BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE –
Mountain of Love and Danger
SERIES – Fairwilde Fairy Tale Reflections
AUTHOR – Gail Pallotta
GENRE – Mystery and Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – 10/14/2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 32, 440
PUBLISHER – Mountain Laurel Publishing / Create Space
COVER ARTIST – Vanessa Riley
BOOK SYNOPSIS
Jack
Greenthumb finds romance in Fairwilde Kingdom—a different day—a different girl.
Then a cruel mystery begins. Dad’s beaten, the family farm destroyed and Jack’s
true love, Gwendolyn Bante, kidnapped. Jack’s undercover operation reveals
Gwenie’s a captive atop a mountain accessible only by helicopter. Reaching her
is a dangerous expedition even for a champion rock climber like Jack. However,
a Greenthumb Acres employee plants a miraculous seed from Heaven for the
rescue. Suspense mounts as Jack scales the perilous cliff to face a brute and a
treacherous descent in this retelling of the fairy tale, Jack and the
Beanstalk.
BUY & TBR LINKS
EXCERPT
Lonely
darkness fell around Jack as he slipped into his harness and put on his
climbing shoes. He crept in and out of the moon’s shadows to the base of the
alp and took hold of the strong plant, the itchy touch of it not a problem, the
strength of it boosting his confidence. Fueled by the fire burning in his heart
to find Gwenie, he stepped on the first node and glanced back. Just one quick
look. He didn’t know why. Maybe something in his psyche wanted to see the
ground from whence he’d come one last time in case he never set foot on it
again.
He climbed
up the next nodule and the next as fast as his feet and arms would take him. A
sense of leaving the everyday world overwhelmed him as it always did when he
climbed, but this time it wasn’t freeing. An eerie sensation sent shivers
through his bones with every foot he scaled. The breaking of twigs, crunching
of leaves, and howling noises below grew fainter and fainter as he ascended
higher and higher.
“Whooo-whoo.” Halfway up he met an owl that turned its head
in a circle as it sat on the highest limb of a towering oak. He pulled upward
while pushing with his lower body as he passed boulders and scraggly bushes lit
by the stars and moon. He searched with his right hand for the next node, found
it, moved up and placed his foot on the spot where it had been. The jagged
surface on this mountain could rip open a person in an instant, but it was
Jack’s fear for Gwenie that gripped him. The yearning to hold her safe in his
arms seeped deeper into his pores each time he forged upward.
His body
ached as he pulled with nerves wound as tight as a corkscrew for wanting to
hurry to the top. Soon his leg muscles cramped. A gray piece of granite jutting
out like the seat of a chair with a slab for a back tempted him. How could he
rest after what he’d done to Gwenie? He had to keep moving, but what if his
arms and legs gave out, and he never reached her? His head throbbed with
decision making.
Just for a
second he let go of the living pole. His foot slipped, and he slid down the
precipice, debris rolling, crashing beneath him until the belay caught the rope
and stopped his fall. His head swam as he thrust the spring-loaded camming
device into a crack and anchored the cable. He swung to his right and sank to
the rocky seat. The stones settled below him and silence filled the darkness
where he sat tucked out of the light from Heaven.
Two days ago
he was a slap-happy player in love with Gwenie since childhood, but content to
drink life’s single pleasures a while longer. Now the need to take hold of a more
profound passion that seemed as fragile as one of Dad’s orchids burned in his
soul. The breeze whipping around him blew away images of fast rides through
Fairwilde with a blond or a brunette laughing beside him. He needed Gwenie.
Please Lord, let her be alright waiting for me.
He stretched
out his legs then rubbed his palms together. Upward.
He swung
out, grabbed hold of the beanstalk, pulled up with his hand and pushed with his
foot as a blast of strong wind swayed the sturdy stem. The stars grew dim then
disappeared as clouds rolled over them. Raindrops hit his head while lightning
flashed, lighting up the sky—nothing but dark space as far as he could see.
Then the flash.
He pulled up
with his hand and pushed with his right foot—pulled up with his hand and pushed
with his right foot again and again through the black void cut by occasional
lightning. The tiny glow from the lamp on his helmet did little good in this
storm. Another burst of air whipped around him, and the plant quivered. He
touched a flat spot. The one Fernando told him to look for? He moved his
fingers around it.
Yes. Relief
as strong as the gust that bent the trees swept over him. The top. He wanted to
shout I’m here Gwenie! into the stormy night over and over, but instead he
leaned forward trying to see a way into the cabin.
CHARACTER BIOS
Jack Greenthumb’s a great guy.
He’s young and comes from a well-to-do family, so he’s been having fun riding
girls around in his new car. However, when his dad’s attacked and his true love
kidnapped, one quickly sees he’s courageous, determined and devoted to his
family and girlfriend. Fortunately, he’s also a champion rock and mountain
climber.
AUTHOR BIO
Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and
bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends
and family. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers
Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. Her teen book, Stopped Cold,
finished fourth in the 16th Annual Preditors and Editors readers’ poll and was
a finalist for the 2013 Grace Awards. She’s published short stories in “Splickety”
magazine and Sweet Freedom with a Slice of Peach Cobbler. Some of her published
articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Visit her web site at
http://www.gailpallotta.com
AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
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