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NEW AUTHORS SHOWCASE
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07-11-08 6M p3 |
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Land of the Big Sky by Martinell Brooks |
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Red, the she-wolf, once lived in a sunny place, but as the years slipped by, her kind, the red wolf, were on the verge of extinction. Then one day, they were captured and taken to another land, one of snow, mountains and danger. During the journey, the truck they were travelling in leaves the road and Red is thrown down into a gully. By the time she makes it back to the road the truck and members of her family have vanished. From then on in she travels across unfamiliar terrain in search of her family, during which she has many adventures Meanwhile her son Buck has adventures of his own, being captured by the Indians and sold as a fighting dog. Eventually Red finds her family again, but sadly during his absence Buck’s daughter has grown and has become the leader of a renegade pack, and unable to recognise her own father attacks and kills him, while Red and her new mate, The Wise One, witness the attack from on top of a mountain.
Sample CHAPTER ONE Red, she-wolf... trots wearily along the snow covered path. The going is hard so she stops to rest for a while, and from the ridge where she stands, way above the valley, she can see for miles around. A crisp carpet of snow covers everything. The sky; light blue in colour despite it being early evening, hangs heavy with thousands of twinkling stars, suspended from it as though on invisible strings. Way off in the distance is a large lake, and because there is no sound or movement she feels cut off from the world and she wonders If she is destined to forever spend her life alone. Although used to covering long distances ,she is weary. But then she has been travelling across unfamiliar terrain for several weeks, in extreme conditions. Conditions she hadn’t thought possible. Weak from hunger she knows that she must find shelter in which to spend the night, so she presses on along the path chest deep in loose drifts which makes her progress slowly. Suddenly, just ahead of her a cluster of boulders loom up a short distance ahead, looking black and menacing against the stark whiteness of the snow. She pauses, listens for a moment, then giving a short bark moves off along the path towards the prospective den.
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 4 PAGE 37 Knowing that which he had dreaded the most was about to become a rea1ity, Buck thought of Red. Remembering the first smell of the soft bundle of warmth and tenderness that had turned out to be his mother, at a time when he was still weak and unable to see beyond the light that filtered into the cave from the world outside. A world; in which be had not yet taken a step. It was she who had taken him out into that world and had guided him until be became familiar with his surroundings. It was she who had taught him that in his new world there were choices, which, at the time he did not understand. Now, once again he was a prisoner, and he worried about what was to become of her. The soft bundle of warmth and tenderness, who had guided him through a world harsh and cold in its reality with great courage and tenacity. Would she survive? Would be ever see her again? Or would she die and be lost to him forever? And what of Lucky, what was to become of her?
EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 11 For a moment, the wolves stopped feeding and looked around them, and as the mournful howling continued, they ran off into the forest; leaving what was left of Buck lying on the snow, but as she continued to watch, one emerged from within the trees and looked up towards the top of the mountain, and just before the mist started to cover her eyes, Red saw that it was Little Bit, with blood dripping from her jaws, her silver coat stained with the blood of her father; whom she had failed to recognise. Leaving Me’s side, Red returned to the cave where she sat peering into the darkness. Her son was dead, her blindness had returned and she wondered if Little Bit would also die, poisoned by the blood of her father…. |