Category: bell mountain series

Gotta Get This Book Finished!

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Medieval Knight on His Horse Galloping Editorial Photo - Image of people, forces: 21641741

It’s raining again, it always rains, and I have got to finish Ozias, Prince in Peril. 

I’ve got the ending. What I don’t have is the logistics. It’s a matter of getting the characters into the places where they have to be to end this story and in position to start the next–Ozias, Prince Enthroned.

It’s not easy. I’ve got to get this character out of Lintum Forest, this one into the city, these others out of the city, etc., etc. I’ve got a civil war to stop before it gets going, villains to thwart, heroes to uphold, a queen to rescue–and I’ve got to get it all done in no more than three or four more chapters. Then I can collapse.

I hope Prince Ozias appreciates it!

 

Lee’s Homeschool Reading List (8): ‘Bell Mountain’

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Bell Mountain (Bell Mountain, 1) - Kindle edition by Duigon, Lee. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Bell Mountain: Ages 10 and up

My stars! I’m recommending books for homeschoolers, and it never enters my mind to recommend my own books! I’ve only just realized that I’ve  left myself out.

I’ve been surprised, over the years, at how much Bell Mountain has been enjoyed by children whom you’d think were too young to read a novel. Most of the time it’s Daddy or Mommy who’s read the book to them. I’m very happy that my book can be read aloud to 8-year-olds–or even younger–and give them pleasure.

And of course it’s just the first book of a series… and the series has now grown to 13 books, with two more yet to be published… so it should be able to keep you interested for several years. Somehow the books have proved equally appealing to children and adult readers.

In Bell Mountain, a boy named Jack dreams a distant mountain is singing to him. Scripture says there is a bell on the summit of the mountain, waiting to be rung; and God will hear it. Jack believes he has had this dream because God wants him to ring the bell. He sets out for the mountain, accompanied by his friend, Ellayne. The story tells of their perilous journey to the mountain-top–along the way encountering strange beasts, strange people, miracles, treachery: everything that makes life worth living. Or at least worth reading about.

Click “Books” on our home page for descriptions and sample chapters of all 13 books in the series. Available from the Chalcedon Foundation Store at http://www.chalcedon.edu/ .

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 6

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everybody with lee

Whoa! I got so busy with the “ban gas stoves” nonsense, I almost forgot to post this picture–another Bell Mountain illustration by Katheleen and Kerolyn, young readers in Brazil.

So here we have a group portrait of Helki the Rod, Jandra the little prophet, Jack and Ellayne, King Ryons–and some bearded guy in a black T-shirt. Holy cow–that’s me! They drew me, too.

I love these kids, and it humbles me to think their artwork was inspired by my books. Gives me something to live up to!

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 5

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banjo real

Here we have Obst and Chief Uduqu giving King Ryons a bath, which he sorely needed at the time–another Bell Mountain illustration by Katheleen and Kerolyn, young readers in Brazil. I would love to use these inside the books, but we’d need a new edition for that. Think of it, though–a book illustrated by its own readers. I don’t know that that’s ever been done before.

I have one more picture of theirs to publish, and that’s scheduled for tomorrow–so stay tuned, I’ve saved the best for last.

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 4

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jack corta

Jack and Ellayne in Lintum Forest–I think this is one of Kerolyn’s, although it’s not that easy to tell them apart.

Stay turned day to day, because I’m saving a real corker for last!

(Young Readers’ fantasy novels–we are pioneering a new trend! Books for young readers illustrated by young readers–how cool is that?

‘Bell Mountain’ Illustrations, No. 3

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apos

Here are Ellayne and Jack on the summit of Bell Mountain, with Martis trying to collect his wits and get up from the snow. This is from Katheleen and Kerolyn, in Brazil–these are gifted girls!

I wish we could get some of these illustrations into a new edition of Bell Mountain. When have you ever seen a book illustrated by some of its readers? That would be so cool! But first we’d have to sell out the edition we already have.

Bell Mountain Illustrations, No. 2

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eremita

Here are Jack and Ellayne with their donkey, Ham, meeting Obst, the hermit of Lintum Forest. I love these pictures by Katheleen and Kerolyn, our girls from Brazil… and I wonder if we could ever get them into the book someday. But first we’d have to sell out the current edition of Bell Mountain!

I don’t have much to show in the way of sales; but I do have gifted young readers who’ve done honor to my work. I’ll try to live up to it.

Special Treat! Bell Mountain Illustrations

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jack and ellayne

It took Patty a while to figure out how to get it done, but she finally solved the mystery and I am now able to present these original Bell Mountain illustrations by Katheleen and Kerolyn, in Brazil. They’ve sent me a bunch of them. But I think I’ll post just one a day.

Here we have Jack and Ellayne before they set out on their epic journey.

I wonder if we’ll ever have a Bell Mountain edition that features these illustrations inside. We’ve had Joshua in Japan translating the book into Japanese, and Katheleen wants to translate the whole series into Portuguese–well, who knows?

To know that I have readers who love my books so much–and children, no less (Joshua was still a teen when he started his project)–well, it’s quite a feeling for me, and I don’t know how to describe it.

P.S.–I stumbled over this, yesterday. An amazon.com customer review on the whole Bell Mountain series. I quote: “Best series EVER!”

Good Lord…

 

This Has Nothing to Do With Anything, Really

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I’ve wanted to post this little video for a long time, and it’s finally available–a brief visit with extinct mammals called Chalicotheres–or “knuckle bears,” if you’re already acquainted with them via Bell Mountain.

Is it a kind of horse? A gorilla? A grounded tree sloth? Or some weird combination of the three? Their fossils have been found in North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Anyway, I thought this might provide a welcome break from nooze. God’s creative work knows no bounds. Let’s appreciate it!

Writing Tips: Minor Characters Are Not So Minor

Posted By: leeduigonPosted On:

Bell Mountain (Bell Mountain, 1) - Kindle edition by Duigon, Lee. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

If you’re writing a novel, you might want to have the whole thing planned out in advance before you start to write it. But I don’t do it that way.

Ask yourself this: Are you a “minor character”? Your book will be full of them. Maybe it’s someone who comes onstage for just a moment to say “Here are the gum boots that you ordered, madam,” and then exits, never to be heard from again. It’s a minor character, and you don’t even need to provide him with a name.

But he has one. He has a life. In his own way, which may never show up in your novel, he has importance.

And if it turns out that you’ll need him again–well, there he is.

This happens a lot for me, in my books. A character has a walk-on, but it turns out to be much more than that: he may even develop into a major character. Orth started out as just a henchman of Lord Reesh; but now he’s Lord Orth, the First Prester. Duke Esdras, confined to a wheelchair, will produce the climax of my current book, Ozias, Prince in Peril. I needed someone to do that, and there he was. Most of your minor characters will remain minor–but you never know. Don’t be too quick to dismiss them!

[And yes, I still have no access to my stats page, no idea of how many views I’ve got today, and heaping piles of frustration.]