The Dragondain

Praise for Richard Due’s

T
he M
o
on
C
o
in

Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

“
The Moon Coin
is a beautifully written fantasy novel, perfect for middle graders to pore over themselves or as a bedtime story for younger kids. The descriptions of everything, from Uncle Ebb’s electronic fish-bird hybrids to the fanciful creatures Lily meets in the Moon Realm, are so rich that the action instantly comes alive for the reader. The story’s tension builds slowly but the excitement is constant, with Lily asking the same questions puzzling the reader.
The Moon Coin
has all the elements of a great fantasy: a unique, complex world, a battle between good and evil, and creatures that are a mix of comical and terrifying.”

—ForeWord Reviews

“Entrancing pictures, an engaging plot, and a great writing style combine to create a middle grade fantasy that readers of all ages will love.”

—Danica Page

“The world created by Mr. Due is a wonderful mix of fantasy that will have middle grade readers and teens wanting more. The writing is as magical as the Moon Realm, with nicely shaped phrases that don’t confuse the reader.”

—Carabosse’s Library

“So begins a beautifully descriptive, cleverly written, intricate story, full of adventure and captivating characters, who draw you into their very lives and worlds. The wider adult reading population will no doubt be entranced by the skill of the author, Richard Due. I just cannot believe that this maturity and skill with the written word comes from a debut author.”

—Fiction Books

“
The Moon Coin
is middle-grade fantasy at its best! When I was a kid I would have annihilated this book, slept with it under my pillow, and carried it with me at school.”

—Sizzling Reads

“
The Moon Coin
, fast, furious and immensely enjoyable, reminded me of what I love about fiction. There are surprises around every corner and by taking the more difficult theme of division, forcible annexation and the underlying currents of coloring up the truth, Mr. Due has made
The Moon Coin
into a story that is deeply layered and developed as much as it is entertaining and delightful. With a extremely wide cast of characters and a heroine we can appreciate,
The Moon Coin
just keeps giving.”

—In the Closet with a Bibliophile

“The world of the Moon Realm is so wonderfully detailed and vivid that you have no trouble imagining everything that Lily is going through. Lily and Jasper’s Uncle Ebb tells the kinds of tales that every little kid dreams about. For someone so young, she’s incredibly brave and adventurous. Fantasy lovers will love escaping into this new world!”

—A Bookish Affair

“Carolyn Arcabascio’s illustrations really bring the story to life. The worlds in this story are vivid and beautifully descriptive. If you have a young reader who enjoys Fantasy, loves to be lost in a good story, or just wants something new, give them this book.”

—Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

“Mr. Due’s world building is phenomenal. The idea of the Moon Realm, a place where nine moons orbit each other (though the natives of each moon insist that their world is a planet and the other moons orbit around it) and get close enough to touch, was completely original.”

—Howling Turtle

“One of the things I particularly enjoyed about
The Moon Coin
was the way that Due does not talk down to his young readers. The book employs a rich vocabulary, giving its audience opportunities to learn new words in context. The intricately described universe of the Moon Realm is the highlight of the book.”

—Agrippina Legit

To read more praise for
The Moon Coin
, visit
TheMoonRealm.com

Richard Due

Book Two  /  A Moon Realm Novel

Illustrated by

Carolyn Arcabascio

Gibbering Gnome Press

A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink

Huntingtown

Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink. Huntingtown, MD

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s overwrought imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TheMoonRealm.com

Text copyright © 2012 by Richard Due

Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Carolyn Arcabascio

Cover design and typography by Graphic Mayhem,
A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions in any form whatsoever.

ISBN: 978-09838867-4-7 (ebook)

First Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink™ e-book edition September 2012

For Meredith and Clare,

two mermaids I hope to one day see graduate from college.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to thank my editors, Liz Prouty and Emily Bakely, for tirelessly improving my prose and catching continuity errors. Thanks to all my readers, especially Janet Jiacinto and Jessi Wood (aka Twizbang and Snerliff). A special thanks to the early contributors in CL: Julia D’Anna, for lending me Hotel Julie; Jamie Casbon, for letting me raid her closet; Jimmy Humphries, for poking holes in magic systems; and Sharon Grummer, for sharing with me those things that might, on any given day, be found on a thirteen-year-old girl’s bedroom floor. A special thanks to Carolyn Arcabascio, for giving me artwork that surpassed anything I could have imagined. Thanks to my two beautiful children, who inspired me to see this novel through to the end. A special thanks to Roger Zelazny, for teaching me how to dream while wide awake, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., for teaching me how to laugh unexpectedly in a silent, crowded room.

And finally, my eternal thanks to the little one who kept elbowing me—
you’re not making sense, Daddy!
—, without whose assistance I never would have snatched the Moon Realm from the precipice at the edge of my dreams.