Sometimes when we write books our first attempt falls flat, or so you think. But eleven years after drafting the final Ian’s Realm, I’ve gone back to the beginning. Though The Dragon Targe has some huge flaws, (like my characters needed some tempering) I found that flawed or not, they made a pretty good story. So you can look at this little novella now as a path not taken, sort of a side-step to the original one.
Yes it’s this draft that inspired the Ian’s Realm Saga.
Here’s a little explanation of the story.
Just as in the published novel, Ian goes into the Realm with his dad, comes back without his father, and prepares to go in again, this time with Abbi. He knows Elisa, Abbi’s neighbor’s child, has a magic shield that the Kaemperns need for the war. So Brad, (Elisa’s brother) thinking he’s doing the right thing, takes it and gives it to Ian to take in the Realm with him…under the condition he gets to go into the Realm too.
Well, when Elisa finds out she’s livid. So she decides to take matters into her own hands. Here’s an excerpt.
“Elisa opened the character files, found her brother’s cartoon folder, and dropped the whole thing into the Realm files just like she had seen Abbi do. She clicked on ‘add soldiers’ and scrolled through the menu until she found Mr. Black Tights. She right-clicked on his box and dragged and dropped the biggest sword she could find into it. She dragged the box to the environment and hit ‘save’. The tall figure dashed into the woods with his sword, his bright yellow cape cascading behind him. She sat back with her arms folded and waited to see what would happen.”
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