up into her leg and she jumped around for a while inwardly cursing her own stupidity.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack in the forest not far from where they were standing. Mr. Tomtur and Nigel both instinctively grabbed thick tree branches off the ground to protect themselves. Nonna felt like she couldn’t take much more of this, and stared in panic towards the sound. The noise grew gradually louder, and then they heard a familiar voice grumbling:

“Someone ought to make bigger tracks in the forest. A horse could get injured with all this stuff hanging about!”

Sheridan’s beautiful brown head suddenly appeared between two giant redwoods and Nonna shrieked with joy. The horse was startled for a brief moment, but then recognized the group and bounded forward with happy steps.

3rd Excerpt from 8th and Final Chapter

The ugly troll raised his hand again, wielding the knife in what he considered to be a threatening way, but the moose did not flinch, nor step away from him. The troll took an uncertain step forward, waving his knife as if to draw attention to the lethal weapon he was sporting, but the moose just took one step forward himself. Yurdi was confused. He had never met an adversary that didn’t back away shortly before being overcome. He took one more hesitant step forward, and the moose did the same, but with determination, snorting menacingly. They were so close now that Yurdi could feel the hot, moist air the moose was expelling. His legs began to shake. He stole another look behind him at the gnomes. They were all staring at them.

That stolen look was his undoing. Suddenly, he was in a world of hurt. The moose had seized the opportunity as soon as the troll’s head started turning, and before anyone had registered what was going on, he had pushed the troll over, and stepped on the arm that was yielding the knife. He put some of his weight on the leg that was trapping the arm. The troll yelped in pain, and tried to hit the moose with his other hand. The moose lowered his head and snorted again, in the troll’s face.  Yurdi seemed to deflate as he lowered his free arm and lay still. That seemed to be the signal for Mr. Tomtur and Nigel to spring into action.  Swift as can be, they helped the moose disarm, and disable the troll. They then turned to Urkur, who was still curled up in a tight ball, whimpering quietly. They dragged him to his feet and brought him over to where Yurdi was lying.  Bronk towered over the two trolls, his horns pointing threateningly at them.

2nd Excerpt from 8th Chapter

The crow, meanwhile, was flying frantically, but methodically, across the forest where he had last seen the gnomes, and further towards the farm they were heading for. At one point he flew over a moose that was leisurely eating twigs in the thick brush. Creet decided to keep the position of that moose in his mind, in case he needed to call upon him later.

It wasn’t long before he spotted the two trolls, and he flew closer to see what they were doing. What he saw next made his heart skip a beat. The gnome family, and the farm gnome traveling with them were tied to a tree, and the two trolls were trying to start a fire. There was a makeshift spit set up over the fire, and it soon became clear to the crow that the trolls were planning to eat at least one of the gnomes. Scroop looked up at that point, and saw the crow flying over their heads.

Creet will find someone to help, Scroop thought, hope washing over him again. Creet took one look at the scene below him and flew, faster than he had ever flown before, back to the two gnomes who were waiting eagerly for him to return.

The crow landed in front of Mr. Tomtur, who jumped involuntarily. He had been meditating and wasn’t particularly aware of his surroundings. He felt slightly foolish for a second, but as soon as he saw the thunderstruck look on the crow’s face, his thoughts were no longer on himself.

“Where are they, Creet? What’s happening?” he sputtered.

Nigel spun around as he heard his father speak. He came over and crouched down next to the crow. Creet quickly told the two men what he had seen. Mr. Tomtur’s face turned white with anger.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said to his son, a hard, blazing look in his eyes.

May’s Character – Scroop

Scroop Asp, a 38 year old forest gnome, is one of Mr. Tomtur’s best friends. He comes from a long tradition of staunch forest gnomes, but has decided to be different than his ancestors in one very important way: he will not carry on the old, petty feud with farm gnomes that has been going on for centuries. A few years ago, when Scroop and Mr. Tomtur first met, Scroop’s eyes were opened to the fact that farm gnomes are in no way lazy for choosing the life they have. He witnessed first hand the hard life the Tomturs have on the Henshaw farm, and he left full of respect for the hardworking Mr. and Mrs. Tomtur. Ever since that first meeting Scroop and Mr. Tomtur have been discussing ways in which to reunite the two factions and end the ancient feud once and for all. We will be reading about their plans, and see them carried out,  in an upcoming book.

Scroop met Wexy, his wife, when he was 21. He was making his way through the deep forest, on the lookout for a new and better territory to claim, when he came across a beautiful young forest gnome who was fighting for her life against a hungry wolf.  Scroop joined in the fight, and together they drove the wolf off. They spent the next few days getting to know each other, and within a few months, they had been betrowed.  Within a year, their first son, Scoord, had been born and Milar joined the family less than 2 years later.

Scroop will be returning in the 2nd book, in yet another perilous situation.

1st Excerpt from 8th Chapter

Scroop was scared. He hadn’t been scared for a great many years, but he was scared now. The trolls had not moved, nor were they speaking anymore. It was obvious that they had noticed something, and that something was making them cautious, and quiet. He wanted so badly to look out, to try to figure out what was going on, but he knew it could mean disaster for them, so he didn’t. He had just decided to try to do some meditation, to calm his nerves, when suddenly the pine branches that were covering them were ripped away. He gasped. Wexy screamed. Nonna gasped and fell backwards. The two boys shot up, their knives at the ready.

The two trolls stared at the group huddling under the lean-to, then at each other. A nasty smile spread over the face of the larger of the two.

“Wut haf ve here?”  he said, in very broken English. His teeth were black, many of them missing, his face dirty, the wide nose full of dirty pores. His long ears were black with soot, adorned with an earring each, and his hair was a tangle of knots. He wore filthy, tattered clothes and animal furs. But the most obvious feature was his height. At almost 5 feet high, he towered over the small gnomes. A bushy tail could be seen, with a bend in it, hanging limply from his backside. The other troll stepped into view.

“Luks like little gnomes, Yurdi,” he said, with somewhat less of an accent. This troll was not quite as big as the other one, but he too had a wide, crooked nose, long, filthy hair tangled in knots and long ears that were caked in dirt. There may have been earrings in his ears too, but it was impossible to see with all the mud and dirt clinging to them. His clothes were in even worse condition than his friend’s. His tail seemed to have more life to it, however. It was swishing from side to side, whipping the air around him.

“Leave us alone, trolls,” Scroop said, suddenly struck by a feeling of déjà vu. It hadn’t been many hours since he had uttered a similar command to a wolf. He felt like he was letting his family down.

2nd Excerpt from 7th Chapter

They started walking again. Nonna had to jog to keep up with them. She was soon out of breath, but refused to let on just how exhausted she was getting.

“Your father and I are planning a great gnome meeting in a few months and we are hoping to get all the forest gnomes, house gnomes and farm gnomes from a wide area together to talk. We’re hoping that we can end our age-old feud once and for all. We’re even thinking we should make it a kind of feast, with competitions and such things. It should be a lot..”

Scroop suddenly stopped and looked around. There was a low rumbling noise coming from a thickly wooded area to their right. Scroop put his hand out and stopped the whole group.

“Wait, I think we are in trouble,” he whispered urgently.

* * *

On the other side of the dense forest, Mr. Tomtur suddenly stopped in his tracks. He had a very uneasy feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He wondered if something bad was happening to Nonna, but could only hope that she was safe with his old friend Scroop. He decided not to tell Nigel about his feelings of doom, he didn’t want to upset him, but he could not shake the feeling that something was awry.

* * *

The bush rustled again, and the little hairs on the back of Nonna’s neck suddenly stood to attention. She took a step back as the two boys crowded around her, to protect her. Wexy picked up her walking stick and held it in both hands.

Scroop sniffed the air.

“Be prepared boys. I think it’s a wolf.”

1st Excerpt from the 7th chapter

The crow found Mr. Tomtur’s group within a half hour. They had just broken camp after lunch, and were setting out again to continue searching the forest. It was the owl that found the crow first. He was swooping over a copse in the trees, when from out of the corner of his eye he saw something black flying towards him. The crow was looking down into the forest, trying to spot the gnomes, and wasn’t looking where he was going either. The two birds just missed flying into each other. Some feathers got uprooted and slowly floated towards the ground.

“Watch it!” the owl quipped, a little short-tempered from his lack of sleep. “What are you doing anyway, flying around not looking where you are going?”

The owl was flapping madly, trying to hover on the spot. Somehow, it seemed more effortless for the crow.

“I’m looking for a couple of gnomes, have you seen any?” the crow replied, unfazed by the owl’s sulky demeanor.

“It so happens I’m traveling with two gnomes,” the owl replied, his senses alert and his interest roused.

“Ah, where are they, I have a message for a Mr. Tomtur, is that who you are traveling with?” the crow said, eyeing the owl with mild interest now. He was flying around the owl, in tight circles.

“Yes! Yes! I am traveling with Mr. Tomtur!” The owl was getting dizzy, trying to keep eye contact with the circling crow.

“Come with me!” the owl cried excitedly and dove for the ground. The crow followed in close quarters. The owl was so eager to deliver the messenger to Mr. Tomtur that he came down to land faster than he could handle, and flew straight into the back of Mr. Tomtur who gave him a slightly scowling look. The crow, on the other hand, landed gracefully next to the group, his wings stretched out lazily to slow his pace. The owl shook himself off quickly, trying to look like he had meant to fly into the gnome. He gave the crow a quick, jealous look and then turned to the gnome.

2nd Excerpt from 6th Chapter

After a light meal, they all set out. It occurred to Nonna that these gnomes surely wouldn’t have a clue where she lived, but it seemed that Wexy had read her mind.

“Now, just so we know we’re going to the right farm, you live with the Henshaws, right?”

Nonna was impressed. And then it hit her, “the right farm”? It suddenly dawned on her what the question actually meant for her. She had a feeling her next question would change the world as she knew it, forever. A sense of foreboding crept over her, but she disregarded it. This was far too important to let small nagging thoughts interfere.

“Do you mean that there are other gnome families, on other farms?” she asked catching her breath once the question was asked. She waited nervously for the answer, a million butterflies fluttering around in her belly. The boys giggled, and Scroop laughed. He winked at her and patted her shoulder.

“Absolutely. We know of at least three farm gnome families in this area. We know your father quite well, actually. In fact, speaking of your father… he must be wondering where you are.”

Nonna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There were other gnomes around here? Maybe even another girl her own age? She was almost angry with her parents, they had never told her about this. She had always thought theirs was the only gnome family in the world. She suddenly felt very naïve, and young. How could she possibly have thought that? Why shouldn’t there be other gnome families living on other farms? It seemed so obvious to her, now.

Suddenly, Scroop called a crow down from a tree, and they carried on a quiet, whispered conversation for a while. Then the crow squawked and flew off.

“Well, the crow said he’s seen your father and brother in the forest, traveling with a cat, a dog and an owl. They’re all looking for you, Nonna. Somehow, I don’t think your father is angry with you, he’s just worried about you,” Scroop said, smiling at her. “The crow is going to let them know that we have you and that we are bringing you home.”