Book Jacket

 

rank 27 (-3)
word count 23632
date submitted 12.01.2010
date updated 17.03.2010
genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Children's, Young...
classification: universal
complete

The Keeper and the Rune Stone

Paige W. Pendleton

 

An unholy ritual, a horrifying result. A ticking clock. Four children discover that there are things that go bump in the night.

 

An unholy ritual was committed centuries ago by a group of Elves hoping to add the magical gifts of the Dwarves to their own. But the ritual was a spectacular failure - it transformed the Elves into the beings we now know as Vampires.

Striving to maintain a fragile peace, the ancient Elves and Dwarves negotiated an accord, which they've renewed every year on the summer solstice. The ceremony depends on the magical Rune Stone, but it's missing. If it is not found—and quickly—the consequences could be dire, and not just for Elves and Dwarves.

Four children, Rob, Jack, Eleanor, and Flora, stumble into the fantastical excitement when they happen across a wise being who inhabits a nearby cave. He is the Keeper of the Realm. He befriends the children and enlists their help.

The adventure that follows has old world overtones. It’s based on my suspicion that Elves and Dwarves came to Maine with the ancient Norse in the time of the Red Paint People. The story is filled with suspense, magic, adventure, and charming supporting characters. It’s both heart-warming and heart-pounding.

 
 

tags

coast of maine, horses, olde magyk, solstice, vampire

on 62 bookshelves

on 136 watchlists

402 comments

 

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Paige Pendleton wrote 176 days ago

While I've only uploaded the first half, this work is complete at 46,000 words.

greeneyes1660 wrote 180 days ago

Paige, I think this is a wonderful fantasy for adults and children alike...I was pleasantly surprised after reading the prologue that you didn't rush right into the blood and gore and scariness. I think the world is a scary enough place or children, I think all the positive reinforcement up front is part of the brillence of this work..Better equiping the children for what comes next..Imagery beautiful, characters lovable, and their dialogue amongst themselves believable...I love it and can't wait to finish it, have to make some scones but will be back later...I've gotten up to the light elf already..backed happily Patricia aka Columbia Layers of the Heart

greeneyes1660 wrote 179 days ago

Paige, After my scones I came back to read some more and couldn't put it down till I read every last word...It is Amazing...I can easily see sequels to this book because when I was finished I wanted to know what happens as they grow up, what happens to the keeper and the protector of where all the realms of the world cross...enchanting, will be loved as I said, by kids and adults alike..Your imagination is wonderful and the communication between animals and humans makes you wish we could really make it happen...I want an autographed copy when this gets published...Patricia aka Columbia Layers of the Heart

Barbara O'Neill wrote 182 days ago

Paige, you have created something quite exceptional. Good, clear writing, a true gift for narrative and, much harder to pull off, dialogue. Your prologue is an irresistible hook. I don't read this kind of fiction but this has all the hallmarks of excellence. Pleased to back it. If you have time, take a look at The Giant Killers.

seedee wrote 184 days ago

Paige - good stuff. Shelved this evening. I don't normally read fantasy but read farther than I ever have with an Authonomy book...a testament to your skills in keeping me interested. Well done. Cynthia Drew, Stealing First

Eunice Attwood wrote 3 days ago

Beautifully written. Quite an original approach to a great fantasy story, with good narrative. Backed. Eunice - The Temple Dancer.

paperbat wrote 17 days ago

Paige. Just noticed your book this morning and read the first 2 chapters. Will hopefully finish tomorrow. But wanted to say , it is great. Ideal for children, with its magic and lively world. Gladly back it.
I would love you to look over my childrens' book ; Paperbat Adventures. Any comments / backing would be appreciated, if you see fit.
Jerry [paperbat]

ccb1 wrote 21 days ago

Backed The Keeper and the Rune Stone. Cozy beginning. Creative dialogue between Carmen and the children. Young adults as well as adults would be captured and swept into a world of fantasy. We’re reading more!
CC Brown
Dark Side

eurodan49 wrote 29 days ago

Powerful story and well told. Got my backing.

Justis Call wrote 34 days ago

So far, each chapter is more fascinating than the last - great fantasy, living in a new "old" house, exploring, finding, and seeing flutters out of the corner of one's eye....masterful!

Backed with pleasure,
Justis Call
Prestidigitations

RonCoffman wrote 38 days ago

Backed after reading just a couple chapters. This is a marketable book right now. The book has action that flows at the proper pace, something many writers have trouble with. Slow when it need to be slow and fast when the action heats up...

Backed...well done.

R.W. Coffman DRAGON'S LIGHT

K A Smith wrote 49 days ago

You have a lovely delicate touch. The children are very believable and I think you build the story well. I like the way that the lightness after the grisly prologue is shot through with details that act as harbingers for what is to come. It works. I like it.

J.B. Adams wrote 50 days ago

Paige you have created a wonderful world full of delight and magic in your work. Your narrative voice is compelling and yet accessible, essential for the market your looking at. I loved the descriptions of the world you have created. Backed. Best of luck.

JB Adams The Maxim Man.

Rosemary Peel wrote 55 days ago

This is a book that will appeal to old and young alike. It is so well written and such an engaging story, even though it has its frightening side - as all good tales of this kind have to have. Best of luck with it. I am happy to back it.

Robin Pearson wrote 70 days ago

Hi Paige

I think this is brilliant! The mix of characters in the children means they play off each other very well allowing the reader a rounded perspective, and your descriptions of the house and the entrance to the cavern are magical. I'm still a big kid when it comes to literature and this is exactly the sort of thing that draws me in. I can already see the film of this being a summer blockbuster!

Excellent stuff and backed with pleasure

Robin

LeClerc wrote 82 days ago

Hi Paige,
I like the clever way in which you end the second chapter with a foreshadowing. The first chapter had me from the start and I can't wait to get stuck into chapter 3.

Phil
Danny Murphy.

Vanessa Darnleigh wrote 83 days ago

Very promising start...reminds me of some of James Herbert's storylines...at least so far. I wish you well with this...
Stewart

D. L. Stroupe wrote 83 days ago

Ahhh, where's the flashlight... this is one to keep reading! This reminds me of a movie about a sand fairy that I saw once. Delightful stuff. Backed!

Jack Hughes wrote 84 days ago

Brilliant, a fantastic ride through a realm of mystery and wonder. I love this kind of story, it reminds me of the way that C.S Lewis would take us seemlessly from one world into another and back. Best of luck with this story, I hope it does well.

Jack Hughes
Dawn of Shadows

Lara wrote 93 days ago

I think is set just right at the target group. I see this as one of the set of 'readers' in the school library.
Rosalind
Good for Him

alisa london wrote 94 days ago

As has already been said, you have a really good and interesting storyline to pull in the readers! You appear to be handling it really well, showing flashes of very skillful and sensitive writing! I already feel engrossed in the story and at the back of my mind I am wondering and worrying a little about the promised unexpected ending! I will happily read on. For now, shelved with pleasure.
Alisa

E. Yazykova wrote 97 days ago

I like the premise and the prologue of your book - it did what it was supposed to do, intrigue me. And while the first chapter starts out slow, I can see promise of great adventures. Backed.

E.

Robert Anderson wrote 100 days ago

Hi – I’ve backed your work – flows well, is lucid and interesting - well done.
Poor Lorik, the prologue had me welling up.
You've used smell descriptors on first page twice - musty smelling - damp salty - just thoughts.

I’m no expert, ‘When…?’ is in fact, my first book.
I’ve picked up some writing pointers along the road. Not saying applicable to your tale – just passing on – may help? Apologies if they are patronising, not intentional.

Happy writing, and all the best with this!
Cheers,

Rob (When…?)

P.S. Appreciate it greatly if you could find time to feedback on ‘When…?’ And back if you feel applicable.


Generic Advice:

You need an arc (clear thread) to your story. Meander and you risk losing the reader.
Try not to use ‘seems’ and ‘just’ – beginners speak.
Editors don’t tend to like overlong narratives – mix it up with dialogue – if possible
Watch over describing. It can overpower the plot.
Some say to use adjectives and adverbs sparingly.
When describing, think of all the human senses.
Avoid exposition – don’t explain or tell the reader how to feel.
Attempt to define the genre of your book within the first page.
Grab the reader’s attention on the first page. Upbeat, positive and thrilling situations tend to hold attention more than the mundane and depressing.
Don’t try and ‘make stuff up’ - visualise, and then write what you see in your mind.
Cut out the dull stuff – be ruthless.
We’re all different – write what you know, and what you like to read.

Hope this helps – I’m sure there’s loads more, which other folk will hopefully help us all out along the way.






Zero-serenity wrote 105 days ago

i read the first two chapters and i think you did a very nice job pulling me in with the first, and the descriptions where pretty good in the second, so you're backed for your well done writing =]
~Zero, No Title Needed

StaKC wrote 110 days ago

I'm going to stop reading now as you said it is only half uploaded, and it's getting better with each chapter. I adore Agnes and Enid, I think they're my favorite characters. I hope this gets published for my sake as much as yours, because I'm mad to read the whole thing. Exactly my type of thing. The only thing the slighest bit negative-call it constructive instead, shall we-is that once in a while the children's dialogue seems a bit stiff and formal for children, but it's only in a few places and not particularly distracting. I love fantasy, and this is one of the best fantasy plots I've read on this site. I love the pacing, too-everything easing into the story one step at a time, revealing a little here, a bit more there, until it takes off running. Great.

Winney wrote 112 days ago

I read the first two chapters. That house they got to move into made me ache. I think it is every fantasy lover's dream. If anything, it is too distracting, you might have to tone it down a bit so we can concentrate on a mystery! Anyway, you do well with fantasy, your description is just right. You open our eyes to see what you see. Thanks for the read and good luck!

AJK wrote 113 days ago

So sorry for delay in reading!! What a great opening chapter! I really wanted to read on and see what they find! Your blog is great too...really interesting and a sign of creepier elves than the ones I write about! Loved it! Backed

speaksthetruth wrote 113 days ago

a keeper

Richardmilton wrote 120 days ago

Paige, I think kids will love your gory style - and so do I. Your opening sets the scene quickly and economically for dire things to come and the first chapter where Eleanor and her sister and brothers move in and explore is done very well. I especially like your tight, simple direct style ("The wind felt alive . . "). I've backed your book with pleasure.

B.Lloyd wrote 120 days ago

like the atmosphere of the first 3 chapters. sorry to take so long to get back to you.

James Shown wrote 122 days ago

Paige,

You backed my book about 3 weks ago and I was unable to do anything at the time. Now I'm playing catch-up with all the fine folk who left me a message. I will shelve yours next Friday the 21st. I'm going to make it a scheduled habit to do these things every Friday, more often if it becomes necessary, elsewise I end up with two many unanswered messages. Even though your book is not my taste, I intend to back as stated. Thank you for your patience.

James - INTO THE DELTA

Elizabeth Wolfe wrote 126 days ago

Mystery and intrigue in a children's story - very nice! It's interesting that the fantasy creatures may have hitched a rigde with the Norsemen. BACKED -Elizabeth Wolfe (Memories of Glory)

I.A. Mazaleigue wrote 129 days ago

P.S. I genuinely love your cover!

I.A. Mazaleigue wrote 129 days ago

Wow! I stumbled across this story by accident, but I'm so glad I did! Your story confirms that I'm becoming a fan of 'fantasy' novels - not something I ever thought I'd be saying! I love, LOVE your style of writing - it's just my taste - punchy, to-the-point prose that still manages to maintain a good level of description. Keeps you reading more as it just has that easy flow to it. Think this would definitely be enjoyed by YA and A readers alike! Backed :)

E. Yazykova wrote 131 days ago

Very impressive, backed.

E.

John OBrien wrote 133 days ago

Great prologue; the frenzied death struggle is short sweet and nasty. Grabs the interest straight away.
John O'Brien - Other Face

Noizchild wrote 133 days ago

Powerful imagery. I felt the vampirism rather appealing. You made Lorik's death rather beautiful. Well done with the writing. Keep posting more chaps.

John Warren-Anderson wrote 134 days ago

An enjoyable read once it started, it just took a while getting there. Think about cutting the prologue altogether and starting where she arrives home. I had to cut 15,000 words from the begining of my book. before it worked.

jdub wrote 135 days ago

Paige, read this over lunch, great read, backed John Warren LASTING iMAGES, PLEASE REVIEW. JW

margaret mazzone wrote 136 days ago

i am a drama teacher and the 'KNOW ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE..' echoes Dante's Inferno which I use often as a stimulus. Great for stimulating the imagination. Great work.
MM

RavenClark wrote 138 days ago

I thought I read this back when you shelved my book, but you must have slipped through the cracks.

The prologue is an excellent start. It might be a bit gory for kids, but I'm not sure, as I am not the best judge for what different age-groups require, and I write adult fantasy. All I know is, it was well-written and gripping to me.

I love the description of the house. It sounded positively gorgious. It might be a little heavy for children again, with a potential to lose attention, but I love detail and descrption, so I enjoyed it. I like the dialogue between the kids, and you make each one stand out from the others, giving each a personality, which is hard, especially so early in a book.

My only pointer would be to watch your passive voice. You write well, but at times the word choice sounds slightly wooden and a little weak. I would suggest reworking your sentences in spots; change the passive ones to a more active tone, which will make the writing stronger and more engaing. This is particularly important when writing for a younger audiance that have a shorter attention span. Otherwise, awesome work, and you are off to an excellent start. Backed with pleasure.

Raven
-The Shadowsword Saga

Mooderino wrote 138 days ago

The writing's good, technically sound. The opener is certainly attention grabbing although I found it a little vague. Something's killing him, something else falls for his hand. In terms of piquing the reader's interest it's fine but it wasn't too easy to visualise.

The pace of the first chapter felt very slow and a bit repetitive. You go to great lengths to describe the layout of the house, what the rooms are like etc. and to be honest I found it a bit much. She walks up to the house thinking about it, her sister comes out and gives a mini-precis of the living conditions, then her family give her another rundown, then they go from room to room itemizing the contents. It felt like way too much focus on interior decorating and unnecessarily detail. A personal opinion, but I was ready to stop reading there.

When they meet Camedon I wasn't entirely convinced by their reaction. He appears, levitates and grows wings and they just stand there waiting. The fact they all react in exactly the same way felt odd, and that they're so calm about it also was a little weird.

I think the dialogue about their dad and being rich was good, but the kids do sound a little posh and maybe from another time. The more I read the furhter back in time it felt, quite Narnia-esque in the family dynamic. Possibly that's just me though.

I'd have t say i found the tone of th eprologue a little incongruous with the later chapters which had a much younger, kids in fairyland, vibe to it. Hard to gauge from a few chapters but did strike me as a little inconsistent. Singing songs and pledging allegiance just started to feel kind of random and unfocused. And the exposition was also a bit much.

Overall it was easy to read and technically sound , but the story felt like a hodge podge of different ideas that jumped around too much. That's based on only reading the first four chapters so things may settle down once the plot gets going, but as an opening it didn't engage me.

best of luck with it.

Neville wrote 139 days ago

"The Keeper and the Rune Stone", an excellent book with great description, this truly belongs at the top. I did read some of it a while back and gone back to it today.Keeps the readers attention and the need to read on.
SHELVED.

Thanks for backing my book "The Secrets Of The Forest".

Kind regards,

Neville.

AuthorTom wrote 139 days ago

Backed! Tom Ryerson (Carnal Wreckage)

CraigD wrote 139 days ago

You start off with a bang, don't you? And then properly close out the second chapter with a mysterious foreshadowing. The structure of your story and writing are good. You have some technical problems, such as the occasional run-on sentence, and a few sentences starting with "there are" or "it is". But overall I think this is a good effort towards children's fantasy/adventure, and I'm happy to back it.
Craig
The Job

derwenna wrote 139 days ago

Hello Paige - I may be a thirty-something Mum, but I really enjoyed what i have read. Well done and backed.
Paula - Ruined Echoes - Have you managed to read mine?

eloraine wrote 140 days ago

I liked it very much and so will your target audience, good luck. Backed. E.Loraine Royal Blood Chronicles book one

Stephanie225 wrote 140 days ago

Good intro.
I would change some of the words like "blatant Assessment" and "sensory overload" to be more kid friendly.
Also watch phrases like "Something has happened warranted expediting yourknowledge of us."
I would also change the section where you talk about the house. While you idd agood job letting us know it was not her prefered house, it's a little long. I would try and combine the most important information from those 2 paragraphs into 1.
You also start to lose me in the cave. Maybe less practicing their senses?

Victoria Ridley wrote 141 days ago

I loved books like this when I was younger: and, to be honest, the scarier the better! But the prologue is just dark enough; it's quickly lightened by what follows, which seems redolent of many of my favourite childhood books, where children stumble onto a whole other and more fantastic world. For that reason alone, I enjoyed reading this!

But this is solidly written, too, with the children all depicted vibrantly and realistically. This is a solid addition to the young adult fantasy genre, and one that I will enjoy reading more of.

Sean Lamb wrote 141 days ago

It's quite the contrast between prologue and 1st chapter. After I read the 1st chapter, I almost forgot about the opening lines in the Prologue. However, the writing is very clean and I breezed through the beginning. Kind of reminds me of the beginning of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with the kids running around their new home.

Sean

mvw888 wrote 141 days ago

Yikes, are you sure the prologue isn't a bit gory for kids? I think I would tone it down a bit for over-protective moms such as myself. Because this is lovely writing and I wouldn't want anyone to be turned away because of it. Your pitch is expert, although in the last paragraph you bring yourself in with the "my suspicion" and I think I would keep the tone of the preceding paragraphs instead, which is perfect. Think book jacket cover. I was immediately interested in these four children and their adventures and could imagine reading it with my kids. I think that you move it along quite nicely and end chapters in a way that keeps the reader turning pages, such as the end of Chapter three when the stone is found and a voice speaks. Really, very well done. Seems to me like something for the 8-12 age group and again, not sure if you get back into gory stuff later in the book but I think I'd dispense with it because your voice is perfect for that age otherwise. Great writing!
---Mary
The Qualities of Wood

RonParker wrote 142 days ago

Hi Paige,

I'm not sure what your target age is for this story. The prologue is raher frightening, yet the foloowing chapter seems to be writen for a younger reader, becoming again more for the older reader in the following chapters.
I'm not generally a fan of prologues, but thi one is necessary to show the kind of story you are telling.

The writing is well done. In fact I couldn't find a single error or typo in the section I've had time to read.

One thing I think it does need are better end of chapter hooks. With the exception of the prologue, there are no real cliff-hangers, at least not in the first few chapters.

The story isn't for me, but I wish you luck with it.

Ron

Clipso123 wrote 143 days ago

This is a very well written narrative with a smooth flow to it's pace. Good luck with it. Backed.

Sara

petrifiedtank wrote 144 days ago

hi,

sorry it took so long to get to your book.

overall impressions, up to chapter four...it's a good idea, elves, vampires, scaring kids - all good. i love the feel of it, for me, there was a general kind of old-school kids book laying over the story. worked well on that count.

two things i can think of that might help - the pitch. not so important for on here, but for when you submit (if you do). i think it could do with a little polish (sorry)...just something to lead into the book - this felt a little like a synopsis.

and, second thing - kids book, i'd go with shorter, punchier chapters, for a bit more pace.

my suggestions should of course be taken quite illiterately.

good luck,

craig

senyah nala wrote 145 days ago

Having read the prologue and imagining what was happening to poor Lorik (Your writing is very descriptive) I was wondering, would chapter two be similar? I was pleaantly surprised. You capture the chaotic change and how children would react to moving house, admirably.
Not a book I would normally read, but your writing is good and deserves backing.
It's on my shelf.