The Awen: Book One of the Sacred Oak Series

Before you read the excerpt below:

The Awen: Book One of the Sacred Oak Series is my first novel, though I have two other published children's books and a non-fiction, memoir half completed. The Awen is currently on it's second edit before it is handed over to a few publishing houses to make a decision. I am going to release bits and pieces here and there for feedback. 

Statement of Purpose

The Awen was penned to meet the needs of upper elementary and middle school students looking for a fantasy novella that is not only redemptive in nature but entertaining as well. Unlike many contemporary books in this genre, The Awen does not rely on a dark delivery of folklore to captivate its audience. Rather, readers will be spellbound by this tale of hope.

Picture the book... now open the cover and you see an aged map of the UK with Wales highlighted and turning the page you find a glossary of unique terms. Next you are hit with the prophesy and so on. 

Synopsis: 

The Awen is an intriguing tale full of young heroes, epic battles, and colorful story-telling. It contains the perfect elements for popular youth fiction: three-dimensional characters, a suspenseful tale of mythical proportions, and a view of the redemptive possibilities in every human heart.

Winter Haven Manor sits on a coastal estate in Wales, with mystery and danger in its history. It is the home of Ian, the son of the manor’s groundskeeper and a disenchanted dreamer who is soon to discover a destiny beyond his wildest imagination. It is also the home of Reese, Ian’s troubled nemesis who is heir to the estate, and Libby, Reese’s feisty cousin who has returned from America after losing her father.

What the trio discovers is that they are the "three unlikely"--a team of empowered friends meant to save the world, as foretold by a thousand-year-old prophecy. Not only will they have to combine their skills in order to save the otherworldly realm, known as Mag Mell, but they will also have to overcome battles in their own lives as well. Their struggles with the creatures in the otherworld will teach them about who they have been, and more importantly, who they can become.

(Author's note: There will be a map of the United Kingdom with Wales highlighted as well as a glossary of unique terms.) 

The Awen: Book One of the Sacred Oak Series

Ancient Mag Mellian Prophesy

When pride and greed does kiss

In the heart of our dear land

The Great Betrayal is unleashed.

O, how I fear for you, bright Mag Mell.

Treachery! Treachery!

At the hand of once dear brothers

Who had sung the song so pure

Then forgot the ancient paths

Once so white and true.

Dark mist shall take fair Mag Mell.

From the time ahead of times

Three unlikely they shall find.

Come young ones arise,

Descendants from the other side,

Bring them learned ones

After darkness sweeps fine Mag Mell.

Call fire, wind, earth and sky,

Restore the Queen or land shall die.

Find the heart of deep Betrayal.

Sing Bard: Restore the Awen,

Sacrifice himself for all,

and he shall save dear Mag Mell.

Light shall shine again in thee fair Mag Mell.

O, how I cry for you bright Mag Mell.

-So end the words of Ysbail Seren

Prologue

It all began with the dreams. There is no other way to say it than that. Ian was having very colorful, very real dreams--dreams that would then come true. Only silly things came true at first, like that his mom was going to make him homemade pancakes with clotted cream and fresh strawberries and he woke up that very morning to the smell of the delicious cakes. Or when he dreamed he found a ten pound note on the way to school. That same day, there the money was, dangling from the bushes like low-hanging fruit waiting to be picked, just exactly like he had seen it in the night.

Ian’s dream-life had become an adventure, and one that he kept to himself in the event that people would think that he had gone crazy. Besides, it had always been good things that happened, so it never occurred to him that the dreams were all that unusual. However, the foretelling dreams began to take place with greater frequency and more detail, which in the last couple of weeks had begun to cause him a bit of concern.

It was after he began to dream about his friend Libby that he realized he was experiencing something special. Ian woke with a small sense of dread each time he had a “Libby dream,” walking around for the next several days awaiting her imminent arrival and the sad news that would come with it. He was unsure how to react when his mom would break the news his dreams had foretold. He decided he needed to share what was happening with his father.  

NEXT:  Chapter One: Winter Haven Manor

Rebecca Dunning is an award winning writer who lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and three children. She not only loves to read and write but also enjoys hiking, climbing mountains 14,000 feet or higher, traveling the world and about anything else out-of-doors. Rebecca is the author of two children's books: The Real-Life Princess and Beetle Hunter as well as her first novel, The Awen: Book One of the Sacred Oak Series.