Fiona Ingram’s
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR
OF
The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper
Tour Begins August 13th
Book Summary
A plane crash! Lost in the jungle! Hunted by their old enemy, will Adam, Justin, and Kim survive long enough to find the Third Stone of Power? With only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, the kids make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the lost city of stone gods, where the Stone of Power might be located. River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task. Of course, their old adversary Dr. Khalid is close behind as the kids press on. But he is not the worst of their problems. This time Adam will clash with a terrible enemy who adopts the persona of an evil Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, and is keen to revive the ancient tradition of human sacrifice. Adam, Justin, and Tukum must play a dreadful ball game of life and death and maybe survive. Will they emerge alive from the jungle? Will Dr. Khalid find the third Stone of Power before they do?
Print Length: 318 Pages
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction, Adventure
Publisher: Bublish, Incorporated (November 2017)
ISBN: 978-1946229465
The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper is available to purchase on Amazon.com
The Guest Post
The Joy of Writing for Children
Although my writing career began at the bottom rung of a very small magazine, I have always written, even if it was just plays which we acted out for my long-suffering parents when I was young. I have four brothers (a great cast) and we would create grandiose plots gleaned from books and dress up and act it all out. By the way, my parents would also pay for ‘tickets’ to these fantastic performances. I also had a long-running serial to entertain my younger brothers and their friends – a ghost story in weekly installments called Gruesome Gables. This involved monsters, vampires, skeletons, coffins, a haunted house, a dungeon filled with nameless terrors, and heroic children based on us, of course.
My parents were really poor while the five (yes, five!) of us were growing up, so we read what was on the bookshelves. We entertained ourselves with a fantasy world that we created from the books we read, generally the traditional children’s classics. That world was very special, very poignant, and it was hard to relinquish it and ‘grow up.’ In a way, writing for children is how one can revisit that amazing world.
I began writing for children purely by accident. Being a journalist, I have written loads of articles, but a book? It just ‘happened!’ My mother was the catalyst. Then in her late 60s, she had always wanted to visit Egypt. She also invited my two nephews, then 10 and 12, to accompany us. It was an amazing trip, filled with interesting experiences. My nephews were at that wonderful age where everything is new, exciting, and possible. Their enthusiasm was totally infectious and their delight at everything we saw or did got me thinking. Ultimately their enjoyment and passion for the trip proved to be the inspiration for my first children’s book.
When I returned, after we’d admired the souvenirs and the many photos, I thought I’d write a short story based on our experiences, naturally including myself (a journalist) an intrepid globe-trotting grandmother, and two young boys. That was the beginning of it all. The short story became a novel, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, and the novel became a children’s adventure series (The Chronicles of the Stone) because at the end of the first book I realized that the story had grown into something quite spectacular.
My books are aimed at middle grade readers, ages 9/10-14, around the real ages of my nephews when we went on the trip. I am not sure if I chose the first book or if the book chose me because I ended up feeling very comfortable with the workings of the 10-12-year-old mind. I fostered and later adopted a disadvantaged African child the same year of the trip. She was aged 11 and that also added to my experience with a middle-grade reader. Surprisingly, adults also love my books, and so many people have told me that reading these stories makes them feel like a child again, open to adventure and the excitement of something fun and interesting.
Although I have written a number of historical romances and collaborated on an adventure epic, I love my children’s book series. There is something unique about the world of children’s literature. It is magical, the possibilities are endless, and you’re limited only by your imagination. If only we could keep our childlike imagination and beliefs as we step into adulthood.
About the Author
Fiona Ingram is a children’s author, but up until a few years ago, she was a journalist and editor. Something rather unexpected sparked her new career as an author—a family trip to Egypt with her mother and two young nephews. They had a great time and she thought she’d write them a short story as a different kind of souvenir…. Well, one book and a planned book series later, she had changed careers. She has now published Book 3 (The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper) in her middle grade adventure series Chronicles of the Stone, with many awards for the first book,
The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, and a few for Book 2, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and one already for Book 3! She also teaches online novel writing for aspiring authors and she finds that very satisfying. Relaxation time finds her enjoying something creative or artistic, music, books, theatre or ballet. She loves doing research for her book series. Fiona loves animals and has written two animal rescue stories. She has two adorable (naughty) little dogs called Chloe and Pumpkin, and a beautiful black cat called Bertie.
You can find Fiona at –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretofthesacredscarab/
Website: www.chroniclesofthestone.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/FionaRobyn
Author Site: http://www.FionaIngram.com
Blog: http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2868182.Fiona_Ingram
Blog Tour Schedule Below:
11 responses to “Blog Tour + Guest Post: The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper”
I personally love reading young adult and middle grade fiction because I feel like a kid again! What an incredible, magical escape it is. I love this story about how you came to enjoy writing for children!
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One of those unexpected serendipitous turns in life!
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Looks like a lovely book for young adults
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This sounds like a great book that I need to read.
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Whoa! Sounds like such a great book for young adults!
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This sounds like a wonderful book that my kids and I would enjoy reading! I agree about keeping our childlike imaginations into adulthood.
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What a lovely cover! It’s so well drawn and inviting. 🙂 The synopsis sounds like a good adventure.
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A lot of fun! Anyone who remembers being that age will love the series.
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I’m going to have to check these out!
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I am always looking for a new book to read. THanks for the recommendation.
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If you love adventure, this is the book for you!
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